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Fact check editorial approach
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Ballotpedia fact checks examine claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. With more than 500,000 elected officials in the United States, there are almost limitless claims made by politicians. We evaluate claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process as the rest of Ballotpedia. Our focus is always on the claim, not the individual. We will be covering claims made at all levels of government: federal, state and local.
From time to time, at the discretion of Ballotpedia's editor, Ballotpedia may fact-check statements made by non-politicians. For example, we might consider fact-checking a statement made by a pundit (broadly construed) if that statement is causing waves and having a noticeable impact. This type of fact-checking is likely to amount to less than 5 percent of our total output.
The fact-checking of political claims is an integral part of media coverage of political news in the United States. Political fact-checking intends to assess the accuracy of political information as it is expressed in statements made by politicians and others. The goal is to prevent the repetition of false information that occurs when news organizations simply report what politicians say. Fact checkers want to increase their audience’s knowledge of important issues by examining whether the statement is factual or false and reporting on their findings. Political fact-checkers seek to be accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan.[1][2]
Our fact-checking mission is to give serious analysis to political wordplay so that citizens can more rigorously evaluate the truthfulness of political statements.
What does a fact check look like?
A standard fact check often follows this structural pattern:
- Statement or claim that will be investigated
- Ideally, the claim is empirically verifiable.
- Explanation of the background and context in which the claim was made
- The person or organization making the claim may be contacted for information about their source for the claim.
- Evaluation of the claim
- What data supports or refutes the assertion?
- Identification and explanation of misleading aspects of the claim
- Conclusion about the claim being true or false
To learn more about fact-checking, click here.
Sample articles
- Does a ballot measure in Ohio create a marijuana monopoly?
- Fact-checking David Vitter and John Bel Edwards on Syrian refugees in Louisiana
- Did Ohio lose 300,000 manufacturing jobs because of NAFTA?
- Tammy Duckworth on Mark Kirk, mass incarceration and race
- Does a mayoral candidate in Houston have a plan to sell junk bonds?
- Is NASA's budget less than 2 percent of the federal budget?
Contact information
We welcome comments from our readers. If you have a question, comment or suggestion for a claim that you think we should look into, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. You can also contact us on Facebook and Twitter.
See also
- Federal Desk editorial approach
- State Desk editorial approach
- Local Desk editorial approach
- Influencers editorial approach
- Public Policy editorial approach
Footnotes
