Verification – Confirm before you post

Here are some verification fundamentals:

• Check if the profile is real. If you find content on a social media profile, you should run a number of checks on that profile to make sure it is real. For high-profile people and businesses, the big social media platforms have a verification process and symbols. Find out more info on quintly and synonym. For tips on checking if a Facebook account is real or possibly fake, go to wikihow. Consider the source. Who uploaded the content? What is their social media history? Can you confirm their identity? Do you know this account? Has their content and reportage been reliable in the past?
• Try to contact the person behind the content and talk to them.
• Be skeptical when something looks, sounds or seems too good to be true.
• Cross check social media content by consulting other sources you know are credible.
• Verify the location, date and approximate time of the event.
• Always get permission to use user-generated content
• Use a variety of search and research methods, and new tools that have come online.
• Communicate and work together with other staff members – verification is a team sport.
• Before you post, ask yourself: "Have I been able to verify this?"
• Before you post, have someone else look over it (the "two sets of eyes" rule).

• Social Media is just the first step. Information found on social media should be the first step toward trying to verify what occurred, rather than the final word. Observe as much as you can, take in information and compare it to other content and information.

• When it comes to social media and news gathering, a good approach is to take in a lot and put back out very little. Use the information on social media as a lead, then follow up on in more traditional ways – making phone calls, sending emails and contacting primary sources who can confirm the information.

• Can you publish without full verification? There may be occasions that due to issues of timeliness (such as natural disasters) or the public interest, you feel you need to publish without full verification. In this case, you must be clear with the audience about what you know and what you don't know, as well as who your sources are. But don't stop there, continue your attempts to seek confirmation. The decision to publish material without full verification should be approved by the station manager.
   
• Learn more: Verification is a complex and challenging topic. A good source to learn more is the Verification Handbook (available in ten languages).