How to perform a fact-check: from start to finish

NeedleStack

Nick Hardinges from the Reuters fact-checking team joins the podcast to walk us through how to go about debunking information online, from deciding what’s worth covering to why grainy images should make you skeptical. Ultimately, fact-checking takes time, persistence and a healthy dose of intrigue.

Key takeaways

• Know these telltale signs of doctored content
• Check your sources
• Do some digging on what you see

About Nick

Nick Hardinges is a former digital news editor and current fact-checker for Reuters, whose job is to find harmful, widely circulating and topical misinformation, and then address those claims in articles directly responding to the claims being made. Nick’s main focus is on setting the record straight on social media but to sometimes address claims from elsewhere, such as outright lies in politics, or damaging conclusions reached in unscientific ‘research’ papers.

Where to find Nick

• @NickHardinges
• FIFA COVID misinformation story
• Spotting the difference between legitimate videos and satire