Volunteer Fact-Checkers & Verification Researchers — Rock & Art | Remote, Worldwide

Company Description

About Rock & Art

Rock & Art is an independent cultural journalism and knowledge platform exploring art, music, literature, identity, bodies, sexuality, politics and subcultures through critical, intersectional perspectives.

We are not a conventional news outlet or magazine. We practice slow journalism: research-driven, long-form and contextual work that seeks to understand culture rather than simply report on it.

Rock & Art is built around the belief that journalism can be a method of producing public knowledge. Our work connects cultural criticism, research, documentation and collective knowledge-building, creating an independent and lasting resource for readers, researchers and communities.

Our editorial practice is guided by intellectual curiosity, evidence, context, editorial independence, and a commitment to complexity and responsible representation.

We are currently building an international volunteer community of writers, researchers, editors, fact-checkers, knowledge curators and cultural contributors who want to help develop Rock & Art as a long-term cultural knowledge project.

This is a fully remote, worldwide volunteer opportunity. You can apply from anywhere in the world, provided you can collaborate remotely and communicate effectively with the team.

All positions are voluntary and unpaid. They are not employment positions and do not include salary, fees or financial compensation.

Job Description

About the role

We are looking for Volunteer Fact-Checkers & Verification Researchers to help ensure that Rock & Art’s journalism is supported by evidence and that factual claims are presented accurately and responsibly.

Fact-checking at Rock & Art is not about trying to prove that every article is “right”.

It is about asking whether the article’s claims can be supported, whether the sources actually establish what the writer says they establish, whether context has been omitted, and whether the wording accurately reflects the available evidence.

Sometimes the answer will be straightforward.

Sometimes the evidence will be incomplete or contradictory.

Sometimes a claim will need to be rewritten, qualified or removed.

That is part of responsible journalism.

What you will do

Depending on the assignment, you may:

• Review articles for factual claims requiring verification.
• Identify claims that need supporting evidence.
• Check names, dates, places, figures, quotations and historical details.
• Verify quotations against original sources where possible.
• Trace claims back to primary or authoritative sources.
• Check whether secondary sources accurately represent their cited material.
• Identify outdated, misleading or insufficient sources.
• Distinguish documented fact from interpretation, opinion and inference.
• Identify claims that are technically accurate but misleading without additional context.
• Flag unsupported generalisations or categorical statements.
• Check whether statistics and numerical claims are correctly represented.
• Verify references to academic studies, legal matters, institutions, organisations and historical events.
• Document verification findings clearly for editors and writers.
• Recommend corrections, qualifications or additional sourcing where necessary.
• Escalate unresolved or high-risk claims to the appropriate editorial review.
• Follow Rock & Art Editorial System (RAES) verification standards and workflows.

You will not be expected to know RAES before applying. Relevant standards and workflows will be introduced during onboarding.

What we are looking for

You do not need to have worked as a professional fact-checker.

Relevant backgrounds may include:

• journalism;
• research;
• academia;
• history;
• law;
• political science;
• social sciences;
• library and information science;
• archival research;
• investigative research;
• publishing;
• professional editing;
• independent research.

We are particularly interested in people who naturally ask:

“How do we know this?”

Strong candidates will generally demonstrate:

• excellent attention to detail;
• strong research skills;
• critical source evaluation;
• excellent written English;
• familiarity with primary and secondary sources;
• careful documentation habits;
• intellectual independence;
• the ability to recognise uncertainty;
• willingness to challenge unsupported claims;
• ability to distinguish factual disagreement from interpretive disagreement;
• patience with complex or contradictory evidence;
• respect for attribution and source integrity.

You should be comfortable saying:

“I can’t verify this.”

That is not a failure.

It is a valid editorial finding.

What fact-checking means at Rock & Art

Our verification practice is based on a simple principle:

Claims must be verifiable.

But verification is not mechanical.

A source may exist without actually supporting the claim being made.

A statistic may be accurate but misleading without its denominator or historical context.

A quotation may be genuine but presented in a way that changes its meaning.

A widely repeated story may have no reliable primary source.

A secondary source may contain an error that has subsequently been repeated by dozens of other publications.

Our fact-checkers help identify these problems before publication.

We also recognise that not every cultural claim can be reduced to a binary true/false judgement. Interpretation, criticism and analysis have their own standards. The role of verification is to make the boundary between evidence, interpretation and assertion visible.

Our editorial principles

Fact-checking is part of Rock & Art’s commitment to intellectual honesty.

We believe:

Claims must be verifiable.

Sources must be attributed.

Evidence must be distinguished from interpretation.

Context matters.

Uncertainty should be acknowledged.

Corrections are part of responsible journalism, not an embarrassment.

We do not expect fact-checkers to act as ideological gatekeepers.

Your role is not to determine whether you personally agree with a writer’s argument.

Your role is to determine whether the factual foundations of that argument are adequately supported and honestly represented.

Additional Information

What you can expect from Rock & Art

Although this is an unpaid volunteer position, we want the work to be structured and meaningful.

You can expect:

• clear verification assignments;
• access to relevant RAES standards and workflows;
• collaboration with writers and editors;
• opportunities to develop advanced research and verification skills;
• exposure to complex cultural and interdisciplinary subjects;
• recognition of verification contributions where appropriate;
• the opportunity to contribute to a rigorous independent journalism project;
• the possibility of developing into senior verification, editorial or research responsibilities.

Time commitment

This is a flexible volunteer role.

Fact-checking assignments will vary depending on the length and complexity of the article.

Some assignments may involve checking a limited number of claims. Others may require extensive source tracing and documentation.

The scope and deadline will be agreed before you take on an assignment.

We value careful work over speed.

Important information about this opportunity

Location: Remote — worldwide
Position type: Volunteer
Compensation: Unpaid / no financial compensation
Employment status: This is not an employment position
Commitment: Flexible, agreed according to availability
Language: English
Experience: Open to emerging and experienced researchers and fact-checkers

How to apply

Please submit:

1. A short introduction explaining who you are and why you would like to contribute to Rock & Art.
2. Your CV or a brief overview of your relevant background.
3. One example of research, verification, fact-checking, academic or editorial work, where possible.
4. A short explanation of how you approach determining whether a claim is adequately supported by evidence.

You do not need previous professional fact-checking experience.

If you have never formally worked as a fact-checker, you can describe a research project, academic assignment, article, investigation or other situation in which you had to verify information carefully.

We are looking for people who are comfortable questioning what everyone else takes for granted—and disciplined enough to follow the evidence wherever it leads.