Ever wonder about the detailed process of how the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact fact-checks claims made by political candidates and pundits?
Well then check out the latest episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast,” which debuts today. I speak with Katie Sanders, the editor-in-chief of PolitiFact. We talk about how PolitiFact does its job, getting ready for the much-anticipated Lie of the Year, and which claims have come up most often during this presidential campaign.
Sanders also is ready for what could be a tumultuous days and weeks ahead regarding claims of a rigged election, particularly if former President Donald Trump loses.
Sanders told me, “We are preparing because we’re already seeing it. I would say, since early voting started, we’re seeing claims about mail-in voting being fraudulent.”
Sanders said PolitiFact is already talking to election officials who increased security in anticipation of what could happen in the next few weeks.
Sanders added, “So I think our eyes are pretty open because of what we went through in 2020 where we had weeks, if not months, of fact-checking very specific claims around the country affecting various precincts through misleading video, misleading tweets. It kind of feels like Whac-a-Mole, honestly, but it’s already started.”
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Previous episodes
- Episode 3: NBC News and MSNBC national political correspondent Steve Kornacki on the state of polling and America’s election systems
- Episode 2: Poynter president Neil Brown on a new report that highlights some bright spots in the business of media
- Episode 1: NPR TV critic Eric Deggans on what the media gets right and wrong about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump
Credits
The Poynter Report Podcast is produced by the Department of Journalism and Digital Communication at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg
- Host: Tom Jones
- Executive Producers: Elliott Wiser and Ren LaForme
- Producers: Madilyn Siner, Noah Chase and Tom Jones
- Director: Christopher Campbell
- Special thank you: Neil Brown and Dr. Mark Walters
