Research Guides: Fact Checking Web Sites: Home

Fact Checking

Quality information is important to the health, order, and prosperity of not only individuals but also society.

In class projects, as in life, you should evaluate information before you rely on it. One evaluative technique is fact checking. The sources listed below are widely considered trustworthy and unbiased and can be used to check assertions, opinions, and stories reported in the media. If you ever need help working with information you can always ask a librarian for assistance.

Fact checking has become more important nowadays because the amount of bad information is increasing, bad information is being spread deliberately, and information is spreading quicker and quicker.

Fact Checking Web Sites

FactCheck.org
A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. "We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We 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. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding." This Web site has a search feature, where you can sort results by relevance or date.
The Fact Checker
From The Washington Post newspaper, their purpose is "to 'truth squad' the statements of political figures regarding issues of great importance, be they national, international or local." They "also seek to explain difficult issues, provide missing context and provide analysis and explanation of various 'code words' used by politicians, diplomats and others to obscure or shade the truth. ... The Fact Checker is at heart about policy...." Their analysis includes ranking stories on a Pinocchio rating scale.
Politifact
From The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, "a non-profit journalism school and research organization located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school is the owner of the Tampa Bay Times newspaper and the International Fact-Checking Network." "PolitiFact is a nonpartisan fact-checking website to sort out the truth in American politics." Part of their mission is to "remain transparent and independent," and their core principles are "independence, transparency, fairness, thorough reporting and clear writing." Some content is organized on their extensive Issues page. There is a search feature at the top of the page.
Polygraph.info
"Polygraph.info is a fact-checking website produced by [U.S. Agency for Global Media's] Voice of America. The website serves as a resource for verifying the increasing volume of disinformation and misinformation being distributed and shared globally."
Snopes
An independent Web site that defines itself as "The internet’s go-to source for discerning what is true and what is total nonsense." They are generally well-regarded and well rated for accuracy and objectivity. They have a search bar at the top of their home page and a separate Search page, where they advise, "For better results, limit searches to two or three keywords," in addition to Fact Checks, the Latest topics and the Top 50 topics.

Additional Resources

AP Fact Check
BBC Reality Check
Google's Fact Check Explorer
A searchable Google tool to find existing fact checks.
Improving college students’ fact-checking strategies through lateral reading instruction in a general education civics course.
Brodsky J. E., Brooks, P. J., Scimeca, D., Todorova, R., Galati, P., Batson, M., Grosso, R., Matthews, M., Miller, V., & Caulfield, M. (2021). Improving college students’ fact-checking strategies through lateral reading instruction in a general education civics course. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 6(23). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41235-021-00291-4
Lawfare
An extensive blog and daily podcast from an authoritative list of academics and policy experts. Lawfare includes their Arbiters of Truth show: "A weekly podcast on disinformation and misinformation... [covering] the legal and policy aspects of the debates around political discourse, online speech and social media platforms playing out in the headlines." Lawfare also regularly reports on the topic of disinformation.
USA Today Fact Check

Author and Update Information

Ron Foster, Hinkle Memorial Library, Room 122. This page was updated on January 24th, 2023.