An independent experimental fact-checking site, exploring and advocating ways to make fact-checking better.
The Brush-off On Oct. 3, 2018 Zebra Fact Check contacted PolitiFact to point out the need for a correction to a PolitiFact Missouri fact check from Sept. 20, 2018. Our message explained the correction was necessary because PolitiFact Missouri had rated “Mostly False” a claim PolitiFact had stated as true in 2013. PolitiFact gave Zebra Fact Check the brush-off. PolitiFact…
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On Oct. 9, 2018 we received a response to an email message we sent to truthometer@politifact.com. Katie Sanders sent the response. Sanders serves as PolitiFact’s managing editor. Note that Sanders may well have also read a different description of the same issue forwarded through the International Fact-Checking Network. ZEBRA FACT CHECK (Oct. 3, 2-018) The Sept. 20, 2018 PolitiFact Missouri fact…
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If a fact checker cannot verify that something is true but finds that it might be true, does that make it half true? And what if a fact checker runs a headline asking one question while the fact check content answers a different question? Dark Money Paid for Over 80 Percent? PolitiFact’s Oct. 5, 2018 fact check of a claim…
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Not long after the International Fact-Checking Network committed to policing whether signatories to its code of principles were following that code, we observed that the means the IFCN chose to ensure compliance with its code set a low bar for fact-checking organizations. That bar was especially low for organizations’ policies for “open and honest” corrections: How does one verify scrupulous…
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Each month we pose a question to International Fact-Checking Network Director Alexios Mantzarlis. Our arrangement permits Mantzarlis to reply to questions at any time as his schedule permits. ZEBRA FACT CHECK (Sept. 3, 2018) Earlier this year, PolitiFact issued a new statement of principles, including a corrections policy that apparently gives it license to correct all spelling errors without issuing any…
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We sent the following email to PolitiFact Senior Correspondent Louis Jacobson on Sept. 19, 2018 at 11:23 a.m. (EDT): A Sept. 12, 2018 PunditFact story, where you received the writing credit, contains the following line (given bold emphasis) in the section assessing Joe Scarborough’s claim in terms of percentage of GDP: The chart does show that, when looking at a percentage…
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This is a formatted version of an email exchange taking place between Aug. 13, 2018 and Sept. 5, 2018. We have condensed the conversation to focus on the topic, omitting pleasantries and material not clearly offered “on the record.” ZEBRA FACT CHECK (Aug. 13, 2018) Your August 10, 2018 article on the PolitiFact language inventory study misleads in ways…
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Two examples from the past several weeks help solidify our impression that the new journalistic genre of “fact-checking” needs a basic upgrade. In both examples, key principals in the fact-checking industry could not see an error staring them in the face. PolitiFact, Louis Jacobson On Sept. 12, 2018 PolitiFact published a fact check of MSNBC host Joe Scarborough through…
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Our message to PolitiFact pointing out an error in its PunditFact fact from Sept. 12, 2018 resulted in an automated response. We will update this item if we receive additional response from PolitiFact. Message from Zebra Fact Check (Sept. 12, 2018 10:32 p.m. EDT): Dear Truth-O-Meter, A PunditFact fact check published on Sept. 12, 2018 requires correction. The fact check examines the…
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Each month we pose a question to International Fact-Checking Network Director Alexios Mantzarlis. Our arrangement permits Mantzarlis to reply to questions at any time as his schedule permits. ZEBRA FACT CHECK (Aug. 17, 2018) The IFCN has published a review of its first year enforcing its principles. It has also revamped its web presence, including making the rules for compliance with…
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