Programme overview
Introduction:
News verification and fact-checking, from image and video forensics to misinformation response, is a 1-week course for newsroom verification staff, media centre teams and corporate communications units that ends with a Verification Desk and Misinformation Response Plan for a case organisation. Organisations publish or repeat unverified claims, recycled photographs and edited clips, then lose hours deciding whether and how to rebut a false story about themselves. Nominees already check copy, run social channels or brief spokespeople, and the course is taught through timed simulations of breaking claims and viral rumours. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this news verification and fact-checking course.
Course Objectives:
- Classify incoming claims as misinformation, disinformation or malinformation and decide which ones merit a fact-check
- Trace the original uploader, first appearance and chain of sharing for a viral post, photograph or clip
- Establish where and when an image or video was captured using landmarks, shadows, weather records and file data
- Judge whether visual or audio material has been edited, recontextualised or synthetically generated before it is used
- Run a fact-check desk with a claim selection policy, rating scale, editorial sign-off and public corrections log
- Issue rapid rebuttals and prebunking messages when a false narrative targets the organisation, and monitor its spread
Target Audience:
- Verification and fact-check desk staff responsible for checking claims, user content and wire material before release
- News editing staff responsible for sign-off, headlines and published corrections in print, broadcast and digital outlets
- Government media centre staff responsible for official statements, press enquiries and public information channels
- Corporate communications staff responsible for statements, spokesperson briefings and reputation issues
- Social media and community management staff responsible for monitoring mentions, replies and trending conversations
Course Outline:
Day 1: Information Disorder, Claim Types and the Verification Mindset
- Information Disorder Framework Separating Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation
- Ante Hoc and Post Hoc Fact-Checking Workflows Compared
- Claim Triage Matrix Ranking Reach, Harm and Checkability
- Lateral Reading Routine for Unknown Websites and Accounts
- Verification Gap Audit of Recent Organisational Publications
Day 2: Fact-Checking Standards, Rating Scales and Desk Methodology
- IFCN Code of Principles Five Commitments Applied to Desk Policy
- Truth Rating Scale Design With Graded Verdict Definitions
- Source Transparency Standard Requiring Primary and Replicable Evidence
- Corrections Policy and Public Corrections Log Template
- Verification Handbook Methods for Breaking News Situations
Day 3: Source, Image and Video Verification Techniques
- Patient Zero Tracing of a Viral Post Across Platforms
- Keyframe Extraction and Multi-Engine Reverse Search for Video
- EXIF and File Metadata Reading With Integrity Caveats
- Landmark, Signage and Terrain Matching for Location Confirmation
- Shadow Angle and Weather Archive Checks for Capture Time
Day 4: Synthetic Media, Coordinated Campaigns and Organisational Rebuttal
- Visual Artefact Checklist for Generated and Edited Imagery
- C2PA Content Credentials Inspection for Provenance Claims
- Bot and Inauthentic Account Signals in Amplification Networks
- Truth Sandwich and Prebunking Message Structures for Rebuttals
- False Narrative Monitoring Dashboard With Escalation Thresholds
Day 5: Breaking Claim Simulation and the Verification Desk Plan
- Timed Simulation Verifying a Recycled Disaster Photograph
- Timed Simulation Rebutting a Fabricated Statement About an Organisation
- Verdict Write-Up Peer Review Against the Rating Scale
- Desk Roles, Sign-Off Chain and Response Time Targets
- Verification Desk and Misinformation Response Plan Completion
Skills You Will Gain:
- Claim Triage
- Content Provenance Tracing
- Geolocation and Chronolocation
- Visual Manipulation Detection
- Verdict Rating and Write-Up
- Corrections Management
- Rebuttal Message Design
- Narrative Monitoring
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver a Verification Desk and Misinformation Response Plan to the head of news or communications director, setting desk roles, rating scale and escalation thresholds
- Decide within minutes whether a viral claim about the organisation needs a public rebuttal, a quiet correction or no response
- Prevent the publication of recycled photographs, misdated clips and fabricated quotes that later force retractions
- Coach colleagues on lateral reading, reverse video search and location checks using the desk checklists
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant presents the Verification Desk and Misinformation Response Plan to the head of news, the communications director or the media centre lead. They use it to decide who signs off verdicts, which claims the desk checks, how corrections are published and when a false narrative triggers a rebuttal. After the first live incident handled under the plan, the unit should compare response times, verdict accuracy and audience reach of the rebuttal against the targets and adjust thresholds and roles.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before a news verification and fact-checking course?
Participants should already check copy, manage social channels or prepare official statements, and be comfortable searching the web. Bringing anonymised examples of claims, images or rumours their unit handled helps the simulations reflect real desk pressure.
How does a news verification and fact-checking course differ from a news writing course?
It concentrates on proving or disproving claims and visual material, not on structuring and styling stories. Writing courses teach leads, headlines and sub-editing, while this course teaches tracing sources, confirming location and time, rating verdicts and rebutting false narratives.
Why does news verification and fact-checking use lateral reading instead of studying one website closely?
Lateral reading is faster and more reliable because a site can look credible on its own pages. Opening several independent sources about the publisher, author and claim shows quickly who stands behind it and whether others have confirmed or disproved it.
What do participants take back from the news verification and fact-checking course?
Participants take back a Verification Desk and Misinformation Response Plan for a case organisation, with a claim triage matrix, a rating scale with verdict definitions, a corrections log template, location and time checklists and rebuttal message structures.