This section of our web guide focuses on fact-checking and fact-checkers.
When the fact-checkers are neutral, they can play a crucial role in verifying information and debunking misinformation.
There is a problem with trust, however. Only half of American adults trust fact-checkers to be unbiased, but that's much higher than the 25% of Americans who trust the mainstream media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. Podcasters enjoy the trust of roughly 40% of the American public, although a podcaster can be one man with a smartphone and an Internet connection.
In the United States, the perceived fairness of fact-checkers is split along political party lines. Roughly 70% of Republicans find fact-checkers to be biased in favor of Democrats on political topics, while nearly 70% of Democrats trust fact-checkers, and 51% of Independents consider them to be trustworthy.
When the fact-checking is done by a mainstream media outlet, trust levels drop considerably.
Nevertheless, fact-checkers are highly influential. Once the mainstream media or the larger social media outlets have fact-checked an issue, they treat it as if it were settled and will severely limit the spread of information that a fact-checker has deemed to be false or deceptive, often to the point of banning the distribution of such information. This is particularly true in the months leading up to an election.
This is unfortunate, as there is a dire need for a truly neutral fact-checker. There was a time when most people read their local newspaper, subscribed to a magazine, or watched the nightly news on television and were reasonably sure that the information they were given was true. It may not have actually been true, even then, but we believed it.
Today, cable news channels broadcast twenty-four hours a day, every day, with nearly every traditional news source available on the Internet, where thousands of new news sources compete for our attention.
In pursuit of truth in a cacophony of fake news and alternative facts, some of which are propagated by people interested only in maximizing clicks or advancing an agenda, it would be truly helpful to be able to turn to an unbiased fact-checker.
There are different types of fact-checkers. There are professional organizations that specialize in fact-checking and assessing claims, statements, and news articles in order to determine their accuracy.
Some news organizations employ fact-checking teams to verify the information before publishing it in their news reports.
Some of the larger social media platforms integrate fact-checking features to flag, label, or even ban potentially false content, or to provide context.
In recent years, artificial intelligence tools have been employed to analyze large volumes of data to identify false claims. While they can quickly process information, they are restricted to what is made available to them, and they may lack human judgment.
Some fact-checking is crowdsourced, in which online communities collectively verify information.
When the topic being fact-checked doesn't have political implications, fact-checkers can help you dig through the garbage in search of the truth. However, the jury is out, and may not be coming back when it comes to high-stakes political issues.
Distrust of the American media is not a new development. In an 1807 letter, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to the truth that he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false."
Given this longstanding distrust of the media, there is certainly a place for an unbiased observer who could sort out the truths from the lies.
Unfortunately, most Republicans don't believe they can trust the fact-checkers, and the fact that Democrats like them serves only to verify the Democrat bias that Republicans suspect. Conversely, any fact-checker that enjoyed greater trust from Republicans would be distrusted by Democrats.
Some are better than others, and the one you choose will probably speak to your own biases.
While it seems that there would be a large demand for a truly unbiased fact-checking service, I don't know that it's being met by anyone. It would have to be funded somehow, which would likely introduce the bias. If not through that avenue, it would find its way in through basic human bias.
Recommended Resources
The media watchdog, a public-benefit corporation based in Colorado, is known for its Media Bias Chart, which rates media outlets regarding political bias and reliability. Founded in 2018, Ad Fontes Media evaluates articles for the Media Bias Chart using a panel of analysts across the political spectrum. Claiming to be non-partisan, the chart rates media sources on two scales: political bias (left to right) on the horizontal axis and reliability on the vertical axis.
https://adfontesmedia.com/
With offices in Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lago, Dakar, and London, Africa Check produces reports in English and French and tests claims made by public figures, institutions, and the media against the best available evidence. Launched in 2012, Africa Check is a non-profit fact-checking organization designed to promote accuracy in African public debate and media. Patterned after FactCheck and PolitiFact, it was the first site in South Africa to focus on fact-checking.
https://africacheck.org/
Founded in 2018, Bot Sentinel is a Twitter analytics service that tracks disinformation, inauthentic behavior, and targeted harassment on Twitter. According to its founder, Christopher Bouzy, the goal was for Twitter users to be able to engage in online discourse without inauthentic accounts, toxic trolls, foreign countries, and organized groups manipulating the conversation. In particular, the founder was upset because he believed Twitter was advancing President Trump's campaign in 2020.
https://botsentinel.com/
A for-profit subsidiary of The Daily Caller, Check Your Fact is a fact-checking website that was approved by Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to become a fact-checking partner of Facebook in 2019. The site is independent of The Daily Caller and has its own staff, although it is funded by The Daily Caller's general news budget. According to its About page, its job is to "independently fact-check statements by influencers, as well as reporting by other news outlets."
https://checkyourfact.com/
CF is a web-based content annotation tool that allows qualified scientists to comment on stories online, adding context and noting perceived inaccuracies. CF asks climate scientists to assess the credibility and accuracy of media stories related to climate change, using a model that could be described as expert crowdsourcing. Facebook uses its reviews in its "fact-checking" partnership to identify "false" news articles found in the Facebook news feed. Article reviews can be viewed on the site.
https://climatefeedback.org/
Digital Forensics, Research and Analytics Center
DFRAC is an Indian non-profit fact-checking website that presents itself as a nonpartisan and independent media organization. It focuses on fact-checking and identifying hate speech, which is speech that attacks a person or group based on their race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender. Its "Hate Monitor" is a separate section of the website, which provides information on its team, policies, resources, and contact information.
