Fact-checkers are out. The internet gets to vote on the truth now.
Once upon a time — back in the hazy days of 2016 — platforms like Facebook and Twitter looked inward and spotted a problem. Their systems were infected with a wicked, fast-spreading virus. It was time to do something about it.
The problem? Mis- and disinformation. Election hoaxes. Distortions of basic science. Wild claims like the one that a pizza place in Washington, D.C., was secretly hosting a child sex trafficking ring.
The solution: Bring in professional fact-checkers — trained journalists who know how to separate fact from fiction.
Related Knowledge Center: Fact-checking and its detractors
Fact-checking has become a familiar tool for political reporters to hold office-holders and candidates accountable. But critics ask if fact-checkers sometimes miss the forest for the trees, and if the practice often struggles with false equivalency the way conventional political coverage does.
Related Knowledge Center: Democracy and politics
News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.