Would you, could you fact-check a 5th-grader? Never say never: The week in fact-checking

The American Press Institute presents a roundup from the world of fact checking, debunking and truth telling — just in case you haven’t been paying as much attention as we do.

Quote of the week
“I learned very, very early that I am a horrible liar. I’m the guy at the dinner table who’s fact-checking his own and his wife’s stories for the crowd. I’m that annoying guy.” —Jake Tapper, host of CNN’s “State of the Union”

FlackCheck Video is back with a video fact-check of presidential candidate Rick Perry’s statement that he “never raised taxes” as Texas governor. It’s just like your parents always told you: Never say never.  Read it.

Fact-checking tips
Two timely tutorials this week: The National Journal’s Brian Resnick and Nora Kelly explain how to report on polls and surveys (big tip — don’t forget the cell phones!)  AndJosh Stearns, writing in Medium, guides us into the “Verification Junkie” pool with him.

There was so much gleeful fact-checking of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign announcement this week: USAToday…Stephen Colbert…PolitiFact…I can’t even…. Instead, let’s just take a look at the mini-Trump billed as the mogul’s biggest fan: Shay Doyle, age 10. By the way, is it fair to fact-check a fifth-grader? Watch it.

Fact check of the week 
Heard the one about “one in three black males has a chance of ending up in jail”? That statistic was repeated recently by a 2016 presidential candidate during a TV interview. The Washington Post’s Fact Checker explains why no one should be using that “stale statistic” anymore.  Read it.

Research 
In searching for ways to make online commenting less of a cesspool, the Engaging News Project and the National Institute for Civil Discourse conducted an experiment: Before posting a comment, participants were given (a) pro and con arguments about a particular issue, or (b) actual facts about the issue. Which group ended up smarter? Which ended up feeling “calmer”? You might be surprised. Read it.

Fact-checking science

Read it.

Fact-checking Hollywood
You may not have actually met anyone in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” fan club — that you know of — but they do exist, at least online. The “Spy Command” blog fact-checks the franchise in advance of the movie “To Trap a Spy,” based on the 1960s television series. Read it.

What? Something is fake on the internet?
You might have seen it months ago: A viral story and photos in your Facebook feed claiming that a Santa Claus impersonator and his Mrs. Claus were doing some drunken sleigh-driving in a Polish town. BuzzFeed tracked the creation of the fake-news story and detailed how it changed the lives of people in the town — not in a good way. Read it.

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