Tag Archive: PolitiFact
Correction request sent to PolitiFact, Feb. 8, 2022

PolitiFact’s Jan. 28, 2022 fact check of a claim by Fox News’ Sean Hannity mistakenly rated his claim as though it used an “or” conditional instead of an “and” conditional. The resulting conclusion (“False”) flew in the face of logic. We noticed a fair amount of pushback against PolitiFact’s conclusion on Twitter, but after PolitiFact spent days making no move…
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Complaint to the International Fact-Checking Network about PolitiFact, Jan. 21, 2022

On Jan. 21, 2022, after PolitiFact declined to act in response to our Jan. 14, 2022 correction request, we sent this formal complaint to the International Fact-Checking Network, noting on the complaint form that PolitiFact’s inaction breached its pledge to “scrupulously” adhere to an open and honest policy on corrections. Updated a few minutes after publication to add the date…
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PolitiFact’s misleading ‘Truth-O-Meter’ explainer

We saw something funny on PolitiFact’s Facebook page the other day. It was a video purporting to answer questions about PolitiFact’s trademarked “Truth-O-Meter” system for rating the relative truth of political statements. We would count the explanatory video as an unmitigated disaster. Much of PolitiFact’s video deserves critical commentary. We invite readers to watch the embedded video via YouTube before…
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Do U.S. fossil fuel power plants kill millions of birds annually?

The go-to paper on avian mortality from power plant operation has little to back its conclusions about plants using fossil fuels, and fact checkers struggle to describe it correctly. A funny thing happened when media fact checker PolitiFact looked into the question of birds killed by fossil fuel-burning power plants. PolitiFact either neglected to check the facts or neglected to…
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Google search finds IFCN complaints at poynter.org

On or about June 21, 2021, a Google search discovered a complaint we had submitted to the International Fact-Checking Network about PolitiFact. We’ve lobbied the IFCN for years to encourage it to adopt a more open policy with its system of complaints. We’d prefer for the public to have free access to all the complaints the IFCN receives about its…
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Complaint to the International Fact-Checking Network about PolitiFact, Feb. 28, 2021

When PolitiFact failed to respond to Zebra Fact Check’s Feb. 22, 2021 correction request, we sent a formal complaint to the International Fact-Checking Network. We called PolitiFact’s failure to correct its mistake a violation of its commitment to scrupulously follow an open and honest corrections policy.
Complaint to the International Fact-Checking Network about PolitiFact, Oct. 20, 2020

On Oct. 20, 2020, Zebra Fact Check noted no change made by PolitiFact pursuant to our Oct. 13, 2020 correction request. Accordingly, we submitted a formal complaint to the International Fact-Checking Network. We charged that PolitiFact failed to exhibit an open and honest corrections policy as stipulated in the IFCN Code of Principles.
Complaint to the International Fact-Checking Network about PolitiFact, May 26, 2020

On May 26, 2020 Zebra Fact Check followed up on its correction request submitted to PolitiFact by lodging a formal complaint about PolitiFact to the International Fact-Checking Network. The complaint suggests that PolitiFact’s failure to abide by its own principles for purposes of a Truth-O-Meter rating fail the IFCN Code of Principles on the issue of fairness. Further, PolitiFact’s failure…
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Complaint to the International Fact-Checking Network about PolitiFact, Dec. 23, 2020

Following up on PolitiFact’s failure to correct in response to our July 2020 correction request, Zebra Fact Check lodged a formal complaint with the International Fact-Checking Network on Dec. 23, 2020. The complaint suggests PolitiFact fails to follow an open and honest corrections policy in its refusal to fix an obvious error.