{"id":282,"date":"2010-04-12T18:39:14","date_gmt":"2010-04-12T18:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp\/?p=282"},"modified":"2010-04-12T18:39:14","modified_gmt":"2010-04-12T18:39:14","slug":"we_are_all_fact_checkers_now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/2010\/04\/we_are_all_fact_checkers_now\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are All Fact Checkers Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"grafsig.jpg\"Lately when I consume media online, I’ve noticed that I read a few graphs or watch a few minutes and then, in an increasingly frequent breach of self-control, I skip down to the comments to see what kind of discussion the piece generated. The comments can be pretty pointless, but in many places readers offer additional information, alternative viewpoints, etc. that fill out the topic at hand in some cool\/useful way. Particularly if it’s something like a recipe, I can look for tips or corrections to the original. In an age that has decided it can largely do without fact checkers, I guess I’m also going there to check the public vote count on how trustworthy the reporting source is deemed to be. And such ready access to feedback has actually changed how I digest new information. Back in the days of paper and ink, I trusted what writers told me to a much higher degree because there was no peanut gallery (aside from whatever family member was in the room) to affirm or question the accuracy of what I had just read. There was certainly no Googling it.<\/p>\n

I see the inherent flaws in crowd sourcing your editorial team, but I think I’m also starting to find more and more value it in. Or, at the very least, it has become a defining part of how I consume content for better and worse. On days when it just seems like a time waster, I’ve tried to cut myself off from the comment reading, but I can’t seem to stop. Am I just fact policing? Looking for community? For affirmation of my own opinions? For a laugh? Why is this content so addictive? Why do I let strangers help me make purchases? I particularly wonder about the power I give these people because of how often I’m reminded that, just like the real world, the virtual team is far from infallible. I did successfully install a fill valve this morning with a little help from the internet handy people (though real-world instruction from dad helped way more), but this past weekend’s macaron disaster was in no way diverted by online chef support. I guess at the very root of things I turn to it because, no matter the outcome, it’s good to feel a bit like that Verizon guy<\/a> when flying solo into uncharted territory. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lately when I consume media online, I’ve noticed that I read a few graphs or watch a few minutes and then, in an increasingly frequent breach of self-control, I skip down to the comments to see what kind of discussion the piece generated. The comments can be pretty pointless, but in many places readers offer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/gap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}