What is Mental Floss's fact-checking process like? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

Our reputation is built on facts, so accuracy is essential to us. It begins with giving our writers a set of best practices: Some websites are great for finding sources, but you shouldn’t use the entry on the site itself as the source. Don’t use a random blog as a source. Don’t Google something and use the search results as a source; dig deeper. Use contemporary and primary sources whenever possible (i.e., if you’re running a story about a study, get your hands on the actual study and read it. If you have any questions or need clarifications, go straight to the source and ask them). Make sure your sources are linked to in your piece; proofread and check the facts yourself before you submit, etc.

Once a piece is submitted, the bulk of fact checking on Mental Floss is handled by our editors; everything that goes up gets at least one round of fact checking, and many go through two rounds of fact checking by two different editors. The first editor checks the facts in the story against multiple sources, as well as any transcripts. They will make any tweaks necessary and go over those with the writer. Next, the story goes to a second editor, who gives it another pass and will go over anything necessary tweaks/changes/questions with the previous editor and the writer before scheduling.

This process is essential. Just yesterday, a writer made a small mistake in a story; the first editor caught it in the piece but forgot to read the dek (the short summary of the story that would pop up if you found the story on Facebook or Twitter), so the second editor made the change. Throughout the process, we’re communicating with each other about what we’re catching so that we can be aware of it for next time.

Finally, if we have a story that’s sensitive, or there are a number of contradictory facts, or we just want one more layer of fact checking, we have a fact checker who we can send things to. First-time freelance writers go to him, as do all YouTube scripts, Instagram facts, and podcast scripts. (He’s exceptionally thorough—sometimes the things he tracks down while fact checking become stories in their own right!)

Of course, even with this process and these standards in place, we still make mistakes—we’re human! So we always appreciate a (polite) email when we’ve missed something.

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