FactCheck.org is a website I've found to be highly accurate when it comes to checking the claims of politicians. Its a non-profit site run by the Annenburg Public Policy Center that actually attempts to match up the claims with facts. For any given story, a group of students combs through available data to determine accuracy. In the heat of the political season, that is not always easy to do for the average citizen, so a website of this type is critical for truth finding. The fact is that politicians regularly stretch the truth or the lie as far as is possible. They rationalize truth in their own favor, which is why a resource like Factcheck is one of those long-tail commodities that can be helpful for the average you and me voters.
From the site:
We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.
Politics in the age of the internet may be difficult to follow. Faced with the all-you-can-read buffet du jour, it's hard to distinguish the signal from the noise and its that signal/noise ratio that politicians count on to get their message across or to block the messages of others (i.e. p. 225 culture jamming). Fact-check serves as a sort of Snopes filter for political rumors, for example, in their Viral Spiral where they debunk internet rumors propagated by email.
Wow! This is really interesting. I am excited to know that factcheck is out there, because after you hear so many promises from so many people who are wanting to get elected, it is hard to remember who said what, and who is good for their word. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteAs you said it is important to be able to hold politicians accountable for their words. I think often times they speak so much that they end up contradicting themselves. Sites like factcheck help restore some accountability to our public figures.
ReplyDeleteGrace, once again you have provided a fine solution to a challenge! I love this site!
ReplyDeleteAnd Carter, accountability! Yes! Amen! I think if a contender runs for office and actually is held accountable for what he/she says ; a new day would dawn. I am not sure anyone would actually believe a candidate who was full of truth. It would be unbelievable!