The future of factchecking

Outlets must also learn to overcome the controversies and frictions that factchecking inevitably creates, which tend to help keep the status quo in place. At the elite level, for instance, the increased salience of factchecking during this electoral cycle generated unprecedented pushback, ranging from an 86-page dossier on Politifact Virginia released by the state GOP to repeated on-air attacks on PolitiFact by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. Some of these complaints had merit—like other journalists, factcheckers sometimes make mistakes and demonstrate poor judgment—but the criticisms often appear driven in part by partisan or ideological considerations.

Media outlets will also have to learn how to tolerate objections from their audience. Most people like the idea of challenging talking points and factchecking in the abstract, but protest when their side gets criticized—a factor that unfortunately creates commercial incentives to avoid aggressive factchecking.

Given the energy and enthusiasm behind the factchecking movement, it is likely that these challenges can be at least partially overcome.