The week in fact-checking: Here’s why journalists should party on the 4th of July

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.

Fact-checking the 2016 election
Let’s take a moment to celebrate America’s birthday, freedom, liberty, justice — and the fact that journalists aren’t sent to the stockade for calling the governor of their state a liar. A dozen times in one story. Tom Moran, a Star-Ledger editorial writer who’s written about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for 14 years, presents an unflinching list of lies and fact checks. Read it.  

Quote of the week
“It was clear the media only spent about three seconds reading the study before reporting it because it’s hot, it’s cool. Nobody stopped and said, ‘Wait, what? Really? Can we talk to the scientists?’”— Dr. Arturo De Lozanne on the “candy scam”

Fact-checking tips
Among the things to like about the Reno Gazette-Journal’s fact-checking feature: When the journalists check out a reader’s tip, they explain precisely what needs to be checked out. For instance, how could a reader prove that Burning Man fans are building “serpent dunes” in the Black Rock Desert? Read it.

Fact-checking Hollywood
Read this only if you’re done binge-watching “Orange is the New Black,” so you can be deluded, just a bit longer, that a prison guard would propose to an inmate in the middle of the rec yard. Thanks a lot, Marshall Project. Read it.

Fact check of the week
In the list of red-flag words and phrases that need to be checked out by journalists, this one may be the reddest: “It’s a miracle!” Dallas Morning News education reporters investigate a school official’s other-worldly claims about student achievement. Read it.

Fact-checking fail
The number of reporters (the real kind) covering local news are ever-decreasing, and that means an increase the number of reporters (not the real kind) posting information on sites like NextDoor. It should go without saying that “user-generated news” on such sites should be viewed skeptically. A Memphis television station corrects a recent report by — try this at home — checking with local police.  Read it.  

Fact-checking for good
Pagella Politica, an Italian fact-checking site, is raising funds through Kickstarter to create animated fact checks. What would one of Pagella Politica’s “Insane Whoppers” look like as a cartoon? Watch it.

The technology of fact-checking
You may have heard about the research being conducted by Indiana University that could lead to automated fact-checking on the web — something like spell-check for facts. But not so fast, literally, says Indiana researcher Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia. He tells the Emerging Tech blog that the project “is still a long way from being a generally useful product.” Read it.

What? Something is fake on the internet?
Thanks to Tom Trewinnard of Checkdesk for this tip: A truly helpful self-help video for anyone (journalists, photographers, your mom’s friends on Facebook) who wants to figure out what’s real on the Internet. Watch it.

Journalism teachers: Are you headed to the AEJMC conference in San Francisco? The American Press Institute is partnering with PolitiFact, the Associated Press and others for a workshop teaching political fact-checking and accountability journalism. It’s free and open to anyone, regardless of whether you’re registered for the conference. Sign up here. 

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