PolitiFact

PolitiFact
Basic facts
Location:	St. Petersburg, Fl.
Type:	News Media
Top official:	Angie Drobnic Holan, Editor
Founder(s):	Bill Adair and Matthew Waite
Year founded:	2007
Website:	Official website

PolitiFact is a political fact-checking website. It is a project of the Tampa Bay Times newspaper and is based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Times is owned by the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational institution also based in St. Petersburg. On its website, PolitiFact says that it is "an independent fact-checking journalism website aimed at bringing you the truth in politics."

Background

Politifact, which launched on August 22, 2007, was created by journalist Bill Adair and news technologist Matthew Waite. Adair was frustrated about having to report false statements made by politicians, and this frustration motivated the two to create a site that pointed out these falsehoods. He talked about his frustration in an interview published on the National Press Foundation website in October 2011:

“

The epiphany came after the 2004 speech by [former] Sen. Zel Miller (D-GA), who endorsed George W. Bush at the Republican National Convention. He made a lot of claims about John Kerry - particularly about how Kerry had voted on defense bills. He said Kerry was weak on defense because he had voted against a lot of weapon systems. I heard that speech and I thought, 'Well, that's not true. I know how Washington works- the Democrats vote for the Democratic bills, the Republicans vote for the Republican bills and in the process they give each other opportunities to attack [the opposing party] and make these claims.

”

Waite helped Adair develop his idea into a proposal for an online database of fact check stories. The Tampa Bay Times, then known as the St. Petersburg Times, backed the idea.

During PolitiFact’s first election season in 2007-2008, it partnered with another news organization then owned by the Poynter Institute, Congressional Quarterly. Writers from CQ contributed stories from 2007 through the end of the 2008 election season. That partnership ended when PolitiFact resumed fact-checking in 2009, and the Poynter Institute sold CQ shortly thereafter.

Staff

• Angie Drobnic Holan, Editor
• Bill Adair, Contributing Editor
• Amy Hollyfield, Deputy Managing Editor
• Louis Jacobson, Deputy Editor
• Aaron Sharockman, PunditFact Editor
• Jon Greenberg, Staff Writer
• Steve Contorno, Staff Writer
• Katie Sanders, Staff Writer
• Lauren Carroll, Reporter

Methodology

PolitiFact explains some of the methodology used on its website in an "About PolitiFact" section and in an article ("Principles of Politifact and the Truth-O-Meter") written by PolitiFact creator Bill Adair on February 21, 2015. Other sources of information for PolitiFact methodology include interviews with staff and outside observers.

Selection process

PolitiFact fact checks a wide range of political actors and groups, including both elected and non-elected government officials, political candidates, media pundits, celebrities, and special interest groups. They also examine claims made in social media circles in the form of memes and viral images.

But how do they go about selecting claims to fact check?

According to his articles on PolitiFact's principles, Adair says their selection process begins with a preliminary sweep through news stories, political ads and speeches, campaign websites, social media, and press releases. They also accept suggestions from readers.

Adair says that PolitiFact asks these critical questions when determining what to fact check:

“

Is the statement rooted in a fact that is verifiable? We don’t check opinions, and we recognize that in the world of speechmaking and political rhetoric, there is license for hyperbole. Is the statement leaving a particular impression that may be misleading? Is the statement significant? We avoid minor 'gotchas' on claims that obviously represent a slip of the tongue. Is the statement likely to be passed on and repeated by others? Would a typical person hear or read the statement and wonder: Is that true?

”

Another key factor in PolitiFact's selection process is newsworthiness. Adair wrote that the site selects "the most newsworthy and significant" claims. He is reported to have told journalism students in 2011, "We're guided by news judgement. And we are all journalists, we're not social scientists."

Adair has cited curiosity as an additional factor that shapes PolitiFact's selection process. In an August 2009 interview for C-SPAN's "Washington Journal," he said, "We choose to check things we are curious about. If we look at something and we think that an elected official or talk show host is wrong, then we will fact check it."

Research methods

PolitiFact's research generally begins with contacting the source of a claim, according to Adair and researcher Lucas Graves. If an elected official, for example, makes a claim that attracts PolitiFact's attention, they reach out to that individual's office for clarification, data or a source to back up that claim. Graves noted that this step is required of PolitiFact writers.

With or without data from the original source, PolitiFact then turns to news articles, free and subscription-based sources on the Internet, and on-record interviews with reporters and experts on the subject. On-record interviews assist writers and researchers with the interpretation of data. PolitiFact prohibits the use of off-record sources.

According to Graves, PolitiFact writers are encouraged to seek out nonpartisan data sources whenever possible. Such sources often include government agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics or the Congressional Budget Office.

PolitiFact publishes a list of its sources along with each article.

Claim evaluation

PolitiFact's uses a group approach for settling the veracity of a claim.

The first step involves the lead writer submitting an article with a recommended rating to a panel of at least three editors, according to Adair's "Principles of Politifact" article as well as researchers and reporters who have observed the PolitiFact evaluation process.

PolitiFact's rating system is the "Truth-o-Meter." The meter has six ratings:

PolitiFact's Truth-o-Meter

“

TRUE – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing. MOSTLY TRUE – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. HALF TRUE – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. MOSTLY FALSE – The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. FALSE – The statement is not accurate. PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.

