Simple Question: Who fact checks the fact checkers? | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 79240330 United States 11/17/2020 10:44 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
BullionDude
(OP) User ID: 79629314 United States 11/17/2020 10:46 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Who Is Fact Checking The Fact Checkers? Fake News: Newspaper fact checkers were once a rarity. Now they're in a position to determine what people can read online, despite their own checkered past. So, who keeps the fact checkers honest? In the past, fact checkers tended to focus mainly on debunking urban myths or clearly false claims made by political leaders. But lately, fact checkers have appointed themselves as arbiters of the credibility of news outlets. And now, giant tech companies like Google and Facebook have enlisted these "experts" to weed out "fake news." If a fact-checking outfit deems a story not entirely true, for example, Facebook can limit its reach on its News Feed. Google now includes a "fact check" box on its main search results page to help "people make more informed judgments." The problem is that fact checkers themselves can be unreliable sources for what's true or not. Fact checkers make their own mistakes. They sometimes change ratings based on new information. Or they make determinations based on arbitrary standards that can change from one review to the next. Case in point: PolitiFact called a 2012 Mitt Romney campaign ad its "lie of the year" for a statement about Jeeps being made in China. PolitiFact admitted that the "lie" in the ad was actually the "literal truth." [link to www.investors.com (secure)] |
BullionDude
(OP) User ID: 79629314 United States 11/17/2020 10:52 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 79240330 United States 11/17/2020 10:59 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | It has been asked for centuries Quoting: Anonymous Coward 79240330 Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who will watch the watchers? Seems to me this would not be a problem if there was no bias in the media and reporters actually did their jobs! Sticking with the Latin theme... "Cui bono?" Who benefits? The media can give 2 you-know-whats about the citizens. They are slaves to ad revenue and web eyeballs. Media was supposed to be the 'fourth estate' that kept the 3 branches of govt in check but that has not been the case for a long time (or ever). Difference today is that citizens have more ability to communicate with each other and search things for themselves (albeit hobbled by big tech modifying the search algos) |
BullionDude
(OP) User ID: 79629314 United States 11/17/2020 11:32 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | It has been asked for centuries Quoting: Anonymous Coward 79240330 Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who will watch the watchers? Seems to me this would not be a problem if there was no bias in the media and reporters actually did their jobs! Sticking with the Latin theme... "Cui bono?" Who benefits? The media can give 2 you-know-whats about the citizens. They are slaves to ad revenue and web eyeballs. Media was supposed to be the 'fourth estate' that kept the 3 branches of govt in check but that has not been the case for a long time (or ever). Difference today is that citizens have more ability to communicate with each other and search things for themselves (albeit hobbled by big tech modifying the search algos) Yes my dad is a die hard Trump fan but hates his Tweeting and then I explained to him that if he did not Tweet we would never know what was really happening as MSM would not report it. |