Mapping the Boundaries of Fact-checking: Concrete Versus Arbitrary Criteria for Misinformation Selection

This chapter documents both the concrete and the arbitrary criteria for misinformation selection when fact-checking organizations perform their daily work and the identification of (mis)information that fact-checking can and cannot address. While different fact-checking organizations have their own routines, this chapter borrows work conducted by a fact-checking organization based in Hong Kong. By addressing why some content is deemed to be fact-checkable and why some claims are considered more worthwhile than others, the discrepancies between concrete and arbitrary will inform the capability of fact-checking in practice, as well as the potential weaknesses in current misinformation research.