By Dave Van Zandt – Editor – Media Bias Fact Check
Media Bias Fact Check strictly relies on signatories of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN) for fact checking the sources we review. The IFCN sets a code of principles that must be followed in order to remain a part of the network. You can view their code of principles here. With that said, this is our 2020 list of go to fact checkers.
Politifact– is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics. PolitiFact is owned by the Poynter Institute, which also operates the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN) that sets standards for fact checkers. Politifact is a signatory of the IFCN and is simply the best source for political fact checking. Won the Pulitzer Prize.
FactCheck.org– is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. They are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. They monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Fact Check is similar to Politifact in their coverage and they provide excellent details. The only drawback is they lack the simplicity of Politifact.
Lead Stories- is a fact checker and hoax/rumor debunker that uses the International Fact-Checking Network fact-checkers’ code of principles as a guide for all fact checking. What separates them is the use of a specific engine called the Trendolizer, which tracks story trends that allows Lead Stories to quickly debunk fake news before it becomes viral. They are often the first to debunk outrageous claims.
Science Feedback- is an IFCN fact checker that consists of two seperate websites, Climate Feedback, which reviews climate related claims and Health Feedback, which reviews health and medical claims. Each fact checker holds a Ph.D. and has recently published articles in top-tier peer-reviewed science journals. This is by far the best fact checker for science related claims.
AP Fact Check- is an IFCN fact checker from the Associated Press. AP Fact Check tends to focus on claims by political leaders and frequently fact check President Trump’s claims. The AP sources their fact checks with credible information.
AFP Fact Check– is an IFCN fact checker from Agence France-Presse (AFP) based in France. The AFP is a large international news agency that has locations around the globe. This allows the AFP to cover diverse fact checks from many different countries. They frequently fact check fake photos and videos as well. This is the best english language fact checker for non-USA fact checks.
Reuters Fact Check- is an IFCN fact checker from the UK based Reuters. Reuters Fact Checks tends to focus on social media hoaxes and claims, however they also cover political statements. Reuters sources their fact checks with credible information.
Full Fact- is an independent nonprofit IFCN fact checker based in the United Kingdom. Their focus is on political claims and misinformation published by the UK media. Essentially, Full Fact is the UK’s Politifact.
Check Your Fact- is an IFCN fact checker owned by the Daily Caller. While the Daily Caller is not a reliable news organization, Check Your Fact operates independently of them and adheres to the IFCN principles. Check Your Fact is one of very few right leaning IFCN fact checkers. They primarily focus on hoaxes and political statements.
Fact Checker by the Washington Post– The Washington Post has a very clear left-center bias and this is reflected in their fact checks. Their fact checks are excellent and sourced; however their bias is reflected in the fact that they fact check right wing claims more than left. Otherwise the Washington Post is a good resource.
Additional Resources
Open Secrets– Open Secrets is a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, run by the Center for Responsive Politics, which is the nation’s premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Open Secrets is by far the best source for discovering how much and where candidates get their money. They also track lobbying groups and whom they are funding.
The Sunlight Foundation– The Sunlight Foundation is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that uses the tools of civic tech, open data, policy analysis and journalism to make our government and politics more accountable and transparent to all. Sunlight primarily focuses on money’s role in politics.
Poynter Institute– The Poynter Institute is not a true fact checking service. They are however a leader in distinguished journalism and produce nothing but credible and evidence based content. If Poynter reports it, you can count on it being true.
Ballotpedia- Ballotpedia is a nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers American federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy. Ballotpedia’s stated goal is “to inform people about politics by providing accurate and objective information about politics at all levels of government.”
Conclusion– A good fact checking service will write with neutral wording and will provide unbiased sources to support their claims. Look for these two simple criteria when hunting for the facts.
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Why did you not list Snopes.com?
They are no longer a signatory of the IFCN, which is the standard for Fact Checking. Snopes is fine, but they do not meet our standards to be in the top 10.
