PolitiFact’s roster of state affiliates was always something of a rotation. But PolitiFact Wisconsin was a major contributor to PolitiFact’s story volume until recent years, and it looks like it may have finally reached the end of the line.
We were scanning PolitiFact’s list of contributors to gauge the strength of its affiliate operations and failed to recognize the typical Wisconsin bylines. PolitiFact Wisconsin remains on PolitiFact’s list of affiliates, but the most recent story with the Wisconsin tag was from August 15, 2025. PolitiFact Wisconsin was credited with 18 stories in 2025, albeit bylines from Amy Sherman and Ciara O’Rourke hint at PolitiFact National seeding the output.
We credit PolitiFact Wisconsin with providing some of the statistical confirmation that bias affects PolitiFact’s average ratings. Early PolitiFact Wisconsin was tilted against Democrats for some reason in the early years.
These days, with the contributions from all PolitiFact franchises reduced to a collective trickle, the editorial voice of the “Truth-O-Meter” PolitiFact National “Star Chamber” (their term) reigns about as supremely as it did in 2007-2008 before PolitiFact welcomed its first franchise to the fold.
Still, the franchises let the cat out of the bag. Different “star chambers” produce different statistical trends.
RIP PolitiFact Wisconsin. Probably.