Verified.Media has a set of sticker pictures that should help you quickly establish the degree of reliability of a particular fact. You may ask us why we don't use two options for simplicity: "True" or "False". The fact is that the information we are interested in rarely turns out to be pure fake, or, on the contrary, one hundred percent true. And if we use only a binary scale, we risk misleading readers. And this is exactly what we don’t want to do. We try not to simplify reality at the expense of accuracy. That's why we rely on a broader range of assessments, an idea borrowed from the oldest fact-checking site on the Internet Snopes.com.
If the story being analyzed contains elements that correspond to two or three verdicts at once (for example, it contains both a video fragment taken out of context and a false statement), the decision is made jointly by the author of the analysis and the editor. In particularly difficult cases, the choice of verdict may be discussed by the entire editorial board.
Here is a complete list of stickers we use and their meaning:
Is it true
This sticker shows that we are dealing with a true fact or true statement. At least according to the totality of information available today.
Mostly true
This sticker indicates that the fact or statement is mostly true, but some of the details associated with it may be inaccurate.
Most likely true
We put this sticker when we are almost sure that we are dealing with a true fact or a true statement. But for some reason there is not enough irrefutable evidence of this.
Not true
This sticker shows that we are dealing with a false fact or statement - at least according to the totality of information available today.
Mostly nottrue
This sticker indicates that the fact or statement being verified is fundamentally false. But some of the details associated with it may be true.
Most likely not true
We put this sticker when we are almost sure that we are dealing with a false fact or statement. But for some reason there is not enough irrefutable evidence of this.
Half-truth
This sticker indicates that the fact or statement being tested is a mixture of truth and falsehood in approximately equal proportions. In this case, until you read the entire analysis, you will not know where everything is.
This is not accurate
This sticker does not indicate that we have done a poor job, but rather that there is not enough information available today to properly verify the fact or claim. We can neither reliably confirm nor reliably refute it.
Taken out of context
With this sticker we mark real, unaltered or falsified quotes, texts, photographs or videos that nevertheless mislead people because they are accompanied by false explanatory materials. They misstate their origin, context and/or meaning.
Incorrect quote attribution
This sticker indicates that the quoted phrase or text has been misattributed, that is, attributed to a person other than the person who first said or wrote it.
True quote
This sticker shows that the quoted phrase or text has been correctly attributed, that is, attributed to the person who said or wrote it.
Distorted quote
This sticker indicates that the quoted phrase or text has been correctly attributed. However, compared to the original, there are significant changes in the text that affect its content.
Satirical news
This sticker indicates that the original source of the fact or statement is a publication that is humorous or satirical in nature.
Legend
This sticker most often indicates that the events described do not have any verifiable details. They are described in the form of an “urban legend,” which means they are essentially unverifiable.
Fraud
This sticker accompanies materials that involve fake messages, pictures, or mailings created for fraudulent purposes.
Fake
This sticker indicates that we are dealing with a false fact or statement. At the same time, we are confident that it is not based on a mistake, but on deliberate forgery and falsification.
Misconception
This sticker shows that we have a widespread idea or story that does not have a specific author. However, their details were verified, and the verification did not confirm the truth.
