Fact checking statistics training
This course is designed for journalists, government analysts and comms teams who want to gain new skills in scrutinising information sources, producing briefings, fact checking and communicating statistics.
I really liked your training style and the way you led the day, and I will definitely recommend your course to other analysts.
The session was really thought-provoking and helped consider a range of perspectives to better understand the importance of clear and concise communication, especially within government, to ensure the public can form accurate interpretations of data we disseminate.
The workshops
Our standard day-long course covers skills in fact checking, critical thinking, presenting and working with official statistics. We aim to align the skills covered with civil service competency frameworks.
The days focus on teamwork, analysis and communication skills, as well as offering insight into the world of misinformation and fact checking.
Our courses are flexible and can be adjusted according the the department we are working with. An example itinerary looks like this:
- A session on critical thinking and trust. Here we cover an overview of how the fact checking process works, and the skills involved in deciding who and what to trust online. We run a practical exercise asking participants to dissect problematic claims.
- A session on live fact checking. This is a high-octane exercise where we plunge trainees into the deep-end, asking them to fact check a political debate in real-time, and to disseminate their conclusions with a limited word count. We then debrief about people's approaches and findings.
- A session on scrutinising sources. We run a series of exercises where trainees will dive into and dissect specific claims, usually bespoke to the department's area of work. This is an opportunity to delve deeper into the fact checking process and learn more about how to navigate official sources.
- A session on statistical outputs, bespoke to the department. We look across a range of public-facing products and reflect on how well they serve different user needs. Trainees have the opportunity to discuss and suggest new approaches in light of the learning points from the day.
A half-day version of the course is possible as well, comprising a subset of the above, which can be discussed case-by-case.
The trainer
Our courses are led by our lead trainer, Joseph O'Leary. Joe has been fact checking at Full Fact for the past 14 years, and has been at the forefront of our work alongside government departments and NGOs to help improve the presentation and dissemination of official statistics. He now runs our training and work in 'media literacy', taking the knowledge and skills from our fact checking team and sharing them with other organisations.
Joe is always delighted to meet a new team and share the joys of working in a fascinating and ever-changing field.
The practicalities
- We normally run half- or full-day in-person workshops, 09:30 - 16:30, on an agreed date.
- The ideal size is for up to 30 participants. For more than that, we would either arrange two sessions or modify our materials to suit a larger room.
- In-person is ideal, but we have run online sessions for groups which are spread across the country. If you have a room to offer that is preferred, otherwise we have access to a space in Vauxhall, London, for an extra room-hire cost.
- Participants only need a laptop to participate. We can also make reasonable adjustments to remove barriers to learning that participants may have, please discuss these with us and we will make every effort to include everyone.
The pricing
Our standard rate for these workshops is £200 per participant for a full-day workshop, plus VAT. Our room hire costs are variable and can be quoted on request.
If you have a bespoke request, please get in touch and we will pitch an itinerary and quote accordingly.
Contacting us
Please contact us using the form below and our Training Manager will respond and set up a call as soon as possible.