The best Fair Election Coverage Websites 2020.
Objective political news and election coverage in the United States can sometimes be difficult to find, although a 2018 Pew Research poll found that 78% of US respondents believed that “the media should never favor one political party over another.”
Many so-called “news” organizations do not even try to hide their bias towards one end of the political spectrum. However, fairly objective, unbiased coverage of the elections can be found if you know where to look. Here are eight great websites for fact-packed and (possibly) unbiased election coverage.
1. Politifact.com
PolitiFact is the backbone of all political fact-checking sites. Owned by the nonprofit Poynter Institute for Media Studies, PolitiFact describes itself as “a non-partisan fact-checking site to find out the truth in American politics.”
You can browse their latest election coverage, explore the latest Truth-o-Meter fact checks from “truthfulness” to “pants on fire,” view scorecards on specific issues such as immigration or taxes, and find scorecards for specific people.
PolitFact transparently describes its funding and methodology, carefully explaining how they choose, which statements to test, and how they determine ratings. These are the hallmarks of objective reporting. Also check out their offshoot, PunditFact, which provides similar fact-checking about media people.
2. FiveThirtyEight.com
FivethirtyEight.com (named for the number of voters on the Electoral College) is the brainchild of statistician Nate Silver, who remained the site’s editor-in-chief after a series of changes in ownership.
This is a great site for objective analysis of political opinion polls. Although he has expanded his reach to include topics outside of elections such as sports and science, it can still be used to learn what the results of these political surveys really mean. What’s more, FiveThirtyEight provides its raw data and code on some topics and encourages readers to create their own stories and visualizations.
3. Ballotpedia.org
Ballotpedia is the “digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections.” Like PolitiFact, Ballotpedia is a non-profit organization with a mission to educate and commit to neutrality. You can find information about elections at the national, regional, and local levels, including candidate profiles, political positions, news about the elections, and voting information.
You can also subscribe to their wide range of newsletters, such as Ballotpedia’s Daily Brew, a short email that is sent every morning summarizing the main political news of the day.
4. Factcheck.org
Factcheck.org is the third non-profit organization on our list. Like PolitiFact, FactCheck.org tracks “the actual accuracy of what major US political players are saying in the form of TV commercials, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.”
You can browse by month, person, issue or location, or try reading their False Story Exposure Archives. (FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to identify and refute social media misinformation.) You can even ask a question through their Ask FactCheck feature.
5. Federal Election Commission
Money matters. If you want to keep track of money, the best place to start is with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Although it is a government agency, the FEC is “an independent regulatory body responsible for administering and enforcing federal campaign finance law.”
Have you ever wondered how much money the presidential campaign brings in, what they spend that money on, or how much money they have on hand now? FEC can tell you.
6. OpenSecrets.org
Another good non-profit, non-partisan website to visit is OpenSecrets.org. OpenSecrets.org, operated by the Center for Responsive Politics, tracks “money in US politics and its impact on elections and public policy.”
One of their goals is “to identify the disproportionate or inappropriate influence on public policy.” Use this site to find out how money plays a role in campaigns, super-PACs, and lobbying. You can also examine the personal finances of members of Congress, the president, vice president, and other members of the presidential administration.
7. Vote Smart
VoteSmart.org takes impartiality seriously. They say, “Most of us at Vote Smart is not paid, and those who earn only receive the minimum wage to cover the cost of living. We do not accept funding from corporations, PACs, or any organization that supports or opposes candidates or concerns. This effort will be funded by you and other Americans, or not funded at all. ”
Enter the candidate’s name in the Vote Smart search bar, and then select to view a candidate’s biography, voting results, positions on key issues, endorsements and ratings, speeches or funding. If you wish, you can also sign up for My VoteSmart, select the candidates you want to track and receive a daily email with any new details that VoteSmart learns about that person.
8. AllSides.com
The last entry on our list, AllSides.com, believes that “there is no unbiased news.”
Rather than seeking neutral election coverage, AllSides.com seeks to “bring information and ideas from across the political spectrum to people so they can better understand the world – and each other.” Please visit this site to view news, divided into three categories: news on the left, news from the center, and news on the right.
You can also check out their media bias ratings to “help you easily identify different points of view so you can get the big picture and think for yourself.” Search by issue or see their dictionary, which discusses how people of different political persuasions define a particular term or issue.
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The best Fair Election Coverage Websites 2020
The best Fair Election Coverage Websites 2020