Latest news with #InternationalFact-CheckingNetwork
Fox News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Fact-checking director warns of 'crisis' as Meta, Trump's DOGE cuts threaten their 'honorable, patriotic' work
Fact-checkers are facing severe challenges and political pressure while doing their "honorable" and "patriotic" work, one director warned. On Wednesday, International Fact-Checking Network Director Angie Drobnic Holan penned an op-ed for Poynter to mark "International Fact-Checking Day." Though the day has been a time of celebration for her in the past, she wrote that the community has already faced several major blows in 2025, threatening not just the profession but society as well. Holan pointed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing in January that the company would be ending its fact-checking system across Facebook, Meta and Instagram platforms. "Not everyone loves fact-checking, and there are powerful political forces that would simply like it to go away," Holan wrote. "This is indeed a crisis for fact-checkers, but it's even worse for the general public. Disinformation hurts people. It has real-world consequences." She cited President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) efforts to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as another example. Holan said, "The public funding that Elon Musk is trashing was another factor in the growth of fact-checking; groups like USAID thought that funding fact-checking overseas would empower democracy and accountable government." "I remember an international development officer telling me that fact-checking encouraged fact-based public debate on important public issues and therefore encouraged stable societies," she recalled. Holan attributed attacks on fact-checking to its effectiveness. "Fact-checking holds the line on reality for history's sake. It builds evidence-based records that can withstand political pressures," she wrote. "Politicians who want to create their own realities are fighting hard against fact-checking, and they're strong-arming tech companies and social media platforms into helping them." Holan called on fact-checkers to defend their "truth-seeking" in the face of these challenges. "If we want a society that respects truth, now is our time to fight for it," Holan concluded. Liberal commentators have attacked Meta's decision to pull fact-checkers, claiming that it was Zuckerberg capitulating to Trump ahead of his inauguration. Some even called the decision "dangerous."
Associated Press
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Celebrating fact-checking around the globe
It's International Fact-Checking Day, an event to highlight the work of fact-checkers around the world. In a message marking the day, Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the the International Fact-Checking Network, noted the recent challenges faced by fact-checkers, including a loss of funding and attacks on fact-checkers and their organizations. 'This is indeed a crisis for fact-checkers, but it's even worse for the general public,' Holan said Wednesday. 'Disinformation hurts people. It has real-world consequences. Without fact-checking, more grandparents will fall victim to financial scams. Adults will refuse to vaccinate children against proven killers like measles. Teens will read faked reports of current events with no way to tell them apart from the real thing.' The IFCN launched in 2015, started the event in 2016 and has more than 170 members around the world. Each signatory has been vetted and approved by independent assessors. They are required to show a commitment to nonpartisanship and transparency, about both sources and funding. AP Fact Check is a member of the IFCN, a unit of the Poynter Institute. Getting the facts right has been core to AP's mission since our founding in 1846. When a public figure says something questionable, it is our job to investigate it and offer the facts. It appears the AP's first stand-alone political fact check was written Nov. 9, 1993, around a debate between Vice President Al Gore and businessman Ross Perot on the merits of the North American Free Trade Agreement, often referred to as NAFTA. From there it has grown from fact-checking politicians' speech to checking for false and misleading information that gains widespread traction online. You can find those stories here. We also do live fact-checking around events like presidential addresses, political debates and campaign events. As with all AP staff, AP fact checkers must adhere to the company's Statement of News Values, which states: 'AP employees must avoid behavior or activities — political, social or financial — that create a conflict of interest or compromise our ability to report the news fairly and accurately, uninfluenced by any person or action.'
