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(NPR) Obvious What time is it when the leading "fact checker" declares its "Lie of the Year" comes from a liberal? Why, it's time to begin questioning whether "fact checkers" do more harm than good, of course   (npr.org) divider line 395
More: Obvious, Ramesh Ponnuru, pants on fire, Alec MacGillis, Paul Ryan, Bill Adair, Times Picayune, House Budget Committee, senior editors  
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5164 clicks; posted to Politics » on 23 Dec 2011 at 12:06 AM   |  Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»   |    Get this fabulous T-Shirt and impress the methane out of your friends! shirt it!



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NewportBarGuy [TotalFark]
2011-12-22 09:50:35 PM
When these fact checking organizations become the ultimate arbiter of what is fact and what is not, you're goddamn right we better be paying attention as to whether or not their methodology is sound.
 
WhoIsWillo [TotalFark]
2011-12-22 09:57:21 PM
WHO FACT CHECKS THE FACT CHECKERS?
 
FloydA [TotalFark]
2011-12-22 10:07:25 PM
Given that their "lie of the year" was basically "well, yeah, that's actually true, the Ryan plan really would completely destroy Medicare, but they'd have something else that has the same name, so it's sort of like as though that was false."

In their effort to be "neutral" Politifact felt they had to find an equal number of D and R flubs, because they mistook "objective reporting" for "saying an equal number of bad things about both parties."

When one party is objectively, demonstrably, blatantly wrong about everything, it really should be considered acceptable for journalists and fact checkers to say so.
 
kronicfeld [TotalFark]
2011-12-22 10:15:58 PM
WhoIsWillo: WHO FACT CHECKS THE FACT CHECKERS?

I dunno. Coast Guard?
 
Earguy [TotalFark]
2011-12-22 10:30:38 PM
kronicfeld: WhoIsWillo: WHO FACT CHECKS THE FACT CHECKERS?

I dunno. Coast Guard?

The Daily Show.
 
Relatively Obscure [TotalFark]
2011-12-22 10:33:25 PM
Its/it's isn't that goddamn hard.
 
Shostie [TotalFark]
2011-12-22 11:04:35 PM
Earguy: kronicfeld: WhoIsWillo: WHO FACT CHECKS THE FACT CHECKERS?

I dunno. Coast Guard?

The Daily Show.

Dr. Manhattan?
 
Hobodeluxe
2011-12-22 11:56:51 PM
the statement in question was that the Ryan plan would end Medicare as we know it.
That statement is true.
It would have replaced the single payer system with vouchers for purchasing private coverage.
Politifact was incorrect in saying it was a lie.
Much less the "lie of the year"

Ryan's plan would have privatized Medicare. And left people trying to find coverage with a voucher.
 
Fista-Phobia
2011-12-23 12:09:19 AM
Relatively Obscure: Its/it's isn't that goddamn hard.

dat greenlight
 
Hydra [TotalFark]
2011-12-23 12:10:50 AM
Hobodeluxe: Ryan's plan would have privatized Medicare. And left people trying to find coverage with a voucher.

That's not true either, but don't let that stop you from saying it - you have a crusade to fight.
 
A Dark Evil Omen
2011-12-23 12:10:58 AM
Fact checkers are great.

"Fact checkers" that play fast and loose with the truth to maintain an appearance of objectivity because the truth is biased against the right are just another shriveled dick in the great big bowl of them that is the modern mass media.
 
Mrtraveler01
2011-12-23 12:11:04 AM
GAT_00: The fact checker is being questioned because their Lie of the Year isn't a lie.

Neither was last years.

/Goes back to lurk in the shadows
 
Bloody William
2011-12-23 12:11:49 AM
GAT_00: The fact checker is being questioned because their Lie of the Year isn't a lie.

Pretty much. But the funny thing is that I don't think liberals are suddenly turning on Politifact as a huge villain. This is one bullshiat decision they made, and while it makes them look like idiots it doesn't undermine everything they do.

The site could have even said it was false, or half-true, and we wouldn't have thought much of it. But the "pants on fire" and lie of the year thing is ridiculous because it was not a lie. You can argue about its accuracy, but the plan would have effectively destroyed Medicare as we know it.
 
