USA TODAY produces Fact Check stories on issues ranging across the spectrum of what we cover – from politics to national news to weather and beyond. We maintain those stories in this Fact Check section on our website (and publish many items in print):

https://www.usatoday.com/news/factcheck/

We require our Fact Check efforts to adhere to our stringent ethical standards, which are published and available to the public here:

https://cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/

Our Fact Check coverage reflects our commitment to accuracy and fairness -- to being transparent with our audience, seeking and reporting information in a truthful way, serving the public interest, exercising fair play, maintaining our independence, and acting with integrity.

We are in the process of expanding our Fact Check efforts by creating additional reporting and editing positions that will be devoted entirely to fact checking. We view this as playing directly to a USA TODAY franchise: explaining and clarifying the news in smart, accessible ways. Our Fact Check page will soon be updated to reflect our expanded efforts. In the meantime, our editor-in-chief has explained our growing commitment to fact-checking in the following column, which outlines how and why we fact-check people, issues and statements in the news:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/01/13/why-usa-today-fact-checks-people-and-statements-news/4435111002/

Fact Check is a section of USA Today that conducts fact-checking for USA Today. The fact checks are not conducted by reporters who have a sole responsibility ot fact-check. Most fact checks are conducted by reporters who are on other beats. It is difficult to locate the Fact Check section of the website as well. Is is buried in the "More" tab.

Fact Check is a section of USA Today that conducts fact-checking for USA Today. The fact checks are not conducted by reporters who have a sole responsibility ot fact-check. Most fact checks are conducted by reporters who are on other beats. It is difficult to locate the Fact Check section of the website as well. Is is buried in the "More" tab.

You will find fact checks from USA TODAY on this landing page, as well as others produced by local news operations in the USA TODAY Network:

https://www.usatoday.com/news/factcheck/

Fact Checks have been published on USA Today's website for the past few years, but they have not averaged one per week over any time except the first month of 2020.

Fact Checks have been published on USA Today's website for the past few years, but they have not averaged one per week over any time except the first month of 2020.

USA Today and their affiliated network, most prominently to date the Arizona Republic, conducts journalistic fact-checks about relevant political issues. To date, the site has almost exclusivley focused on checking Republican claims. On the one hand, the president is a Republican (who is also someone with a truly remarkable track record for saying things that are not true) and the Governor of Arizona is a Republican, so there is ample opportunity to fact-check Republicans as they hold the elite executive positions in the nation and in the state where the main affiliate in the USA Today network conducts fact-checks. On the other hand, there are plenty of other important, checkable statements made by Democrats in office and made by candidates who are Democrats, as well as by people who are  independents. The current imbalance does not comply with IFCN guidelines.

USA Today and their affiliated network, most prominently to date the Arizona Republic, conducts journalistic fact-checks about relevant political issues. To date, the site has almost exclusivley focused on checking Republican claims. On the one hand, the president is a Republican (who is also someone with a truly remarkable track record for saying things that are not true) and the Governor of Arizona is a Republican, so there is ample opportunity to fact-check Republicans as they hold the elite executive positions in the nation and in the state where the main affiliate in the USA Today network conducts fact-checks. On the other hand, there are plenty of other important, checkable statements made by Democrats in office and made by candidates who are Democrats, as well as by people who are  independents. The current imbalance does not comply with IFCN guidelines.

Our Principles of Ethical Conduct, signed by every journalist in our organization every year, state: We will remain free of outside interests, investments or business relationships that may compromise the credibility of our news reporting. We will maintain an impartial, arm’s-length relationship with anyone seeking to influence the news. We will not support political campaigns or causes through the display of bumper stickers, signs, pins, public/private donations, participation in demonstrations, petitions or in social media posts.

More: https://cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/

In addition, staffers abide by a social media policy that also bans journalists from involvement in political parties, advocacy groups and supporting candidates: https://gannett-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/p/mistewart/Ec6RethzOAtOswxa3JtqBm4BiYII8MVFVeCm6HOnxeon6Q?e=3EjcOO

USA Today has an editorial page where the paper and columnists take positions on issues that might be related to fact-checking. However, none of the reporters conducting fact-checks appear to have any connection to the opinion page. The company's reporters pledge to not support campaigns or causes in public ways. They also also banned from involvement in political parties, advocacy gropus and supporting candidates. Technically, there are partially compliant, but it appears as though the reporters fact-checking for the organization are fully compliant.

USA Today has an editorial page where the paper and columnists take positions on issues that might be related to fact-checking. However, none of the reporters conducting fact-checks appear to have any connection to the opinion page. The company's reporters pledge to not support campaigns or causes in public ways. They also also banned from involvement in political parties, advocacy gropus and supporting candidates. Technically, there are partially compliant, but it appears as though the reporters fact-checking for the organization are fully compliant.

When reporting a fact check, we rely on original documents and direct source material, including testimony, transcripts, interviews and public records. We provide as many links as possible in the story itself, or noted at the bottom, to the primary sources we used to put together the fact check so the public can check our work. In addition, we only use sources in a direct position to know accurate information. We name these sources and link to their biographical information when possible. Sources are approved by experienced editors.

Here is our public explanation of how the organization maintains standards and uses sources: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/01/13/why-usa-today-fact-checks-people-and-statements-news/4435111002/

Fact-check stories always link to sources in a wat that readers can easily understand and replicate. Sources used are directly relevant to the issue(s) that are being fact-checked in any given story. Sometimes, notably in the Arizona Republic pieces, a complete list of sources is provided at the end of the article, though this has not been done with the fact-checks were completed by reporters on staff at the national paper. There is a clear description of the paper's ethical policy (which includes a clear description of the sourcing policy) on the website as well.