So the standard for being in the top ten is being a signatory of the IFCN? You comment says your top ten is about association, not quality. Please give reasons, with unbiased support, as to why the quality of snopes is below your top ten.
@b don’t think you’ll get a response to that. Its like the BBB i guess.
Clowns asking why not Snopes? Clowns will be clownin’.
Wow, even THIS site is biased! What a bunch of BS! Laughable.
If google is biased, why is my question directed to google
*even this site is biased” to what do you ascribe that comment? That they don’t accredit Snopes?
You are free to use Snopes,I do, but not for politics which is clearly what this site said.
And why.
Comprehension, look it up.
can Trump make an executive order to stop Biden from becoming president
No.
Factcrescendo.com can be added to the list.
Anyone that is unbiased will recognize that snopes is an ultra-leftist web site. Their assessment of fact is opinion based and not necessarily based on facts.
Who fact checks these ” fact checkers”? Including this site, anytime you use a human as part of the process, you have their own personal opinions, political affiliation, and bias that affect the final outcomes and responses. Using other published articles as sources is troubling to me. Were this checked or were they just considered true? Google and Amazon, really? The whole industry is questionable or should be. Just search “fact checking the fact checkers”. Who funds these organizations? Why one political party endlessly questioned, now …… silence despite obvious untruths?
ARE OU BIASED ABOUT POLITICS ALSO….
I have fact checked these “factchecker” sites ..fact check this for yourself ,,,, The list their funders on their sites.. example:
Politifact listed above as owed by the Poytner Institute . . google Poynter Institute ... once on the site ,then type in 'major funders' in the search... You will eventually wind up here :https://www.poynter.org/major-funders/
as you will notice the list includes :
Charles Koch Foundation —–Very well known liberal foundatio
Facebook ———–the wolf guarding the sheep
Foundation to Promote Open Society—– George Soros’ own Socialists Machine
Google News Initiative ——another wolf guarding the sheep
Rita Allen Foundation —-liberal foundation
Environmental Defense Fund—-well known liberal foundation
and as you scroll though the list you’ll see that they are all politically charged organizations..
You can do the same with the others listed above and some of them are a little harder to find the funders , but they are there…
The point is: How can you have honest and non-biased fact checking when your funders are all Leftists or Liberals ? Answer : you can’t … because these are the sources of income, and you know that if you loose them , they could remove their funding and knock you off their social media site and they will loose much funding …
So it is not good odds that they are gong to have positive outcomes on the other side when fact check facts are presented to then.. I remember the time a union auto worker asked why Biden was going t take his guns .. and then I got a statement that it was false by politifact … I actually saw cameras with several views and hear what was sis …. I watched this exchange take place , Joe got mad ..It definitely happened without a doubt … .
Like I said you can do this, and check out the others on the top ten list
a lot of other like AP and Reuters, who are for socialism are used by the fact checkers .. these send the newfeeds for ALL the Major networks and is where you get the news from on NBC CBS CNN ABC ect.
So there is no true unbiased funding on any of these Orgs ?. On any of these “fact checker ” sites.? No , they are all compromised .and push an agenda… At least all their funders do…
Want the truth ? look for it … I did … you can too… That’s how I found the circle —–Facebook-Poynter-back to facebook..or goolge-poynter circle
I have a better plan that is unbiased that would work to get the truth whether either side likes it or not
awy
Charles Koch Foundation is liberal? News to us. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/koch-industries/C00236489/summary/2020
This site also loves to brand itself as ‘least’ biased whilst they love to call every conservative site as very biased and not accurate. News to me? This site is also supported by leftists, there is no doubt
What leftist support us? Again, that would be news to us as well. Maybe you are just far right and don’t see clearly?
Of course those on the right will discredit fact checking. They need the lies in order to continue to have a party at all! Whose wrong here is blatantly obvious to anyone with even a minimum of intelligence. The Republicans are thieving liars. Period.