Fact-checking · 6/6

Build a verification file and preserve corrections

Keep the claim, evidence, conclusion scope and revision history together.

About 15–20 minutes. The following cases are fictional.

Record your first judgment

You wrote that all venues would close, then found the notice covered one maintenance area. Silently editing the sentence hides what changed and why.

My initial judgment, confidence and reasons

Understand the judgment process

Separate facts, inference and unresolved points. State the exact claim, supported scope and limitations. A label summarizes reasoning, not replaces it: insufficient evidence differs from direct contradiction.

The file offers manual statuses: unassessed, supported, contradicted, missing context and insufficient evidence. They are local record labels, not universal certification grades. The system checks completeness, not truth.

Record each item’s URL, dates, location, observations, claim relation and limits. Stable E identifiers do not shift when another row is removed. If a cited item is deleted, update any reasoning that refers to it.

Save a version before adding new findings. Later versions require a change reason; export includes the current draft and history. Local history aids review but is not tamper-proof external evidence. A public correction should identify the error, replacement and basis.

Your verification file

The interactive file requires JavaScript. Without it, use the exercise fields below to record the claim, dates, evidence IDs and locations, conclusion, gaps and revision reasons. Evidence should support the label; software does not choose it for you.

Checks you can perform

Choose a provisional status and traceable reasons.
State what the evidence does not cover.
Save a dated version and next steps.
Add a new version when evidence changes, explaining the revision.

Guided practice

Correct “all venues will close” and name one remaining check.

My analysis and checking plan

Explore the explanation

Correction: I overstated a partial maintenance notice as complete closure. The inspected text identifies a particular area. Other areas’ current opening arrangements still need confirmation. Supply the source and section where available.

Apply it in a new context

Can failure to locate a rumor’s origin alone justify contradicted?

My independent response

Compare after attempting

No. Record insufficient evidence, searched channels and missing material. If direct contrary evidence emerges later, explain the revision.

Preserve a revision record

What changed your judgment? What still supports it? When will you review?

A complete file does not guarantee a correct judgment; it makes evidence, gaps and revisions inspectable.

Check whether you supplied inspectable evidence, a feasible next step and revision conditions. Revealing an answer is not mastery.

Source and scope

Poynter MediaWise — Editorial Standards and Ethics Policy

The source provides conceptual or methodological background. Cases, steps and exercises are authored here; they are not the original experiment or evidence of this course’s effectiveness.

I have completed this section; uncheck to undo

Completion is a personal record, not proof of mastery or certification.