Fact Checking: How Does it Work?
Research Question
How has the implementation of Fact checking on social media been developed and used?
Reflection
When I began to think about completing my LEAP 3 I was very concerned with how open ended it was. I struggled with finding a topic that I could actually see myself spending the time to research thoroughly. I used the most recent weeks modules for inspiration but I still was not struck with any passions. I talked to a few of my friends about possible topic and I had finally gotten two ideas that I could see myself doing. I began to do light research on both topics just to help me narrow it down to which one I could do. Ultimately I was still struggling and I needed a break, so I opened my phone, looked on my instagram feed and was faced with a “false information flag”. I took this as a sign and ultimately decided to choose “How does Fact checking work?”
From here the research I completed would not have been possible without the University of Rhode Island’s online database. This was my main tool and source of information. I learned how to navigate through the page and did not struggle with finding studies, essays, and other articles to help guide me in my research. I broke my bibliography up into multiple days of work so that way I could weed through the best possible sources. By the end of my days researching,reading and gathering my sources I felt like I could tell you everything about what goes into fact checking and effects that it has had. I was very proud of myself for splitting up the work and staying dedicated to completing it bit by bit to not overwhelm myself. Because of this I learned the importance of dedicating a few minutes a day to get it all done. I will use this when completing my other final projects as the semester is wrapping up.
This has definitely been the most challenging of the Leap projects and I can truly say that I am proud of my research and everything that I have learned about myself and my topics. The only questions I am leaving with is how will fact checking continue to grow in the future and unfortunately only time will tell.
