Fact Check: The Accuracy of Politicians
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September 24, 2008
FactCheck.Org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan website that monitors the accuracy of information shared by politicians. According to their website, the goal of FactCheck.Org "is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding." This resource can help students make sense of political advertisements and speeches leading up to the presidential election.
Discussion Questions
- What is the difference between political advertisements and propaganda?
- What is the role of FactCheck.Org and other media resources in a democracy? What can happen in a society where people do not critique political messages, because they do not know how or because they will be punished for doing so?
- What is the role of schools in preparing citizens to be critical consumers of information? What does it mean to be media literate? What skills and knowledge does media literacy require? (For more information on media literacy, refer to Project Look Sharp and the Center for Media Literacy.)
Related Facing Today Resources
Note: The media selections posted in Facing Today do not necessarily represent the views of Facing History and Ourselves.
