An independent experimental fact-checking site, exploring and advocating ways to make fact-checking better.
AI-assisted fact checker published an inexcusably inept fact check on fetal pain Do fetuses experience pain during an abortion? Zebra Fact Check occasionally spot checks “verified” signatories of the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. Our evidence strongly suggests the IFCN so far cannot begin to deliver on its claims that it verifies compliance with its code. Also, our evidence…
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Zebra Fact Check prefers transparency, but we pledged not to publish without explicit permission one email address that isn’t published to the public at the Poynter.com website.
As we have noted in past posts, Zebra Fact Check has moved to focus more on fact-checking accountability than on doing our own program of fact-checking. Of course this altered focus affords many opportunities to check facts. As it stands, there exists no entity dedicated to holding fact-checkers accountable. The International Fact-Checking Network advertises itself in that role, but that…
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The title says it all, given that we’re posting a commentary article about this particular complaint.
PolitiFact rated an obviously false statement “Mostly True” with a July 24, 2023 fact check of Vice President Kamala Harris. Accordingly, we submitted a correction request pointing out some of the ways PolitiFact botched the fact check. Correction July 28, 2023: Original title was off by about 20 years on the date of the correction request. Now correctly reads 2023.
On July 24, 2023 PolitiFact published a supposed fact check of Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris claimed “(T)hey (Florida) decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefitted from slavery.” PolitiFact rated Harris’ claim “Mostly True” on its trademarked “Truth-O-Meter.” Doubtless DEI directors and Democrats will largely cheer the ruling. We’ll explain how PolitiFact botched the ruling in…
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Zebra Fact Check had reason in July to submit a correction to Snopes.com, again “verified” as a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network’s statement of principles. We found the process needlessly difficult. In fact, we referred to the IFCN’s most recent assessment of Snopes, by Margot Susca, to figure out how to submit our correction request. Before resorting to reliance…
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In a December 2022 fact check, Snopes.com claimed PolitiFact debunked the claim that a diary for a time in the possession of Project Veritas was authentic. That claim was false. We know the diary is authentic even if alleged contents of the diary have not been confirmed. PolitiFact’s fact check “debunked” claims about the contents of the diary, not the…
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