22 Aug Just the Facts Ma’am, Just The Facts

When it comes to content creation, honesty is always the best policy

Written by Bryan Szabo

3 min read

In one of my recent blog posts I talked about moving from being a passive consumer of content to an active creator of it. Today, I’d like to talk about how fact checking can help us consume content a little less passively. I want to talk about how we can be a little more like famously to-the-point on-screen detective Joe Friday who said, “Just the facts, Ma’am.”

The online world is positively brimming with misleading or patently false information (we posted a piece on the dangers of ‘alternative facts’ only a few weeks ago). So the onus is on us to be critical readers and fact checkers. Like it or not, it is our job as content consumers to make sure that we’re not being lied to. With fake news and other false or misleading content going viral, liars are more emboldened than ever. If it’s the facts and just the facts that we want, we must do our own detective work.

Would I Lie to You?

Perhaps you’ve heard of Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand Goop. Recently, they were forced to recant claims they made on their website about one of their endorsed products. Retailing for $60, Body Vibes claim to be “wearable stickers that promote healing” by tapping “into the body’s bio-frequency”. The material used in the stickers is, they said, the same stuff that NASA lines their space suits with so they can monitor the astronauts’ vitals. When Gizmodo fact checkers contacted NASA and asked them about the claim, NASA quickly debunked it as “a load of B.S.” The claim about the spacesuits was quickly scrubbed from the website, but Goop is still happily endorsing the product.

It was fact checkers who tripped up the charlatans. If they hadn’t been looking out for consumers, nobody would be the wiser.

Content, Honestly

There are two lessons contained in the Goop story and its aftermath. The lifestyle brand was subject to a spate of bad press following the debunked claim. Paltrow herself was raked over the coals for her apparent willingness to deceive her followers and profit from their gullibility. Some of her followers chose to turn a blind eye, but others (perhaps for the first time) saw through the veneer—their empress was stark naked.

Lesson 1: Be suspicious

The first lesson is this: treat every extraordinary claim with suspicion. If it sounds too good to be true or if it is entirely unverifiable it’s unlikely you’re getting the straight dope—it’s far more likely that you’re being sold snake oil. Vague words like ‘wellbeing’, ‘energy’, ‘balance’ and ‘vitality’ should make you suspicious.

Lesson 2: Don’t play fast and loose with the facts

The second lesson is where my own role as a copywriter comes into play. I’ve seen far too much content that plays fast and loose with the facts, exaggerating wildly or throwing pseudo-scientific jargon into a word salad that sounds good … but means nothing (or next to nothing). Content like this sets my teeth on edge. Nothing can damage a brand quite like claims that fall apart when fact checked.

Fact: Your Content Choices Matter

Gwyneth’s cult-like following means she can afford to lose a few followers who spot the chicanery for what it is. Your brand is probably more precariously balanced than hers. Which means your content choices matter – a lot. Make one misleading claim too many or purposefully obfuscate your meaning behind jargon or, and you might be looking at permanently damage to your or your brand’s credibility.

Always assume that your readers are going to fact check your claims. Great content informs and persuades; most crucially, it does so without misleading or baffling the reader. It doesn’t fall apart under scrutiny. Always assume that there’s a Joe Friday somewhere in the crowd—someone who’ll say:

“Just the facts, Ma’am. Just the facts.”

It’s our mission at CavaCom to create engaging content that informs with clarity and, above all, honesty. If you’re seeking to tell your story in compelling and reputation-boosting ways, let our content experts help. We’ll craft or hone your messages in ways that will lend authority and credibility to your brand.