Procedure for fact-checking.

1. Selecting a claim to debunk

IFN keeps a close eye on social media and mainstream media for false or questionable information. Our sources for information on various subjects include:.

Political leaders and other high-ranking figures’ speeches and tweets.
Political parties’ and their leaders’ assertions made on their social media pages.
Provocative hashtags that the media has endorsed in an effort to sway people’s opinions in favor of a particular political party or leader.
Suspect list for social media. We have a comprehensive list of social media pages, groups, accounts, and websites that we regularly check for false information. We keep a close eye on them in real time.
Facebook and Twitter comments from users calling our attention to claims that need to be verified.

IFN chooses which false claims to refute given the number of them that are in circulation at any given time. We choose the subjects for our articles based on the following criteria:.

How widespread (in terms of reach and spread) is the claim?
Who made the claim (a well-known politician? A trustworthy account?).
Whether the claim is provocative or has the potential to incite violence or cause physical harm to people.

2. Studying the assertion.

IFN conducts methodical research to verify a questionable claim after it has been chosen for a fact check. IFN may employ one or more of the following techniques to refute any false assertion.

Locating the source of trending images or videos on the internet and checking to see if the same photo or video has been used previously in the same or a different context using tools like Google Reverse Image Search. We separate the video into its individual frames and use publicly accessible tools like InVid to use Google Reverse Image Search for videos.
Internet search using various search filters (date, time, etc. ) to identify the source of posts and messages spreading on the internet.
Examining the original video or transcript to confirm whether quotes attributed to famous people have been edited to change the meaning.
Using primary data or official data sources to support inflated claims of accomplishments.

3. Assessing the claim.

IFN assesses the truthfulness of a claim and comes to a conclusion using a variety of the above-described tools and techniques. Multiple methods are used, as appropriate, to definitively refute the false claim.

4. Writing the fact-check

IFN News publishes the information in the public domain through articles that are thorough but reader-friendly after the claim has been chosen, investigated, and evaluated. In order for readers to independently verify the information, we work to establish the context in which each claim was made, prioritize plain language, and provide links that refute the claim. We hold off on making a judgment if the information is insufficient or inappropriate.

5. Upkeep of the articles.

Since information is frequently dynamic, stories must be updated frequently. IFN updates its articles and keeps an eye out for pertinent news in order to give readers the most recent and accurate information. In the unlikely event that we make a mistake, we quickly admit it and fix it.