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These are the slides from the Deep Dive Into Politics training hosted by the Center for Cooperative Media and the American Press Institute on October 8, 2014 at Montclair State University.
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Fact checking: A studio workshop
Presented by the American Press Institute, with PolitiFact. Funded by:
“The hunger for truth remains a
universal human desire, and that's
what gives fact checking its power.”
--Angie Holan, PolitiFact editor
Q: Why now?
A: The rise of “the misinformation
industry”
● $6 billion spent on 2012 campaign, the most
expensive in history
● $970 million spent by outside groups on political
messaging in 2012
● Estimated $1 billion spent on local races
What is fact checking?
(Click on the link above to see API’s crowdsourced definition. )
1. How (and why) to set up a new fact-checking process.
2. The best fact-checking resources.
3. Begin an actual fact-checking story for publication.
4. How fact checking can help your news organization -
and journalism.
What you’ll learn and do today.
Readers want fact checking
What readers
think
Readers are impressedThorson, unpublished
Fa
ct
Ch
eckin
g
Lazy
Su
per
La
zy
Impact on
politicians
Nyhan, Reifler: “The Effects of Fact-Checking Threat” 2013
Candidates paid attention
when “threatened” with fact checking
Guiding keywords:
Transparency
Words
Checklist
Getting started:1. SET UP A PROCESS
2. DESIGNATE A STAFF
3. GET ARCHIVES IN ORDER
4. HAVE DATA, RESOURCES AT HAND
5. USE DOCUMENT SHARING
6. KNOW THE TOOLS
7. ESTABLISH SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
8. TAKE A SEARCH TUTORIAL. (WHY?)
9. CREATE BRANDING, FORMAT
1.Set up a process
2.Designate a staff.
3.Get your archives in
order.
Have data and resources at
hand. American Press Institute resource page
FactCheck.org resource listMoney in State Politics
How to fact-check a candidate resumeVoteSmart
New Jersey Data Book
New
Jersey
Data
Book
Expanding Utility of the Data
• Municipal and school data organized by county• County, Legislative & Congressional District statistical summaries• Cross reference for all municipalities by LD/CD
New Jersey Data Book…from print…to online
Releases and Plans• Fall 2014 – open with 4 years of data
• Fall ‘14 to Spring ‘15– additional data from prior books and years
• Plans:– Additional school district data
– 39 years of historical data
– Links to new state data sources
njdatabook.rutgers.edu
Use document sharing.
Google Docs
DropBox
Know the tools.
USE THE TOOLS.
● TinEye
● Skeptive.com and Fiskkit.com
● Snopes
● Spokeo IceRocket ZabaSearch
● WolframAlpha
● Google Maps/Earth, Google Translate
Establish social media
accounts.
Take a search tutorial.
Why?
Create branding, format.
To rate or not to rate?
Washington Post Fact Checker:
Pinnochios
PolitiFact.com: Truth-o-
Meter
➢Preview
➢Distance
➢Disclaim
➢Displace
➢Recap/transcript
VIDEO FACT CHECKING
BEST PRACTICES
Go to:
bitly.com/
videofacttips
Go to:
bitly.com/
videofacttips
Go to:
bitly.com/
videofacttips
Go to:
bitly.com/
videofacttips
Go to:
bitly.com/
videofacttips
Some tips for the web/print
fact check● Do not use video ad in its entirety.
● Use consistent title/branding, image, label.
● If you use a rating system, it should be visually
concurrent with the fact check narrative.
● If you don’t use a rating system, indicate your
true/false assessment in the first paragraph or two.
● Agree on a standard length.
● For inconclusive fact checks, consider a regular story
format instead.
Pop quiz!
Review this video for violations of best practices
Where do you find facts to
check?
Even
campaign
songs can be
fact-checked!
Choosing the best facts
to check
● Provable
● Singular
● Defensible method and criteria (i.e., not
random)
Some quantifiable criteria for choosing a
fact:
○ Biggest ad buy
○ Social media shares
○ Comments
○ Appearances on talk shows
○ Candidate viability (poll rankings)
○ Reader metrics
○ Repetition of main theme(s)
○ Equal opportunity for all parties?
The scorecard
Equal opportunity for all candidates?
Categories of Deception #1.DECEPTION BY ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION
● Deceptive dramatization
● Out of context words and phrases
● Misuse of words/phrases from
legitimate sources
● Deception by omission
● Cherry-picking stats
Categories of Deception #2.DECEPTION BY ASSOCIATION
● Visual selections
● Irrelevant narrative
● Guilt by disassociation
● Guilt - or gilt - by association
Categories of Deception #3.DECEPTION BY WORDS
● Insinuation/innuendo
● Glittering generalities
● The (false) power of the crowd
● Hypocrisy and double standards
● Conspiracy theories
STEP 1: Contact the subject(s).
STEP 2: Gather initial evidence and list of experts,
including social media.
STEP 3: Contact experts: pro, con and neutral.
STEP 4: Interview the subject(s), questions in hand.
STEP 5: Corroborate and analyze evidence.
STEP 6: Select the rating/conclusion.
STEP 7: Edit and Review.
The fact check: 7 steps
No, you’re not finished yet
Why
market
your
fact
check?
We have an image problem.
Market & promote your fact check● Understand how and when to reach your
audience through social media.
● Consider other ways to promote your fact
check: News partnerships; classrooms; non-
partisan organizations (League of Women
Voters, American Press Institute)
● Use aggregators: RebelMouse, Trove, Reddit,
PolitiFact column
Fact check post-mortem● Read the comments, social media. What
could you have done better?
● Respond when warranted. Correct when
needed -- and be transparent.
● If the “fact” is false, watch for repeat. Then,
consider another fact check.
● Archive!
Evaluate a fact check
Go to:
bit.ly/checkfact
Reno Gazette-
Journal’s Fact
Checker: Black on
black killings
Evaluate a fact check
Evaluate a
fact check
The ad
The fact
check
LUNCH BREAK VIDEOS
FACTCHECK.ORG. - Women’s pay
JON STEWART and PolitiFact
STEPHEN COLBERT and “Truthiness”
RACHEL MADDOW and PolitiFact
DO YOUR FACT CHECK
1. Choose your fact check. Why did you choose this one?
2. Map your plan with our “7 Steps.”Who will you talk to and what will you ask?
2. Identify the forms of deception.Explain it to your readers.
Need inspiration? Ideas?
Check out this fact check.
Note especially:
-- Sources of information
to support/debunk the claim.
-- Examination of
“deception by omission.”
-- Call for more details and
context.
bit.ly/gardnera
d
QUESTIONS?
The American Press Institute’s Fact-
Checking Project