Fact-check stories always link to sources in a wat that readers can easily understand and replicate. Sources used are directly relevant to the issue(s) that are being fact-checked in any given story. Sometimes, notably in the Arizona Republic pieces, a complete list of sources is provided at the end of the article, though this has not been done with the fact-checks were completed by reporters on staff at the national paper. There is a clear description of the paper's ethical policy (which includes a clear description of the sourcing policy) on the website as well.

At the moment, we do not have any additional source of funding for Fact Checks on USA TODAY. However, we are applying to be part of the Facebook Fact Check program. More about our ownership and corporate structure can be found at these links:

https://www.gannett.com/who-we-are/

https://marketing.usatoday.com/about

USA Today is a Gannett property. I could not find a link to the Gannett "Who We Are" provided in the application on the USA Today site; it would take extra steps for readers to learn about how Gannett makes its money. The Gannett site  provides a detailed statement of the most recent quarter's earnings and also provides links to SEC filings.

USA Today is a Gannett property. I could not find a link to the Gannett "Who We Are" provided in the application on the USA Today site; it would take extra steps for readers to learn about how Gannett makes its money. The Gannett site  provides a detailed statement of the most recent quarter's earnings and also provides links to SEC filings.

We will use professional reporters throughout the USA TODAY Network to report fact checks. This is what our newspapers have done for more than 100 years. These reporters and their work will be overseen by local or national editors. 

The local news sites are named here: https://infogram.com/1p67meqejgzv9vc5ypqp2lj6gxslm3qnr7?live

The national editors are named here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/01/13/why-usa-today-fact-checks-people-and-statements-news/4435111002/

In addition, for specific projects or high-profile events, we will name and provide bios of the reporters in advance. Here is an example of how we do this: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/04/state-union-fact-checking-donald-trumps-speech-usa-today-network/2771091002/

USA Today shares the local news sites with which they partner, listing the editor's name as well. But there are not biographies of the reporters who conduct fact-checks for them. There are examples, such as a fact-check of the 2019 State of the Union, where the biographies of the fact-checkers was listed before the speech, but in general, USA Today does not list their fact-checking reporters nor do they provide biographies for them. There is not a good reason to avoid this in the U.S.

USA Today shares the local news sites with which they partner, listing the editor's name as well. But there are not biographies of the reporters who conduct fact-checks for them. There are examples, such as a fact-check of the 2019 State of the Union, where the biographies of the fact-checkers was listed before the speech, but in general, USA Today does not list their fact-checking reporters nor do they provide biographies for them. There is not a good reason to avoid this in the U.S.

For USA TODAY newsroom staff members: https://www.usatoday.com/contact/staff/

For the USA TODAY Network: https://www.gannett.com/who-we-are/

For the USA TODAY company: https://marketing.usatoday.com/about

To submit an item to be fact checked: FactCheck@usatoday.com

It is easy to figure out how audience members should contact USA Today, but there is nothing that sets the fact-checking initiative out as a specific entity to contact.

It is easy to figure out how audience members should contact USA Today, but there is nothing that sets the fact-checking initiative out as a specific entity to contact.

Explanation of the standards we follow for fact check work: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/01/13/why-usa-today-fact-checks-people-and-statements-news/4435111002/

USA Today treats fact-checks like it treats other aspects of their journalism. There is not a fact-checking methodology listed on the site. They explain who their editors are and what their ethical and sourcing standards are, but they do not explain how they decide what to check or what process a check undergoes.

USA Today treats fact-checks like it treats other aspects of their journalism. There is not a fact-checking methodology listed on the site. They explain who their editors are and what their ethical and sourcing standards are, but they do not explain how they decide what to check or what process a check undergoes.

Readers can submit facts to check to: FactCheck@usatoday.com

Corrections can be requested here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/01/09/corrections-clarifications/1821023/

Phone, 1-800-872-7073

E-mail, accuracy@usatoday.com

USA Today explains how they can be contacted if a reader wants to submit a claim to fact-check, though this is not easy to find on their site. They do not describe how they select fact-checks nor do they give readers an understanding of what USA Today deems checkable.

USA Today explains how they can be contacted if a reader wants to submit a claim to fact-check, though this is not easy to find on their site. They do not describe how they select fact-checks nor do they give readers an understanding of what USA Today deems checkable.

The following link contains our corrections policy as well as links to recent corrections and the stories corrected. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/01/09/corrections-clarifications/1821023/

I could not identify a corrections policy. USA Today's corrections page is extensive and appears comprehensive - listing corrections made by month and listing the section of the paper in which the corrections are made. What their policy is, though, is not something that they tell us.

I could not identify a corrections policy. USA Today's corrections page is extensive and appears comprehensive - listing corrections made by month and listing the section of the paper in which the corrections are made. What their policy is, though, is not something that they tell us.

The following link contains our corrections policy as well as links to recent corrections and the stories corrected. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/01/09/corrections-clarifications/1821023/

There is a public corrections page listing corrections made, the section of the paper they were made in, and when they were made. I did not notice a Fact Check section correction.

There is a public corrections page listing corrections made, the section of the paper they were made in, and when they were made. I did not notice a Fact Check section correction.