Fact-checking is crucial when the news moves this fast
From war in Iran to election claims and gas prices, recent fact checks show how misinformation spreads during fast-moving, high-stakes moments
On Feb. 28, the world learned that the United States and Israel had launched wide-ranging attacks on Iranian military and leadership targets. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran had been building for weeks, and prior to that, for decades. But the specific timing and the broad sweep of the military campaign caught many people off guard.
At such a tense moment, fact-checking is crucial. PolitiFact and other fact-checking outlets around the world, including Agence France-Presse, Germany’s Deutsche Welle, Iran’s Factnameh, India’s BOOM, and Israel’s Globes’ Whistle, jumped in.
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.