Sheryl Attkisson, the former D.C. bureau investigative correspondent for CBS News, revealed Facebook’s “new plan to crack down on fake news.”
Coming the same week Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was being grilled on Capitol Hill about bias at the social media platform, Attkisson reveals that the “fact checkers” they are turning to, or the organizations behind them, are guilty themselves of peddling fake news.
Speaking at Hillsdale College this week, she exposed Zuckerberg and Co. more than a few grandstanding senators ever did.
“Facebook’s new plan to help crack down on fake news included collaborating with Pointer Institute’s “PolitiFact,” ABC News’ FactCheck.org, The Associated Press and Snopes,” Attkisson explained.
“Now this audience probably already knows the possible perils of all that from a neutrality standpoint,” she continued. “Its relying on some of the very organizations that have gotten caught in compromising situations or engaged in transactional journalism or reported biased and incorrect news themselves.”
Attkisson went on to detail specific examples to back up her claim — the testimony was damning.
“According to Facebook, each fact-checking entity would be given access to a tool to evaluate stories that may be inaccurate,” she told the audience. “If the chosen fact-checkers agree a story is misleading, the story would get a disputed label stamped on it and then an article reference explaining why it’s supposedly false.
The investigative journalist pointed to a released “field guide to fake news,” saying she looked through it.
“It included a category described as anti-liberal fake news sites, but none that were anti-conservative,” Attkisson explained.
“Apparently, under the definition used by first draft and its partners, there aren’t any left-leaning bad actors that are worthy of mention, only right,” she concluded.
But then, Diamond and Silk could have told you that — your move Mr. Zuckerberg.
Here’s a sample of reactions to Attkisson’s reporting, from Twitter:
False Fact Checkers falsely checking facts falsely!!
— Conservatarian (@MadMaxLaxTex) April 11, 2018
https://twitter.com/LTSRowe/status/984149908348456960
https://twitter.com/kchenette/status/984148720391524352
https://twitter.com/JackieJackielg/status/984147901453512704
BOOM – Facebook uses Biased Fact Checkers!
They only look at anti-liberal reports
never anti-conservative reports! https://t.co/hYDZiQAiwW— Lawyerforlaws (@lawyer4laws) April 11, 2018
You couldn't make this up… https://t.co/NUiMOCvpSM
— AMY E JOHNSON (@AEJ58) April 11, 2018
The only thing more slippery than defining what’s “hate” speech..
..is the definition of “facts” by the “fact checkers”
“The greatest enemy of truth is very often not the lie–deliberate, contrived & dishonest, but the myth–persistent, persuasive & unrealistic.”-JOHN F KENNEDY
— Jack Jolis (@JackJolis) April 11, 2018
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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