France 24 looks at the rise of PolitiFact-style fact checking in France:
Décodeurs, Désintox and Les Pinocchios are part of a growing list of websites that are answering a new demand for rapid fact-finding and changing the way this year’s presidential campaign is being fought.
According to Alice Antheaume, deputy director of the journalism school at Sciences Po university in Paris, the “fact-checking” phenomenon is evident in the catchy names and designs of several like-minded projects cropping up on the web. However, she insists, the craze is not so much about verifying facts—already a well-established practice in France—but rather the speed at which journalists can now confirm or reject a politician’s word. “What has changed is the push to fact-check in almost real time,” Antheuaume said.
