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FactCheck.org

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FactCheck.org
Available inEnglish
OwnerAnnenberg Public Policy Center
URLfactcheck.org
CommercialNo
LaunchedDecember 2003;20 years ago(2003-12)

FactCheck.orgis a nonprofit[1]website that aims to reduce the level ofdeceptionand confusion inU.S. politicsby providing original research onmisinformationandhoaxes.[2]It is a project of theAnnenberg Public Policy Centerof theAnnenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania,and is funded primarily by theAnnenberg Foundation.[2]

Kathleen Hall Jamieson's 1993 bookDirty Politics,in which she criticized the presidential campaigns ofGeorge H. W. BushandMichael Dukakisin 1988, provided the idea for FactCheck.org.[3]

Most of its content consists of rebuttals to inaccurate,misleading,or false claims made by politicians. FactCheck.org has also targetedmisinformationfrom variouspolitical action committees.Other features include:

  • Ask FactCheck:[4]users can ask questions that are usually based on an online rumor.
  • Viral Spiral:[5]a page dedicated to the most popular online myths that the site has debunked. It clarifies the answer as well as links readers to a full article on the subject.
  • Party Lines:[6]talking points that have been repeatedly used by multiple members of a political party.
  • Mailbag:[7]page for readers' sent letters and praise or disapproval of something said on the site.

History

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FactCheck.org was launched in December 2003 by Brooks Jackson, a formerAssociated Press,Wall Street Journal,andCNNreporter who had covered Washington and national politics since 1970.[8]As a special assignment correspondent at CNN during the 1992 political campaign season, Jackson became well known for his "Ad Police" reports, which monitored candidates' advertising and financing strategies throughout the campaign.[9]In 2003,Kathleen Hall Jamiesonof the Annenberg Public Policy Center approached Jackson about forming FactCheck.org,[10]and the site was online in December of that year.

In 2007,UnSpunwas published. This book was co-written by Brooks Jackson, the director emeritus of Factcheck.org and by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. It teaches readers how to be aware of the deceptions, or "spin", that is commonly used in media and by politicians.[11]

In January 2013, Jackson stepped down as director of FactCheck.org. He now holds the title of director emeritus. Eugene Kiely, a former reporter and editor atThe Record(ofHackensack, New Jersey),The Philadelphia InquirerandUSA Today,is now the site's director. FactCheck.org employs a staff of four full-time journalists, and offers yearly fellowships to undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania.[12]

In 2019, Factcheck.org celebrated its 15th anniversary.[3]

2004 vice-presidential debate

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FactCheck.org became a focus of political commentary following the2004 vice-presidential debatebetweenDick CheneyandJohn Edwards.Cheney cited the website, claiming that the independent site defended his actions while CEO ofHalliburton.Cheney's claim was disputed by FactCheck.org as wrong, saying that "Edwards was mostly right" when talking about "Cheney's responsibility for earlier Halliburton troubles".[13]

Cheney's reference created some controversy because he incorrectly cited the web site's address as "FactCheck.com."At the time of the debate, factcheck.com was controlled byFrank Schilling'scompany Name Administration Inc., who quickly redirected the address to point to an anti-Bush website owned by Bush criticGeorge Soros.[14]

2012 presidential election

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FactCheck.org also became a focus of national attention in the summer of 2012, during the presidential race between incumbent DemocratBarack Obamaand GOP challengerMitt Romney.The Obama campaign ran a TV ad accusing Romney of involvement in the outsourcing of American jobs overseas byBain Capital,the venture capital firm that he had founded in 1984.[15]FactCheck.org ruled this ad to be false, claiming that the acts of outsourcing occurred after Romney had left the company to head the2002 Winter OlympicsinSalt Lake City.[16]In response, the Obama campaign contested FactCheck.org's ruling in a six-page letter that was distributed to major news corporations, holding that Romney still retained responsibility for the company's actions.[17]

2016 presidential election

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Since November 2014, FactCheck.org has published twenty-eight pages of articles checking the facts on the many2016 presidentialcandidates.[18]As of April 2016, the five remaining candidates had dedicated archives to their fact-checked claims.

