The fact-checking methodology that is followed by the unit focuses on selecting facts for verifying, processing, editing, publishing and proofreading.

We encourage you to provide suggestions, point out problems and do further clarifications regarding our methodology.

Observations of news/information for verification/fact-checking

Select news items that can be figured out as false news in a reasonable way or news that are vacillating between truth and falsehood to be fact-checked.
Select news items from electronic, print and digital media through frequent monitoring.
Keeping frequent and close tabs on media organizations/ websites/ channels that are identified as those that cast unverified news items.
News items selected through the requests received from the Factseeker subscribers (general public)
Select news items of topical interest

Public interest
Rate of dissemination/ public consumption
Victim groups
Impact of the news item on public harmony and safety ding our methodology.

Identify the method of presentation (text/video/photo/letter)
Identify the primary source that has produced the news
Examine the relevant media/ digital sources to check the background of the news
Identify other connotations of the relevant source and fake news through keywords and hashtags
Identify the primary source connecting to the facts
Make use of the tools to recognize images, videos and voice recordings for verification
If the news is found completely or fairly confirmed as true during the fact-checking process the news item is exempted from further checking
Confirmation of the facts while keeping track of the details and evidence during the process
Reach out to experts in the relevant field for expert views and opinions to identify and understand the facts related to its field of scope

Deciding presentation method (post/ article)
The presentation of fact-checking items will strictly fall within the scope of public interest and be impartial and provide equal consideration of all entities involved.
A comparison of the fake news and the confirmed news with accurate details will be presented.

The facts checked and prepared by the fact-checking team is supervised by the editorial
At this stage, attention is paid to technical factors such as language, images, structure and relevance to contextual factors such as the accuracy of facts and ethical reporting
Corrections and revisions by the editorial will be completed by the team and be made available for publishing

If there are any language or technical mistakes in the publication corrections will be made.
In the event that the editorial panel decides to make considerable changed regarding the content, corrected posts will be carried with a special note addressing the adjustment

Publishing the approved fact-checked content according to the arranged format via the official web page (factseeker.lk), Facebook page  and Twitter handle
The responses, engagement and feedback from the audience is kept track of after publication

We encourage our audience to provide suggestions and criticisms regarding the fact-checking program carried out by the team
Anyone who identifies errors and mistakes in the presented facts can request to recheck the facts relevant to that news item.