Many news outlets are now turning to "fact checkers" to combat the public's growing distrust of "fake news." But who's keeping them in check?
NewsBusters and the Media Research Center have launched a new project called Fact-Checking the Fact-Checkers to give the public real facts.
“Part of what we're trying to do here is say wait a second, consider the source,” says MRC political director Christian Robey. “Just because someone is a self-stylized news fact-checker, doesn't mean that they are.”
Whether it's Pinocchios or a Truth-O-Meter, Robey says the practice has proven to be another opportunity for the media to push their leftist agenda.
“We're going to look at places like Snopes and PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, The Washington Post fact-checker, CNN's fact-check, and we're going to see if they are reporting on their Pinocchios if they're legit or if they're bogus,” he says.
“At the end of the day people have to be skeptical about what it is that they're reading. They have to say well, I heard this at FactCheck.org and I read this at The Washington Post, and I read this in my local paper.”
He says it's becoming harder for consumers to tell the difference between what's real and what's fake, especially from major outlets in print, online or cable.
“I would say most of the stuff that comes out of Rachel Maddow's mouth, maybe it's true or maybe it's her opinion, but you shouldn't count on it as being journalistic because it's not,” says Robey. “She is a pundit. She is a talking head. She is an opinion.”