A Quick Fact Check On Pollies’ Claims

In these times of ongoing electioneering, claim and counterclaim, just how can you tell who is right or who is bending the truth? There are now two websites giving an ongoing assessment of our pollies’ claims – Politifact Australia and Facts Fight Back.

Politifact Australia

PolitiFact Australia says it is a non-partisan, independent journalistic venture run by Peter Fray, the former editor-in-chief of the Sydney Morning Herald, and staffed by experienced reporters and researchers.

It is the first international licensee of the Pulitzer-prize winning US site, PolitiFact.com. It runs a Truth-O-Meter and claims (#pfoz) social media pages are filled with debate about the rulings.

It seems readers ‘zealously inform’ editors when there’s an opportunity to give a politician the highest (dis)honour…a Pants on Fire symbol!

Facts Fight Back

The Australia Institute, which describes itself as an independent think tank dedicated to develop and conduct research and policy analysis, has developed ‘Facts Fight Back‘ to:

‘provide a timely and accessible source of information to help voters, journalists and the politicians themselves keep track of who is playing loose with the truth’.

You can also give tips for facts to be checked

Excellent!