URL | FactCheck.org |
---|---|
Commercial? | no |
Available language(s) | English |
FactCheck.org is a non-partisan,[1] nonprofit[2] website that describes itself as a "'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics."[3] 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.[3] FactCheck has won three Webby Awards in the Politics category, in 2008, 2010 and 2011.[4]
Most of its content consists of rebuttals to what it considers inaccurate, misleading, or false claims by politicians. FactCheck has also targeted misleading claims from various partisan groups.
Besides maintaining a website, FactCheck.org distributes audio stories by podcast[5] and iTunes Radio.[6]
Contents |
FactCheck.org became a focus of political commentary following the 2004 vice-presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards. Cheney cited the website, claiming that the independent site defended his actions while CEO of Halliburton. Cheney's claim is disputed by FactCheck.org as wrong, saying that "Edwards was mostly right" when talking about "Cheney's responsibility for earlier Halliburton troubles".[7]
Cheney's reference created some controversy because he incorrectly cited the web site's address as "FactCheck.com." At the time of the debate, factcheck.com was controlled by Frank Schilling's company Name Administration Inc., who quickly redirected the address to point to an anti-Bush website owned by Bush critic George Soros.[8]
www.factcheck.org - Brooks Jackson, a former Cable News Network and Wall Street Journal reporter, debunks misleading claims, false attacks and subtle associations that litter the campaign trail on a Web site housed at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. It strives to reinforce the late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan's conviction: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." The site is thoroughly apolitical: Anyone who plays with the facts gets skewered. And Mr. Jackson keeps harping on things that offend him until they subside.