2008: Just the Facts

FactCheck.org has done yeoman work in service of the idea of an informed voting public. Now, it will no longer need to soldier on alone. PolitiFact.com has announced that it also will pan for truth in the stream of 2008 presidential rhetoric. The St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly have teamed to produce the new site, offering among other services a "truth-o-meter" that rates statements by the candidates for president on a scale from "true" through "half true" to "pants on fire." The site is organized well, the writing is crisp and to the point, and sources are hyperlinked where appropriate. Users can browse the commentaries by candidate or ad sponsor, by issue, by truth-o-meter ruling and, in the case of attack ads, by who is attacking whom. Twenty-one researchers, writers and editors from the periodicals have been assigned to the project. Both companies are affiliates of the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by the Poynter Institute, a center for journalism education in St. Pete.