Items represent a single claim. Because multiple pieces of media can contain the same claim, Check makes it easy to match similar media into the same item. This article explains:
Basics of similarity matching
Check has two types of similarity matching:
Manual matching—Move media from one item to another to ensure each claim is represented by one item.
Automatic similarity matching—Check automatically detects similar media and adds it to existing items. Note that automatic matching only occurs if similarity matching is turned on. Similarity matching is on by default.
When new media is matched—manually or automatically—to an existing item with a published fact-check report, Check will send the report to the tipline user who submitted the new media.
Manual matching process
You can move media from an item or to an item. We recommend always moving media to the item with more information—ie, whichever has a completed fact-check.
Move media to another item
To move all of an item’s media into another item:
Navigate to the item whose media you plan to move.
Click Manage media.
Click Move all media to another fact-check.
Use the search bar to find and select the item that will receive the media. Click the gear icon to configure your search settings.
Click Export all media.
The first item will now display a message indicating that its media has been matched to a different item.
Move media into an item
To move another item’s media into an item:
Navigate to the item that will receive the media.
Click Manage media.
Click Add media to this fact-check.
Use the search bar to find and select the item from which you will source the media. Click the gear icon to configure your search settings. Note that only items without published fact-check reports are displayed.
Click Import all media.
Automatic media matching process
When media is added to your workspace—through a tipline, the browser extension, an import, or by manually adding an item—Check automatically evaluates whether it is similar to any existing media. Check then takes one of three steps:
Automatic match — If the new media is highly similar to some existing media, Check automatically adds the new media to the media pane of the corresponding item. If the existing item has a published fact-check report, Check will also send the fact-check to the user who submitted the new media.
Suggestion — If the new media is similar to some existing media but we’re not confident that it’s a perfect match, Check adds the new media to the Suggestions tab of the corresponding item.
No match — If the new media isn’t similar to any existing media, nothing happens. The new media will remain in its original item.
Matching across media types
Check evaluates media’s similarity across media types—for example, text can be matched to links and photos can be matched to text. However, if text-based media contains fewer than three words, Check analyzes it according to its keywords, not using the standard similarity matching process.
Configure matching settings
New media is often similar to older existing content. Sometimes, the new media requires a separate fact-check to provide newer context about its claim. For example, new media about an upcoming election requires a fact-check that contextualizes the claim in light of current events, but by default will be matched with similar media from the last election cycle. In this case, you can limit matching to recent content:
Navigate to the Similarity settings page.
Click Limit matching to recently selected content.
Choose a timeframe. Note that new media will be suggested, but not automatically matched, to older items.
Click Save.
Turn off automatic similarity matching
To turn off automatic similarity matching:
Navigate to the Similarity settings page.
Turn the Automatic matching is ON button off.
Click Save.
If you turned off similarity matching, we’d love to learn why so we can improve Check’s matching system. Contact us by clicking the orange dot in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
Accept and reject suggestions
When Check adds a new suggestion to an item, you can take one of two steps:
Accept the suggestion — If the new media contains the related item’s claim, accept the suggestion. Check will add the new media to the media pane of the item. If the item has a published fact-check report, Check will also send it to the user who submitted the new media and future users who submit the same media.
Reject the suggestion — If the new media doesn’t contain the related item’s claim, reject the suggestion. Check will remove the new media from the item and add it to the Unmatched list.
You can accept and reject suggestions from two locations:
The new media’s item — Before suggested media is accepted or rejected it retains its own item. You can accept or reject a suggestion from the new media’s item page.
The existing item —You can also accept or reject suggestions from the Suggestions tab of the existing item’s page.
Detach media
Occasionally, Check — or a teammate — might add media to the wrong item. If media shouldn’t be in its current item, detach it:
Click on the three dots on the media you plan to detach.
Click Detach media.
If you think Check has incorrectly matched an item, let us know by clicking the orange dot in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
Note: All the detached media will be displayed in the Unmatched media list.