Exploration Station: Politifact

Politifact's take on our example fake news is here.

About www.Politifact.com:

Emphasis:

• Investigates truth of statements made by politicians and those involve in public discourse

Coverage:

• Statements made by American politicians and other public figures on various topic of importance to the country;
• Has editions that cover global news, national news, news of interest to specific states, and a site that fact-checks pundits, bloggers, and talk show hosts (PunditFact).
• Elements include:  Truth-o-meter, Flip-o-meter (gauging consistency of politician's positions), and Promise Meters (did Presidents keep their campaign promises - includes Obameter and Trump-o-meter)

Methodology:

• Daily review of statements made in all venues, select most newsworthy ones
• Look for verifiable claims
• Does not look at obvious slips of the tongue, minor points, or obvious political rhetoric
• Look for claims that would be repeated or that leave an obvious impression
• Gives on the record sources for evaluations
• Editorial review

Personnel:

• Professional journalists, journalism professors

Independent (Funding, bias?):

• PolitiFact is run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times, an independent newspaper in Florida, as is PunditFact, a site devoted to fact-checking pundits. Some writers are hired just for Politifact.
• The PolitiFact state sites are run by news organizations that have partnered with the Times. The state sites and PunditFact follow the same principles as the national site. 
• "We are an independent, nonpartisan news organization. We are not beholden to any government, political party or corporate interest."
• Some advertising
• Grants money, and now contributions/membership.

PROS:

• Perfect for checking validity of politician's statements, especially those prominent at the national level
• Can search, or browse by subject, person, or rating
• Can also see an overview of the accuracy of all statements made by a person, or on a particular top
• In-depth, succinct, very thorough evaluation of statements
• Clear citation of sources
• Fun, graphical rating system
• Won Pulitzer Prize!!! – very well regarded
• High amount of professionalism
• Non-partisan
• Looks carefully at words

CONS:                                                                

• Subject areas limited to political topics
• Only reviews statements made by politicians or other people/organizations, not reporters or articles or unknown content
• Best for the purpose for which it was made
• Usually looks at bigger, more recent stories
• Takes time to verify