How to fact-check an article: a practical process

Fact-checking starts not by looking for confirmation of what you already believe, but by marking claims. Underline everything a reader could challenge: a number, date, job title, quotation, causal connection, document name or statement about who did what. For each point, decide how you know it.

Three levels of source

A primary source is closest to the fact: a law, court ruling, official report, recording of a speech, dataset, original study or interview with a direct participant. It is not necessarily neutral, but it lets you see the original wording or evidence.

A secondary source checks, explains or compares primary material: a strong newsroom article, review, analytical report or scientific review. It is useful for context and for spotting contradictions.

A retelling of a retelling is a piece that cites another article, which cites a third, while nobody appears to have seen the original document. It may give you a lead, but it should not be the final support for an important claim.

How to check numbers and dates

For any number, find the unit, time period and population. “Sales rose by 20 percent” means little without answers to: compared with what, over what period, in money or units, and in which market? Dates also need context: a document may have been signed on one day, published on another and taken effect later.

If a source changes over time, record the version or access date in your own notes even if the published article contains no address. That makes it possible to reconstruct the check later.

Job titles and names

A title can change faster than a biography. Check the position at the date of the event, not only the day you write. “Former minister” and “minister” can be the difference between a correct sentence and a false one. Verify names against an authoritative profile, document or official record, especially when transliteration is involved.

Quotations

Check direct quotations against a recording, transcript or original text. Do not create a neat sentence from two remarks several minutes apart if that changes the meaning. Shortening is acceptable only when no qualification or condition disappears.

An attribution without a clickable address can read: “According to the national statistics office in its 2025 report…” For research: “The authors of a review in Journal X analysed 42 studies and found…” The reader understands where the fact came from even without a link.

What if there is only one source?

First ask why there is only one. If someone made a personal statement, one primary source may be enough to establish that “they said it”, but not that what they said is true. For an accusation, disputed statistic or contested event, look for independent confirmation.

When no second source exists, reduce certainty and name the origin: “according to the company”, “the participant says”, “the preliminary report states”. Do not turn an interested party's claim into the narrator's voice.

Example: checking one paragraph

Draft: “The new programme sharply reduced waiting times in clinics and is already used nationwide.”

There are at least three checkable claims: the programme is new; waiting times fell; it is used nationwide. After checking, the paragraph may become: “The health ministry launched the programme in January. In a report published in June, the ministry said average waiting times fell in 18 pilot clinics. The report contains no nationwide data.”

The revised version is more cautious but stronger. It says what is known and does not take one step beyond the source.

In direct author publishing, external addresses are not used in the body, so verbal attribution matters even more. The platform does not fact-check for the author: its automated checks deal with length, language, advertising, duplication, category, cover image and technical restrictions.

Fact-checking checklist

every number has a known period, unit and source;
the date of the event is not confused with the publication date;
a job title is checked for the relevant moment;
a direct quote is compared with the primary record;
a statement by an interested party is labelled as such;
a disputed accusation is not presented as established fact without support;
causation is not inferred solely because two events coincide;
the origin of data is preserved in your notes.

Dangerous numbers: percentages without a base, averages without a distribution

A number can be accurate and still mislead. “Complaints rose by 50 percent” tells you little without the starting figure. An increase from two complaints to three is mathematically 50 percent, but its meaning is very different from a rise from two thousand to three thousand. When useful, give both the relative and absolute values.

The same applies to averages. A rise in average salary does not mean the typical worker experienced the same rise. A few very high values can move the mean substantially. For distributions, consider the median, range and sample composition. You do not need to publish every measure, but you should understand which one answers your question.

How to check a “well-known” fact

Some of the most dangerous errors hide in statements nobody thinks to verify: “the company was founded in 1998”, “this is the city's largest district”, “the law came into force on 1 January”. Find the primary document or official register and check the wording. If a date refers to incorporation while the brand existed earlier, name the event the source actually proves.

For your own control, keep a short note next to every number, date and name: where it came from and when you checked it. The published article may contain no address, but the source should remain in the author's notes.

Where to publish it

Fact-checking matters on every platform. An editor may catch an error, but treating the editor as insurance is dangerous. In an opinion column, facts support your argument: the freer you are in conclusions, the stricter you should be with verifiable foundations.

What Columnist provides

Columnist does not promise factual editing. After approval, the author publishes independently, so responsibility for dates, figures and quotations remains with the author. The piece receives the publication's design, author card and author page. If an error is found later, the published column can be reopened in the same editor and corrected.

Check the facts before publishing and release the finished column in Columnist, address columnist.mib.news.

FAQ

Can Wikipedia be a source?

It is useful for orientation and for finding primary material, but for a disputed or important fact it is better to move to the original source or a strong secondary source.

Do I need two sources for every fact?

No. “Two sources” is not a mechanical rule. An official document can establish what that document says. Independent confirmation is especially important for accusations, conflicts and claims by interested parties.

How do I name a source when links are not allowed?

Name the organisation, document, study, publication or author in words. The wording should let a reader understand where the fact came from even without an address.

What should I do with an error after publication?

Correct it openly and quickly. For a material factual error, it is usually better to mark the correction than silently rewrite the statement as if the earlier version never existed.

Reading is half of it. The other half is a column with your name on it, in a real publication.

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All guides in the handbook

How to fact-check an article and attribute sources