Genre Conventions of Fact-Checks: Topics, Style, and Form of Fact-Checking in Two IFCN-Certified News Media

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite fact-checking often being described as a new genre of journalism, the number of studies focusing on genre conventions in fact-checking is limited. This study examines fact-check conventions related to topic selection, style, and form through a quantitative content analysis of 375 fact-checks from Belgium's verified International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) signatories published between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022. Results show that the most prominent topics in fact-checks resembled the “top public policies” of the time in which the fact-checks were published and that fact-checkers focused more on statements circulating on social media or online than on statements made by elite actors. Concerning style, both news outlets use source and verification transparency but implement it differently in their fact-checks. Regarding the form, multimedia embeds are commonly used, and labels are used to mark the fact-checks explicitly as such. Additionally, giving a final judgement is a common convention, but they are not provided through rating scales, and both news outlets use different formats for these final judgements. Overall, it can be concluded that genre conventions in fact-checking through IFCN-certified news media are not fixed yet and that style and form seem to depend on the topic and origin of fact-checks.