Proofreading & Editing Fact-Checking & Accuracy 2

Question 1

Which type of error involves presenting accurate facts in a misleading context?

Accepted Answer

Contextual inaccuracy

Answer

Typographical error

Answer

Syntactic error

Answer

Attribution error

Question 2

An article claims a company's revenue 'doubled' from $500 million to $900 million. Is this claim accurate?

Accepted Answer

No, because doubling $500 million would equal $1 billion

Answer

Yes, because the increase is substantial

Answer

Yes, because 'doubled' is approximate language

Answer

No, because revenue figures require audited sources

Question 3

What is a 'churnalism' risk in fact-checking?

Accepted Answer

Reprinting press release claims without independent verification

Answer

Publishing too many articles in a short time

Answer

Using too many direct quotes in a single piece

Answer

Fact-checking an article after it has already been published

Question 4

A fact-checker notes that an article consistently misspells a proper noun (a person's name). Under which category does this error primarily fall?

Accepted Answer

Factual inaccuracy

Answer

Stylistic inconsistency

Answer

Grammatical error

Answer

Punctuation error

Question 5

Which of the following is the LEAST reliable source for fact-checking purposes?

Accepted Answer

An anonymous user-edited online forum post

Answer

A government agency's official website

Answer

An academic journal article

Answer

A published autobiography

Question 6

An editor is checking an article that says 'the majority of Americans support this policy,' citing a poll. What must the editor verify beyond the poll's existence?

Accepted Answer

The sample size, methodology, margin of error, and question wording

Answer

Whether the poll was conducted by a university

Answer

Whether the polling company is well-known

Answer

That the poll was conducted within the last decade

Question 7

What does it mean to 'verify attribution' in fact-checking?

Accepted Answer

Ensuring that quotes, data, and claims are correctly tied to their actual sources

Answer

Confirming the article's author is credentialed

Answer

Checking that footnotes are formatted according to style guidelines

Answer

Reviewing whether sources are listed alphabetically