Checking out a story / myLot

Rockingham, Australia

July 5, 2025 8:30pm CST

I wrote about the wildlife carer who fell from a balcony and was awakened by her pet magpie gently tapping on her forehead. It was interesting that in the middle of the article, there was a short paragraph saying that such stories can be problematic for reporters. How are they to know that the story is true? How can they check the facts? In the story about Ms Gillard, the reporter confirmed a) that she had been admitted to Royal Perth Hospital b) that she had been flown to Perth with the Royal Flying Doctor c) and that she had had long experience caring for native creatures. It’s nice to know that they check out facts that might seen untrue or exaggerated. The photo is another one of my mother’s magpies.

13 people like this

10 responses

LindaOH

@LindaOHio (193535)

• United States

Interesting story and interesting birds!

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (357492)

• Rockingham, Australia

I think birds are much more intelligent than we give them credit for.

2 people like this

LindaOH

@LindaOHio (193535)

• United States

Just now

@JudyEv Most animals are...dolphins, pigs, dogs...so many.

rakski

@rakski (142015)

• Philippines

It’s reassuring to see responsible journalism in action

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (357492)

• Rockingham, Australia

It is indeed. I mostly trust our national station.

2 people like this

rakski

@rakski (142015)

• Philippines

@JudyEv that is good.

2 people like this

Heather Echola

@GardenGerty (164558)

• United States

I think we all like "feel good" stories and always want them to be true. It is the job of the reporter to check it out though.

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (357492)

• Rockingham, Australia

So true. I always want such stories to be true too.

1 person likes this

Four Walls

@FourWalls (76309)

• United States

I’m glad the story was true. Pretty birds!

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (357492)

• Rockingham, Australia

It's good to know they check up on stuff. We used to a 'Fact Checker' program on TV. That was good to watch too and made you more canny about what might or might not be true.

2 people like this

vikingswest

@Vikingswest1 (6322)

• United States

Very intelligent birds. Territorial and loyal from what I've read. They can remember voices and people that were hostile toward them. They also use tools to accomplish tasks. I would love to have them as pets. There is a law in the state I'm from that forbids having crows, jays, ravens or magpies as pets because they used to be trained to steal money from unsuspecting people or shops. I'm not sure if that law is still enforced. I actually admire reporters that go to the trouble of fact checking stories and verifying that the story was accurate. So many these days won't bother checking.

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (357492)

• Rockingham, Australia

I do trust our national station but I know some don't bother to check the facts. Your magpies are a bit different to ours but many birds seem more intelligent than we give them credit for.

2 people like this