The Pulitzer Prize winning website PolitiFact has made quite a name for itself in the fact-checking business. Operated by the Tampa Bay Times, the website is cited regularly by media outlets across the country as an authority on what is and is not true. But how do they go about fact-checking claims they investigate?
PolitiFact routinely embeds links in its stories to supporting materials, but how does it reach out to an author of a column it is fact-checking? Turns out it’s not by phone or email, it’s Twitter.
Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact’s deputy editor, wrote a piece “fact-checking” a column by National Review’s Jonah Goldberg, who cited National Review’s Kevin Williamson. The crux of the column was about Obamacare’s embrace of alternative medicine. The content of the column is irrelevant, what matters is this line in Jacobson’s fact-check:
Neither Williamson nor Goldberg returned inquiries for this fact-check.
This appears to have caught both writers off guard, unaware of Jacobson’s attempt. So, being curious, not only as to how their columns could be declared “half-true,” but how they both missed his attempted contact, they inquired via Twitter.
The usual horsepucky from @PolitiFact. "Half true" rating while not identifying one error. Useless, craven hacks. http://t.co/1UTdmf8ei9
— Kevin D. Williamson (@KevinNR) February 24, 2015
No, they didn't. Nothing in my email, no phone call, etc. @DanFostersEthos @PolitiFact
— Kevin D. Williamson (@KevinNR) February 24, 2015
Just curious @PolitiFact, how did you try to contact me?
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) February 25, 2015
Jacobson replied:
@KevinNR Sorry you didn't see my tweet yesterday morning, here: http://t.co/6PD4IxSNVu Happy to consider/link to comments as addendum
— Louis Jacobson (@loujacobson) February 25, 2015
Goldberg answered:
Wait. A. Second. Did @politifact tweet at me as a way to contact me for comment? https://t.co/HPZKMZ12N0
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) February 25, 2015
Just to be clear I don't know that @Politifact tweeted at me for comment like they did with @KevinNR https://t.co/HPZKMZ12N0
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) February 25, 2015
Williamson was much more, um, direct:
Jesus H. Christ, you useless rube–I have an office with a receptionist and everything. Pick up a goddamned telephone, genius. @loujacobson
— Kevin D. Williamson (@KevinNR) February 25, 2015
It's not like we're not in the phone book. Or like our number isn't on the web site. @SamaDaMana @notropis01 @loujacobson
— Kevin D. Williamson (@KevinNR) February 25, 2015
Hey, rube: Here's a Manhattan phone book from 1955. National Review has been in it for 60 years. @loujacobson pic.twitter.com/9dB4wfflW1
— Kevin D. Williamson (@KevinNR) February 25, 2015
I don't expect you to do it with as much panache, but this is the basic model. @loujacobson pic.twitter.com/m8ijKDSL1r
— Kevin D. Williamson (@KevinNR) February 25, 2015
It's almost as if he's a witless lackey whose greatest fear in life is spending a day actually doing his job. @BlakeSeitz @loujacobson
— Kevin D. Williamson (@KevinNR) February 25, 2015
Here is Jacobson’s original tweet:
@KevinNR I'm checking an interesting claim by you for PolitiFact re ACA & alternatv medicine. You can contact me via http://t.co/3eV66rjidV
— Louis Jacobson (@loujacobson) February 23, 2015
Fellow tweeters started to pile on and have fun at how Politifact “fact-checks”:
@KevinNR I see that @loujacobson just put up his correction: pic.twitter.com/SiXmsh3mt9
— Awkward Fuzzball (@awkwardfuzzball) February 25, 2015
My early nominee for 2015 @Politifact Lie of The Year. http://t.co/gMZiecDIsM cc: @JonahNRO @KevinNR pic.twitter.com/0kyAkyw6Cl
— Blame Big Government (@BlameBigGovt) February 25, 2015
@PolitiFact is sending @KevinNR a message. @Will_Antonin pic.twitter.com/qHjznYlef2
— Wright (@WrightBrunoS) February 25, 2015
@KevinNR I can't believe you didn't respond to @PolitiFact's messages pic.twitter.com/vkoXAsSCz2
— Josiah Neeley (@jneeley78) February 25, 2015
Dearest @KevinNR Hope this raven reaches you before our story runs. Send your reply with your fastest horseman. Regards, @loujacobson
— Diworsity (@Diworsity) February 25, 2015
As of this publishing Jacobson has not replied to any of this. No attempt to reach Williamson, Goldberg or Jacobson was made for this piece.