Some social media users are claiming that rising temperatures are affecting the ratio of male to female sea turtles in Florida. A post on Twitter claims that every sea turtle […] The post Are hotter Florida summers forcing all-female sea turtle h
Publication: fact checking
Poynter→ After 15 years, PolitiFact hasn’t given up on facts; neither should you
When we launched PolitiFact in 2007, we were so unsure about its future that we had an escape hatch. If the fact-checking site didn’t catch on, we were going to […] The post After 15 years, PolitiFact hasn’t given up on facts; neither should
Poynter→ Obama was warning about disinformation, not endorsing it
A speech about the dangers of disinformation that former President Barack Obama gave at Stanford University on April 21, 2022, is being used months later on social media to spread […] The post Obama was warning about disinformation, not endorsing
Poynter→ Poynter and PolitiFact announce speakers for United Facts of America
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Aug. 18, 2022) – Next month, the nonprofit Poynter Institute and its Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking site PolitiFact will discuss the role of facts in everyday American life […] The post Poynter and PolitiFact ann
Poynter→ Meta won’t comment on its plans to abandon CrowdTangle
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it in your email every other Thursday. It started as a rumor. Following reports alleging right-wing [R
Poynter→ Fact check: Polio was found in New York wastewater, not its tap water
In July, New York City Mayor Eric Adams posted a video of himself on Twitter urging New Yorkers to drink the city’s tap water — a tip for “keeping cool this summer.” But […] The post Fact check: Polio was found in New York wast
Poynter→ Kenya’s presidential election a hotbed of false information ahead of and during voting
In Kenya, if you didn’t like the results of the presidential election, the joke went, change the channel. News stations were tallying results manually, projections were neck and neck, and […] The post Kenya’s presidential election a hotbe
Poynter→ Video showing Ron DeSantis arguing with Sean Hannity about a ‘raid’ is satire
Footage of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis arguing with Sean Hannity of Fox News about whether the search of Mar-a-Lago should be called a “raid” went viral on Twitter. But the tense exchange […] The post Video showing Ron DeSantis arguin
Poynter→ Why Trump is wrong to suggest Obama personally kept ‘33 million pages of documents’
First, Donald Trump compared the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of his home for documents to the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 emails. Then, he compared it to the Watergate break-in. […] The post Why Trump is wrong to suggest Obama personall
Poynter→ How ‘War on Fakes’ uses fact-checking to spread pro-Russia propaganda
Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, a newly-launched fact-checking service called War on Fakes published a piece claiming to debunk the notion that Ukrainians were not waging an information war against Russians. Not […] The post How ‘War on Fa
Poynter→ Can Donald Trump run for president if charged and convicted of removing official records?
The FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate raises questions about whether a statute that bans the removal of official records could bar Trump from running for president […] The post Can Donald Trump run for president if
Poynter→ Comparing Hillary Clinton’s emails and Donald Trump’s boxes of files
Soon after FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago estate, former President Donald Trump posted a statement decrying the “weaponization of the justice system.” He called the search “political targeting at the […] The post Comparing Hil
Poynter→ What we know about how monkeypox is spreading — and what we still don’t know
As monkeypox cases mount and the disease spreads, some people might have déjà vu — here comes another potentially life-disrupting virus. Although monkeypox first surfaced more than six decades ago, […] The post What we know about how monkeypo
Poynter→ Factually: In Georgia, fact-checkers have become targets of the ruling party
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it in your email every other Thursday. While Georgian democracy has never flourished, fact-checkers in th
Poynter→ Fact-check: Oz distorts Fetterman’s position of ending mandatory life sentences for certain murders
John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, has advocated for ending mandatory life sentences for what is known as felony murder. But he […] The post Fact-check: Oz distorts Fetterman’s po
Poynter→ How will social media platforms respond to election misinformation? It isn’t clear
Online misinformation about the 2020 election drove all sorts of real-world consequences, from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to the then-president of the United States getting banned […] The post How will social media platforms respond to
Poynter→ Gateway Pundit distorts unofficial Georgia 2020 results
The midterms are about 100 days away, but allies of former President Donald Trump continue to promote false theories that election workers in key states shuffled Trump’s votes to President […] The post Gateway Pundit distorts unofficial Georgia
Poynter→ Meta Oversight Board to rule on COVID-19 misinformation policy
Meta has asked its Oversight Board whether its existing policy on the removal of COVID-19 misinformation — “introduced in extraordinary circumstances at the onset of the pandemic” — should be […] The post Meta Oversight Board to rule on C
Poynter→ How Facebook pages exploit Russia’s war in Ukraine with false videos
Twin Facebook pages advertise themselves as providing newsy and up-to-the-minute coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. But on a given day, their followers might see videos claiming Norwegians raided Russian ships, Vladimir […] The post How Fac
Poynter→ Biden, fully vaccinated, caught COVID-19. Here are 6 things to know about breakthrough cases in 2022
President Joe Biden joined a growing club of Americans who, despite being fully vaccinated and boosted, contracted a breakthrough case of COVID-19. Since his July 21 diagnosis, Biden has been […] The post Biden, fully vaccinated, caught COVID-19.
