Author: Corrie Thompson - September 2, 2020
Finding credible sources can be a challenge with the abundance of sites and opinions shared online. Fact-checking information is instrumental to assuring your audience that the knowledge shared is dependable and timely. When determining if an online source is timely and reliable, it’s important to ask a few questions.
Is the web domain trustworthy? Websites ending in .org, .gov, .mil, or .edu generally, but not always, contain reliable information. Even if the domain seems trustworthy, beware of bias such as an organization displaying one-sided facts that support its cause.
Is the organization and author reliable? Navigate to the “About Us” page, mission statement, or team page of a website to check for biases and verify that the team is composed of experts. Check that the source’s author is an instructor on the subject, a published author on the subject, or renowned in the field.
Is the article recent? Information and knowledge change rapidly. Some things will always be constant, but data and certain details can be updated with new studies and findings. It’s important to find the latest information from a credible source.
Is the information contradicted in other places? While information can be verified in one place, it is good to do a broad search to assure that new or contradictory information has not been supplied by a credible source.
Fact-Checking the CSA Way
- We find two completely different and unbiased sources verifying each fact.
- Each source comes from a trustworthy site, from a reliable author and organization.
- Sources are less than 10 years old, unless they are primary sources. We always seek out any updated information.
- We ensure that the content within these sources is read appropriately and that the greater context also supports the information being fact-checked.
- We are familiar with a plethora of sources, know tricks for optimizing searching tools, and efficiently provide notes to guide our clients in revising their articles as needed.
To learn more about CSA Education’s work in fact-checking, please email us at info@csaedu.com.