We’d like to reassure our readers: FactCheck.org isn’t going anywhere.

View this email in your browser ([link removed])
An update from FactCheck.org
Photo by CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images.


** Without Meta, Our Work Continues
------------------------------------------------------------

You may have heard the news this week that Meta is ending its partnership with U.S. fact-checking organizations, such as ours. We posted a statement ([link removed]) from our director, Lori Robertson, to reassure readers: FactCheck.org isn’t going anywhere.

As Lori wrote: "Our journalists will continue to provide nonpartisan coverage of false and misleading political claims, helping you to sort fact from fiction, just as we have done for more than 20 years."

We have been working with Meta since 2016 to fact-check deceptive claims that spread widely on social media. Even before this partnership, we wrote about social media posts as part of our mission of monitoring political discourse -- and we'll continue to do that. But the end of the Meta project has an impact. The funding we received allowed us to devote an editor and a staff writer to this coverage full time.

And social media users will have to do more work on their own to guard against false and misleading claims. Under the program, Meta used our articles, and those of other fact-checking organizations, to warn social media users that posts contained false or partly inaccurate assertions, providing links to the full fact-checking articles for more information. As Meta winds down the program in the U.S. in coming months, those labels and referrals will go away.

Since this news broke on Tuesday, we've received messages of support from our readers and a sizable increase in social media followers. We thank you for your encouragement.

As Lori wrote: "Fact-checking is public service journalism, and we’re more convinced than ever that it’s needed in an increasingly busy and confusing political messaging landscape."

Read our full statement here ([link removed]) .
FUNDRAISING UPDATE
During our annual fundraising drive, which began Dec. 3 and ended Dec. 31, we received 349 contributions totaling $72,119. If you would like to join our fight against misinformation, you can make a credit card donation ([link removed]) online or mail a check to FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center, 202 S. 36th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104-3806. Checks can be made payable to “The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania” with a note in the memo field indicating the donation is for FactCheck.org. Thank you.
FEATURED FACT
In December, Congress approved a continuing resolution with $110 billion in disaster assistance, including $29 billion to replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund. The bill was passed on a bipartisan basis, 366-34 in the House, and 85-11 in the Senate, and was signed by Biden into law. A FEMA spokesperson told us on Jan. 10: “The current balance of the Disaster Relief Fund is approximately $27 billion.” Read more ([link removed]) .
WORTHY OF NOTE

At the end of December, Eugene Kiely, FactCheck.org's director for 12 years, retired. Eugene penned a goodbye note titled ‘The Truth Matters ([link removed]) ,’ which is a quote from a note he had received from a grateful reader.
Eugene wrote about the "challenging landscape for news organizations" that "makes fact-checking all the more important."

"I’m proud of the transparent process we have at FactCheck.org that treats both sides equally, avoids selection bias and false equivalency, and subjects each article to multiple edits. We review claims made by Republicans and Democrats in the same venues – TV interviews, major speeches, TV ads – and then apply the same standards to both sides. In the end, we let the chips fall where they may," he wrote.

"I know there are critics of fact-checking. I’ve heard from plenty of them – often in language that can’t be repeated here. But we don’t write for politicians or partisans who want to use fact-checking as a political weapon in their never-ending war against the other side," Eugene said.

"We are here for the open-minded, curious readers who want to be good citizens and know 'what is factual and what is destructive fiction,'" to quote the late Washington Post columnist David Broder.

Read Eugene's full farewell notice here ([link removed]) .

FactCheck.org's new director is Lori Robertson, who joined our staff in 2007 and has been the managing editor.


** Wrapping Up
------------------------------------------------------------

Here's what else we've got for you this week:
* "Trump’s Blame Claims About Wildfire Response ([link removed]) ": As wildfires continued to rage in Southern California, President-elect Donald Trump took to social media with several false and misleading claims casting blame on California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, and President Joe Biden.

* "Republicans Wrongly Tie New Orleans Attack to Illegal Immigration; Suspect Was a Citizen ([link removed]) ": Federal law enforcement officials have identified an Army veteran, who was born in the United States, as the sole person responsible for the Jan. 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured many more. But some Republican politicians and social media posts have wrongly claimed or suggested that the attack was the result of illegal immigration.

* "Our Most Popular Articles in 2024 ([link removed]) ": We wrote about a lot of misinformation in 2024, and, as usual, some fact-checking articles piqued our readers’ interest more than others. In this post, we present the 10 most popular stories published on our website this past year.

Y lo que publicamos en español ([link removed]) (English versions are accessible in each story):
* "Nuestra alianza con Meta termina ([link removed]) ": Meta dio por terminada su alianza con organizaciones de verificación de datos en Estados Unidos, como la nuestra, pero queremos asegurar a nuestros lectores que FactCheck.org no desaparecerá. Nuestros periodistas seguirán brindando cobertura imparcial de afirmaciones políticas falsas y engañosas, ayudándoles a distinguir los hechos de la ficción, tal como lo hemos hecho durante más de 20 años.

Do you like FactCheck.Weekly? Share it with a friend! They can subscribe here ([link removed]) .
Donate to Support Our Work ([link removed])

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** TikTok ([link removed])
We'll show up in your inbox every Friday with this fact-focused rundown. But you can message us any day of the week with questions or comments: [email protected].
Copyright © 2024 FactCheck.org, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
FactCheck.org
Annenberg Public Policy Center
202 S. 36th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3806

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed][UNIQID]&c=ff9a7620f9&utm_source=FactCheck.org&utm_campaign=f8beaf12ce-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_12_17_08_48_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-eee3637105-48392213)
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed][UNIQID]&c=ff9a7620f9&utm_source=FactCheck.org&utm_campaign=f8beaf12ce-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_12_17_08_48_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-eee3637105-48392213)
.

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
FactCheck.org: A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania . 202 S 36th St. . Philadelphia, Pa 19104 . USA