Poynter→ What is a recession? Sorting out a confusing topic
In a big week for economic reports, one of the biggest is set to be released on July 28: The first look at how much the nation’s second-quarter gross domestic […] The post What is a recession? Sorting out a confusing topic appeared first on Poy
Poynter→ Back by popular demand: Poynter and PolitiFact will host an online festival of fact-checking Sept. 27-29
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (July 26, 2022) – The nonprofit Poynter Institute and its Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking site PolitiFact will present the second annual “United Facts of America: A festival of […] The post Back by popular demand
Poynter→ Why Trump is wrong to call Alaska’s ranked choice voting ‘rigged’
Alaska voters this year are using a new method to elect members of Congress that former President Donald Trump dismissed in remarks in Anchorage as “ranked choice crap voting.” Trump […] The post Why Trump is wrong to call Alaska’s ranked c
Poynter→ What’s next for the House’s Jan. 6 committee?
The House’s Jan. 6 select committee has completed its second prime-time hearing, and its eighth overall. What’s next? The specifics of any future business of the committee remain unclear — […] The post What’s next for the House’s Ja
Poynter→ Plymouth Rock pictures don’t prove sea levels are the same as 1620
Legend has it that, upon arriving in North America, the Pilgrims stepped off the Mayflower onto the large boulder that now sits in a place of prominence on the Plymouth, […] The post Plymouth Rock pictures don’t prove sea levels are the same as
Poynter→ President Biden tests positive for COVID, a year after he said vaccines prevent infections
On July 21, 2021, President Joe Biden said during a CNN town hall, “You’re not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations.” He continued, “This is a simple, […] The post President Biden tests positive for COVID, a year after he
Poynter→ Sri Lanka’s protests faced an information war
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it in your email every other Thursday. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa absconded via military air
Poynter→ Same-sex marriage would be illegal in 25 to 32 states if the Supreme Court overturned Obergefell
Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, sending abortion policy back to the states, could the court do the same thing with same-sex marriage by overturning the 2015 ruling […] The post Same-sex marriage would be illegal in 25 to
Poynter→ 15 states with new or impending abortion limits have no exceptions for rape, incest
Most of the states that have acted quickly to curb abortions after the reversal of Roe v. Wade have decided to do away with one longstanding element of abortion policymaking: […] The post 15 states with new or impending abortion limits have no ex
Poynter→ The James Webb Space Telescope and the images it has taken are real
The first dazzling images from the James Webb Space Telescope were shared July 12 and provided a window into the universe’s distant past. But a video uploaded to Facebook the same day questions the […] The post The James Webb Space Telescop
Poynter→ No, Biden didn’t give the ‘same exact speech’ months apart
Footage showing President Joe Biden’s supposed verbal blunders has repeatedly circulated on social media, especially in conservative circles. But many of these videos were deceptively edited or taken out of context. Such is […] The post No,
Poynter→ Viral image: Border patrol says horseback agents used unnecessary force but did not strike Haitian migrants
After many months, Customs and Border Protection released findings from an investigation of a Sep. 19, 2021, incident in which Border Patrol agents on horseback pursued Haitian migrants as they […] The post Viral image: Border patrol says horseba
Poynter→ Is the future of fact-checking automated?
Ten years ago, the concept of real-time fact-checking may have been a pipe dream. The process takes time and effort, from identifying claims from hours of broadcasts, cross-referencing them with […] The post Is the future of fact-checking automat
Poynter→ Why the US is selling stockpiled oil to China
Critics, including conservative media outlets, attacked President Joe Biden for selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a Chinese-owned company. Some of the coverage implies a connection between the sales and Chinese […] The post W
Poynter→ Did President Biden read directions to ‘repeat the line’ from a teleprompter?
President Joe Biden signed an executive order July 8 aimed at protecting abortion rights nationwide following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In his remarks announcing […] The post Did President Biden read directi
Poynter→ What protections would HIPAA provide against criminal prosecution for abortion?
Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, more than a dozen states are moving toward outlawing or severely restricting abortion within their borders. Some abortion rights advocates have […] The post What protections would HIPAA prov
Poynter→ Poll workers are short-staffed, under attack — and quietly defending democracy
There’s no doubt about it: For election officials across the country, recruiting poll workers is more challenging than ever. COVID-19 made people with health worries want to stay home. Rampant […] The post Poll workers are short-staffed, under
Poynter→ Fact checker detained in India for allegedly inflaming religious strife
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it in your email every other Thursday. On June 27, Indian authorities arrested journalist […] The pos
Poynter→ Marjorie Taylor Greene shared an edited image of the Highland Park shooting suspect
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., shared a doctored image that she falsely claimed showed the suspect in the Highland Park, Illinois, mass shooting was in a “in jail or rehab […] The post Marjorie Taylor Greene shared an edited image of t
Poynter→ Can states punish women for traveling out of state to get an abortion?
When the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade — the five-decade-old decision that protected abortion rights nationally — it created a new legal battlefield. One of the most vexing […] The post Can states punish women for traveling out of