Blank Coder
2011-12-23 12:11:52 AM
GAT_00: The fact checker is being questioned because their Lie of the Year isn't a lie.

Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!
 
Mrtraveler01
2011-12-23 12:11:58 AM
Hydra: Hobodeluxe: Ryan's plan would have privatized Medicare. And left people trying to find coverage with a voucher.

That's not true either, but don't let that stop you from saying it - you have a crusade to fight.

So what does Ryan's plan do exactly and tell me how that DOES NOT privatize Medicare?
 
A Dark Evil Omen
2011-12-23 12:12:14 AM
Hydra: Hobodeluxe: Ryan's plan would have privatized Medicare. And left people trying to find coverage with a voucher.

That's not true either, but don't let that stop you from saying it - you have a crusade to fight.

It absolutely would except for a limited current bracket of Medicare recipients.

Don't stop lying, though, you have shilling to do.
 
Alphax
2011-12-23 12:13:21 AM
You Mad, Subby?
 
Mrtraveler01
2011-12-23 12:14:30 AM
Bloody William: GAT_00: The fact checker is being questioned because their Lie of the Year isn't a lie.

Pretty much. But the funny thing is that I don't think liberals are suddenly turning on Politifact as a huge villain. This is one bullshiat decision they made, and while it makes them look like idiots it doesn't undermine everything they do.

The site could have even said it was false, or half-true, and we wouldn't have thought much of it. But the "pants on fire" and lie of the year thing is ridiculous because it was not a lie. You can argue about its accuracy, but the plan would have effectively destroyed Medicare as we know it.

Yeah, the worst thing Politifact did was get really pedantic with semantics (say that three times fast).

But that's what I expect from a fact-checking agency.

And to threadjack: Renaming the St. Petersburg Times the Tampa Bay Times has got to be one of the dumbest marketing moves in a long time. Might as well call it the Tampa Bay Times of St. Petersburg.
 
BuckTurgidson
2011-12-23 12:14:36 AM
Stirrin' the sh*tpot again, eh, Farkmins?
 
Alphax
2011-12-23 12:15:08 AM
Blank Coder: GAT_00: The fact checker is being questioned because their Lie of the Year isn't a lie.

Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

He's not.
 
Sarah Palin's Conscience
2011-12-23 12:15:49 AM
Shostie: Earguy: kronicfeld: WhoIsWillo: WHO FACT CHECKS THE FACT CHECKERS?

I dunno. Coast Guard?

The Daily Show.

Dr. Manhattan?

Like he gives a fark.
 
Bloody William
2011-12-23 12:15:52 AM
Mrtraveler01: Yeah, the worst thing Politifact did was get really pedantic with semantics (say that three times fast).

But that's what I expect from a fact-checking agency.

But that's the thing. If they said it was just "false" or "half-true," it wouldn't have been a big deal. Making this pedantry the lie of the year? That's just ridiculous.
 
NewportBarGuy [TotalFark]
2011-12-23 12:16:16 AM
Blank Coder: Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

How if you destroy the very reason for medicare, you don't destroy medicare? You retarded, son? If you simply give out money to choose whoever the f*ck you want, you think that lowers prices? You dumb, boy. You dumb.
 
Deftoons
2011-12-23 12:16:26 AM
Waitasecond - everyone has a bias? MIND BLOWN.
 
A Dark Evil Omen
2011-12-23 12:17:17 AM
Deftoons: Waitasecond - everyone has a bias? MIND BLOWN.

You're entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

When did the right get so enamored of postmodernism and consensus reality?
 
Blank Coder
2011-12-23 12:17:23 AM
Alphax: Blank Coder: GAT_00: The fact checker is being questioned because their Lie of the Year isn't a lie.

Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

He's not.

Beyond your blinded eyes, the truth is out there. Look past the partisan rhetoric. Search your feelings, Luke...
 
phaseolus
2011-12-23 12:17:30 AM
This is one of those times I wish we could see who wrote the damn headline. Maybe then we'd have a better guess as to whether subby's a moron, or a troll.
 
