"fact checking" a growing trend

[DrLeftover]

Washington (AFP) - Journalists have always faced up to facts, but a new wave of fact-checking journalism has gained prominence in the past decade to counter misleading or outrageous claims of political figures.

Notable among these are FactCheck.org, and PolitiFact, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009.

Following the notoriety in the United States, similar fact-checking news organizations have sprung up on every continent, gaining attention in places ranging from Egypt to Australia, Chile and France, according to a Duke University study.

The study led by Bill Adair, a Duke faculty member who was a founder of PolitiFact at the Tampa Bay Times, identified 59 fact-checking groups globally, of which more than 15 are in the United States.

"It really surprised me how much fact-checking is going on around the world," Adair told AFP.

"I had no idea there was this much, particularly in places such as Eastern Europe. These sites are using fact-checking and are holding politicians accountable for their promises. It's really become a strong movement in journalism."

http://news.yahoo.com/fact-checking-journalism-gains-momentum-022651257.html

 

[Evil Eye]

I should hope so