https://blog.oup.com/2019/02/fact-checking-how-to/?
I excerpt this article below, and conclude, afterwards, with my own observations.
'I’ve been doing some fact-checking of my own lately for a book project and have a few tips.
'If you don’t know, don’t assume. Is guerilla originally a French word or Spanish? I once assumed it was French, not bothering to check. But it turned out to be Spanish.
'Don’t be misled by terminology. I once referred to the Soviet Revolution as occurring in October of 1917, based on the notion that it was the October Revolution. But that’s only true on the Old Style calendar; on the New Style calendar, the revolution took place in November 1917.
'Beware of common knowledge. What we think we know may not be the whole story. Take the simple statement that Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. He was involved, to be sure, and a key player. But he was not a lone artisan (he had financial backers supporting him and skilled craftsmen working for him) and it is more accurate to say that he devised a revolutionary method of printing with mechanical movable type.
'Learn what needs checking. For any project, keep a list of the kinds of things that need to be verified: names, dates, places, arithmetic, and more. Names shift in your memory: Is it Pacific Crest Trail or Pacific Coast Trail? Dates can lead you down a garden path—a film might have been produced in one year and released in the next. Someone elected in 1980 would have taken office in 1981. ...
'Look for original sources. Information mutates from source to source, so it is preferable to find the original source. Where that isn’t possible, look for the best source possible—something that is peer reviewed or fact-checked.
'Ask for help. Reach out to librarians, archivists, and other scholars. ....
'Be wary of quotes. Something is often up when a quote appears more than one way...
'Admit defeat when necessary. When you’ve determined that something is unverified or in dispute, say so. There’s no shame in being uncertain.
'Inevitably, you will make a mistake, misread a source, or get fooled. When that happens, someone will correct you and it is best to admit the error, say thank you, make a correction if possible, and learn the lesson. Mistakes can happen to anyone, but every slip is a learning experience.'
I mention this quotation because the article appeared on the Oxford University Press blog. That glorious source is the reason I point out--- in what is perhaps a commentary on our times-- this advice is pathetically inadequate. The author of this article ignores the internet--- which is where the ghastly results of human gullibility and ignorance are blatant. At the same time the web makes elementary fact checking much easier. And the article ignores how reliance on others as a warrant, is deadly to ordinary, even ordinary, knowledge. Pictures of cats is just an example--- the signs of manipulation are often obvious-- the smiling shape of a cat mouth, the extended forelimbs, over the head, of the beast---- a simple observation of a cat would reveal the presence of computer manipulation of these images. Many people are not just oblivious to the phony, they seem to see no reason to check anything.
Did I say gullible, ignorant, above. I meant to say ordinary.
And what could be more ordinary than to be cranky and/or surprised, by this topic.
