Beyoncé recently surprised fans by announcing the launch of a new vegan home delivery meal service based on her own experience with trying a vegan diet. Given the magnitude of her star-power and general public obsession with all things Beyoncé, a story like this sounds like typical tabloid-fodder. However, the official press release titled, “Beyoncé Teams Up With Exercise Physiologist Marco Borges For 22 Days Nutrition” gave journalists in the entertainment industry one way to verify the news. In fact, the press release announcing Beyoncé’s latest business venture was directly linked to in stories from major outlets including Elle.com, the Huffington Post, People.com, and Time.com.

Daniel Jameson, a freelance researcher and reporter for outlets including InStyle and Vogue knows from first-hand experience that finding and verifying information quickly is critical to getting a newsworthy story published on a tight deadline. Jameson gave us an exclusive interview on how and why press releases play a critical role in the fact-checking process.

How do press releases simplify the fact-checking process?

Press releases are information goldmines and in a profession that is in a sense “information coordinator,” having one place you know you can go for a number of facts makes the overall process that much simpler and quicker. They’re a great place to verify basic yet exclusive facts such as product release dates, and to also track down publicist contact information, which is always an essential in cross-checking facts included in the release and any additional queries.

In what cases are a press release not enough for fact-checking?

Any very specific/exclusive information in a press release, such as details in a quote that only appear in the press release, must be cross-checked with the publicist behind the release or noted accordingly in the respective story. In other words, while press releases are incredibly useful for more fundamental information, they are not a one-stop shop for confirming everything and in most cases help lead the fact-checker to the confirmation. After all, publicists are human too and can make mistakes – but we can’t!

Using Beyonce’s announcement as an example, what information could be verified using this release?

This is probably a better example of a springboard press release, directing to sources for confirming most facts while providing supplemental information, which is all still incredibly helpful as it helps flesh out the product more than the sites do. For example, it’s not very clear from the delivery service’s official site that Beyoncé is involved, so that note, her quotes, and the contact information provided in the release help establish and inform that connection.

You could still verify January 28th, 2015 as the date that the 22 Days Nutrition plant-based home delivery meal service launched, as well as it being a partnership between Beyoncé and Marco Borges. From there I’d direct to the sites at the bottom to verify other details, such as Marco’s personal history (which the sites do – example: his 20+ years in the exercise and nutrition fields, that he’s an exercise physiologist, etc.) and all of the details about the meals (which of course the sites also have).

Does social media or a website count for fact-checking?

Usually not, but it depends on the story and the site. For example, if we’re simply trying to confirm the spelling of a celebrity’s name, we may scan their various pages to confirm, though will of course triple-check with other sources if we encounter any discrepancies.

Where social media sites are especially useful and viable for fact-checking, especially in the fashion and entertainment world, is confirming associations with official brands. For example, if we want to confirm that a celebrity wore a dress on a red carpet by a specific designer, or even a specific piece worn to a talk show or while out and about in a city, and the label’s official verified social media page posted an image confirming the dress as theirs, we can use that as a confirmation. As with any fact it’s always great to have a number of sources, so in cases like these we’d usually make sure several of the label’s social media pages reported the same fact, which is almost always the case.

Why is it important for the outlet to reference that the information was found in a press release?

It’s imperative that the outlet notes the press release as the source as it clarifies that the information/quote was not primarily and directly provided to the publishing outlet. Without such a reference, it could imply that the details were initially discovered and/or reported by the outlet, which if proven incorrect, could place the outlet in the line of fire for legal repercussions.

When it comes to press releases, does the distribution vendor matter?

If the source of a press release is ambiguous, then the very details within cannot be used to verify facts, though could potentially be used as starting points towards locating official confirmations. Such sources also tend to leave out important information like contact details for publicists, making it that much more difficult to answer any questions related to the release.

PR Newswire is viewed with high esteem as an official source for press releases and respective contact information. When we find a release on the site we know it’s something we can trust without having to question the authenticity of the document itself, and can get to work immediately knowing the information will be presented simply, succinctly, and with plenty of avenues for cross-verification and additional information.