I've read a few things on another site that made me wonder about the writers and if they ever did any research. The information was so wrong I stopped reading as I didn't see any point in going on. And, I have to say, I'll do that with anything I read. If I think something is wrong and I look it up and it is, I won't read any further as I can't trust the author's work.
What I read and what is prompting this topic was a tiny, almost throw-away part of the story. But to me it pointed out a possible big problem later.
In the story someone was recounting something that happened to them. They had helped a little old lady out with the ATM machine because they knew those hadn't been around long enough for her to understand how to use it.
ATM machines have been in public use since 1969 in the USA and earlier in the rest of the world. I know the exact date because I looked it up. I know it's been a long time because I'm an old fart and have been wearing them out for a few decades.
I'm a research junkie so I realize I have a higher standard than most people. However, when I was working in the audio drama company we would consistently turn down one writer's work because he refused to do research. He wanted desperately to write for our flagship show which took place in 1950's Seattle. He would always get things wrong about the city, the city layout and landmarks that are well known now but didn't exist then. We would tell him repeatedly "do your research." It wasn't our job to correct his work. Sometimes it was something as simple as a 25 year old woman of about 120 pounds carrying a dead body (her father) up some stairs to hide it (eliminating the super-strength of an adrenaline rush you see happen once in a while.)
I see things like this all the time and it makes me wonder, how much research do you do when you're writing?