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Online Fact Checkers
- FactCheck.orgFactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Their staff of journalists and information scientists monitor the accuracy of claims made by political players in speeches, debates, TV ads, and news releases. They provide excellent analysis and details.
- OpenSecretsNonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. OUR VISION is for Americans to be empowered by access to clear and unbiased information about money’s role in politics and policy and to use that knowledge to strengthen our democracy. OUR MISSION is to produce and disseminate peerless data and analysis on money in politics to inform and engage Americans, champion transparency, and expose disproportionate or undue influence on public policy.
- PolitiFactPolitiFact is a fact-checking website run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times, an independent newspaper in Florida. It rates claims made by politicians on its Truth-o-Meter scale. PolitiFact is widely regarded as one of the best sources for political fact-checking, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for its coverage of the 2008 election.
- SnopesSnopes is usually the first to fact-check a pervasive online story. For over two decades, Snopes has been a valuable resource for evaluating urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation circulating online.
- Media Bias Fact CheckMedia Bias/Fact Check (MBFC), founded in 2015, is an independent online media outlet. MBFC is dedicated to educating the public on media bias and deceptive news practices. MBFC’s aim is to inspire action and a rejection of overtly biased media. We want to return to an era of straight forward news reporting.
Videos
In 1901, David Hänig published research that led to what we know today as the taste map: an illustration that divides the tongue into four separate areas. It has since been published in textbooks and newspapers. There is just one problem: the map is wrong. So how do misconceptions like this spread, and what makes a fake fact so easy to believe? Joseph Isaac dives into the world of misinformation.
Fake news can sway elections, tank economies and sow discord in everyday life. Data scientist Sinan Aral demystifies how and why it spreads so quickly -- citing one of the largest studies on misinformation -- and identifies five strategies to help us unweave the tangled web between true and false.
