Fact Checking with Poynter

Are fact-checking websites necessary?

There are lots of fact-checking websites available for the public to search and critique news stories, but are they valid?  Do these fact-checking sites actually stay neutral and un-biased or do they sneakily push their own agendas through a more "neutral" platform?  I want to take a look at Poynter.org and evaluate their website to see if it should be used as a reliable fact-checking source.  

To start, we should make note of Poynters ".org" classification.  This seems to be a good start for the website since .org could signify non-profit organizations.  However, we see an advertisements across the top of Poynter and several ads at the bottom.  

Poynter's section of "News Release" clearly distinguishes which news stories were either "From the Institute" or "News Release".  Through this section of News Release, we find several articles highlighting: partnerships and money received from google, grants received, websites acquired, and different workshops/classes/summits that Poynter sponsors.  The majority of the workshops that Poynter covers in articles highlight the fact that the workshops are geared specifically towards women and/or minorities. 

Moving onto Poynter's Ethics page, we see their guiding principles very clearly laid out for us along with an explanation of its importance.  

"At a time when public trust in media is low and the president has sought to discredit the press as 'fake news,' it's more essential than ever that journalists be accurate and accountable, shining a light on truth to sustain our democracy.  Poynter makes it easy to develop your ethical decision-making, so you're ready for difficult situation" - Poynter

Guiding Principles for Journalists via Poynter Ethics


Overall, because of Poynter's transparency, nearly ad-free pages, certification and training offered, and fact-checking of relevant/importance articles, I believe that Poynter offers a great fact-checking website that I will be happy to use in the future.