![]() ![]() On PolitiFact’s 15th birthday, I thought it would be useful to share the lesson about disruption and a few others from my unusual journey through American political journalism. Pretty good for a journalism org that’s not even old enough to drive. As a proud parent, allow me to brag: PolitiFact has published more than 22,000 fact-checks, won a Pulitzer Prize and sparked a global movement for political fact-checking. It’s now owned by the Poynter Institute, and it has evolved with the times. Today, some political reporters have developed more courage, but many still won’t call out the falsehoods they hear. But after watching the lying grow in the early days of the internet, I felt it was time for us to change our approach. I understood his reluctance because I had been a political reporter for many years. They were afraid fact-checking would displease the elected officials they covered. Back then, most of them were timid about calling out lies by politicians. That was my first lesson that PolitiFact was going to disrupt the status quo, especially for political journalists. Sure, he liked the idea, he said at a meeting of editors, “but I want nothing to do with it.” That concept was too gutsy for the Times political editor. Petersburg Times (now the Tampa Bay Times) to start something bold: a fact-checking website that called out politicians for being liars. Fifteen years ago, I worked with a small group of reporters and editors at the St. ![]()
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