A Dark Evil Omen
2011-12-23 12:17:54 AM
phaseolus: This is one of those times I wish we could see who wrote the damn headline. Maybe then we'd have a better guess as to whether subby's a moron, or a troll.

He can be two things.
 
A Dark Evil Omen
2011-12-23 12:18:29 AM
Blank Coder: Alphax: Blank Coder: GAT_00: The fact checker is being questioned because their Lie of the Year isn't a lie.

Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

He's not.

Beyond your blinded eyes, the truth is out there. Look past the partisan rhetoric. Search your feelings, Luke...

Physician, heal thyself.
 
iaazathot
2011-12-23 12:18:35 AM
Mrtraveler01: Hydra: Hobodeluxe: Ryan's plan would have privatized Medicare. And left people trying to find coverage with a voucher.

That's not true either, but don't let that stop you from saying it - you have a crusade to fight.

So what does Ryan's plan do exactly and tell me how that DOES NOT privatize Medicare?

It's funny to see shills vanish in the face of reality. It does have a liberal bias.
 
Mrtraveler01
2011-12-23 12:19:09 AM
Bloody William: Mrtraveler01: Yeah, the worst thing Politifact did was get really pedantic with semantics (say that three times fast).

But that's what I expect from a fact-checking agency.

But that's the thing. If they said it was just "false" or "half-true," it wouldn't have been a big deal. Making this pedantry the lie of the year? That's just ridiculous.

I do admit that bit is absurd. But shiat happens.
 
A Dark Evil Omen
2011-12-23 12:19:34 AM
iaazathot: Mrtraveler01: Hydra: Hobodeluxe: Ryan's plan would have privatized Medicare. And left people trying to find coverage with a voucher.

That's not true either, but don't let that stop you from saying it - you have a crusade to fight.

So what does Ryan's plan do exactly and tell me how that DOES NOT privatize Medicare?

It's funny to see shills vanish in the face of reality. It does have a liberal bias.

Nah, it's the other way around. Liberals have a reality bias. Conservatives... not so much.
 
Blank Coder
2011-12-23 12:19:40 AM
NewportBarGuy: Blank Coder: Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

How if you destroy the very reason for medicare, you don't destroy medicare? You retarded, son? If you simply give out money to choose whoever the f*ck you want, you think that lowers prices? You dumb, boy. You dumb.

Every single retiree and those a decade away are not affected by Ryan's plan... for those under 55 they have a choice... same plan as before, or the subsidy.

You dumb +1
 
Don't Troll Me Bro! [TotalFark]
2011-12-23 12:20:10 AM
From the forum to the original article, posted December 5th:

Don't Troll Me Bro: FTA: Republicans did vote to end Medicare. Even PolitiFact conceded that Republicans voted to end Medicare "as we know it." But because Republicans would replace the Medicare that we know with another program that they also call Medicare, PolitiFact says they did not in fact vote to end Medicare.

What kind of pedantic shiat is this? If someone made arguments like this where I work they wouldn't last long.

If you take something away and replace it with something else, it doesn't matter if you refer to the replacement with the same name. It still is not the same.
 
phaseolus
2011-12-23 12:21:07 AM
A Dark Evil Omen: When did the right get so enamored of postmodernism and consensus reality?


Around the same time they discovered situational ethics.
 
skullkrusher
2011-12-23 12:21:59 AM
A Dark Evil Omen: iaazathot: Mrtraveler01: Hydra: Hobodeluxe: Ryan's plan would have privatized Medicare. And left people trying to find coverage with a voucher.

That's not true either, but don't let that stop you from saying it - you have a crusade to fight.

So what does Ryan's plan do exactly and tell me how that DOES NOT privatize Medicare?

It's funny to see shills vanish in the face of reality. It does have a liberal bias.

Nah, it's the other way around. Liberals have a reality bias. Conservatives... not so much.

if you call pretending 10-20% of the population is actually 99% of the population "reality bias" then you are 100% correct.
 
