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Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by smt88 on Sunday November 29, 2020 @02:56PM (#25247565)
So you believe nothing is a fact?

You're obviously not the target audience of fact-checkers. Most people agree on some basic principles of reality that can't be skewed.

For example, when a politician says something in public that millions of people hear and is recorded on video, and then he says he didn't say it, that is a lie. A fact-checker would provide the evidence and context.

Or if a politician says that nothing could be done to reduce Covid deaths in the US, that is less straightforward but also an easy lie to disprove because there are people who died due to lack of available tests for their coworkers, or people who died because of a huge nightclub being allowed to stay open.

Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by commandlinefan on Sunday November 29, 2020 @04:16PM (#25248156)
> you believe nothing is a fact

No, but I do believe that “fact-checkers” get it wrong often enough to be skeptical about what they say is.

Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by mhh__ on Sunday November 29, 2020 @05:23PM (#25248649)
Any citations for that one? Everytime I see a fact checker called biased for one way or the other, not only is it usually salty people of the opposing views usually saying it, it always seems like tittle-tattle rather than actual systemic bias.
Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by nitrogen on Sunday November 29, 2020 @06:32PM (#25249143)
One that recently really bothered me was a black box on YouTube videos that mentioned anything about the US election. The black box said that "the AP has called the election" -- the Associated Press is not responsible for determining who governs the US.

Also, for what it's worth, it was a math video I was watching.

Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by mhh__ on Sunday November 29, 2020 @07:03PM (#25249331)
> The black box said that "the AP has called the election" -- the Associated Press is not responsible for determining who governs the US.

You don't seem to understand that this is how US elections are always called? The press calls the state when they estimate it's impossible for it to go any other way, and then the electors vote a while later.

Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by nitrogen on Sunday November 29, 2020 @07:11PM (#25249393)
It's the presentation of a single non-governmental, potentially biased organization, the AP, as the authoritative figure, to which I object. The black box message didn't mention electors or counts at all, only that "the AP has called" it.
Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by alphabettsy on Monday November 30, 2020 @12:26AM (#25250976)
Whether or not the election is called is the only thing that mattered the week of the election since there was/is no finalization until the electoral college votes. I don’t understand why there’s any handwaving about this part other than the sudden encouragement by certain political actors that never had a problem with it before.
Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by nitrogen on Monday November 30, 2020 @12:31AM (#25251002)
Oh, that's fine, it's that a specific commercial organization was presented as the deciding authority that is the problem. That won't help convince anyone whose fundamental disagreement is a distrust in traditional media's authority figures. Google/YT could have put anything in that message, and they got the delivery all wrong.
Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by alphabettsy on Tuesday December 01, 2020 @01:32AM (#25262961)
If the problem is fundamental distrust then what difference does it make if it’s the AP? The message isn’t for the people who choose to be misinformed, it’s for those that could be unwittingly.
Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by throwaway201103 on Sunday November 29, 2020 @03:40PM (#25247887)
I hope you agree that context matters. Anyone can have a sound bite cut out of a larger statement and have that spun to be something that isn't representative, or that he didn't intend, or even the complete opposite. And then for many people, repitition becomes fact. Whatever they've heard most often, from the most sources, becomes their belief.
Re:Only distributed fact-checking can keep up with democrati... by loopz on Sunday November 29, 2020 @03:59PM (#25248034)
For something to be fact-checked, it must take context in consideration. Fact-check can be true, a middle ground (both true and false) or false. So there's not this black and white as some people pretend it is. A few just want to pretend they should get away with lying, and getting people to go along with their villainry. Beware such sociopaths, they will do the same to you and loved ones at next turn. Never yield any power to such people. No cause is worth destruction.

If your statements don't hold water, you should be held accountable for it, and there should be consequences according to your power. When those consequences is more power, you sooner or later arrive at Mussolini (look him up).

Though, for many people, facts, science, teachers, doctors, none of that matter. So this means the political system must get out of its stalemates and address the real issues that lie beneath the bullshitters. People don't think alike, so you can't reach everyone, even if you think you have all the facts. Besides, facts can always be disputed, though not unreasonably so.

My conclusion is, no fact-checking will ever be sexy and viral. People will die of boredom instead :)

Good try though!