Look, We’ve Got a Problem
It was about three months ago, over coffee at the place on 5th, that Marcus—let’s call him that—told me something that should’ve been obvious but honestly wasn’t. He said, “You know, Sarah, we’re all just making it up as we go along.” And I laughed. I mean, come on, we’re journalists, right? We’re supposed to have it all figured out.
But here’s the thing: we don’t. And that’s okay. Because news verification? It’s a mess. A beautiful, complicated, frustrating mess.
I’ve been in this game for over 20 years. I started back in 1998 at the Austin Chronicle, where I learned to chase stories and question everything. But even then, even when the internet was just a baby, we had issues with verification. It’s just… yeah. It’s always been hard.
Why Can’t We Just Figure This Out?
So last Tuesday, I’m at a conference in Austin—funny how these things come full circle—and I’m listening to this panel on digital verification. And one of the speakers, a woman named Dave (I know, right?), says something that stuck with me. She said, “We’re not just fighting misinformation. We’re fighting human nature.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough. I mean, look at social media. It’s a firehose of information, and most of it’s garbage. But people believe it. They share it. They base decisions on it. And we, as journalists, are supposed to be the ones cutting through that noise.
But how? How do we do that when even the basics are so dang hard? Like, take SMS verification. You’d think that’d be simple, right? Just a quick check to make sure someone’s who they say they are. But no. It’s complicated. It’s expensive. And honestly, it’s not always reliable.
I mean, have you ever tried to set up a secure sms verification service for apps? It’s a nightmare. You’ve got to deal with carriers, and APIs, and—ugh. It’s a headache. But it’s necessary. Because if we can’t verify the basics, how can we expect to tackle the big stuff?
A Quick Aside: The Time I Got Duped
Speaking of basics, let me tell you about the time I got completely and utterly duped. It was back in 2005, and I was working at the Houston Press. I got an email from this “source” with all these juicy details about a local politician. And I believed it. Hook, line, and sinker.
I didn’t verify jack. I mean, I called the number he gave me, and it checked out. But that was it. No digging deeper. No cross-checking. Just a quick call and boom, I was off to the races.
Big mistake. Turns out, the “source” was a prankster. And the story? Completely false. I was so embarrassed. But it taught me a lesson: verification isn’t just a step in the process. It’s the process.
The Tools Are There. So Why Are We Still Struggling?
Okay, so verification is hard. But we’ve got tools, right? I mean, look at all the tech out there. Reverse image search, fact-checking websites, even AI-powered verification tools. So why are we still struggling?
Well, for one, these tools aren’t perfect. They’re great for a quick check, but they can’t replace good old-fashioned journalism. You know, talking to people, digging through records, actually going out and looking at stuff.
And another thing: these tools can be expensive. I mean, come on, who’s gonna pay for a subscription to a fact-checking service when you can just Google it? (Spoiler: Google’s not always the answer.)
But here’s the real kicker: even with all these tools, even with all this tech, we’re still human. And humans make mistakes. We get lazy. We get fooled. We get tricked. It’s what we do.
So What’s the Answer?
I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. I wish I did. But I don’t. What I do know is that we can’t give up. We can’t just throw our hands up and say, “Eh, it is what it is.” Because it’s not. It’s not okay to just let misinformation run rampant.
So we keep trying. We keep pushing. We keep verifying. Even when it’s hard. Even when it’s expensive. Even when it’s frustrating as hell.
Because that’s our job. That’s what we do. We chase the truth. Even when it’s messy. Even when it’s complicated. Even when it’s a complete and utter pain in the butt.
And hey, maybe one day we’ll get it right. Maybe one day we’ll figure out this verification thing. But until then, we keep going. We keep trying. We keep verifying.
Because that’s what journalists do.
About the Author: Sarah Johnson has been a senior editor at various publications for over 20 years. She’s worked at the Austin Chronicle, Houston Press, and now writes for googlenewssites.com. She’s won awards, made mistakes, and learned a lot along the way. She’s also really good at making coffee and terrible at remembering names.
You can find her on Twitter @sarahjwrites, where she tweets about journalism, verification, and the occasional cat photo.
