I’m at the Online News Association Conference in Boston today. At 2:15 p.m. the Huffington Post’s Mandy Jenkins and I will lead a workshop, B.S. Detection for Online Journalists. Here’s the overview of what we’ll be covering: Accuracy is fundamental to what we do, but it’s a challenge to verify information when it flows at [...]
A variety of media folks got caught up in a false rumor today, after word began to spread that CNN had suspended Piers Morgan. Martin Bryant has a good roundup at the Next Web: The latest example of ‘think before you retweet’ emerged today when a false rumor spread like wildfire that British journalist and [...]
Earlier tonight I watched as an interesting accuracy-related discussion flowed by on Twitter. It focused on tweets sent a week ago, when reports began to surface that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. Here’s a recreation of the tweets, as best as I could manage: [View the story "A Twitter discussion about the New York [...]
… For those of us who follow hundreds (or even thousands) of feeds, fresh information can be lost between endless retweets of old information. Massive retweeting also allows false information to spread globally, gaining credibility with reach RT. While those of us who've taken the time to sharpen the list of sources we follow are [...]
I recently made an offer to my fellow journalists: if you create a personal accuracy checklist, I'll send you a free copy of my book. Checklists are the best tool for preventing factual errors. I want more of us in the press to use them, so I'm putting my money where my mouth is. You [...]
I dedicated my most recent Columbia Journalism Review column to the current debate about whether or not a news organization or journalist should delete an incorrect tweet. I also outlined how a Twitter correction function might work: User Controlled: First things first: It’s neither feasible nor desirable to have Twitter play a role in determining [...]
Some of the best web journalists around gather on Twitter every Wednesday at 8 ET for #wjchat. As the @wjchat Twitter bio explains: #wjchat is a chat for web journalists on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. PDT. We talk about all things content, technology, ethics, & business of journalism on the web. You can look at [...]
Mike Wise wasn’t. Earlier this week, the Washington Post sports columnist decided to tweet a fabricated claim that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would be given a five game suspension by the NFL. Wise later said the erroneous tweet was his way of showing that “anybody will print anything.” Well, he proved that people would [...]
In a Sept. 1 Twitter posting from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that appeared on ESPN.com's NFL page, a report that Byron Westbrook had been released by the Washington Redskins was incorrect. Westbrook remains with the Redskins. Link I reported on ESPN's cross-platform corrections policy a few years back. Report an error
Th Huffington Post spotted this rather amusing correction on MTV News Canada’s Twitter account: Thanks, Daniel! Report an error
From Ana Marie Cox’s Twitter feed: CORRECTION: Palin lauded those who “cook our food,” rather than eat it. Still, that means Mario Batali is a better American than you. Link Her previous tweet is here. Yes, this is the first Twitter correction I’ve posted on the site. Report an error
