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| URL | http://www.factcheck.org/ |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | no |
| Available language(s) | English |
FactCheck.org is a non-partisan,[1] nonprofit[2] website that describes itself as a "'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics."[3] It is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.[3]
Most of its content consists of rebuttals to what it considers inaccurate, misleading, or false claims by politicians. FactCheck has also targeted misleading claims from various partisan groups.
Contents |
Topic in the 2004 Vice-presidential debate
FactCheck.org became a focus of political commentary following the 2004 vice-presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards. Cheney cited the website, claiming that the independent site defended his actions while CEO of Halliburton.
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 by Frank Schilling's company Name Administration Inc., who quickly redirected the address to point to an anti-Bush website owned by Bush critic George Soros.[4]
NRA
On September 22, 2008, Factcheck.org issued a report entitled "NRA Targets Obama"[5] which discussed television spots and mailers circulated by the National Rifle Association. Factcheck.org concluded that the NRA had "distort[ed] Obama's position on gun control beyond recognition".
In response, NRA member David Kopel published an online article entitled "FactCheck flubs Obama gun fact check". Kopel offered a detailed critique of the Factcheck.org piece, concluding that "The September 22, 2008, FactCheck on the NRA criticism of Obama is marred by the omission of crucial facts, one-sided and misleading presentations of issues, and thinly-concealed political advocacy".[6]
FactCheck then issued a response appended to the original article they posted, defending the article.[7]
Spin-offs and other fact-checkers
- FactCheckEd.org:[8] An educational resource for high school teachers and students. Sister site to FactCheck.org, and project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.[9] Created September 2005
- PolitiFact.com:[10] A service of the St. Petersburg Times and CQ (Congressional Quarterly)[11][12] Created August 2007
- WashingtonPost.com/factchecker:[13] A project of The Washington Post, making use of the fact-checking web sites and other reputable sources.[14] Created September 2007[15] Shutdown Nov 4, 2008[16]
References
- ^ Birge, Elizabeth (2008-10-05). "Is that lie '1 Pinocchio' or a 'pants on fire'? Nonpartisan websites check for facts in the candidates' assertions". The Star-Ledger: p. 11. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_multi=STL2&p_product=STLNP&p_theme=stlnp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=Elizabeth%20Birge%20AND%20date(10/5/2008%20to%2010/5/2008)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=10/5/2008%20to%2010/5/2008)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Elizabeth%20Birge)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no. Retrieved 2009-03-18. reprinted 2008-10-19 by MLive.com.
Files, John (2004-10-07). "Just check the facts, sure, but where are the facts?". The New York Times: p. A31. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9402E1DA173BF934A35753C1A9629C8B63. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
Conkey, Christopher (2004-01-29). "Hitting the campaign trail via your PC; Our picks for five web sites that cut through the bluster". The Wall Street Journal: p. D1.www.factcheck.org - Brooks Jackson, a former Cable News Network and Wall Street Journal reporter, debunks misleading claims, false attacks and subtle associations that litter the campaign trail on a Web site housed at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. It strives to reinforce the late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan's conviction: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." The site is thoroughly apolitical: Anyone who plays with the facts gets skewered. And Mr. Jackson keeps harping on things that offend him until they subside.
- ^ Hartlaub, Peter (2004-10-24). "Web sites help gauge the veracity of claims; Online resources check ads, rumors". San Francisco Chronicle: p. A1. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/24/MNFACTS.DTL. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ a b "About". FactCheck.org. http://www.factcheck.org/about/. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ Milbank, Dana (2004-10-07). "Urging Fact-Checking, Cheney Got Site Wrong". Washington Post. p. A08. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12901-2004Oct6.html.
- ^ "NRA Targets Obama". Factcheck.org. 2008-09-22. http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/nra_targets_obama.html. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ "FactCheck flubs Obama gun fact check". The Volokh Conspiracy. 2006-09-23. http://volokh.com/posts/1222201928.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ "NRA Targets Obama". Factcheck.org. 2008-09-22. http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/nra_targets_obama.html. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
- ^ "FactCheckED.org". FactCheckED.org. 2008-12-11. http://www.FactCheckEd.org. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "About Us". FactCheckED.org. http://www.factchecked.org/AboutUs.aspx. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "St. Petersburg Times Online". Politifact.com. http://www.PolitiFact.com. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "Congressional News, Legislative Tracking, Transcripts, Government Documents and more". CQ. 2009-05-18. http://www.Cq.com. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "PolitiFact.com - AboutUs Wiki Page". AboutUs.org. http://www.aboutus.org/PolitiFact.com. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "Fact Checker". Washingtonpost.com. http://www.washingtonpost.com/factchecker. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "About the Fact Checker - Fact Checker". Blog.washingtonpost.com. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2007/09/about_the_fact_checker.html. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "washingtonpost.com Launches "FactChecker"". Findarticles.com. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_Sept_19/ai_n27378605. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "Fact Checker". Voices.washingtonpost.com. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
Links
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