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In May 2019 we lodged a complaint with the International Fact-Checking Network charging that PolitiFact’s failure to fix a demonstrable error in its reporting helped show PolitiFact’s failure to scrupulously comply with an open and honest corrections policy. We are unsure of the exact date the message was sent to the IFCN. Typically we wait at least a week after…
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On May 13, 2019, Zebra Fact Check sent an email to PolitiFact asking for a correction of a July 19, 2013 fact check in which PolitiFact rated a literally true statement from Republican Dan Stein as “False.” A .pdf version of that email follows:
When people submit a comment through our “Report an Error” form they deserve email confirmation. We found that lacking at the Science Feedback website. And then double-checked to confirm that we have the same problem. We recommend this as standard practice at fact-checking organizations. But it may take us some time figure it out and implement it.
Transcript via YouTube, punctuation added including capitalization. Source video here. Abortion is not medically necessary. And let me explain that really quick because this is one of the biggest lies that the media tells. It is one of the biggest lies and it’s this the fear-mongering that makes good people think “Oh, I guess I have to be pro-choice.” “Oh,…
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Note: See statement of transparency following the article. Science Feedback’s fact check of a pro-life video used poor methods and the IFCN’s review missed it An August 30, 2019 Science Feedback fact check (updated Sept. 3, 2019) ruled “Inaccurate” pro-life advocate Lila Rose’s claim “Abortion is not medically necessary.” Science Feedback’s status as a Facebook fact-checking partner, made possible through…
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Zebra Fact Check judges with high confidence that it sent a complaint about PolitiFact to the International Fact-Checking Network on April 6, 2019. The complaint details a minor research project conducted to estimate PolitiFact’s compliance with its claim that it publishes a page listing all the articles or Truth-O-Meter fact checks it has corrected or updated. Our research showed that…
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On May 10, 2019 Zebra Fact Check sent a complaint to the International Fact-Checking Network offering evidence PolitiFact fails to scrupulously adhere to an honest and open corrections policy. That complaint follows in .pdf format.
On May 3, 2019 Zebra Fact Check requested a correction from PolitiFact on a 2011 “Obameter” story. The text of that message follows in .pdf format.
On May 3, 2019 Zebra Fact Check sent a complaint about PolitiFact to the International Fact-Checking Network. That complaint follows in .pdf format. Correction Sept. 28, 2019: When published, this item said the complaint from Zebra Fact Check was sent on April 3, 2019. That date was wrong. We replaced the incorrect date with the correct date, May 3, 2019.
On April 24, 2019 PolitiFact published a fact check of a claim by Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The fact check ignored a false statement from Sanders and in its conclusion falsely claimed it true that the Vermont Constitution only places one restriction on voters (being of “quiet and peaceable behavior”). Zebra Fact Check sent an email message to PolitiFact…
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