4 ms·

Fact checking is now activism with an agenda? What a hot take. From what I understand Meta used fact checkers certified by Poynter’s International Fact Checking

by gnz11 2y ago

Fact checking is now activism with an agenda? What a hot take. From what I understand Meta used fact checkers certified by Poynter’s International Fact Checking Network [1]. Now with "community notes" you will most certainly get people with an axe to grind. [1] https://www.poynter.org/ifcn/ https://www.poynter.org/ifcn/

like_any_other 2y ago
Poynter operates PolitiFact, which is blatantly partisan: They mark accurate statements as 'mostly false', when what they really mean is they lack a very specific context, in this case per-capita adjustment to make killings 'disproportionate', but NOT e.g. per-homicide-perpetrator adjustment. One could of course argue what is the correct normalization, but PolitiFact doesn't do that - they simply label the accurate statement as false: https://www.politifactbias.com/2020/06/politifact-mangles-fact-check-of-larry.html https://www.politifactbias.com/2020/06/politifact-mangles-fa... They omit fact-checks if those fact checks would give credence to their opposition: https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2021/04/21/politifact-asks-us-back-our-chart-when-we-did-nothing-happened https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2021/04/21/p... Another example of labeling data that they themselves admit is accurate, as false: https://upward.news/p/we-fact-checked-politifact-they-failed https://upward.news/p/we-fact-checked-politifact-they-failed https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/feb/26/instagram-posts/chart-comparing-new-york-and-florida-covid-19-flaw/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/feb/26/instagram-... They label a claim as outright false when it was outdated by mere months: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/apr/08/michael-knowles/claim-about-german-bestiality-brothels-based-outda/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/apr/08/michael-kn... They manufacture and debunk a strawman, when the claim is unassailably solid and cites the NYTimes and government commissions: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1761228755031237032.html https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1761228755031237032.html https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/23/sean-parnell/a-nevada-glitch-does-not-equal-mail-ballot-fraud/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/23/sean-parne...
- jhp123 2y ago
  So the claim "German perverts open bestiality brothels" was true in January 2013? Where were these bestiality brothels located?
  - like_any_other 2y ago
    No specific locations are given. However: bestiality was legal in Germany up until February 2013 [0,1], and Germany still has its own zoophile advocacy organization [1,2]. The number of zoophiles in Germany is estimated at 100k by this interviewed zoophile [3]. Wikipedia estimates zoophilia has a 2% incidence [4], which would equate to 1.6 million zoophiles in Germany, making the 100k a conservative estimate. “The issue has become so public and inhibitions fall,” Astrid Behr, head of the German Association of Veterinarians, told Metro, indicating the growth of popular websites and forums, although she could not confirm the existence of rumored ‘pet brothels’. [3] The Berliner describes zoophile sex parties and a large internet forum where they are organized [5]. “There are even animal brothels in Germany,” [the animal protection official for Hessian state government] said [..] “The abuse seems to be increasingly rapidly, and the internet offers an additional distribution platform,” she said. [6]. So we have a mountain of circumstantial evidence, confessions, an expert statement, and a direct statement by a government official (both claiming the problem is growing) - the kind of statement PolitiFact treats as definitive evidence when convenient [7]. And of course, PolitiFact deftly implies that because something is illegal (or has extremely recently become illegal), that it therefore does not happen. I'm looking forward to their articles on the Aylesbury/Banbury/Bristol/Derby/Halifax/Huddersfield/Keighley/Newcastle/Oxford/Rochdale/Rotherham/Peterborough/Telford child sex abuse rings: "Actually, rape is illegal in the UK. We rate these claims false." I say looking forward, because currently, they have articles on precisely ZERO of them, somehow, despite what a scandal it was and is. But they do have "There's no evidence that Muslim immigrants are responsible for most of London's knife attacks" [8], so it's not that they ignore the UK. They just pick their battles. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/world/europe/german-legislators-vote-to-outlaw-bestiality.html https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/world/europe/german-legis... [1] https://www.metro.us/bestiality-banned-in-germany-zoophile-speaks-out/ https://www.metro.us/bestiality-banned-in-germany-zoophile-s... [2] https://www.zeta-verein.de/en/zoophilia/zeta-principles/ https://www.zeta-verein.de/en/zoophilia/zeta-principles/ [3] https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/a-real-animal-lover-meet-the-man-fighting-to-keep-bestiality-legal-in-germany https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/a-real-animal-lover-... [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoophilia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoophilia [5] https://www.the-berliner.com/politics/zoophilia/ https://www.the-berliner.com/politics/zoophilia/ [6] https://web.archive.org/web/20120205002624/http://www.thelocal.de/society/20120203-40531.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120205002624/http://www.theloc... [7] The secretary of state also said there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Nevada, now or ever. - https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/23/sean-parnell/a-nevada-glitch-does-not-equal-mail-ballot-fraud/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/23/sean-parne... [8] https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/feb/08/viral-image/theres-no-evidence-muslim-immigrants-are-responsib/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/feb/08/viral-imag...

