Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
My husband has a great cover story this week at The Weekly Standard headlined "Lies, Damned Lies and 'Fact Checking'." It completely destroys the myth that mainstream media "fact checks" check facts. They all too frequently offer opinions about other people's opinions.
He provides numerous examples, including the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler claiming something was a lie when he had absolutely no evidence to support his view. You might recall reports that Vice President Joe Biden had called Tea Partiers "terrorists." Days later, Biden denied it. Kessler said he was "dubious" that Biden had used the slur and besides, if he did, he was simply "echoing what another speaker said in a private conversation."
In response, [Politico's Ben] Smith unloaded on Kessler. “Either [Biden] said it, or he didn’t. That’s the fact to check here. The way to check it is to report it out, not to attack the people who did report it out and label their reporting ‘dubious’ based on nothing more than instinct and the questionable and utterly self-interested word of politicians and their staffers.” ...
Note that despite Biden’s subsequent denials, the vice president’s office never asked for a formal retraction. The facts here seem to suggest that the vice president, whose history of plagiarism and verbal incontinence is the stuff of legend, not only called Tea Partiers “terrorists” but later lied about having done so. One would think that this would be a news story in itself.
But instead of looking at these facts, it appears Glenn Kessler engaged in what his colleague Greg Sargent referred to as all “the usual he-said-she-said crap that often mars political reporting”—but with the extra dollop of sanctimony that comes from writing under the “pseudo-scientific banner” of “The Fact Checker.”
The article is pretty damning of the enterprise but the one criticism that fact-check defenders are lobbing is that my husband "cherry picked" examples. Having lived with him for several years, I know only that space prevented him from offering dozens of other examples.
But what I woke up to this morning made me laugh. You all know that Romney mentioned a $10,000 bet in this weekend's debate. I myself have absolutely no problem at all with what Romney said -- I don't even gamble and yet I constantly joke by saying "I'll bet you a million dollars ..."
But Politifact tweeted this morning:
If they had actually bet, Romney would have won the 10 grand. http://bit.ly/uSO3sg
Oh, if they'd actually bet, Romney would have won the money? Well I'm glad to know fact checkers are now arbitrating the secret terms of betting. If you read the "analysis," they basically construct an argument that gives Romney the win if you assume a number of different conditions.
But as Ben Domenech points out, the problem is that we don't know exactly what Romney was offering to bet on:
If the #10kbet was about "you were for individual mandates", Perry's immediately prior remark, Romney loses. If the #10kbet was about whether Romney changed his book to deemphasize the nation adopting Massachusetts policies, he loses. If the #10kbet was about whether Romney specifically advocated for a federal individual mandate vs. state mandates, Romney wins.
I'll only add that the Politifact analysis is actually about something else altogether, which just shows how silly these enterprises are. That and, as another blogger pointed out, "Apparently @PolitiFact isn't aware that Romney said in 2007 that he hopes for 'a nation that's taken a mandate approach'."
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Apr '11
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
Hurray, Mollie, you're back!
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
Oh yeah, and I'm back! I got off The Weekly Standard cruise yesterday and am still getting my land legs. I keep telling my husband that the house should stop moving so much.
Dec '10
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
As Jonah pointed out yesterday, they obviously need some basic English language checking as well.
And to echo Charlotte, welcome back. I hope you had a restful respite from the Ricochet rabble.
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
The King Prawn: As Jonah pointed out yesterday, they obviously need some basic English language checking as well.
And to echo Charlotte, welcome back. I hope you had a restful respite from the Ricochet rabble. · Dec 12 at 7:20am
I loved the apologist mistake.
To be honest, I missed Ricochet a great deal. Although, you know, the Caribbean is pretty nice ...
Sep '10
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
Mollie,
Welcome back. If you had gone on a Mediterranean cruise I would have started a rumor that you were working for The Gingrich Who Stole the Isthmus. Without betraying any confidences, were you able to discern the relevant enthusiasm for Mitt versus Newt and whether Bachmann was able to make her hyrid creation Mewt seaworthy?
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
Pseudodionysius: Mollie,
Welcome back. If you had gone on a Mediterranean cruise I would have started a rumor that you were working for The Gingrich Who Stole the Isthmus. Without betraying any confidences, were you able to discern the relevant enthusiasm for Mitt versus Newt and whether Bachmann was able to make her hyrid creation Mewt seaworthy? · Dec 12 at 7:54am
Absolutely. At every dinner, I asked each person sitting with us who they supported. Every single person was in either the Gingrich or Romney camp. Mostly Gingrich, somewhat surprisingly. And yet only 2-4 people actually supported these people as "first choice." I heard nothing if not "Paul Ryan" and "Mitch Daniels" and "how do we get to a brokered convention?"
Sep '10
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
I heard nothing if not "Paul Ryan" and "Mitch Daniels" and "how do we get to a brokered convention?"
Fascinating.
Apr '11
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
The sad thing about these "fact checks" is that they are then taken as gospel. Poor fact checking muddies the water more than the facts they are supposedly checking.
Welcome back from the cruise! My folks just arrived home from that trip. My mom couldn't stop gushing about what a great time she had!
Edited on Dec 12, 2011 at 10:58amJul '10
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
Politifact has quite a few bias issues which are ably pointed out by the folks over here.
Mar '11
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
Oh that Mark Hemingway, I found his article due to the prompting of Jonah Goldberg. It was an excellent piece, unfortunately, few other than already convinced Conservatives will probably read it. I like that he used the term "yellow journalism" to describe this chicanery. My only gripe would be with the headline writer, though clever, in the name of accuracy should have read "Liars, Damnable Liars, and Liberals." ;D
Aug '10
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
In today's Best of the Web Today column, James Taranto points to Mark's piece. Taranto also quotes the president's speech in Osawatomie, Kansas. Speaking of the Republican Party, Obama said, "Their philosophy is simple: We are better off when everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules." I won't hold my breath waiting for the AP or PolitiFact to "fact check" that one.
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
C. U. Douglas: Welcome back from the cruise! My folks just arrived home from that trip. My mom couldn't stop gushing about what a great time she had! · Dec 12 at 10:47am
Edited on Dec 12 at 10:58 am
Oh really? Where are they from? I wonder if we got to meet them!
Apr '11
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
They're from Portland, OR. Retired couple. Haven't been able to talk to my dad about the trip yet.
Well, Woodburn, OR, actually.
Edited on Dec 12, 2011 at 5:58pmRe: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
C. U. Douglas: They're from Portland, OR. Retired couple. Haven't been able to talk to my dad about the trip yet.
Well, Woodburn, OR, actually. · Dec 12 at 5:56pm
Edited on Dec 12 at 05:58 pm
Ha! I totally met them! That is awesome. Twice, actually. They were great. Very nice. Tell them Mollie says hi!
Apr '11
Re: Who Checks The Fact Checkers?
I'm going up to visit for Christmas this weekend, and shall do so!