S03¶


Research	R0050 — Journalism Disciplines
Run	2026-03-31-02
Query	Q001
Search	S03

WebSearch — Fact-checking epistemology and evidence hierarchy gaps in journalism

Summary¶

Field	Value
Source/Database	WebSearch
Query terms	"journalistic fact-checking evidence hierarchy source reliability tier uncertainty language calibrated"; "fact-checking epistemological framework journalism evidence standards formal methodology 2025"
Filters	None
Results returned	20
Results selected	2
Results rejected	18

Selected Results¶

Result	Title	URL	Rationale
S03-R01	Fact-Checking in Journalism: An Epistemological Framework	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1461670X.2025.2492729	2025 academic paper analyzing epistemological foundations of fact-checking
S03-R02	Cross-checking journalistic fact-checkers (PLOS One)	https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10368232/	Empirical study on inter-checker agreement and scaling inconsistencies

Rejected Results¶

Result	Title	URL	Rationale
S03-R03	Various (18 results)	Various	AI fact-checking papers, automated systems, platform governance studies, and general fact-checking overviews that did not directly address whether journalism has formal evidence hierarchies or structured assessment tools

Notes¶

This search was specifically designed to find evidence that would support H3 (journalism lacks all structural features) or contradict H2 (partial presence). The epistemological framework paper from 2025 was particularly valuable in confirming that academic researchers also identify methodology gaps in journalistic fact-checking.