In the professional model of news media, journalists usually check their facts with authority figures and technical experts. This might be sensible if the facts are about statistics or scientific data, for example, but it can miss important truths when the facts are concerned with people’s experiences or issues that are not studied by professional researchers.
Co-creational fact checking can be an opportunity to create trust by empowering communities - including marginalised groups - to shape how their story is told, rather than being passive subjects of someone else’s narrative.
Tips
- When deciding how to fact check a news story, consider whether claims are suitable for fact-checking by a technical expert and/or someone with lived experience.
- Are you doing enough to check facts with people who are directly affected by a story? Do not assume that a university professor knows more about homelessness than a homeless person, for example, or that a politician knows more about welfare policy than someone living in poverty.
- Give participants the skills, tools and confidence to be involved in fact-checking.
Example
- The Truth in Journalism project highlights the importance of inclusive fact checking to ensure accuracy.
