Our Process and Criteria

1 Selecting claims


（1） To filter the information on news website, social media, and online database through manual selection and computer-assisted selection.*

（2） The public submit the suspicious claims.

（3） To select the suspicious claims for further investigation in accordance with its hotness in Hong Kong (based on the amount of likes, comments and shares the message has received):

A）Is the content checkable?
B）Any misleading or false content?
C）Does it meet with public interest?
D）Widespread or not?（Hotness - like、share、comments …）



*We do not fact-check opinions

2 Tracing the source


（1） What is the source of the information?

（2） When was it published?

（3） Who did publish it?

（4） How about the background and reputation of the publisher?

（5） Is there any similar information available? If available, please refer to question 2 & 3 &4 again.

（6） Please capture the screen of the information to make a record and also attach the URL link (including text, images, audios, and short videos).

（7） Please provide two or more sources of information except for special cases.

3 Fact-checking the suspicious information


（1） Five Ws and an H: When, Where, Who, What, Why, How.

（2） To find evidence to verify the information, such as official press releases, authoritative media reports, research reports, etc.

（3） To attempt to engage the person or organization making the claim through email or telephone, if necessary.

（4） To engage experts (professionals with expertise in the relevant field) in fact-checking through email or telephone, if necessary.

4 Retrieving the contextual information


（1） Did the original claim contain adequate background information?

（2） Is the background information accurate and objective?

（3） Is there any content that has been intentionally eliminated with the meaning being distorted?

5 Is there any content that has been intentionally eliminated with the meaning being distorted?


（1） Is there an improper intention (political motive, commercial purpose, etc.) in the information?

（2） Does the publisher have a history of publishing information with improper intention?

6 Self-checking


（1） All fact-checkers will sign a Declaration of Interest Form before joining the team.

（2） Does the checker have any partisanship or biases?

（3） Can the fact-checker uphold the principle of objectivity and avoid being emotional during fact-checking?

7 Publishing and reviewing the reports


（1） After the fact-check report draft is completed, it will then go through editing and reviewing by professional editors and consultants. With the approval from supervisors, the final report will then be published.

（2） If any mistakes or defects are found in the report, the project team will further review and investigate the report. Once anything incorrect is confirmed, we will update the report, and clarify the correction reasons and date.

Verdicts and Explanations

True

The statement has solid evidence, accurate presentation without missing significant information.

False

The statement is not consistent with the fact.

Partially True

The statement is partially supported by the fact.

*The previous “partially true” is replaced by “partially false”

Misleading

The statement was shared with false contextual information or presented in part, which will make the audience believe something that is not true.

Unsubstantiated

The statement cannot be verified based on the evidence available.

*Existing evidence is not solid enough to support the statement.

Correction Policy

In order to ensure the accuracy of each fact-checking report, all suggestions, potential corrections and even complaints are welcome.

Readers please contact us through comm_fcs@hkbu.edu.hk to submit your feedback or correction request. All submissions will be reviewed by our editorial team. If the submission are deemed justifiable, we will go further and update the fact-checking report accordingly.

1) Major mistake that will change the verdict—The report will be re-published after correction. A statement that elaborates the change and the date of re-publication will be issued and updated in the report.
2) Factual error—the specific error will be marked and corrected in the report accordingly, with a note that explains the correction and the date of modification.
3) Updates—If additional information is required to fully explain the issue, we will update the report with the new information. A note about the update will also be marked in the report.
4) Typos, grammatical errors, and other minor flaws—They will be corrected accordingly and will not be noted.