Thomas Jefferson stated that a well-informed electorate is a prerequisite to democracy. The explosion of negative, misleading and false political ads in all forms of media has diminished our capacity and, in many cases, our willingness to be that critical well-informed electorate. As we enter the home stretch of this election cycle’s flood of testimonials and accusations, I’m reminded of Sgt. Joe Friday’s request on the TV show “Dragnet” in the 1960s, “All we want are the facts, ma’am.” Being a well-informed citizen in today’s connected online environment is challenging when information of all types washes over us in unending waves. How can we sort through the sea of conflicting claims, counterclaims and negative ads to arrive at Sgt. Joe Friday’s facts? The first step is to decide that we want to do the investigative work needed to get to the facts rather than remain in our own echo chambers. Fortunately, there are several resources for examining statements presented in political ads and news articles. Here are three of the more highly rated ones:

• factcheck.org – Launched in 2003, this is the oldest fact-checking website. According to its mission statement, it is a “nonpartisan, nonprofit ‘consumer advocate’ for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding. FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state and federal levels.”

• mediabiasfactcheck.com – Media Bias/Fact Check, founded in 2015, is an independent online media outlet. MBFC is dedicated to educating the public on media bias and deceptive news practices. This website claims to be the most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet. There are currently 5,200-plus media sources and journalists listed and rated in their database. Users can access the search feature to check the bias and accuracy of any source by typing in the title of the publication or name.

• politifact.com – Politifact is a project of the Tampa Bay Times. It won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the 2008 election, during which it examined 750 claims. Politifact fact-checks claims by politicians at the federal, state and local level, as well as political parties, PACs and advocacy groups. Politifact rates the accuracy of these claims on its Truth-O-Meter, which goes from “True,” “Mostly True,” “Half True,” “False” and “Pants on Fire.”

But how do we know that the fact checkers are unbiased? The International Fact-Checking Network (poynter.org/ifcn) was launched in 2015 to bring together the growing community of fact-checkers around the world and advocates of factual information in the global fight against misinformation. In order to join the network, fact-checkers must adhere to and maintain five principles:

1) Non-partisanship and fairness.
2) A commitment to standards and transparency of sources.
3) A commitment to transparency of funding and organization.
4) A commitment to standards and transparency of methodology.
5) A commitment to an open and honest corrections policy.

There are Maine-based fact-checking resources sponsored by local news outlets. Among them are Maine Public Broadcasting (mainepublic.org/politics/) and WCSH Channel 6 has a segment called Verify dedicated to sorting out fact from fiction in news and social media (newscentermaine.com/verify).

One final tip that we at BoomerTECH Adventures use ourselves when trying to drill down to “just the facts” is to type our question with key words into the search window of our browser. Type the claim, information, issue and candidate’s name into the search window, and often, the information you are looking for will be there. Just be sure to check the bias and accuracy of what comes up! Regardless of one’s politics, when voters make the effort to be part of Jefferson’s well-informed electorate, the minute or two of searching for Sgt. Joe Friday’s facts is a worthwhile investment in supporting and protecting our democracy.

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