They said it was the lettuce. Then it wasn’t. Are they lying or learning?

Changing stories and conclusions doesn’t always help the trust issues facing today’s journalists and industry leaders. But understanding how investigations and news reporting work is important. Headlines about Taylor Farms, Taco Bell and a nationwide cyclospora outbreak have changed as investigators have gathered more information, illustrating an important lesson about how to follow developing news stories.

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The Food and Drug Administration initially identified shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico as the likely source of the outbreak, and affected products were voluntarily recalled.

Days later, the FDA announced that one laboratory sample had produced a false-positive result. However, the agency said the broader investigation continued to point to the same supplier based on what epidemiologists described as overwhelming epidemiological data.

The seemingly conflicting headlines were not necessarily evidence that one report was wrong. Instead, they reflected an investigation that was still unfolding.

When major stories develop, investigators rarely have all the answers at the beginning. Evidence is gathered piece by piece, and initial findings can change or become more precise as additional information becomes available.

News organizations report what officials and investigators know at a particular point in time. Responsible news outlets then update their reporting as new evidence emerges.

That is not necessarily flip-flopping. It is how investigations work.

The next time a post on social media claims that officials or the news media lied because a story changed, ask a simple question: Did the facts change, or did we simply learn more?

Several tools can help people evaluate information online, including RumorGuard.org, Pointer.org/MediaWise and the Google Fact Check Explorer.

Veterans are trained to adjust decisions as new intelligence becomes available. Good journalism works much the same way: gather information, evaluate the evidence, corroborate what can be confirmed and adjust the assessment when the facts warrant it. For more on how to stay media-sharp, check out these tips and tricks.