Relatively Obscure [TotalFark]
2011-12-23 12:22:04 AM
Fista-Phobia: Relatively Obscure: Its/it's isn't that goddamn hard.

dat greenlight

Well, don't I look silly now? Damn you, corrector person!
 
BuckTurgidson
2011-12-23 12:22:06 AM
The St. Petersburg Times' "Politifact" knuckled under. That's all there is to it. They caved under the white-hot pressure of the fanatical right wing, mistakenly believing they could smooth it over with everyone else with a desperate flurry of equivocation and rationalization.

They're done. Don't even bother with the fork, you'll only have to wash it afterwards.

Damn shame, too.
 
A Dark Evil Omen
2011-12-23 12:23:23 AM
Blank Coder: NewportBarGuy: Blank Coder: Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

How if you destroy the very reason for medicare, you don't destroy medicare? You retarded, son? If you simply give out money to choose whoever the f*ck you want, you think that lowers prices? You dumb, boy. You dumb.

Every single retiree and those a decade away are not affected by Ryan's plan... for those under 55 they have a choice... same plan as before, or the subsidy.

You dumb +1

oi42.tinypic.com

That is not farking true. See, see that? That's what pants on fire looks like. A bald-faced lie that two seconds of Googletry can expose. You farking liar.
 
StopLurkListen
2011-12-23 12:23:36 AM
[scene: the valet parking at an unnamed D.C. golf course]

Valet: We've secretly replaced the Poltifact editor-in-chief's Mercedes 500 AMG with a Huffy 10-speed bicycle with a Mercedes badge. Let's see if he notices...

Editor: WHARGARBLEwheresmycar!
 
Mrtraveler01
2011-12-23 12:24:23 AM
Don't Troll Me Bro!: From the forum to the original article, posted December 5th:

Don't Troll Me Bro: FTA: Republicans did vote to end Medicare. Even PolitiFact conceded that Republicans voted to end Medicare "as we know it." But because Republicans would replace the Medicare that we know with another program that they also call Medicare, PolitiFact says they did not in fact vote to end Medicare.

What kind of pedantic shiat is this? If someone made arguments like this where I work they wouldn't last long.

If you take something away and replace it with something else, it doesn't matter if you refer to the replacement with the same name. It still is not the same.

Why am I thinking of New Coke all of a sudden?
 
that bosnian sniper
2011-12-23 12:25:04 AM
I'm pretty cheesed at Politifact over this one...mostly because they're pandering to people who are already inoculated against everything they have to say as they're a part of the "liberal MSM Soros-funded media". Being a fact-checking organization alone, opposed to a filter for Heritage Foundation, AFP, and/or von Mises institute talking points, already puts you well outside the purview of "credibility" by the right by default. The only thing this accomplishes is irritating and undermining credibility with people who actually do give a damn about fact and truth. You know, liberals.
 
A Dark Evil Omen
2011-12-23 12:25:50 AM
Mrtraveler01: Don't Troll Me Bro!: From the forum to the original article, posted December 5th:

Don't Troll Me Bro: FTA: Republicans did vote to end Medicare. Even PolitiFact conceded that Republicans voted to end Medicare "as we know it." But because Republicans would replace the Medicare that we know with another program that they also call Medicare, PolitiFact says they did not in fact vote to end Medicare.

What kind of pedantic shiat is this? If someone made arguments like this where I work they wouldn't last long.

If you take something away and replace it with something else, it doesn't matter if you refer to the replacement with the same name. It still is not the same.

Why am I thinking of New Coke all of a sudden?

And thusly did Politifact rate "Coke discontinued their beloved cola" as "pants on fire".
 
jaytkay
2011-12-23 12:26:07 AM
Don't Troll Me Bro!: If you take something away and replace it with something else, it doesn't matter if you refer to the replacement with the same name. It still is not the same.

Hi gaiz! Check out my Mustang!
Jame Bond had a Mustang!
Steve McQueen, too!

www.stangbangers.com
 
Alphax
2011-12-23 12:27:17 AM
A Dark Evil Omen: Blank Coder: NewportBarGuy: Blank Coder: Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

How if you destroy the very reason for medicare, you don't destroy medicare? You retarded, son? If you simply give out money to choose whoever the f*ck you want, you think that lowers prices? You dumb, boy. You dumb.

