Editing Fact-checking (section)

{{short description|Process of verifying information in non-fictional text}}
{{redirect|Factcheck}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Journalism sidebar}}

'''Fact-checking''' is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned<!-- Only questioned info is fact-checked. Obvious facts are ignored because they need no fact-checking. --> reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. '''Internal fact-checking''' is such checking done in-house by the publisher to prevent inaccurate content from being published; when the text is analyzed by a third party, the process is called '''external fact-checking'''.<ref name=OxfordUniversity>{{Citation|last1=Graves|first1=Lucas|title=Fact-Checking as Idea and Practice in Journalism|date=25 February 2019|encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.808|isbn=9780190228613|last2=Amazeen|first2=Michelle A.}}</ref>

Research suggests that fact-checking can indeed correct perceptions among citizens,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Drutman|first=Lee|date=2020-06-03|title=Fact-Checking Misinformation Can Work. But It Might Not Be Enough.|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-twitters-fact-check-of-trump-might-not-be-enough-to-combat-misinformation/|access-date=2020-12-05|website=FiveThirtyEight|language=en-US}}</ref> as well as discourage politicians from spreading false or misleading claims.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Nyhan|first=Brendan|date=2021-04-13|title=Why the backfire effect does not explain the durability of political misperceptions|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=118|issue=15|pages=e1912440117|doi=10.1073/pnas.1912440117|issn=0027-8424|pmid=33837144|pmc=8053951|doi-access=free|bibcode=2021PNAS..11812440N }}</ref> However, corrections may decay over time or be overwhelmed by cues from elites who promote less accurate claims.<ref name=":7" /> Political fact-checking is sometimes criticized as being [[opinion journalism]].<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" />