Fact errors, libel and blogs: How to cope

Like the man says at the end of "Some Like It Hot":

"Well, nobody's perfect."

That includes every blogger on the planet, of course. I've had to deal with a couple of unpleasant fact errors in the past six weeks. No fun. Never is.

One disadvantage bloggers have compared with mainstream media writers is the lack of backup. Some bloggers have editors, but 99% do not. Editing is one thing; fact checking is another. You can't truly edit your own copy. You can ensure the text is accurate in most cases. Bearing down on facts takes time but in the long run pays off. Usually. I used to work at a magazine where every statement of fact, no matter how minor, had to be signed off on by a checker. (Guess what: The magazine was sued anyway.)

Fact-checking on the Internet can lead to trouble. Wikipedia, the resource of choice, is full of inaccuracies -- unintentional and intentional. Once bogus material gets posted, it tends to spread virally, even if the author tries to chase down his offending material. So insisting on, say, two sources guarantees nothing. Yikes! Might be time to visit a library or make some phone calls. Just like a reporter. Then again, look at page 2 of the New York Times and check out the quarter-page of corrections it runs every day. Screwing up is part of writing for the public, alas.

Here are a few ideas on how to deal with your fact errors.

1. Don't defend the error
The first instinct, typically, is to fight for your content. If you're in a gray area, perhaps that's a way to go. Save yourself some embarrassment and make sure you know what's what before replying to comments or email. When you're wrong, dead wrong, don't try to sway anyone, including youself.

2. Don't go into mourning
Like football kickers, writers need to develop the ability to get over their failures. Learn the lesson, clean up the mess and move on.

3. Don't blame the messenger
Being identified as the source of bogus information is no fun. In print or online, the person pointing out the error often assumes you're an idiot and says so. The columnist William Safire calls these people his Gotcha! Squad. We wouldn't be dealing with them if we'd been accurate in the first place, right? In comments, try to read past the snark and be courteous when replying.

4. Correct the error
Pure blogging calls for eternal preservation of the original version of the content, as I understand it. Errors can be struck out but should remain. These days, strikeovers are used to make bad jokes as much as anything (the tag for strikovers contains del and /del). I believe that removing incorrect material is the way to go. Either fix the post or spike it. If the material is libelous, nuke it and run down any copies out there. In any case, do something immediately.

5. Apply transparency
Readers deserve to know when we've bonked the pooch. Nothing vandalizes trust more than pulling a Nixon. Correcting the error is part of the job; you usually need to point it out as well. This is how newspapers and most magazines do it. Add a headlined Update or Correction somewhere in the post. If you're running an informal blog, explain things in your natural writing voice. In a lot of cases you have to repeat the error in order to be clear, but don't post the bad stuff again unless there's a reason. The famed correction from hell goes like this: "Joe Blow does not beat his wife."

6. Learn something about libel law
The basics of how libel laws work in the United States are not that complicated. Basically, we're dealing with one set of rules for "public figures" and another for regular Joes. (Libel is written defamation; slander is spoken.) What you need to know is easily digested in the AP Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law or The Copyright Permission and Libel Handbook.

Let's be careful out there.

This post is part of ProBlogger's 31 Days to Building a Better Blog" project.