Rethinking fact-checking: Hey Do Not Look at MEdia Dragon

The best weapons in the battle against misinformation

I’M NOT HAPPY WITH THE INTERNET OF THINGS: Researcher: 90% Of ‘Smart’ TVs Can Be Compromised Remotely

As Tax Day - April 18 this year - approaches, we are confronted once again with the apparently enduring reality that Americans hate to pay taxes. Few political generalizations seem so indestructible. Gallup has long asked Americans whether their federal income taxes are too high. About 50 to 60 percent regularly say "yes." The federal income tax is deeply unpopular. So goes the conventional wisdom. Except that it's not true or, at any rate, is too simple and incomplete. The tax system is not just a divider; it's a uniter, too.

Taxes — the great uniter? - The Washington Post

Sessions is wrong to take science out of forensic science

 

FactCheck: do 679 of Australia’s biggest corporations pay ‘not one cent’ of tax? 

… 679 of our biggest corporations pay not one cent of tax. – Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Secretary Sally McManus, address to the National Press Club, Canberra, March 29, 2017. Fact Checking

"...all the data in the world is in the ocean but the value is in the fish".

Better planning leads to better fishing | afr.com

Careers Australia and Evocca funding stripped college fraud

 

Luke Lazarus denies targeting woman on dance floor of father's nightclub

In a recent speech, SEC Chief Accountant Wesley Bricker discussed how audit committees can effectively discharge their oversight responsibilities. Among other things, he said it is important for audit committees to understand the financial reporting risks related to implementing new accounting standards, support controls over the disclosure of non-GAAP financial measures, understand changes in the business and operating environments, set a positive tone at the top to support effective internal control over financial reporting, and make sure the committee is not overloaded with responsibilities beyond its core mission.

(1) U.S. journos: Take this quick survey for a University of Florida study on perceptions of fact-checking. (2) The TED franchise features a TEDEd program called "Fact-Checking 101." (3) Africa Check wins 2nd place in the innovation awards from the OIF. (4) Boston University holds a two-day conference on misinformation. (5) A call for more fact-checking elicits responses like "Woke King." (6) Chequeado wants your ideas to fight fake news better. (7) The popular "How Stuff Works" blog tackles how fact-checking works. (8) Detector de Mentiras launches a new home page, including a feature that tracks "the president's lies."  (9) The problem of uninformed voters is not a critical one, says the Spectator, because “the ignorant are far less likely to vote anyway." (10) The News Media Alliance starts an anti-fake news campaign. (11) Teen Vogue fact-checks the Trump administration. (12) "Fact-checking" and "fake news" make the Associated Press Stylebook. 


Australia's Mamamia fact-checks an Australian chef's Instagram post about fact-checking. ... Vox says comedians and satirists are doing a pretty good job of covering the Trump administration, seriously. ... A sportswriter gets hit with Hans Solo gifs after he complains about “fake news” concerning the University of North Carolina.

MC'd by Mr Alex Malley
 A day in the life of Fintel Alliance


Where does fact-checking go from here? A group of experts in information and research — both journalists and non-journalists — spent a day working with the American Press Institute, Poynter Institute, and Duke University's Reporters' Lab. In short, they recommended a transformation that includes more visibility and strategies for growth. Related: A call to rethink fact-checking from API's Tom Rosenstiel

The fake news crisis was never just about the supply of misinformation. It was about the demand for misinformation. Those who choose to focus solely on the primacy of facts have missed the underlying collapse of trust in journalism." — Mark Little, founder of Storyful, in Nieman Reports

It's not about "fake" content, says Nina Jankowicz in The Washington Post. Western governments need to focus on repairing the trust gap between citizens and media, and among citizens themselves.


The best part of our inaugural International Fact-Checking Day — even better than the bar trivia nights — was the fact that our fact-checking lesson plans were downloaded thousands of times by people in at least 51 countries in 13 languages. Canadian actor Noel Fisher helped us get the word out; Alistair Reid had a Twitter moment; and CNN's Brian Stelter celebrated the day. In a hotly contested final, a Brazilian politician's claim on corruption won the our hoax-off. And you, too, can still celebrate Fact-Checking Day by helping to make Wikipedia more factual.
   

Jessica Ravitz at CNN trusted her instincts, and questioned the story of a breast cancer survivor who was making headlines by walking topless across America. Ravitz explains, in detail, how she found the facts.

The need for constant fact-checking is keeping the U.S. presidential press corps busy, and that's the problem, says The Huffington Post. Mistakes and misinformation from the White House are displacing substantial messages.