Fact Check: The Truth About Election Claims
Words, words, words. They’re the stuff of TV soundbites and political claims. They come fast and furious during an election campaign.
But how is anybody supposed to know what to believe?
At Civil Beat, we’re going to try to help answer that question with a new feature that — along with our probing articles — will be a hallmark of our political coverage. We call it Fact Check. And we’re launching it today along with a new Election beat. The Election beat should be the place you turn to find out about the candidates, the issues and what’s happening in the campaigns. Each race will have its own page. Today we’re starting with governor and Honolulu mayor. Over the coming days we’ll add others.
Fact Check will be a central part of our Election beat. And you’ll be able to play a part in it. If you hear or see a claim that you think should be investigated, please let us know. You can send an e-mail to news@civilbeat.com. We’ll let you know when an inquiry is in progress so you can participate in the verification process, if that’s in your DNA. And in the end, we’ll publish what we learn, along with a rating.
The following is our rating system:
True (green): The facts support the claim.
Mostly true (yellow-green): The facts support the claim, but it is missing important information or is slightly misleading.
Half true (yellow-orange): The claim contains elements of truth, but there are also elements that are false because the facts do not support the claim and/or there may be missing or misleading information.
Barely true (orange): Some part of the claim can be supported, but it contains significant elements that are false and/or there may be missing or misleading information that severely undermines the credibility of the claim.
False (red): The facts do not support the claim.
Screaming lie (bright red): An outrageous abuse of the facts.
In progress (grey): We are investigating the claim.
Unverifiable (black): Despite our attempts, we were not able to verify the truth of the claims.
At Civil Beat, we’re committed to truth and transparency. Fact Check is meant to be a living example of that commitment. We’re not going to be a passive news organization, simply transmitting what politicians say. We’re going to hold their claims and their actions up to scrutiny, asking the tough questions that will help you make up your minds in this important election year.
