FactCheck.org Marks 20 Years of Fighting Misinformation as Digital Landscape Evolves

What began in 2003 as a modest fact-checking operation with a single journalist has transformed into a vital resource combating misinformation across politics, science, and social media. FactCheck.org, launched by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, has expanded its mission significantly over two decades while navigating an increasingly complex media landscape.

The nonprofit was founded by veteran journalist Brooks Jackson alongside Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School. Though initially established to serve journalists by debunking political falsehoods, the organization gained widespread public recognition after Vice President Dick Cheney mentioned it during a 2004 debate.

“There’s far more misinformation now in public campaign discourse of presidential candidates than there was when we founded the site,” Jamieson notes. “The work of FactCheck.org is needed more than ever.”

Today, the operation has expanded to nine full-time staffers, undergraduate fellows, and three freelance translators who produce Spanish-language content. This growth reflects both the increasing demand for fact-checking and the organization’s commitment to reaching diverse audiences.

The organization launched a fellowship program for undergraduates in 2010, offering students eight weeks of summer training followed by part-time work throughout the academic year. “We are enhancing their educational opportunities and their capacities to be great journalists when they leave us or to use those capacities in whatever profession they decide that they’re going to pursue,” Jamieson explains.

In 2015, FactCheck.org introduced SciCheck, a specialized feature addressing scientific misinformation. Jessica McDonald, who joined as a science writer in 2018 and now serves as science editor, initially focused on climate change misinformation but has observed a shift in the nature of false claims.

“I used to see more incorrect statements that climate change isn’t real, whereas now more statements from politicians are focused on distorting the facts about solutions,” McDonald says.

This existing scientific fact-checking infrastructure proved invaluable when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. McDonald, who holds a Ph.D. in immunobiology, pivoted quickly to address health misinformation.

“Pretty much overnight, I went from writing earth science stuff to all health information,” she recalls. “My primary focus was to fact check the president or anyone else of importance who might say something that was incorrect or misleading about the pandemic and then eventually the vaccines.”

The pandemic dramatically increased traffic to the site, according to Eugene Kiely, director of FactCheck.org. At its peak, the website was receiving approximately one million page views daily, with much of the traffic coming through Google searches. This surge in demand highlighted the public’s need for reliable information during the crisis.

A grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation enabled the translation of all COVID-19 content into Spanish in 2021, with translation efforts expanding the following year to cover maternal, reproductive, and climate health topics. Kiely has also established partnerships with Univision and other media outlets to extend the organization’s reach.

The fact-checking landscape has changed dramatically since FactCheck.org’s founding. What was once a non-controversial service has become a target for ideological attacks from across the political spectrum. “When it became ideologically convenient to attack us, people attacked us, and that was from both the left and the right,” Jamieson observes.

Technological developments present new challenges as well. Jamieson points to AI-generated content and deepfake imagery “that look more real than real” as significant concerns for fact-checkers. Meanwhile, Kiely has witnessed websites spreading misinformation become increasingly partisan and sophisticated, often motivated by financial incentives.

The proliferation of alternative social media platforms and newsletter services has further contributed to political polarization, while McDonald reports seeing an increase in low-quality scientific research being published.

As FactCheck.org enters its third decade, the team finds itself once again in a presidential election year, preparing to scrutinize TV advertisements, debate performances, convention speeches, and key Senate races. For the staff, this means the familiar routine of long hours and less sleep—a small price to pay in their ongoing mission to provide the public with accurate information in an era of rampant misinformation.