by gnz11 2y ago

like_any_other 2y ago

Poynter operates PolitiFact, which is blatantly partisan: They mark accurate statements as 'mostly false', when what they really mean is they lack a very specific context, in this case per-capita adjustment to make killings 'disproportionate', but NOT e.g. per-homicide-perpetrator adjustment. One could of course argue what is the correct normalization, but PolitiFact doesn't do that - they simply label the accurate statement as false: https://www.politifactbias.com/2020/06/politifact-mangles-fact-check-of-larry.html https://www.politifactbias.com/2020/06/politifact-mangles-fa... They omit fact-checks if those fact checks would give credence to their opposition: https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2021/04/21/politifact-asks-us-back-our-chart-when-we-did-nothing-happened https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2021/04/21/p... Another example of labeling data that they themselves admit is accurate, as false: https://upward.news/p/we-fact-checked-politifact-they-failed https://upward.news/p/we-fact-checked-politifact-they-failed https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/feb/26/instagram-posts/chart-comparing-new-york-and-florida-covid-19-flaw/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/feb/26/instagram-... They label a claim as outright false when it was outdated by mere months: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/apr/08/michael-knowles/claim-about-german-bestiality-brothels-based-outda/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/apr/08/michael-kn... They manufacture and debunk a strawman, when the claim is unassailably solid and cites the NYTimes and government commissions: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1761228755031237032.html https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1761228755031237032.html https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/23/sean-parnell/a-nevada-glitch-does-not-equal-mail-ballot-fraud/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/23/sean-parne...

jhp123 2y ago
So the claim "German perverts open bestiality brothels" was true in January 2013? Where were these bestiality brothels located?
- like_any_other 2y ago
  No specific locations are given. However: bestiality was legal in Germany up until February 2013 [0,1], and Germany still has its own zoophile advocacy organization [1,2]. The number of zoophiles in Germany is estimated at 100k by this interviewed zoophile [3]. Wikipedia estimates zoophilia has a 2% incidence [4], which would equate to 1.6 million zoophiles in Germany, making the 100k a conservative estimate. “The issue has become so public and inhibitions fall,” Astrid Behr, head of the German Association of Veterinarians, told Metro, indicating the growth of popular websites and forums, although she could not confirm the existence of rumored ‘pet brothels’. [3] The Berliner describes zoophile sex parties and a large internet forum where they are organized [5]. “There are even animal brothels in Germany,” [the animal protection official for Hessian state government] said [..] “The abuse seems to be increasingly rapidly, and the internet offers an additional distribution platform,” she said. [6]. So we have a mountain of circumstantial evidence, confessions, an expert statement, and a direct statement by a government official (both claiming the problem is growing) - the kind of statement PolitiFact treats as definitive evidence when convenient [7]. And of course, PolitiFact deftly implies that because something is illegal (or has extremely recently become illegal), that it therefore does not happen. I'm looking forward to their articles on the Aylesbury/Banbury/Bristol/Derby/Halifax/Huddersfield/Keighley/Newcastle/Oxford/Rochdale/Rotherham/Peterborough/Telford child sex abuse rings: "Actually, rape is illegal in the UK. We rate these claims false." I say looking forward, because currently, they have articles on precisely ZERO of them, somehow, despite what a scandal it was and is. But they do have "There's no evidence that Muslim immigrants are responsible for most of London's knife attacks" [8], so it's not that they ignore the UK. They just pick their battles. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/world/europe/german-legislators-vote-to-outlaw-bestiality.html https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/world/europe/german-legis... [1] https://www.metro.us/bestiality-banned-in-germany-zoophile-speaks-out/ https://www.metro.us/bestiality-banned-in-germany-zoophile-s... [2] https://www.zeta-verein.de/en/zoophilia/zeta-principles/ https://www.zeta-verein.de/en/zoophilia/zeta-principles/ [3] https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/a-real-animal-lover-meet-the-man-fighting-to-keep-bestiality-legal-in-germany https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/a-real-animal-lover-... [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoophilia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoophilia [5] https://www.the-berliner.com/politics/zoophilia/ https://www.the-berliner.com/politics/zoophilia/ [6] https://web.archive.org/web/20120205002624/http://www.thelocal.de/society/20120203-40531.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120205002624/http://www.theloc... [7] The secretary of state also said there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Nevada, now or ever. - https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/23/sean-parnell/a-nevada-glitch-does-not-equal-mail-ballot-fraud/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/23/sean-parne... [8] https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/feb/08/viral-image/theres-no-evidence-muslim-immigrants-are-responsib/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/feb/08/viral-imag...