Even before PolitiFact’s Lou Jacobson contacted a congressional press secretary back in 2010, the spokesman’s boss had accumulated a disappointing series of low scores on […]
Politicians talk about fact-checking — a lot. But “you don’t have to take my word for it,” as Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington once […]
Most newsrooms’ early efforts to referee political communication focused on the content of political advertising. During election seasons, just trying to keep up with those […]
By running TV ads that recycled and repeated claims that journalists had previously found false, Kentucky Democrat Alison Grimes and the Republican Governors Association were […]
Accusations of media bias are nothing new in political journalism. But those charges are particularly fraught for fact-checkers, whose roles require them to make factual […]
“Shooting the messenger” is an especially loud way for newsmakers to respond to a pesky news organization. Another approach is a lot quieter. So quiet, […]
Of the various ways to respond to critical fact checks, perhaps the easiest is to simply modify or even drop a faulty message. But the […]
Fact-checking is changing how people do politics. At its best, this reporting makes officeholders, candidates, parties, staff and supporters more cautious about what they say. […]
Introduction Media fact-checking has become a fact of life for political professionals, especially at the national level and in places where local news organizations have […]
Members of Congress cited national media fact-checks 80 times in floor speeches and debates from 2013 to 2014 — and Republicans referred to fact-checkers […]