New Era

P A G E 2 7 | N E W E R A
M U H A M M E T C A N O T S A Y
Importance of fact-checking
As we know, democracy is not a concept like black and white, zero and
one. When we talk about democracy, we think more of a scale. We can
also see from the Democracy Index reports, how democratic or not the
countries are. (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2020) One of the things that
has a great impact on democratic processes is the public's
access to the information. Independent and accurate
media outlets contribute to democracy. People's access to
accurate information about politicians can
affect who they vote for in elections.
For example, according to a study conducted
in 2019, presenting the lies (claims) that
politicians tell coupled with their fact-checked
versions in a summary has a greater effect on
decreasing support for that politician than
presenting the same cases one by one. (A. et
al., 2019) In other words, fact-checking
publications can have an effect on the
increase or decrease in people's support for
politicians. While these are happening, how
the results and reports of fact-checking
processes are presented to the public may
also make a difference in terms of their
impact. While this is not always the case,
politicians who are confirmed to be lying are expected to lose votes
and supporters, as their reputation has a negative impact. For this
reason, fact-checking, especially in political areas, contributes greatly
to democracies.
Some fact-checking platforms
Fact-checking platforms have become increasingly popular in recent
years as a means to verify the accuracy of information found online.
These platforms aim to combat the spread of misinformation and fake
news by providing a space for experts to review and verify the veracity
of various claims. These organizations have established reputations for
their thorough and unbiased approach to fact-checking, and have
played a valuable role in helping to promote accuracy and transparency
in the media.