2.4: Finding Already-Checked Facts

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 86790

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

When you see a factual claim circulating on the internet that you want to check, someone may have already done the work for you. Particularly in the realm of current political news, there are a number of organizations that routinely examine claims made by public figures. Viral content online, too, is often fact-checked. Here are some prominent fact-checking sites:

Politifact
Factcheck.org
Washington Post Fact Checker
Snopes
Truth be Told
NPR Fact-Check
Detector de Mentiras (Univision, Spanish language)
Guardian Reality Check (UK)
BBC Reality Check (UK)

Rather than prowl through these sites one by one, there’s a nifty search trick you can use. Pull together key words, phrases, or concepts from the claim you want to check and put them into a search bar, adding site: and the url of a fact-check site. Better yet, try two sites and compare them. For example, search:

George Soros paid caravan site:snopes.com

or George Soros paid caravan site:politifact.com

Because these fact-checking sites tend to focus on current political news, they have limited use when fact-checking something that isn’t headline news or a notorious viral hoax. The next chapter will offer more tricks and tips for strategically learning about a site.