Full Fact, the UK’s independent fact checking organisation, is recruiting a clinical fact checker to help lead our work combating health misinformation over the next year. If you have an interest in communicating with the public and are a medical professional or have other health, medical or clinical expertise, this is a unique chance to do ground-breaking work when it couldn’t matter more.

Focusing on medical and clinical misinformation, you’ll be researching and writing fact checks, explainers and features, and will learn how to identify and expose patterns in misinformation. You’ll also use your expertise to help the wider Full Fact team—for example informing our policy and communications work—and will help build our links with organisations and experts who can reduce the harm that bad health information does.

Full Fact fights bad information. Our team of independent fact checkers, technologists and campaigners works to find, expose and counter it. Your work will be seen by millions and help tackle the harm caused by misleading information.

If you are interested in applying but not sure you have all the skills, please do apply. We are open both to supporting learning on the job and to rearranging tasks within the team to suit the skillsets of the best applicant

Job Definition

Working as a key part of Full Fact’s health programme, a dedicated part of our editorial team established in 2023 to fight bad health information, you’ll be responsible for spotting, exposing and tackling medical and clinical misinformation. You’ll write a number of fact checks each week, and will also be expected to write features and other content as required.

As Full Fact’s lead on clinical misinformation you will also spearhead our wider work in the area, for instance by building links with health professionals, experts and other organisations.

This role could suit a medical professional looking for a new challenge on a temporary or permanent basis—previous clinical fact checkers have included a trainee GP and a junior doctor taking a year out. You can read more about their experience here. Equally you might be a researcher, a specialist health journalist who’s covered medical and clinical topics, or have other experience working in the field.

In addition to the day-to-day fact checking there is also the opportunity to craft and deliver specific projects to further our work in this field, such as our collaboration with Pregnant Then Screwed in 2021.

Outcomes

• Regularly monitor media organisations, social media, public figures and politicians for health misinformation

• Pitch fact checks and features based on a good understanding of the health misinformation landscape and Full Fact’s aims

• Produce accurate, engaging and publication-ready copy to combat the spread of bad information

• Working with colleagues, hit weekly and monthly publication targets

• Be Full Fact’s lead clinical fact checker, developing contacts, subject knowledge and expertise

• Work with other teams within Full Fact, such as policy and communications, to ensure we have a good overview of the health misinformation landscape

• Build links with other organisations and experts who can help reduce the harm that bad health information does

• Help Full Fact’s work fact checking for change, liaising closely with our interventions team to ensure we are able to tackle the root causes of misinformation

What we are looking for from you

Political impartiality and sensitivity:

You are committed to the political neutrality of our work and have a good understanding of impartiality (please see the rules on our website).

Understanding of public debate in the UK and sensitivity to the political context we work in.

Job skills/competencies

• Strong research and writing skills

• An ability to understand and master new topics rapidly

• An understanding of what it takes to meet the highest standards of accuracy and balance

• Communication skills, and a track record of communicating with a non-specialist audience in any format

• Significant experience working in a health-related field, for example as a doctor or other medical professional, with a medical, clinical or research background or having covered medical and clinical topics as a specialist health journalist

• Ability to build on pre-existing knowledge of health topics, for example by developing contacts

• Understanding of digital channels, audiences and formats

• An understanding of Full Fact’s style and principles

• Ideally experience of identifying and correcting misleading claims in public debate

What we offer

Starting salary of £36,700-£43,785 per annum depending on experience.

Workplace Pension

Generous holidays

• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays.

• In addition, we close the office for a period between Christmas and New Year.

• Day off for moving home.

Comfortable, centrally located London office with good transport links.

Employee Assistance Programme.

To Apply

Upload your CV and cover letter using the link below by 10am on Wednesday 17 January 2024.

Our recruitment platform will remove identifying details such as email addresses to allow us to sift applications anonymously

Before applying, please read the requirements we place on staff to protect Full Fact’s independence and non-partisanship https://fullfact.org/get-involved/jobs/#standards