Checking Facts: Background information when reading Deadly Spin

Checking Facts

This article relates to Deadly Spin

Deadly Spin unravels misinformation surrounding the contentious topic of American health care. Considering that Wendell Potter has shown how difficult it is to uncover the truth about such a widely discussed issue as this, where can the average citizen turn to find unbiased facts? Some suggestions include:

PolitiFact
This website features the political fact-checking work of the reporters and editors of the St. Petersburg Times. PolitiFact received a Pulitzer Prize in 2009. This site pays particular attention to the promises and policies of the President.

Factcheck
Launched in 2003, Factcheck is a project of the nonprofit Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, and researches and documents the truth about political claims. Their work includes an extensive archive of answered questions. The site has won numerous awards, including the People's Voice Webby Award in the politics category for four straight years (2007-2010).

Snopes
If you're looking for fact-checked information about topics that range outside of politics, this website is a great choice. Snopes is the creation of Barbara and David Mikkelson, a dedicated couple with an intense interest in urban legend and folklore.

Internet Public Library
Though not a fact-checking site like the first three, this is an excellent place to begin your own research. This site is a blend of the former Internet Public Library and the Librarian's Internet Index and is maintained by a group of colleges with information science programs.

Filed under Cultural Curiosities

This "beyond the book article" relates to Deadly Spin. It originally ran in January 2011 and has been updated for the September 2011 paperback edition. Go to magazine.