In the journalism and publishing industries, a fact checker is a common position. A fact checker verifies all of the facts presented in an article published in a magazine, newspaper, or online publication, as well as other forms of print and media journalism. Fact checking is frequently regarded as an entry-level position, despite the fact that it requires a high level of skill and attention to detail.
Magazines, both print and online, and television news stations are the most common users of fact checkers. In general, newspapers rely on their writers and reporters to double-check their facts, with any errors caught by their editors in theory. The same is often true in book publishing, where publishers rely on the authors to get the information correct. This is not always the case, and some fact checkers may also work on newspapers and books.
A fact checker’s day-to-day responsibilities are fairly straightforward. He or she will be given one or more documents to work on, which he or she must read and determine which facts need to be verified. This can be as straightforward as a birth or death date, or as ambiguous as a source quote. Many times, fact-checking will necessitate multiple phone calls to sources. When a source wants to retract a quote or rephrase something to make it sound better, this can be difficult.
In these situations, a fact checker must be able to verify the quote’s facts while preventing the source from changing or manipulating the story. Fact checkers must be able to make informed decisions about what information should be included in a story while remaining ethically and legally true to the story’s facts. Fact checkers must be excellent researchers in addition to calling sources to verify information, as much of the job entails thoroughly researching information through online databases.
Though the terms fact checker and copy editor are frequently used interchangeably, they are two distinct jobs. A copy editor’s job may include fact-checking, but in general, a copy editor’s job entails reading copy and correcting errors in grammar, usage, and style, among other things. When searching for information, a fact checker must be able to work quickly but accurately, remaining very detail oriented; however, they are usually not concerned with grammar or style errors.