Readers send us suggestions via email to hello@firstcheck.in and ensure that we fact-check submissions by readers but we can’t feasibly check all claims as we select the most newsworthy ones based on editorial judgement. Here is how we select the claims to be fact-checked:
Story Selection:
First Check continuously monitors social media handles and YouTube in particular, for any viral claims and social media posts. We receive claims through multiple sources such as email, WhatsApp groups, and social media handles, etc. The virality of social media messages in the areas of health, science, and medicine is a major criteria to select a story for a fact-check. We keep a close check on any statement made by celebrities and politicians.
Research and verification:
Since our focus is health and science, we sift through medical journals and research papers to understand the context of the claim and whether or not it has any scientific evidence. Once it is established that the claim is false or has no scientific evidence, we reach out to our members of the fact-checking group who are doctors, scientists, and public health researchers to confirm the same. Not only do we seek their expertise in fact-checking the claim, but we also ensure that they direct us to the exact scientific research that proves the said claim is false. Apart from reaching out to the fact-check members for verification and expert advice, we also use various internet tools to verify the origin of viral photographs or videos before arriving at a conclusion.
Writing the fact-check :
Once the claim has been selected, researched, and evaluated, we put it out in the public domain after it has been vetted by the team lead and Editor-in-Chief.
Corrections policy and updates:
We welcome contributions from our readers by way of sending us corrections, if any, and also contribute towards updates of a published story. We also encourage our readers to flag other viral posts that they think could be misleading.
We also consider:
In the process of fact-checking, we consider the following:
We ensure that we fact-check submissions by readers. However, as we can’t feasibly check all claims, we select the most newsworthy ones based on editorial judgement, subject relevance and interest.
Also, we ensure that the claims have the following