FactCheck.org

FactCheck.org
Available inEnglish
OwnerAnnenberg Public Policy Center
URLfactcheck.org
CommercialNo
LaunchedDecember 2003; 20 years ago (2003-12)

FactCheck.org is a nonprofit[1] website that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics by providing original research on misinformation and hoaxes.[2] It is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.[2]

Kathleen Hall Jamieson's 1993 book Dirty Politics, in which she criticized the presidential campaigns of George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis in 1988, provided the idea for FactCheck.org.[3]

Most of its content consists of rebuttals to inaccurate, misleading, or false claims made by politicians. FactCheck.org has also targeted misinformation from various political action committees. Other features include:

  • Ask FactCheck:[4] users can ask questions that are usually based on an online rumor.
  • Viral Spiral:[5] a page dedicated to the most popular online myths that the site has debunked. It clarifies the answer as well as links readers to a full article on the subject.
  • Party Lines:[6] talking points that have been repeatedly used by multiple members of a political party.
  • Mailbag:[7] page for readers' sent letters and praise or disapproval of something said on the site.
  1. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (October 24, 2004). "Web sites help gauge the veracity of claims; Online resources check ads, rumors". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A1. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "About". FactCheck.org. Archived from the original on June 17, 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
  3. ^ "FactCheck.org: Celebrating 15 years of Holding Politicians Accountable". University of Pennsylvania. February 19, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  4. ^ http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/ ; Retrieved on December 9, 2013.
  5. ^ "Don't get spun by internet rumors". www.factcheck.org. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  6. ^ "Party Lines Archives". www.factcheck.org. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  7. ^ "FactCheck Mailbag Archives". www.factcheck.org. Retrieved December 9, 2019.