Fact and Opinion: Is There Really a Difference Every man has a right to be wrong in his opinions. But no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.

Let’s Get The Facts Straight! There is a difference between FACT and OPINION. Facts are statements that can be proven. Opinions can not be proven. They are based on someone's thoughts, their feelings and their understanding. Though you may be able to use facts to add credibility to an opinion, it is still an opinion! Though an opinion may be widely accepted, that does not make it a fact.

Let’s Get The Facts Straight! A fact is something that can be proven by a reliable authority such as: Proven scientific law A history book Statistics Governmental law Measurements Mathematics An observation Note : None of these authorities are fool proof, but information that they provide is considered to be fact.

Getting the Facts on Facts Some facts change over time. For example: It was once considered to be a fact that the world was flat. We believed that those traveling too far in either direction could literally fall off! Because new things are being discovered everyday, reliable authorities are sometimes forced to alter what we all once considered to be facts.

Facts A fact is something that has actually happened or that is empirically true and can be supported by evidence. An opinion is a belief; it is normally subjective, meaning that it can vary based on a person's perspective, emotions, or individual understanding of something. For example, biological differences between males and females are a fact, while a preference for one gender over the other is opinion.

Difference between Facts & Opinion Differences between facts and opinions usually rest on whether they are objective or subjective, a true statement can in some cases be subjective. If a person says he is feeling sad, for example, that is a subjective fact about his emotional state, it is subjective. If the first person tells the second person that the second person feels sad, this statement is an opinion or guess, regardless of whether it is true.

Fact in Journalism As a journalist, you need to know how reliable statements are before you can report them as facts. This determines how you present them to your readers or listeners. There are two kinds of facts which you have to deal with as a journalist.

Proven facts These are facts which are proved and accepted as true by everyone. They include such statements as "The world is round". These facts are so universally accepted as true that they do not need to be checked. Facts can change, but for the moment they are proven, accepted facts. Journalists can rely on proven facts and report them to readers or listeners with confidence. These facts do not need attribution.

Probable facts These are statements which it seems reasonable to believe are true, but it is difficult to prove them, either because of the lack of access to the information or because of no time to dig for proof. Probable facts include statements by people who are in a position to know the truth and who have no obvious reason to tell a lie. There is a chance that they might be wrong, either because a mistake has been made or because someone lied. Because this doubt exists, we must attribute probable facts to the people who provide them.

Opinion in Journalism Opinions are different from facts. An opinion is a conclusion reached by someone after looking at the facts. Opinions are based on what people believe to be facts. Although an opinion can be any statement of what a person believes to be true (as distinct from a proven fact), for journalists there are two main categories of opinions

Verifiable opinion These are conclusions which can be verified shown to be true or false. Like people predict the results of sports match. Although people usually base their opinions on facts, there is always a danger that they can reach the wrong conclusion. Journalist must always treat verifiable opinions as if they could be wrong. You must always attribute them to the person who gave them.

Expert opinion Experts can give their opinion on an issue, based on their special knowledge of the facts. The best kind of expert opinion is one in which the expert keeps their own personal feelings out of their conclusions. They look at the facts as they see them, and draw a conclusion based only on those facts. However, even opinion from an impartial expert must be attributed, so that readers or listeners can judge the likely truth or otherwise of what they say.

Personal opinion Personal opinions are the conclusions someone reaches based partly on facts and partly on what they already believe. Personal opinions can be given by people just because they are asked. If a vox pop with people on the street is conducted, asking what they think about capital punishment, they will give their personal opinion. Personal opinions which are based on beliefs or values which a person already has are called value judgments.