Folks, I just want news I can trust. As I’ve been saying, the press should be the immune system of democracy, and needs to fulfill that role again. With the Internet, everyone can be their own journalist now. It’s become increasingly difficult to find news that comes from a trustworthy press.
Factchecking efforts only have value, it’s felt, if:
- Misinformation is corrected, in a way that doesn’t reinforce the lie.
- Any involved news outlets are encouraged to avoid promoting misinformation.
- Regular people, the broad citizenry, have the means to easily help media correct misinformation and encourage news outlets to restore factchecking.
My team and I compiled a list of 4 factchecking sites that are the real deal (in no particular order, and please note that none are perfect, and sometimes their calls are called into question):
- FlackCheck.org, brought to you by the folks at factcheck.org – FlackCheck.org provides resources designed to help viewers recognize flaws in arguments in general and political ads in particular.
- Politifact, a project of the Tampa Bay Times to help you find the truth in American politics.
- Sunlight Foundation – Sunlight uses the power of the Internet to catalyze greater government openness and transparency.
- Poynter. – Poynter is a school that exists to ensure that our communities have access to excellent journalism—the kind of journalism that enables us to participate fully and effectively in our democracy.
What sites do you follow because they’re the most ethical and trustworthy? More to come…
Craig Connects 
Check out ProPublica
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Beware of PolitiFact – they were setup by the *conservative* Tampa Bay paper as a *response* to factcheck.org – they have a VERY poor track record. I’d be happy to cite examples, if you want…
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Poynter and politifact are the same organization.
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It’s the granddaddy of fact check websites and still a damn good one: Snopes.com
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This is one of the most leading fact checkers. They have a political agenda and word-smith any negatives issues involving their liberal supporters/owners. If you want to determine the politics of a service just ask the same question to each then do the research and you will determine exactly who they are owned and operated by. I’m really ashamed of the manner in which snopes attempts to cover the liEs of our political elietest.
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Have the funding sources for those sites been checked? There’s an inherent bias based on how a group is funded.
This could come in handy: http://secretaryofinnovation.com/2014/04/18/top-10-truth-discernment-tips/
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Was just thinking, people need to do their own fact checking. I don’t know anyone else I can trust to do it for me. 🙂
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I use your site and ProPublica. I am now looking into Sunlight Foundation.
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One to avoid: The Washington Post’s “Fact Checker” column by Glenn Kessler. Economic ignorance is only the first of the many sins that can be laid at his feet.
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