APPC in the News

Brooks Jackson

Director, Annenberg Political Fact Check

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No Spinning This: FactCheck and FactCheckED Garner Three Webby Awards

Monday, May 05, 2008

Annenberg Political Fact Check (www.FactCheck.org) and its offspring, FactCheckED (www.FactCheckED.org), have been named winners in the 12^th Annual Webby Awards competition, it was announced today. FactCheck.org was named the best political website by the Webby judges, and also garnered a People’s Voice Webby, which is awarded based on voting by web users worldwide. FactCheckED received a People’s Voice Webby in the education category.

FactCheck.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. Both websites are projects of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

“We’re thrilled to be recognized,” said Viveca Novak, deputy director of FactCheck.org. “Politics can be one big fog machine, and we’re delighted that both the judges and the vast community of web users believe that we’re effectively helping voters, in some small way, cut through the haze.”

During this election season, FactCheck.org also has been a useful tool for the news media, which has come to value its rapid response. Sometimes within hours, and often in less than a day, FactCheck’s staff of eight sifts through transcripts or videos, identifies erroneous or misleading statements and posts an analysis, with direct links to documents. After each presidential debate, FactCheck.org scrubbed the candidates’ statements within 24 hours, posting its findings on its website and emailing 66,000 subscribers.