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
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News The Washington Post ·Columnist Ross Barkan Apologizes Amid Plagiarism Scandal
News NYT > Business > Media ·Decades of research show vaccines do not cause autism
News Poynter ·The Media’s Vaccine Hesitancy
News commentary status.news ·Republicans Revive False Miscarriage Statistic, Twist Fauci’s Texts About COVID-19 Shots
News FactCheck.org ·False claim: Covid-19 vaccines are linked to miscarriages
News newsguardrealitycheck.com ·White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is departing her job. Here’s how PolitiFact fact-checked key moments.
News Poynter ·Collins Did Not ‘Support’ OBBBA’s Medicaid Cuts, as Democratic Ad Claims
News FactCheck.org ·Innocent Fauci Text Spun to Boost COVID-Miscarriage Myth
News newsguardrealitycheck.com ·PolitiFact announces nationwide partnership network to fact-check critical 2026 midterm elections
News release Poynter ·A bit more context with: Philip Bump
News link.ctinsider.com ·Fact check: Trump makes numerous false and misleading claims about vaccines and autism
News edition.cnn.com ·Trump wants Big Pharma to split MMR vaccine; Big Pharma thinks it’s idiotic
News Ars Technica - All content ·Trump and RFK Jr. Repeat False and Misleading Vaccine Claims
News FactCheck.org ·Trump’s False MMR Vaccine Claims
News FactCheck.org ·Rogers Makes False 9/11 Claim About El-Sayed
News FactCheck.org ·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