An independent experimental fact-checking site, exploring and advocating ways to make fact-checking better.
Our switch to WestHost servers was a tad bumpier than we hoped, but nearly all the issues have been resolved and we have finally added a security certificate (SSL). As a result, comment forms and the soon-to-return $upport button will have secure (encrypted) connections. The server issues, among other things, have sapped the amount of time we’ve been able to…
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In late 2016 the International Fact-Checking Network issued a statement of principles held in common by its members.* Today we looked at the IFCN’s methods for evaluating compliance with its code of principles. Our examination of the process, as it is described, left us with concerns. In particular, the methods the IFCN chose to help ensure compliance with its statement…
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After we posted our critique of Aaron Huertas’ evidence backing his claim about a Florida government gag order on discussion of climate change, Huertas contacted us to let us know he annotated the article on the Genius website. Though Huertas’ response failed in answering the meat of our criticism, he found two mistakes that we hasten to correct. Moreover, reviewing…
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Note (Dec. 29, 2016): We have updated this item in response to a critique from Aaron Huertas, the main target of our criticism. Find a description of the changes as well as the original version of the article here. Did Florida’s state government issue a gag order stopping state employees from discussing climate change? A Dec. 22, 2016 article published…
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On July 29, 2016, we fact checked PolitiFact California’s ruling finding it “True” that Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence once advocated diverting federal money from AIDS care efforts toward gay “conversion therapy.” On Dec. 2, 2016 PolitiFact California changed its ruling to “Half True.” As with Snopes.com’s “Mixture” rating of the claim about Pence and conversion therapy, we regard…
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If it’s about Trump it’s too good to check? Fact checkers in 2016 (not to mention 2015) showed a tendency to take vague statements from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and upgrade those statements via interpretation into relatively clear statements. On December 2, 2016 a new PolitiFact story led us indirectly to a great example of this tendency. Lauren Carroll’s…
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“Donald Trump has repeatedly said he is OK with more countries having nukes.” —Headline from LA Times fact check, Oct. 4, 2016 “Donald Trump wrongly tweets that he ‘never said’ more countries should have nuclear weapons.” —Headline from PolitiFact fact check of Donald Trump, Nov. 14, 2016 Summary Does Donald Trump favor nuclear proliferation? Saying a nation…
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“Mike Pence once supported the use of federal funding to treat people ‘seeking to change their sexual behavior.’” —Snopes.com, from a fact check published on Oct. 27, 2016 Overview Snopes’ fact check does too much to leave legs on a legless claim about Pence supporting the use of federal funds for gay “conversion therapy.” Background Facts Republican vice…
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Our hosting service very recently had an hours-long problem with our server, resulting in an extended down time. We apologize for the inconvenience to those who tried to visit the site during that time.
In the past month, two pollsters have collected data about how much the public trusts fact-checking. Rasmussen Reports On Sept. 30, 2016, Rasmussen Reports surveyed likely voters and found a low level of trust in media fact-checking: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that just 29% of all Likely U.S. Voters trust media fact-checking of candidates’…
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