Ernest Hemingway had a recommendation for writers that I think editors should fo
Ernest Hemingway had a recommendation for writers that I think editors should follow.
“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector,” Hemingway said in an interview with The Paris Review published in 1958.
There is an army of political spin doctors, propagandists, trouble makers and AI to contend with when you cover politics and government with the aim of finding and reporting the truth.
You need to know how to detect disinformation, misleading claims and downright lies to keep it out of news content and avoid being sucked into a morass of inaccuracy and deception.
News editing requires balance, fairness, tone and logic.
That’s why editors are the last line of defense against a bad story idea or inaccurate news content. Editors need to know how to detect disinformation, misinformation and downright lies to keep it out of news content and to help reporters avoid being sucked into a morass of inaccuracy and deception.
This week’s assignment will introduce you to several fact-checking websites established by non-profit groups helpful to editors and all journalists.
You do not want to be a tool of a politician or government official by reporting their narratives (a political term for their messages) without a regard for their veracity.
This week’s assignment will introduce you to several fact-checking websites established by non-profit groups helpful to editors and all journalists.
Visit all of them and include them in your growing journalism tool box.
Get into reporter mode and fact-check the following scenarios.
Each scenario will require you to make a determination if the news content or information is OK to use in a story, broadcast segment or social media platforms.
You will also provide documentation and a short explanation on your findings. You must provide a fact-checking source or actual sourced information with each question.
Trump made sweeping claims in his victory speech at the recent New Hampshire Primary election. In a minimum 90-word response, specifically state the claim he made regarding the number of times he won elections in New Hampshire and fact check this claim. Provide a fact-checking source or actual data for this response.
2. Somebody sent you a fascinating photograph of a poster from the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking U.S. college students who need money for student loans by fighting for Ukraine. The poster was found at a U.S. university. I think the person who posted this should take a Polygraph.
Is this for real? Check it out and write a minimum 90-word report on your findings and recommendations for publication. Provide a fact-checking source or actual data for this response.
3.Republican candidate for president Nikki Haley has pledged to deport people who have entered the U.S. illegally under President Joe Biden’s administration.
On Jan. 5, 2023 she said, “The 8 million that have come in illegally … and they only sent back 142,000, should scare everybody.” for president tells you the Biden White House is to blame for Saturday’s terrorism attack in Israel, pointing to the administration striking a deal with Iran last month to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian assets in exchange for freeing five imprisoned Americans.
Is she factually correct? Check it out and write a minimum 90-word report on your findings and recommendations for publication. Provide a fact-checking source or actual data for this response.
4. President Joe Biden said in a speech on Sept. 11, 2023 that he was at Ground Zero in New York the day of the 911 terrorism attack.
Is he telling the truth? Check it out and write a minimum 90-word report on your findings and recommendations for publication. Provide a fact-checking source or actual data for this response.
5. Is the photo below tailor-made or the Trump campaign’s latest endorsement? Check it out and write a minimum 90-word report on your findings and recommendations for publication. Swiftly provide documentation to confirm or refute.