FactCheck.org Responds

[erpowers]

A few days ago, someone at DU brought up the fact that the RNC chairman had claimed that factcheck.org was a Republican site. I emailed factcheck.org and asked them if the Chairman's statement was true. Today I read my email and Brooks Jackson said that although he had not heard what Gillespe had said, the statement was false. Here is the actual quote from Brooks Jackson.

"I didn't hear what he said, but that's false. Read "about us" on our home page."

--Brooks Jackson

[lovedems]

1. I sent them an email as well but haven't yet received a response.

I told them I wanted removed from their mailing list. Maybe that is why they didn't respond. :shrug: I must be a lost cause to them!

[librechik]

2. Gillespie said it was a factchecking site to trust

And of course I would trust Ed to babysit my children (NOT!)

also, even though Bill Moyers seems to be involved with them, and Jackson is a respected journalist who claims to be neutral in the old sense, I noticed in a short google search that:

they are listed as a source at "Blogs for Bush"
http://www.blogsforbush.com/mt/archives/000490.html

they come up short when factchecked themselves
http://www.steveverdon.com/archives/001251.html

I found only one liberal site (MoveON) which listed them as a source, but twenty five conservative sites liked them in the first few pages of search results.

I suggest you double factcheck them at the CAP or Snopes or whatever.
Trust but verify.

[Cocoa]

4. FactCheck lost me right away

one of their first articles was about Michael Moore's "desterter" charge, and it was so bad that it's hard even to describe.

http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=131


I don't think FactCheck.org is right-wing, but I think it suffers from a flawed sense of "neutrality" or "balance", which actually rewards Bush for being outrageously dishonest. FactCheck seems determined to make Bush and Kerry seem equally dishonest, which of course helps Bush.

[sadiesworld]

5. Sounds like spinsanity.

[wndycty]

3. Its funny that Brooks Jackson did not hear that. . .

. . .I e-mailed him a link to the C-SPAN report and he claimed it did not work. I call BS!

-snip-
From: "FactCheck.org Editor" <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 23:28:24 -0400
To: XXXXXXXXX
Subject: RE: Please clarify Ed Gillespe's comments RE: RNC/factcheck.org


The video won't display. I guess C-span's website is having problems.

I would like to know what it was he said -- or was trying to say -- and will
find out eventually.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

--BJ


-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXX
To: [e-mail]
Sent: 7/18/2004 11:47 AM
Subject: Please clarify Ed Gillespe's comments RE: RNC/factcheck.org

On last week's WASHINGTON JOURNAL Ed Gillespe claimed that factcheck.org
is an RNC website. Please clarify what he meant.

HERE IS VIDEO GILLESPE CLAIMING THAT THE RNC FUNDS FACTCHECK.ORG!!!

http://www.c-span.org/homepage.asp?Cat=Series&Code=WJE&ShowVidNum=6&Rot_
Cat_CD=WJ&Rot_HT=206&Rot_WD=&ShowVidDays=15&ShowVidDesc=&ArchiveDays=30

Go to Washington Journal Entire Program (07/12/2004)
It is at 2:10:54! He says factcheck.org is an RNC website. You should
go to 2:08:45 for the start of the passage.


------ End of Forwarded Message