The Internet has provided us with connections the world over. The ability to research just about any topic, and exposure to a much larger group than our own small-town homes. The Internet also provides us with a lot of rumors and inaccurate gossip fodder. The availability of information on the Internet makes it very tempting for a journalist to short-cut fact-checking and just print what is readily at hand.
Whether you are doing hard news writing, opinion pieces, historical novels or on-line blogs, every writer has a responsibility to his readership to be correct in any facts being presented. Unfortunately many readers do not take the time to verify the information they read, especially on social networks, and when a writer promotes falsehoods the erroneous data spreads rapidly.
When doing your own research, if you are using someone else’s article as a source, take the time to check the veracity of their writing – check the spelling of proper names, companies, locations and conditions. Verify dates of events and any significant actions. Basic fact checking should be a part of your editing process. In addition to the favor you will be doing your reading audience, you will also help maintain a level of respect from your audience – if a reader comes to believe they cannot trust what you have to say, it is hard to take your writing and message seriously.
There are several common fact-checking sites available online to get you started with any search. Just a few of these are: SNOPES.com, HoaxSlayer.com, Factcheck.org and TinEye.com.
Opinion pieces are just that, opinions or one person’s perspective. An opinion blog, for example, should still be based on fact – it is the spin that is based on that fact that makes it an opinion. Even though a reader expects an opinion instead of simple non-biased reporting, if the “facts” are proven false, then readers will also lose interest in the perspective of the writer,
If your written piece includes an outright claim such as “the most read book in book clubs” it should be supported with actual stats and sources. In an advertorial piece where you need to be complimentary towards a specific business, don’t make a claim such as “the best dealership in town” unless you can attribute it to a source by name – The XYZ manager called the dealership “the best one in town”.
Writing Exercise: Take a local newspaper story and research it for accuracy, list the sources and whether they support the story as written or not. Use the internet (sites like SNOPES, other online print media, Google search, etc) It isn’t necessary to track down physical sources (like the local DA…), this is just a simple exercise in fact checking. If the story is found inaccurate, rewrite it with the appropriate corrections.
Writing Prompt: Write down the first ten words that come to mind, put each of them on a separate line. See if you can keep changing each word one letter at a time – for example: Land, Sand, Hand, Band, Bend, Mend…