https://dfrac.org/en/
The non-profit website's stated aim is to reduce the level of deception and confusion in United States politics by providing original research on misinformation and hoaxes. A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, the website is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation. Its content consists primarily of rebuttals of inaccurate, misleading, or false claims made by politicians.
https://www.factcheck.org/
Factinsect uses sophisticated AI to check the credibility of the content. The fully automated tool compares text content with information from selected, trustworthy sources. It uses a traffic light system to provide users with a clear indication of the credibility of information at a single glance within a few seconds. Green means that a trusted source has confirmed the information, red means that the text contradicts information from a trustworthy site and gray means there are no clear results.
https://factinsect.com/
The Ferret is an independent, non-profit media cooperative in Scotland that investigates stories in the public interest. Launched in 2015, It was initially funded through a crowdfunding appeal. In 2017, the cooperative started a fact-checking service that is currently the only fact-checking project in Scotland that is independently assessed as meeting the International Fact Checking Network Code of Principles. Its subscription options and fees are posted on the website.
https://theferret.scot/
The British charity, based in London, checks and corrects facts reported in the news and claims circulated on social media. After two requests were rejected, charitable status was granted in 2014, and in 2017, the International Fact-Checking Network certified Full Fact as a fact-checker. The site sets forth its team, independent status, contacts, and a profile of the organization and its services. Human fact-checkers find, check, and challenge false claims identified by its AI-enabled software.
https://fullfact.org/
Relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze online communities and identify coordinated operations, the American social media network analysis company tracks online disinformation, and works with Google, Facebook, and Twitter, for whom it provides intelligence. Its products, including ATLAS, TELESCOPE, and Advanced R&D, are features, along with its solutions, research, insights, clients, team, and research partners. Demo versions may be requested.
https://graphika.com/
Based in Brighton, England, with offices in London, Mysore, Bangalore, and Virginia, Logically is a British multinational technology startup company that specializes in analyzing and fighting disinformation. Launched through an MIT grant, the company first operated solely from Britain and was certified as a fact-checker by the International Fact-Checking Network in 2020. Its clients have included the UK government and Facebook. A demo can be requested.
https://www.logically.ai/
MBFC is a US-based website that uses four main categories and multiple subcategories to assess the "political bias" and "factual reporting" of media outlets. Although widely used, its methodology has been criticized. The four main categories are wording and headlines, fact-checking and sourcing, choice of stories, and political affiliation. The website also considers subcategories such as bias by omission, bias by source selection, and loaded use of language.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/
Born in 1967, Mick West is a British-American science writer, skeptical investigator, and retired video game programmer. He investigates and debunks pseudoscientific claims and conspiracy theories, such as chemtrails, UFOs, flat earth theories, 9/11 controlled demolition theories, and false flags. He has created several websites, written books and articles for various publications, and appeared in various media outlets and conferences. A blog and forum are available.
https://mickwest.com/
Operated by the Poynter Institute, PolitiiFact is an American non-profit that began as a project of the Tampa Bay Times (then St. Petersburg Times). Reporters and editors from the newspaper reported on the accuracy of statements made by elected officials, candidates, their staffs, lobbyists, and special interest groups. The site also monitors the progress elected officials make on their campaign promises. It has been criticized for trying to fact-check statements that cannot be fact-checked.
https://www.politifact.com/
Produced by Voice of America, the fact-checking website documents Russian disinformation and state-backed propaganda by the Chinese government. The site began in 2016 when Radio Free Europe funded a three-person team at Polygraph Info until 2017. As of 2020, the project employed five people and was managed by Voice of America. A partner site in the Russian language, Factograph Info, is a joint project of Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, and Voice of America.
https://www.polygraph.info/
Started in 2010, Quote Investigator fact-checks the reported origins of widely circulated quotations. The site records the investigatory work of Garson O'Toole, who diligently seeks the truth about quotations. The site has been cited by journalists and writers from several mainstream newspapers, magazines, and television news sources. Queries can be entered into the site's search box or through the Google search engine by adding a site restriction to the query.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/
Originally known as the Urban Legends Reference Pages, Snopes is a self-described fact-checking website that has been viewed as a source for validating and debunking urban legends and similar stories in American popular culture. However, in its "fact-checking of political stories or claims, it has often been accused of having a liberal bias; of course, not everyone agrees. In non-political issues, the site is generally well-regarded, however. Rumors may be submitted for fact-checking.
https://www.snopes.com/
A project of the Ukrainian media non-governmental organization (NGO), "Media Reforms Center," StopFake has the stated purpose of refuting Russian propaganda and fake news. Founded as a volunteer effort in 2014, it has paid employees by 2017 and is largely funded by grants. In 2020, it signed an agreement with the National TV and Radio Council on cooperation in monitoring and analyzing disinformation. Videos and research data are provided, along with other resources.
https://www.stopfake.org/en/main/
The fact-checking website, which has been online since 1999, generally focuses on urban legends, Internet rumors, and other questionable stories or photographs. The site's staff researches topics and rates them "Truth" if they are deemed to be true or "Fiction" if they are found to be false. Partly true stories are rated "Truth & Fiction," "Truth But Inaccurate Details," or similarly. Fact checks are sorted into categories for Viral Content, Politics, Disinformation, and Entertainment.
https://www.truthorfiction.com/
