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After Zebra Fact Check received a message from the International Fact-Checking Network’s outside assessor, Michael Wagner, describing the flawed reasoning he used to dismiss our complaints to the IFCN about PolitiFact, we contacted IFCN Director Baybars Orsek to ask for confirmation that what Wagner sent us was the same reasoning he sent to the IFCN. This email exchange also marks…
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In January 2020 we renewed our efforts to obtain a reply from the International Fact-Checking Network or the Poynter Institute addressing various problems with the IFCN’s efforts to ensure fact checker accountability. We hoped inquiring after the various holidays might find IFCN or Poynter officials less busy and more likely to respond. We obtained automated replies from Poynter Institute President…
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Following up on a lack of response from the International Fact-Checking Network regarding our inquiries, we phoned the Poynter Institute to try coaxing an official response either from the IFCN or its parent organization. Zebra Fact Check’s phone call was transferred to the office of the Neil Brown, president of the Poynter Institute. We left a phone message and then…
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Lack of response from the International Fact-Checking Network led Zebra Fact Check to seek answers and accountability from the Poynter Institute, which hosts and effectively owns the IFCN. This post includes our email outreach to the Poynter Institute as well as Poynter’s automated reply promising a response to inquiry within one business day.
On March 3, 2020 Zebra Fact Check took note of a number of major errors in a PolitiFact Wisconsin fact check published on Feb. 28, 2020. After trying to bring PolitiFact Wisconsin’s attention to the mistakes on Twitter, we sent a request for major corrections to [email protected]. That email message follows in .pdf format. We will update this item if…
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On Sept. 2, 2019 Zebra Fact Check contacted PolitiFact at [email protected] to point out problems with a Sept. 1, 2019 fact check published by PolitiFact Illinois. The fact check checked a claim other than the claim made by Democrat Sean Casten. Note: We have not yet sent to the IFCN as an example of PolitiFact failing to adhere to an…
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After confirming that the IFCN’s outside assessor responsible for PolitiFact’s 2019 IFCN verification renewal had not received complaints submitted to the IFCN about PolitiFact, we reached out to the International Fact-Checking Network to find out more information and try to resolve the problem. The email exchange with PolitiFact Director Baybars Örsek spans about two months. Find a .pdf version of…
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Editor’s note: This post was scheduled to publish at 8:01 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2019. A malfunction kept the post from publishing. Working to address the problem resulted in it publishing at 11:05 a.m. but with the 8:01 a.m. time stamp. We then immediately added this note and corrected the time stamp. On Oct. 21, 2019 Zebra Fact Check sent…
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We have transcribed parts of two segments of a David Plouffe podcast (alternative link) featuring a Hillary Clinton interview. The segments provide critical context for a fact check conducted by fact-checking organization Lead Stories. We cite fair use as our justification for producing these transcripts. The transcripts are tagged as resource pages and are not set for indexing by search…
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On Aug. 21, 2019 Zebra Fact Check reached out to PolitiFact regarding flawed reporting in an Aug. 20, 2019 fact check published by PolitiFact Wisconsin. The text of the email follows in .pdf format.