Fact Check

NewsMeter fact checkers have a primary responsibility to factcheck claims with fair and objective methodology without bias. These stories are reviewed by one or more factcheck editors and then posted on the website.

Fact Check Methodology:

1. Selection of a claim to Fact check:

We monitor different social media platforms and verify the authenticity of the viral news. The tweets, statements and posts of politicians and influencers from various walks of life are monitored. Several users message us directly or tag us on tweets with some claims which need verification. We ensure that there is no political bias in selecting the claims to be fact-checked.

We maintain clear standards across our fact checks by selecting trending topics that are aimed at misleading the public in favor of a political party or an individual or those aimed at creating unnecessary panic among all.

NewsMeter keeps an eye on regular editorial news and messages in the mainstream media and also social media platforms. We do not make any judgment of our own, whether they merit coverage based on their perceived importance, degree of controversy or superficiality.

We take up a claim for fact-checking without any bias or political affinity. Process is strictly followed for every fact check and all the claims, whether offensive or elusive, are taken up for study. We thoroughly examine a claim and try to explain it with layman words so that a reader can understand the fact without much difficulty.

2. Verification of the claim:

Thorough analysis of the origin and context of the claim are done. Date of origin of the claim is crucial, the source of the claim needs to be a reliable one. Images are searched using Google reverse image search to backtrack the earliest date they were posted. In case of videos, we use online tools like Invid, to extract the keyframes from the video and then those pictures are used for reverse image search. Any kind of manipulation, such as photoshop, can be found out using this technique. Official press releases, posts or tweets of official and verified social media handles are also used.

Claims from various languages can also be checked by translating the content to any desirable language by using translating tools like Google translate etc. Features like Geolocation, Maps, Street view etc are used to identify the location of the image or video.

Various search engines like Yandex, Bing, Baidu, Tineye along with Google are used to find and analyze the origin of the claims shared.

3. Research:

Publicly available resources such as News releases from authentic news agencies, reputed media websites are used in the verification process. Evidence in the form of pictures, videos are sorted and presented to either support or refute the claim made.

For the understanding of the user, the techniques used for fact-checking are listed and presented well, links of the resources used are hyperlinked in the story to make it authentic.

4. Fact Check:

Based on the research done, the claim is concluded as

• True
• Partly True
• False
• Misleading

Some claims which cannot be fact checked, due to lack of enough evidence, will be pronounced as Unverified.

5. Correction policy:

The editor inspects every Fact check story before it is published to avoid any factual errors. Readers are encouraged to link the page with your policy to address corrections and mail us at [email protected].

We are open to Constructive criticism and feedback.

For any grievance on IFCN code violations visit https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/complaints-policy

Fact Check Team:

Team in English:

Atisha Rai (Senior Sub Editor for Fact Check)

Atisha Rai is a research scholar at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. She has worked as a sub-editor for The Statesman, Kolkata, and was a senior sub-editor at The Deccan Chronicle. She now subs fact check stories for Newsmeter.

Misha Rajani (Fact Checker)

Misha Rajani is currently a Fact Checker at Newsmeter. She is pursuing her post graduation in M. A. Mass Communication and Journalism from St Francis College for Women. She has written a thesis on " Role of social media in highlighting injustice ". Misha has a zeal for learning and writing news articles and apart from this, she is interested in video editing and graphic designing.

Vamsi Krishna (Fact Checker)

Vamsi Krishna Pothuru has interned with The New Indian Express and Kriti Social Initiatives. With the specialization of media research in masters, he submitted his thesis on the topic of “Fact-checking Initiatives and their response to Fake News in India.” He believes that fact-checkers have a huge role to play in the fight against fake news which is a dangerous undercurrent in social media reinforcing hatred and false perceptions.

Tejal Sinha (Trainee Fact Checker)

Tejal Sinha is currently a Fact Checker at NewsMeter. She is pursuing Masters in Journalism and Communication from St Francis College for Women. She is open to learning new things while exploring the road to unbiased journalism. She has also been awarded best report by women journalists, 2021.

Promoters and funding sources of NewsMeter

Funding