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NEWS 5’s FACT-CHECKING POLICY


News 5 has always been committed to the truth. This has been reflected in our reportage—both in our broadcast and digital platforms. In line with this, we have joined the #FactsFirstPH initiative to help establish the truth amid the widespread disinformation on social media.

In our goal to sustain an environment anchored on truth, we do fact-checking in two ways: 1. We point out false claims made by public officials, personalities, and social media accounts and 2. We correct inaccuracies in our reports as soon as spotted.

Our fact-check efforts cover a wide range of issues of public interest—from politics and governance to health and safety. We fact-check the following if they pose possible adverse impacts to the public or generate false narratives:


Fact-checking process

On a day-to-day basis, we adopt the following workflow for fact-checks:

  1. Finding items to fact-check

    We look for claims that are either misleading or outright untrue through the following information channels:

    • Events covered by our field reporters and contributors
    • Reports from other news organizations
    • Public posts by social media accounts/pages, websites, and other online platforms
    • Submissions from the public either posted through our comments section, sent by e-mail, or sent via Facebook Messenger
    • #FactsFirst PH tipline

  2. Gatekeeping fact-check items

    Due to the widespread disinformation on social media and our limited personnel, we have to limit our fact-check items and choose only the most pertinent ones via the following guidelines:

    • Details can be verified/refuted
    • Source can be identified/traced
    • Relevant to the public
    • Timely
    • Viral/strong engagements
    • Endangers public discourse
    • Endangers reputation of person/s involved

  3. Actual fact-check

    We corroborate details such as names, places, dates, numbers, etc. through research or help from our news desk. We may also reach out to the concerned individual/s to get their side.

    For easier verification by readers, we identify the source/s of the claim being fact-checked and put link/s of the original post/s.

    We also put additional context to explain why the claim is relevant, giving more weight to the aim of establishing the truth. If possible, we mention previous post/s of the source/s that have already been fact-checked in the past.

  4. Rating claims

    When all the details have been verified/refuted, the appropriate rating is then discussed by the writer and the editor:

    • True
    • False
    • Partly False
    • Misleading
    • Altered
    • Satire
    • Lacks context
    • Missing context

  5. Publishing

    Fact-check articles are published containing the “FACT CHECK” header and the #FactsFirstPH branding, while social media posts are accompanied with the hashtag #FactsFirstPH.

    Fact-check articles are posted on news5.com.ph, with the link and art card pushed/promoted through our different social media platforms.


Corrections

In case errors are made, internal fact-checking and corrections are done according to the following policy and process:

  1. Our social media team constantly scours our social media platforms and comments section and alerts the editorial desk whenever there are suggestions for corrections.
  2. Editors act on these alerts from social media after verifying the corrections. They check with reporters, previously published stories, and other authoritative and credible first-hand sources, including government agencies and other primary sources.
  3. Once verified, the corrections are made and alerts get sent out for posting to social media platforms. We also publish an erratum or an editor’s note about the changes.