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.
The Latest
FACT FOCUS: Democrats did not shut down the government to give health care to 'illegal immigrants'
News apnews.com ·Lawmakers’ Health Care, Government Shutdown Claims
News FactCheck.org ·Trump declares war on America
News commentary Popular Information ·Trump said kids get 80 vaccines. The real number isn’t close
News Poynter ·A January 6 'false flag' claim made it to the president
News Media Matters for America ·Trump, Project 2025 and the ‘Dismantling’ of the ‘Administrative State’
News FactCheck.org ·The media’s kissing up to Trump started early
News commentary Stop the Presses ·Right-wing media and MAHA figures are celebrating Trump’s Tylenol announcement and pushing unproven claims that vaccines cause autism
News Media Matters for America ·An old Tylenol tweet is being taken out of context. Medical groups continue to back its safety in pregnancy.
News Poynter ·Trump Misleads on Climate Change and Renewables at U.N.
News FactCheck.org ·Trump Administration’s Problematic Claims on Tylenol and Autism
News FactCheck.org ·Repeated Falsehoods at Autism Press Conference
News FactCheck.org ·Trump Admin Tells Expecting Mothers To Avoid Tylenol Due To Unproven Link To Autism
News commentary Techdirt ·Trump makes unfounded claims about Tylenol and repeats discredited link between vaccines and autism
News apnews.com ·Channel 4 to mark Trump’s UK visit with ‘longest uninterrupted reel of untruths’
News The Guardian - Media ·An AI-generated book about Charlie Kirk’s assassination wasn’t published before the shooting
News Poynter ·The WSJ carelessly spread anti-trans misinformation
News commentary theverge.com ·Leading Democrats Are Condemning Charlie Kirk’s Murder
News theatlantic.com ·in brief
Fact checking: not a tool for all seasons
It was love at first sight, but over time, my ardor has cooled. I still believe there is value in cataloging misstatements, exaggerations, and, well, lies. But when government policies are undertaken and justified by nothing more than a fever-dream of fantasy and fiction, fact checking doesn’t meet the moment.
Sept. 27, 2024