Take a quick peek at Literally Unbelievable and you’ll see that people are easily fooled. There is a lot of stuff floating around on the web, but how can you find the truth in media?
Assembled here are some of the best sites for distinguishing reality from fantasy. Check them before you repost that clickbait article from your drunk Uncle Larry.
Best Sites For Political Facts
Politifact.org
Pulitzer Prize-winning website Politifact is one of the best places on the web to check politicians’ statements. Their “About Us” page provides a thorough breakdown of how they rate statements, and it’s a good starting point if you’re completely unfamiliar with their site.
One of the best aspects of Politifact is their “Truth-o-Meter,” which is applied to every claim they post on their site. Statements are rated anywhere from “True” down to “Pants on Fire,” the latter being something that’s not only false, but flat-out outrageous.
Politifact is often accused of being a liberal site. It’s not hard, though, to find many statements made by Democrats rated as false. The right wingers just lie more often.
FactCheck.org
Factcheck.org is another highly-regarded site. They are a little less flashy than Politifact, but their integrity is stellar. Their mission statement reads,
“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.”
FactCheck.org is completely open about their funding, and their financial disclosure statements are available on their site. They, too, have had the “liberal bias” mud thrown at them, but a quick look at their home page shows that they fact check both sides of the aisle on a regular basis.
Washington Post Fact Checker
Glen Kessler’s column on the Washington Post’s website is another great source for checking political statements. The National Association for Media Literacy Education honored Kessler for his column, and he, too, tends to get conservatives worked up into a tizzy. Interestingly, those same conservatives will happily quote Kessler when he gives out his “Pinocchios” to Democrats (which he often does).
Not Just Politics, But All Rumors
Snopes.com
Snopes has been the go-to website for debunking myths for over two decades. It really should be your first stop before you repost or believe anything that sounds even remotely fishy. They tackle everything from politics to urban legends to reports of Swedish Fish Oreos (yes, those are real).
Of course, their award-winning diligence in getting the story straight has earned them the ire of conservatives. They are often accused of being a George Soros-funded entity that works as an arm of the Democratic Party (are you sensing a pattern here?). They’re not. They are financially independent and non-partisan.
The Four Pillars Of Internet Fact-Checking
There are other sites out there that engage in fact-checking and myth-busting, but the four sites above represent the cream of the crop. Check one or all of those sites before believing what you read!
Featured Image by darylcheng Via Flickr/Creative Commons license