Every single retiree and those a decade away are not affected by Ryan's plan... for those under 55 they have a choice... same plan as before, or the subsidy.

You dumb +1

[oi42.tinypic.com image 430x425]

That is not farking true. See, see that? That's what pants on fire looks like. A bald-faced lie that two seconds of Googletry can expose. You farking liar.

Well done, I can't easily link to such images at work.
 
stolibro
2011-12-23 12:27:36 AM
A Dark Evil Omen: Blank Coder: NewportBarGuy: Blank Coder: Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

How if you destroy the very reason for medicare, you don't destroy medicare? You retarded, son? If you simply give out money to choose whoever the f*ck you want, you think that lowers prices? You dumb, boy. You dumb.

Every single retiree and those a decade away are not affected by Ryan's plan... for those under 55 they have a choice... same plan as before, or the subsidy.

You dumb +1

[oi42.tinypic.com image 430x425]

That is not farking true. See, see that? That's what pants on fire looks like. A bald-faced lie that two seconds of Googletry can expose. You farking liar.

Actually, he's right (new window)
 
Mrtraveler01
2011-12-23 12:28:45 AM
GAT_00: Mrtraveler01: Neither was last years.

Last year's was 'HCR is a government takeover of health care' which is bullshiat because HCR increases purchase in PRIVATE insurance.

Heh...caught one. ;)

/Merry Christmas
 
A Dark Evil Omen
2011-12-23 12:29:44 AM
stolibro: A Dark Evil Omen: Blank Coder: NewportBarGuy: Blank Coder: Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

How if you destroy the very reason for medicare, you don't destroy medicare? You retarded, son? If you simply give out money to choose whoever the f*ck you want, you think that lowers prices? You dumb, boy. You dumb.

Every single retiree and those a decade away are not affected by Ryan's plan... for those under 55 they have a choice... same plan as before, or the subsidy.

You dumb +1

[oi42.tinypic.com image 430x425]

That is not farking true. See, see that? That's what pants on fire looks like. A bald-faced lie that two seconds of Googletry can expose. You farking liar.

Actually, he's right (new window)

So, you mean the revised plan that is intended to make the shiat sandwich more palatable and isn't what was being discussed has that feature.

No, he's wrong, and a farking liar.
 
acefox1
2011-12-23 12:29:45 AM
Hobodeluxe: the statement in question was that the Ryan plan would end Medicare as we know it.
That statement is true.
It would have replaced the single payer system with vouchers for purchasing private coverage.
Politifact was incorrect in saying it was a lie.
Much less the "lie of the year"

Ryan's plan would have privatized Medicare. And left people trying to find coverage with a voucher.

THIS times eleventy bazillion.

I still like the Ferrari analogy from the other day.

All that aside, having an honest broker checking facts is a good thing.

However saying that this particular fact is a lie and then making it "Lie of the year" to create artifical "balance" in their coverage doesn't make it true and is farking retarded.

I guess this means that either all the real whoppers are coming from the herper-derpers or else the lefty media and mainstream media just can't compete with GOP "facts"
 
Mrtraveler01
2011-12-23 12:30:54 AM
stolibro: A Dark Evil Omen: Blank Coder: NewportBarGuy: Blank Coder: Run away GAT. You don't want to be here when someone proves you wrong. RUN BOY... RUN!

How if you destroy the very reason for medicare, you don't destroy medicare? You retarded, son? If you simply give out money to choose whoever the f*ck you want, you think that lowers prices? You dumb, boy. You dumb.

Every single retiree and those a decade away are not affected by Ryan's plan... for those under 55 they have a choice... same plan as before, or the subsidy.

You dumb +1

[oi42.tinypic.com image 430x425]

That is not farking true. See, see that? That's what pants on fire looks like. A bald-faced lie that two seconds of Googletry can expose. You farking liar.

Actually, he's right (new window)

That's the new plan with Wyden. The old plan didn't have the option to stick with traditional medicare.

And who the hell would pick the private option anyways?
 
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