A decade ago I spent several years diligently employed as an editor.
Fact-checking is the bread and butter of the editor's day, something our lovely friend at Microsoft's spell-check function can't do for you I'm afraid: verify what is true and what is not. Some people think editing is correcting spelling.
There are so many things it can't fix, but hey that's another story...But these days facts are usually verified by editors on the electronic interweb.
...Enter Wikipedia.
As we know -- some people write malicious gossip on Wikipedia (this writer included, sorry Uncle Doogs) for a bit of a laugh, more often for ideological reasons.
The problem with Wikipedia is there is no official 'author' to filter the subjectivity of what you're reading.
Facts are facts, but how you use them, how you present them -- what's included, what's left out -- is all part of the (sometimes subconscious) self-editing process of telling the story.
But this we all know, what is worrying is when no one is really fact-checking properly anymore.
Something is published in a reputable publication and suddenly it's everywhere -- at speed -- on the misinformation superhighway.
Efficiencies? Yes. Inaccuracies? Maybe.
Does it matter? Time will tell. Hello Dark Ages.
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