LibGuides: Healthcare Administration: Fact Checking

Steps for Fact-Checking

Want to make sure your information is accurate? Take these steps.

Click on the links for more information about each step.

Check your emotions
- Why? Because you’re already likely to check things you know are important to get right, and you’re predisposed to analyze things that put you an intellectual frame of mind. But things that make you angry or overjoyed, well… our record as humans are not good with these things.
Check for previous work
- Look around to see if someone else has already fact-checked the claim or provided a synthesis of research.
  - Washington Post Fact Checker
  - FactCheck.org
  - Snopes.com
  - Politifact.com
  - Politico's Is This True?
Go "upstream" to the source
- Go “upstream” to the source of the claim. Most web content is not original. Get to the original source to understand the trustworthiness of the information.
Read laterally
- Read laterally.Once you get to the source of a claim, read what other people say about the source (publication, author, etc.). The truth is in the network.
- Evaluate the source by thinking about the:
  - Process: How was the information created and are there mechanisms in place for correcting errors?
  - Expertise: Why is the author qualified to write on this topic? Is s/he an expert? Does the author had professional knowledge of the topic? Are other experts being interviewed for the source?
  - Aim: What is the publication, author, or media source attempting to accomplish? In other words, what incentive do they have to get things right?
Circle back
- If you get lost, or hit dead ends, or find yourself going down an increasingly confusing rabbit hole, back up and start over knowing what you know now. You’re likely to take a more informed path with different search terms and better decisions.
Take action if needed
- Crowdsource efforts with the Digital Polarization Initiative
- Incorporate diverse sources and perspectives into your news diet
- Fact-check before you share

(from Caulfield's Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers)

Due Diligence is a critical component of successful healthcare administration. Whether you're investigating the reliability of a delivery company or comparing the durability of disposable gloves, Due Diligence will help ensure that you're making good investments.

Company Profiles and Industry Reports

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Fact-Checking - Tools and Platforms

AP Fact Check
AP fact checkers combat misinformation by debunking false and misleading claims.
BBC Verify
BBC Verify checks the latest news in the UK and internationally.
Exposed by CMD
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a nationally recognized watchdog that leads in-depth, award-winning investigations into the corruption that undermines our democracy, environment, and economic prosperity.
FactCheck.org
FactCheck.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. They monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.
Media Bias/Fact Check
Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC) is an independent website that has promoted awareness of media bias and misinformation by rating the bias, factual accuracy, and credibility of media sources, large and small. Media Bias/Fact Check relies on human evaluators to determine the bias of media sources and the level of overall factual reporting.
Open Secrets
"Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy."
Snopes
Internet reference source to fact check urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.
Reuters
Examining social media narratives and misinformation.