Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Fact Checker provides a valuable service

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The photo, if it will load, has nothing to do with the text. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) launched Fact Check during the 2013 election campaign. This unit was created not to check on journalists’ reporting but to scrutinise the truth of claims put forward by politicians and public figures. Since its inception, the unit has delivered around 600 verdicts on statements made by such people. For instance, one politician stated that, in Queensland, every three months a person was torn to pieces by crocodiles. This is simply incorrect. Some statements are not strictly incorrect but data and events are projected in the best possible light, which is to be expected. However, start and end dates may shift, data may be omitted, important content left out and/or invalid apples-and-oranges comparisons made. Our Westminster system of government pits one political party against another so it’s no wonder that they vie for attention to try to secure votes. Non-political groups such as academics, industry/advocacy groups, trade unions were less inclined to skew information. I’m sure the situation is similar in most countries.