Fact Checking

The Voice of Guanacaste did not publish a story about an alleged case of COVID-19 in Pinilla

By Redacción La Voz de Guanacaste

The post was shared on WhatsApp groups and private Facebook profiles.
Esta publicación también está disponible en: Español

A false publication, using The Voice of Guanacaste’s logo, claimed that there was a case of COVID-19 in the community of Pinilla. 

Our news organization did not publish any article or visual piece stating that “the authorities are following up with the people who may have had contact with her.”

The post was shared on WhatsApp groups and private Facebook profiles. Several readers contacted us via Facebook Messenger to inquire about the veracity of this image and whether it was made by our team. It was thanks to those people who inspect our work that we were able to raise our alarms.

All of us at The Voice of Guanacaste work with the highest standards of precision, professionalism and fact-checking. Every piece we publish undergoes a thorough reporting and editing process.

We have established a clear verification method for every piece of information we publish, as well as correction protocols that we apply when we incur in any imprecision or mistake in our reporting efforts.

Consulting official sources, alternative sources and placing all the information in its proper context is part of our daily job.

Fighting misinformation is a group effort and we’re glad more people are taking the time to reflect on the information that pops up on their social media feeds”, assured Gabriela Brenes, Executive Director of The Voice of Guanacaste. 

Help us inform you better

Our team at The Voice of Guanacaste is committed to truthful and timely information, and to keep it up, we need your help. Whether you are at home or at work, you can continue to alert us about any type of information that makes you doubt about its veracity, or if you are unsure whether or not we published that. Hence, here are some guidelines to help you identify whether the information you are looking at was published by The Voice of Guanacaste:

  • Always quote official sources: We never publish a story without pointing to the official source from which we gathered the information. 
  • Quality over speed: We prefer thoroughness, accuracy and quality over immediacy. That’s why we don’t usually post breaking news, but rather complete and verified information, including its sources.
  • Context is key: Our posts on social media usually include a link to the corresponding article by The Voice of Guanacaste, which provides context and considers the current circumstances to offer a better explanation for our audience.
  • Clear graphic identity: Our editorial team includes design and video professionals who work to create original images and videos in line with our visual identity. We publish videos like this one, or infographics like this.

You can also count on The Voice of Guanacaste’s team to verify any other type of information that you might be unsure about. You can reach us via WhatsApp, or any other official social media channel. Our team will work to follow up with and verify it.

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