Why is fact-checking so important?
I unintentionally launched Factual in an election year, only to realize that my timing was quite good, to say the least.
Fact-checking was already in the political discourse. Debate moderators are often tasked with fact-checking the statements of presidential and vice presidential candidates live. (As important as this is, I don’t envy that kind of pressure!) And news organizations were quick to debunk statements politicians were making in public statements. (Which is good! We should be holding our elected officials to account.)
Simply put, fact-checking stops the proliferation of false and misleading information. And it serves everyone: consumers of newspapers, magazines, books, podcasts, or documentary films. Trust me, if I read, listen, or watch a piece of good narrative nonfiction, I will likely recommend it to others. But what happens if what I’m recommending contains falsehoods?
If you’re a nonfiction storyteller, getting something wrong — even the smallest fact — may lead a reader, listener, or viewer to discredit your work entirely. I recently fact-checked Rebecca Nagle’s book: BY THE FIRE WE CARRY, and she remembered that I made a deal (not a big deal, and not a small deal, but a deal, nevertheless) about whether or not there was a picture window in a particular scene. Picture windows, as I learned, are a very specific type of window, and cannot just be used to describe any window.
If there are huge inaccuracies, people will call you out. If there’s a repeated pattern of behavior, that reputation will follow you around. The most notorious example often cited in journalism schools as a cautionary tale is the one of Stephen Glass, a former journalist at The New Republic who fabricated the majority of his stories. It followed him even as he tried to switch careers into law. The New York State Bar didn’t allow him to practice in-state, citing his journalistic malpractice.¹
Of course, I know from my decade of experience as a fact-checker that most nonfiction storytellers don’t intend to deceive. It’s just human to, on occasion, misremember a fact because we get so close to a story. But those inaccuracies can add up.
Between all of Factual’s checkers, we have safely over 100 years of experience fact-checking. If you’re looking to protect your reputation, and stop the spread of misinformation, get in touch with us today