In 2016, FactCheck.org became a fact-checking partner ofFacebook.[3][19]

The findings of thefact checkingprocess can be seen publicly and have been broken down.[20]

Awards and recognition

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The site has gained recognition and won numerous awards for its contributions to political journalism. In 2004,Timemagazine named FactCheck.org as one of the "50 best websites 2004".[21]In 2006,Timemagazine named FactCheck.org one of the "25 Sites We Can't Live Without."[22]In 2008,PC Magazinecalled it one of the "20 Best Political Websites."[23]In 2009, theAssociation for Women in Communicationsawarded FactCheck.org the Clarion Awards.[3]In 2010, FactCheck.org won the Delta-Chi-Price of theSociety of Professional Journalists.[3]

Between 2008 and 2012, the site won fourWebby Awardsin the Politics category, in 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012; as well as four People's Voice Awards in Politics, in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012.[24]FactCheck.org also won a 2010Sigma Delta Chi Awardfrom theSociety of Professional Journalistsfor reporting on deceptive claims made about the federal health care legislation.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Hartlaub, Peter (October 24, 2004)."Web sites help gauge the veracity of claims; Online resources check ads, rumors".San Francisco Chronicle.p. A1.RetrievedMarch 18,2009.
  2. ^ab"About".FactCheck.org. Archived fromthe originalon June 17, 2009.RetrievedJune 7,2009.
  3. ^abcde"FactCheck.org: Celebrating 15 years of Holding Politicians Accountable".University of Pennsylvania.February 19, 2019.RetrievedAugust 31,2020.
  4. ^http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/;Retrieved on December 9, 2013.
  5. ^"Don't get spun by internet rumors".www.factcheck.org.RetrievedDecember 9,2019.
  6. ^"Party Lines Archives".www.factcheck.org.RetrievedDecember 9,2019.
  7. ^"FactCheck Mailbag Archives".www.factcheck.org.RetrievedDecember 9,2019.
  8. ^"Is This a Great Job or What?".FactCheck.org. December 5, 2003.RetrievedApril 25,2013.
  9. ^"Brooks Jackson".CNN.RetrievedApril 25,2013.
  10. ^"UnSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation".The Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania. 2007.RetrievedAugust 23,2016.
  11. ^Jackson, B., & Jamieson, K. H. (2007). unSpun: finding facts in a world of disinformation. Random House Digital, Inc.
  12. ^"About".factcheck.org. Archived fromthe originalon April 20, 2013.RetrievedApril 25,2013.
  13. ^"Cheney & Edwards Mangle Facts".Factcheck.org. October 6, 2004. Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 10,2010.
  14. ^Milbank, Dana (October 7, 2004)."Urging Fact-Checking, Cheney Got Site Wrong".Washington Post.p. A08.
  15. ^"Come and Go".RetrievedApril 25,2013.
  16. ^"Obama's Outsourcer Overreach".factcheck.org. June 29, 2012.RetrievedApril 25,2013.
  17. ^"Obama to FactCheck.org:" Drop Dead "".POLITICO. July 3, 2012.RetrievedApril 25,2013.
  18. ^"Presidential Election 2016".www.factcheck.org.RetrievedApril 1,2016.
  19. ^"FactCheck.org exposed Snopes.com as an extremely liberal propaganda site with an agenda to discredit anything that appears to be conservative".PolitiFact.June 7, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 12,2020.
  20. ^"Presidential Election 2016 Archives".FactCheck.org.RetrievedNovember 29,2021.
  21. ^"50 Best Websites of 2004".Time.August 23, 2004.RetrievedSeptember 9,2020.
  22. ^"25 Sites We Can't Live Without".Time. August 3, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon August 23, 2013.RetrievedApril 25,2013.
  23. ^"The 20 Best Political Web Sites".PC Mag. August 28, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon May 29, 2013.RetrievedApril 25,2013.
  24. ^"Politics".The Webby Awards. Archived fromthe originalon April 6, 2013.RetrievedApril 25,2013.
  25. ^"2010 Sigma Delta Chi Award Honorees".Society of Professional Journalists.RetrievedApril 25,2013.
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