A new editor for Full Fact
Full Fact, a fact-checking charity based in the United Kingdom, had some big staffing changes last week.
First, it announced the hire of Tom Phillips as its editor. Phillips, who was previously editorial director of BuzzFeed U.K., starts June 11 and will lead a team of five fact-checkers.
That same day, Phoebe Arnold, Full Fact’s head of communications and impact, made public that she was leaving the charity this summer. The application for her replacement closes June 18 at 10 a.m. BST.
This is how we do it
- Misinformation on WhatsApp is a real problem. Here’s how Verificado 2018 is working to combat it.
- ABC sponsored a show for Australian kids about misinformation and climate change.
- When Check Your Fact debunked an official’s claim about the number of MS-13 gang members on Long Island, the Department of Justice revised its numbers. It’s 875, not 2,000.
This is bad
- Here's what a deepfake video of Donald Trump in Belgium says about the future of political campaign strategy.
- This Italian-American from New York who “identifies with being British more than American” fooled a lot of journalists when he posed as a royal expert.
- Sweden: Even you must prepare for a fake news-filled election.
This is fun
- Daniel Radcliffe, the original “Harry Potter,” will star in the Broadway production of the 2012 book “The Lifespan of a Fact.”
- PolitiFact re-upped its fact check of Jake Tapper and Ben Shapiro’s comic book beef on Twitter.
- John Oliver fact-checks the meaning of “guardianship” with the help of Neil deGrasse Tyson on “Last Week Tonight.”
A closer look
- France continues to be a political laboratory for anti-misinformation action in Europe.
- Could lawsuits stop fake news and conspiracy theories? Through the Seth Rich trial, we may find out.
- The fantastical history of scams and lies around the world’s largest pearl is sad but strangely entertaining.
If you listen to one more thing
Where are the “missing immigrant children?” An immigration lawyer explains to WBEZ how the facts got out of control.
12 quick fact-checking links
- Fake news is fueling a crisis in Qatar.
- Read the “bad-tempered emails” behind the Brexit vote.
- Fox News apologized after using a photo of Philadelphia Eagles players praying in coverage about kneeling during the national anthem.
- Norway’s Faktisk gets two new owners and additional funding.
- CQ has published a book on the history of news, misinformation and how to fight back against online hoaxes — with chapters by Alexios and Tom Rosenstiel at API.
- Teyit.org has joined Facebook’s fact-checking program — making it the tech company’s first and only partner in Turkey.
- After someone vandalized the Wikipedia article for the California Republican Party, Google’s search results surfaced the group with “Nazism” under its ideology.
- “Serious and verified” is Le Monde’s new motto to sell subscriptions.
- PolitiFact won two Green Eyeshade awards.
- Clint Watts, author of “Messing with the Enemy,” talks to Wired about the mis/disinformation lessons he’s learned.
- RealClearPolitics makes its case for marking “updates” in fact-checking more clearly.
- Our brains “love fake news,” says an NYU professor, but don’t despair: You can do something about it.
Until next week,