USA Today
21-02-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
No tornado 'portal' in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Feb. 15
The claim: Video shows 'portal inside of a tornado' in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Feb. 15 A Feb. 16 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows light emanating from a dark, funnel-shaped cloud. "Portal inside of a tornado??!!" reads text superimposed over the video. "2/15/2025 Knoxville Tennessee!!!" The caption of the post says, "Wow portal in Tennessee (sic)." The video was shared 12,000 times in five days. More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page Our rating: False There was no tornado in Knoxville on Feb. 15, according to an area meteorologist. The video originated on a TikTok account associated with a "video creator." No Knoxville tornado on Feb. 15 Matt Reagan, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Tennessee, told USA TODAY there was no tornado in Knoxville on Feb. 15. The video in the post appears to have originated on a TikTok account with the handle @incognitogamingtv. The account includes many videos purportedly showing "portals" and UFOs. Fact check: Hundreds of species infected with bird flu, not just chickens, cows, humans The user's Instagram account, @Incognito_gaming_tv, identifies the user as a "video creator." The user did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Facebook user who shared the post. USA TODAY has debunked multiple videos wrongly claiming to show extreme weather in variouslocations. Our fact-check sources Matt Reagan, Feb. 20, Phone interview with USA TODAY Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here. USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
USA Today
21-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
A 200-foot Jesus statue outside the White House? No, that's AI
A 200-foot Jesus statue outside the White House? No, that's AI | Fact check Show Caption Hide Caption White House Black History Month comes during DEI roll backs President Trump hosted a Black History Month event at the White House as his administration rolls back diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The claim: Videos show 200-foot Jesus statute on White House lawn A Feb. 15 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a statue of Jesus being raised in front of the White House. 'We are Sooooo Back,' reads the video's caption. 'Amazing statue of Jesus Christ, arms wide open and 200 feet tall, being placed at the White House grounds by President Donald Trump. Wow.' A similar post on X was reposted more than 6,000 times. Other versions of the claim shared on Facebook included a slightly different video. More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page Our rating: False A livestream of the White House shows no such statue being built. The videos are digital creations consistent with content generated by artificial intelligence. White House livestream shows no statue under construction A livestream outside the White House shows there is no 200-foot statue under construction. Any structure of that height would tower over the White House, which is 70 feet tall at its highest point, according to the White House Historical Association. The videos originated with a TikTok account that frequently makes posts that include elements found in AI-generated content. Walter Scheirer, an engineering professor at the University of Notre Dame whose area of research includes visual recognition, told USA TODAY that both videos 'contain numerous irregularities that wouldn't be present in a genuine scene.' For example, in the video that shows workers standing on scaffolding around the statue, one of the worker's arms seems to disappear at random, Scheirer said. In the other video, the equipment moving in the foreground visibly distorts the appearance of the metal structure in the background. Fact check: This image doesn't show pilot of crashed Delta jet. That's AI and a porn star USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Check Your Fact and Lead Stories also debunked the claim. Our fact-check sources Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here. USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump vowed to tackle inflation, but this post is fabricated
A Feb. 12 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a screenshot of a Truth Social post that President Donald Trump shared in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. "EGGS & GAS PRICES – OUT OF CONTROL!!!" reads the supposed Trump post, which has a timestamp of Oct. 26, 2024. "Crooked Joe and the radical left DESTROYED affordability for hardworking Americans. It's a TOTAL SCAM! On DAY ONE, I'll SLASH prices – so fast it'll make their heads spin. Big Oil? Big Farms? They'll listen to ME, not lobbyists. NO MORE RIPOFFS!!! MAGA!!!" The Facebook post's caption reads, "'On DAY ONE, I'll SLASH prices' turned into 'On DAY 22, it's Biden's FAULT!'" The post was shared more than 1,100 times in a week. More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page The image is a fabrication. There is no record of the post on Trump's Truth Social profile. Trump repeatedly vowed to address living costs during the 2024 presidential campaign. In an August 2024 speech in Montana, he said, "Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again." He again promised to "end inflation" while stumping in Pennsylvania in September 2024. On Feb. 12, the same day the Labor Department released data showing inflation accelerated in January, Trump sought to blame his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for the rise in prices. He posted on Truth Social, "BIDEN INFLATION UP!" The Facebook post tries to contrast Trump's campaign pledge to immediately improve the economy with his attempt to distance himself from unfavorable economic news now that he's back in the White House. However, Trump did not make the Truth Social post promising to tame food and energy prices on his first day in office. The image is a fabrication. Fact check: No, image doesn't show real Trump post about Department of Education The post does not appear on Trump's Truth Social profile or on Trump's Truth, a continuously updated and searchable archive of Trump's Truth Social posts. Nor has any credible news report featured the purported Truth Social post as legitimate. USA TODAY has debunked an array of social media claims involving Trump, including fabricated images claiming to show Trump's private medical records from a July 2024 assassination attempt, a Trump post blaming the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl loss on "DEI nonsense," and a post from famed journalist Bob Woodward mocking the president. USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Snopes also debunked the claim. Donald Trump, accessed Feb. 17, Truth Social profile Trump's Truth, accessed Feb. 17, Search Donald Trump, Feb. 12, Truth Social post Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here. USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Image of Trump post promising to cut prices is fabricated | Fact check
