Fact-checking Web sites

The world has a lot of noise. There are now an uncountable number of Web sites across the internet. Millions of bloggers around the world, just like me, are writing about everything under the sun. And this is added to the traditional media - newspapers, radio and television. Everyone has something to say about everything, and, thanks to modern technology, everyone now has a means to express their opinions.

So how do we, as ordinary readers, sort through the barrage of information? How do we separate fact from fiction? Enter fact-checking Web sites.

A number of watchdog and fact-checking websites have sprung up in the past few years. There is FactCheck.org, The Center for Public Integrity, and, my favorite, PolitiFact.com. A recent panel discussion at the University of Arkansas featured a managing editor of the Center for Public Integrity and the designer of PolitiFact.com. During the discussion, they mentioned the importance of online  media as a government watchdog. Traditionally, we think of the media as the "fourth branch of government," an unofficial system that makes sure politicians and lawmakers are acting in the public's best interest. But, now that cable news stations seem to be trapped in a ideology battle and many newspapers are struggling and cutting the budgets of their investigative teams, no one is left to keep watch on the government except the online media.

And Web sites, especially the three mentioned above, are doing a great job of keeping the government honest. Web sites do not have the traditional space constraints of newspapers or the time constraints of television. This means that sites like PolitiFact.com can keep a running tab of politicians true and untrue statements. And it means they can devote more space to very specific issues, as the Center for Public Integrity is known for doing. And the quality of reporting can't be ignored. The three fact-checking Web sites mentioned above are all known for their excellent quality, and all earned trust from readers on both sides of the aisle.

So what is the moral of the story? The internet has created a lot of noise in the world, with bloggers and "citizen journalists" spouting whatever they want to, whether it is true or not. But, the internet  has also created an excellent new medium for fact-checking and keeping the government honest.

So in the end, it all evens out. I hope.