Commentary

PolitiFact stands pat with misleading Bush v. Gore narrative

PolitiFact published an explainer of the Trump ballot removal case before the Supreme Court. The Feb. 8, 2024 article had what we consider an ambiguous description of the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore from 2000: The last time the Supreme Court played such a pivotal role in the presidential race was in 2000, when the justices ruled 5-4 to…
Read more

Review: ‘Bias in Fact Checking?: An Analysis of Partisan Trends Using PolitiFact Data’

Zebra Fact Check logo

An Honors Thesis by a Duke University economics student recently came to my attention. Writing in 2023, Thomas A. Colicchio mathematically analyzed PolitiFact “Truth-O-Meter” ratings in an attempt to objectively measure bias. We found an error in his approach that renders a portion of his findings effectively moot. As for the rest, it helps build the case against PolitiFact’s supposed…
Read more

What is a “small error” at PolitiFact?

Jeff D, the co-creator of the “PolitiFact Bias” website, and I have often joked that PolitiFact’s principles are more like guidelines than actual rules. That’s a reference to a classic line from Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean,” about the so-called “pirate’s code.” And so it is with PolitiFact’s principles. PolitiFact’s corrections policy offers it an easy out from its responsibility…
Read more

ZFC on Medium (2016): ‘Fact Check This, Bill Adair’

Zebra Fact Check logo

Back in 2016 I used the Medium platform to skewer Bill Adair’s errant view of fact-checking. Bill Adair is the founder of PolitiFact and after PolitiFact was elevated to journalistic sainthood with a position at Duke University. My article, titled “Fact Check This, Bill Adair,” pointed out that bias is irrelevant to fact-checking if the fact check gets the facts…
Read more

The secret slanders of the International Fact-Checking Network

How the International Fact-Checking Network can act so hypocritically mystifies me. This organization espousing high ethics and transparency routinely hides what it does and fibs about stuff. Allow me to describe the example that set me off today. On Oct. 13, 2023, Zebra Fact Check sent a formal complaint about PolitiFact to the International Fact-Checking Network. PolitiFact had dinged Gov….
Read more

More fetal pain follies at LogicallyAI (“Logically Facts”)

As detailed in our Aug. 24, 2023 post “Fetal pain follies at Logically AI,” Zebra Fact Check submitted a correction request to “Logically Facts,” the fact-checking arm of LogicallyAI. Though “Logically Facts” promises a response to any complaint within 48 hours, to date Zebra Fact Check has heard nothing back, though we found the fact checker “revised” its fact check…
Read more

Fetal pain follies at LogicallyAI (Updated)

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…
Read more

The battle to nudge the International Fact-Checking Network toward transparency and accountability

Zebra Fact Check logo

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…
Read more

PolitiFact ‘Mostly’ endorses Kamala Harris falsehood about Florida’s Black history standards (Updated)

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…
Read more

Evaluating the corrections process at Snopes.com (Updated)

Zebra Fact Check logo

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…
Read more