I've seen them dismissed because things like Poltifact is revered as some final authority, when it makes conclusive statements regarding fact based on the premise of "plausible deniability", or even worse, just denial.
Is this a 'are you five years old'? problem again?
Yes - please dont trust any publication because of a title.
But if you try to promote scepticism in a case, where the going narrative was 'blond women did something - election fraud" Its important that everyone watches. You watch - you decide what you see. Was it criminal fraud? Based on 'what the Trump laywer that leaked us the video said" - then lock yourself in a storeroom and eat the key.
Fact checking platforms were the f*cking first ones that even tried to confirm the story, that spoke with the representatives, that interviewed the people in the room.
While bumblef*ck facebook craycray army of -- 'I think EPOCH TIMES be great newssource" F*CKERS, tried to spread videos that qualified this as 'the smoking gun', but at the same time stated, that they didnt know exactly what was in the video, and that you should watch it and "make up your own opinion".
Here is the game. Teach people how to be 'media literate'. And if they want to spread rumors - and ultimately lies - hit them in the face. Otherwise they dont learn.
And this also goes for you - if you side with bumbblefuck litterally took video, and what lawyer told them, did nothing else, and sold that as important and scandalous to their viewers.
F*ck those sources. And if you are defending them - you know what fallows.
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I personally HATE the factcheck circute. Because its a concept set up on following F*CKING morons, and fixing the world behind them. The self conception of every facebook user sharing that crap is, that they are a vigilant bright citizen, and that everything they choose to platform must be important. The concept of fact checking platforms is to tell them how much of an idiot they are. The reaction is - it cant be. The outcome is - nothing changes, least of which is self perception. And people at fact checking platform become cruel self loathing, balls of hatred and anger, that just assume that they are better at 'getting at the truth' - using a simple phonecall, because they are dealing with the utmost trash of human society every day - in terms of communication output.
The solution is actually not to pander to dubf*cks, but to hit the F*CKING morons of people sharing that crap in the mouth so hard, that they start to notice, what effing morons they are - by following a few simple rules. As in: Did someone actually do a followup on the rumor I'm sharing to all my moron friends, because I have feeling. Is a story substantiated, what was the source, is the story plausible, is there actual content, or is it just emotional bait, is someone telling me how to feel about a thing (at which point its commentary, and not news anymore).
And if the F*CKING moron public still posts shit with the entire messaging being 'smoking gun, blond women did something - your ballots are in danger! Look at the silent video, the boxes were UNDER the table! Dont you seee!?', then hit them in the face, hit them in the face, until nothing comes out anymore. (Figuratively speaking. Verbal 'violence' not actual one). Because they will never change their sharing behavior, or look up a better source, or source quality - if you leave them in the believe, that they are benefiting their group cycle - by simply being the first to share something scandalous.
So saying - dont believe in something just because it has the word 'factcheck' in front of it is fine. People are too stupid anyhow to see, that this already is a 'charity play' on their behalf, where people spend money, so society becomes barely bareable, they also will never say thank you - because someone factchecked them. How dare you to question their feelings! They will never find the already patronizing nature of factchecking 'inspiring' enough to change their believe, or media consumption behavior. Or independent enough to be 'entirely trusted'. And its not.
But they will also - never become better news consumers until you show them what f*cking morons they are. If your impetus is to share something, thats not objectified, and just an extension of a rumor mill. And this thing has 'the elections were manipulated' in it - get hit in the face, over, and over again, until it hurts. So the next time, you check first if this passes the minimum standard of news reporting (as in someone followed up and actually tried to find out what happend).
You can pick your media sources freely. But you have to have at least some understanding what a newsitem is, and what it is not.