Media outlets are preparing to fact check the first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden in real-time.
The measures have been designed with concern for increasing public attention to misinformation as well as the complex nature of many issues that will likely arise during the debate, Axios reported. However, debate moderator Chris Wallace will not likely be live fact-checking the candidates, saying Sunday that he hopes to remain “as invisible as possible.”
The USA Today Network, the umbrella organization for hundreds of local and regional outlets in addition to USAToday.com, will live fact-check the debate across all of its feeds and social media channels, its editor-in-chief told Axios.
“Sometimes, despite our best intentions, people may not come back to us for fact checking,” said USA Today Editor-in-Chief Nicole Carroll, “which is why USA Today is pushing to get fact checks out on screens in real time.” (RELATED: Here Are Questions That Should Be Asked During Tuesday’s Debate)
CLEVELAND, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 28: Students Blake Wiseman (L) and Christopher Heermann (R), stand-ins for U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden respectively (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Other national media outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times and the broadcast networks are planning to fact-check in real-time also, Axios reported. While The Washington Post will have a team of fact-checkers posting to a feed accessible from its homepage, The New York Times will deploy numerous reporters and editors to post fact checks on its live feed., Axios reported.
The Wall Street Journal is debuting Talk 2020, a tool designed to help users locate transcripts from Biden and Trump in order to see their positions on respective issues, Axios reported. While this is the largest push from national outlets for constant, live fact-checking during a presidential debate, some outlets implemented similar tools during the two conventions in August as well (RELATED: Polls Show Tight Races In Critical Battlegrounds)
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