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Let Facts Be Submitted to a Candid World

Chapter 13 considers fact-checking as another possible corrective. After a brief history of the rise and diversity of the fact-check industry, the chapter critiques the epistemology of fact-checking and its limitations in the selection and assessment of facts. It summarizes a study comparing the findings of PolitiFact, factcheck.org, and The Fact Checker of the Washington Post, which reveals meaningful differences in the realities assessed as well as in the conclusions reached. This suggests that for the engaged citizen attempting to sort out the disputed realities of the current political environment, consulting fact checkers will not necessarily be of great service to them in determining which version of competing realities to endorse.