As student journalists, it is important for us to keep the City High community informed with accurate information. As such, during the 2025 Student Senate presidential campaigns, we will be fact-checking statements made by candidates that may not be completely true. It is not our purpose to embarrass or attack any politician. Our fact-checks will strive to provide context and a greater truth to candidates’ statements.
It is important that The Little Hawk remains unbiased towards any specific candidate. No fact-checks are meant to smear or slander a particular candidate.
Part of our fact-checking mission is to provide context for claims to get to a closer version to the truth. We encourage debate by all students and politicians on the truth of statements. As The New York Times says, “the truth is hard.”
Our fact-checking policy can be found on our About page and below:
Fact-Checking Policy
At The Little Hawk, we follow a fact-checking process when we write articles and, if necessary, fact check political figures in our community. When selecting material to fact-check or write about, we strive to equally choose statements that represent multiple sides of an issue. Once we find a statement that we suspect may be inaccurate or misleading, we will do our best to find information that demonstrates whether or not the claim made is clear, accurate, and not misleading.
We follow the NSPA Code of Ethics for High School Journalists, which states that “accuracy requires putting the facts together in a context that is relevant and reveals the truth.” Little Hawk fact-checking strives to provide the background information, context, and facts to reveal the truth behind unclear statements.
We strive to balance individuals’ right to privacy and the public’s right to be informed. In general, fact-checks are done on influential figures who are influencing community, school, and public policy.
The Little Hawk’s mission is to reduce the level of confusion and deception in politics in our community, and we rely on primary source information and multiple credible sources from the internet in order to come to a conclusion. Our goal is always to use the best evidence possible. Most statements are not completely false or completely true, so we will use the terms “mostly” or “partially” true when rating claims.
Rating scale:
True
Mostly True
Partially True/Somewhat True
Misleading
Mostly False
False
