In years past, voters in this country and this state could count on a strong media outlet to fact-check politicians seeking office from the school board to the presidency. But the media has changed, and where there were once strong print publications, there are now watered-down versions or none at all.
What was once several hundred staffers can now be counted on one’s fingers, and the suburban offices that were once well-staffed are gone. Online publications like What’sUpNewp do as much fact-checking as they can, but the real burden has shifted to where it should be: voters.
A Gallup poll last fall found that only 32% of Americans trust the mass media, which once prided itself on being locally based but is now mostly corporately owned with loyalty to shareholders (WUN is independent).
This week in Rhode Island, individuals will be announcing their candidacy and over the next few weeks will be asked to sign nomination papers to actually appear on the ballot.
As candidates or their representatives come to your home, asking for your signatures and encouraging you to put your name on the ballot, it’s a great time to ask them why they’re qualified to run and what issues are important to them.
Locally, ask questions, refuse personal conflicts, and push the candidate to speak about the issues. If a candidate is not knowledgeable on the issues or makes factually inaccurate statements, he or she is a candidate to avoid. Hold them accountable. You don’t have to support someone just because they represent the party you support.
Of course, social media plays an important role at every level. Here are some tips from the International Federation of Library Associations:
- Consider the source: “Go beyond the article and look at the site, its mission, and contact information.”
- “Read on… Headlines can be extreme to get more clicks, but what is the whole story?
- Verify the author. Do a quick search on the author. Is it trustworthy? Is it genuine?
- What are the supporting sources? “Click on those links. See if the information provided supports the article.”
- Check the date. “Reposting an old news article doesn’t mean it’s relevant to current events.”
- Is it a joke? “If it’s too outlandish, it might be satire. Check the site and author to be sure.” One example is The Onion.
- Check your biases: “Consider whether your beliefs influence your judgment.”
- Ask the experts. “Ask a librarian, consult a fact-checking site.”
Here are some additional tips for evaluating the news coming from Harvard University:
- What is the domain name? Beware of unusual top-level domain names like “.com.co”. Second-level domains like “abcnews” may look trustworthy. But be aware that abcnews.com.co is just another illegitimate site designed to resemble the original.”
- Pay attention to quality and timeliness: “Do you notice spelling errors, excessive capitalization, or extreme punctuation? If so, stop reading. Reputable sources have strict standards for proofreading and grammar.”
- Is the story current or recycled? “Make sure that old stories aren’t being taken out of context.”
- Check sources and citations. “How did you find this article? If the content appears duplicated in your social media feeds or promoted on a website known for clickbait, proceed with caution.”
- “Who is being quoted (or not) and what are they saying? If you notice a glaring lack of citations or sources, especially on complex issues, something is amiss.”
- Is that information available on other sites?
There are many trusted fact-checking sites available, especially when it comes to domestic news. Here are a few:
- PolitiFact is the Pulitzer Prize-winning site of the Tampa Bay Times. It fact-checks various claims made by politicians on social media. It conducts in-depth research on each topic. It rates them from true to false, with the most inaccurate ones being labeled “just wrong.”
- Fact.Check.org is a program of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. It is nonpartisan, nonprofit, and evaluates the same areas as PolitiFact.
- OpenSecrets.org is an independent, nonprofit site of the Center for Responsive Politics, the nation’s leading investigative group tracking political money. Follow this site if you want to know which politicians are taking money from certain special interest groups.
- Snopes is described as “the trusted Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.”
- Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC) is a very important site that measures the credibility and bias of over 3,000 media organizations. If you want to know about Sinclair (owner of WJAR-TV), you will find that they are considered right wing and have mixed reviews for their fact-based reporting. You can find reviews of Nexstar, owner of WPRI, Citadel Communications, owner of WLNE, Fox, and MSNBC.
- Ballotpedia is a great site that provides information on all kinds of elections across the country, tracking things like the number of uncontested elections by state.
There are many other trusted fact-checking organizations that voters can consult to ensure the information they receive is accurate. In a crucial election year, both locally and nationally, an informed electorate may be the only way to protect yourself from election results that you will ultimately regret.
