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FactCheck.org reported a false number representing the number of Americans killed during World War II, omitting from its total civilian casualties. Zebra Fact Check sent a correction request on Jan. 30, 2021.
On Jan. 28, 2021 Zebra Fact Check sent a correction request to PolitiFact. We noticed PolitiFact described a 300 million hoped-for future supply of coronavirus vaccine as 300. PolitiFact issued a correction, though with less transparency than we hoped. Find more details in a post at PolitiFact Bias.
On Jan. 19, 2021, Zebra Fact Check again asked the International Fact-Checking Network to explain the verification status for the fact-checking organization PolitiFact. PolitiFact’s annual verification expired June 20, 2020. The IFCN ordinarily allows a three-month grace period for renewal. The three-month grace period expired Sept. 20, 2020. In 2020 the IFCN also allowed for longer grace periods to counter…
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On Dec. 18, 2020 Zebra Fact Check submitted a new complaint about the mainstream fact checker PolitiFact to the International Fact-Checking Network. PolitiFact and the IFCN are both owned by the nonprofit Poynter Institute. In a nutshell, the complaint points toward a long-running study of PolitiFact’s subjective application of its “Pants on Fire” rating as evidence PolitiFact does not exhibit…
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The International Fact-Checking Network allowed its stable of verified fact-checking organizations an extended period to complete their renewal process, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The normal window for renewal is three months. The IFCN, so far as we are aware, has established no limit on the extended grace period. The IFCN has, however, invited the public to ask the IFCN…
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After PolitiFact made a false claim in its Oct. 7, 2020 article on the Pence-Harris vice presidential debate, Zebra Fact Check sent PolitiFact a correction request.
After garnering no reply to our outreach attempt on Aug. 28, 2020, Zebra Fact Check sent a follow-up email asking the same questions but with an updated subject header.
The complaint Zebra Fact Check submitted to the International Fact-Checking Network regarding the Washington Post Fact Checker failed to receive any mention at all in the IFCN’s 2020 assessment of the Fact Checker. Zebra Fact Check reached out to the IFCN to ask for an explanation.
After failing to obtain comment from two earlier inquiries to the Poynter Institute, Zebra Fact Check reached out to Poynter’s editor Ren LaForme. LaForme holds the post occupied by Julie Moos when Poynter dealt with a controversy in 2011 over Jim Romenesko’s method of attribution.
Zebra Fact Check emailed the Poynter Institute on July 6, 2020 as part of a continued effort to obtain comment about an unclear attribution in the “Factually” newsletter Poynter publishes jointly with the American Press Institute.