”

The panel of editors evaluates the article and the author's recommended rating. The panel then discusses whether PolitiFact should follow the author's recommendation or assign a new rating. To make this decision, Adair writes, the panel of editors relies on five principles:

“

Words matter -- We pay close attention to the specific wording of a claim. Is it a precise statement? Does it contain mitigating words or phrases? Context matters -- We examine the claim in the full context, the comments made before and after it, the question that prompted it, and the point the person was trying to make. Burden of proof -- People who make factual claims are accountable for their words and should be able to provide evidence to back them up. We will try to verify their statements, but we believe the burden of proof is on the person making the statement. Statements can be right and wrong -- We sometimes rate compound statements that contain two or more factual assertions. In these cases, we rate the overall accuracy after looking at the individual pieces. Timing – Our rulings are based on when a statement was made and on the information available at that time.

”

Graves, who sat in on 25 editor evaluation meetings, said that "two of three panelists must agree on the final ruling, though unanimity is strongly preferred and usually achieved." He also said that meetings often last 10 to 15 minutes, though disagreements among the editors or between the editors and the author occasionally extend meetings to multiple hours and sometimes require follow-up meetings. In one instance, Graves reported, an "indecisive panelist had to be replaced" before the panel could make a ruling.

Projects

State affiliates

In 2010, PolitiFact started expanding its operation to include state affiliates. State affiliates pay to use the PolitiFact name and methods, and PolitiFact provides ongoing training and creates pages on its main website for affiliates, sometimes highlighting stories from the state affiliates on its main page.

As seen in the table below, PolitiFact has added and lost state affiliates over time. As of September 2015, it had seven active affiliates and one forthcoming affiliate in California.

PolitiFact State Affiliates
State	Affiliate	Last Active
California	Capital Public Radio	Not yet active
Florida	Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald	Active
Georgia	The Atlanta Journal Constitution	Active
Iowa	The University of Iowa School of Journalism & Mass Communication	Not yet active
Missouri	The University of Missouri School of Journalism	Active
New Hampshire	The Concord Monitor	Active
New Jersey	The Newark Star Ledger	January 26, 2014
Ohio	The Cleveland Plain Dealer	September 24, 2013
Oregon	The Oregonian	October 14, 2014
Rhode Island	The Providence Journal	Active
Tennessee	Commercial Appeal/Knoxville News	October 31, 2012
Texas	The Austin American-Statesman	Active
Virginia	The Richmond Times-Dispatch	Active
Wisconsin	The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel	Active

PolitiFact Australia

To date, PolitiFact has had one international affiliate. PolitiFact Australia debuted on May 12, 2013. PolitiFact Australia covered that country’s 2013 election then went on hiatus, as reported by the Australian media site Mumbrella.

PolitiFact Australia was spearheaded by Peter Fray, a former editor and publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald. Fray described PolitiFact Australia’s funding in a post on his blog. He wrote, "Fortunately, and thanks to some deft work by Ben Ashton, my co-conspirator in PolitiFact, we had two paying content partners, commercial TV broadcaster Channel 7, and for the last month of the campaign, Fairfax Media. For Channel 7 we did 'live' fact-checks, up to three times a day. Fairfax had online and print rights and seconded Peter Martin to the operation. Between 7 and Fairfax, the generosity iSentia [sic], who provided office space, and in the early stages, my own bank balance, PolitiFact stayed afloat until December 2013."

PolitiFact Australia used the same methods and ratings as PolitiFact in the United States but gave its "Truth-O-Meter" graphic a distinctive appearance.

Australia’s government eventually archived the PolitiFact Australia website.

PunditFact

Though PolitiFact has occasionally rated statements by pundits, it unveiled PunditFact on November 14, 2013, to focus on statements from media pundits. Tampa Bay Times/PolitiFact Florida editor Aaron Sharockman was chosen to head the project.

As with the state affiliates and PolitiFact Australia, PunditFact uses the same "Truth-O-Meter" rating system.

PunditFact’s Aaron Sharockman defines a pundit as "[s]omeone who offers analysis or opinions on the news, particularly politics and public policy. One can engage in punditry by writing, blogging or appearing on radio or TV. A pundit is not an elected official, not a declared candidate nor anyone in an official capacity with a political party, campaign or government."

"Lie of the Year" award

Each year since 2009, PolitiFact’s editors have awarded a "Lie of the Year" for "the year’s most significant falsehood."

PolitiFact announces a set of finalists in December and conducts a poll to determine a readers' choice for the award. PolitiFact conducts a poll of readers, but the winner of the readers’ poll might not win the "Lie of the Year."

PolitiFact "Lie of the Year" Winners
Year	"Lie of the Year" Winner
2014	Exaggerations about Ebola
2013	If you like your health care plan you can keep it
2012	Mitt Romney campaign’s ad on Jeeps made in China
2011	Republicans voted to end Medicare
2010	A government takeover of health care
2009	Death panels

Awards

Below is a list of awards that PolitiFact has won.

• Green Eyeshade Award for public service in online journalism, 2013
• Irene Miller Award for Vigilance in Journalism, 2012
• Knight-Batten award for special distinction, 2010
• Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, 2009
• National Press Award for excellence in online journalism, 2008
• Digital Edge award for best overall news site, 2008
• Knight-Batten award for special distinction, 2008

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Politifact. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

PolitiFact - Google News

See also

• The Poynter Institute
• FactCheck.org
• The Washington Post Fact Checker
• Bill Adair
• Angie Drobnic Holan

External links

• PolitiFact.com