Susan Benkelman
Susan Benkelman joined the American Press Institute in November to lead its project to improve and expand accountability journalism. Before joining API, Susan worked for five years as a news editor in the Washington bureau of the Wall Street Journal. Previously she was the editorial director at CQ-Roll Call, holding the top newsroom job at the company formed by the merger of Roll Call and Congressional Quarterly, where she spent 15 years as an editor. Previously, Susan was been a reporter at Newsday in Washington, New York and Moscow, and before that was in the Washington and Lansing bureaus for the Detroit News. Originally from Michigan, she holds a degree in Journalism from Michigan State University.
Factually: 2 regions, 1 misinformation problem
As Kashmir ends its 11th day on a strict lockdown in which India has imposed a communications blackout, misinformation has taken off in the region. Fact-checkers for the Agence France-Presse in Southeast Asia have debunked several false and misleading claims about the lockdown, which was imposed Aug. 4 after New Delhi moved to revoke Kashmir’s autonomy. The […]
Factually: The things we learned about misinformation after recent mass shootings
At least 31 people died in two separate mass shootings in the U.S. over the weekend And misinformation wasn’t far behind. In the hours after the attacks in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart and a Dayton, Ohio, entertainment district, hoaxes about the gunmen, other shootings and even prescription drug use proliferated on social media. BuzzFeed News’ Jane Lytvynenko started […]
The disinformation problem is widening — just in time for 2020
When former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified before the House Intelligence Committee last week about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, some saw his comments about Moscow’s ongoing meddling attempts as the most important statement of the day. “It wasn’t a single attempt,” he said when asked about the spread […]
Factually: Teaching fact-checking in Bolivia
One of the greatest strengths of the fact-checking community is its commitment to collaboration and knowledge-sharing across borders. Such was the case last week when Miriam Valverde, a fact-checker covering immigration for (Poynter-owned) PolitiFact (and Daniel’s colleague), traveled to La Paz, Bolivia, to teach fact-checking skills to journalists. Organized by the nonprofit Fundación para el […]
Factually: Games to teach media literacy
In this newsletter, we spend a lot of time highlighting how misinformation is a global problem. To that end, fact-checkers and others are trying to promote more media literacy worldwide — and some of those efforts are quite fun. In the past few years, several games aimed at teaching people fact-checking skills and how to spot […]
Factually: Politicians co-opt fact-checking
Fact-checkers are used to spin from politicians. But now, some politicians around the world have started to mimic fact-checkers’ work to score points with voters. On Tuesday, the IFCN’s Cristina Tardáguila published a story about how the government of Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has created its own fact-checking operation. Launched by Notimex, a daily newswire service […]
Factually: Harris debate performance triggers birtherism smears
Happy Independence Day to our U.S. readers! And Happy Thursday to everyone else! This newsletter has a global scope and reach because, as the IFCN’s sixth annual Global Fact-Checking Summit in Cape Town last month proved, fact-checkers around the world can learn from one another and build on and celebrate each other’s successes. Here in America […]
Factually: How much is misinformation to blame for news avoidance?
The idea that the spread of misinformation makes some people want to tune out the news altogether has always lent a paradoxical quality to the work of fact-checkers and other truth-tellers. It’s hard to deliver the truth if people are avoiding the news because they think there are too many falsehoods out there. Now comes […]
Factually: A few takeaways from Global Fact 6
Howdy from Cape Town! This week, the IFCN traveled to South Africa for our sixth annual Global Fact-Checking Summit. During the three-day event — the largest yet — journalists, technology companies, nonprofits and startups from around the world are mingling to discuss the possibilities and obstacles facing the future of fact-checking. What are those obstacles? It depends on […]
Factually: The problem with deepfakes
(June 13, 2019 newsletter) Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Intelligence is holding a hearing on deepfake videos. Researchers will testify to Congress about the potential threat manipulated content poses to national security — particularly in the lead-up to the 2020 election. And based on the past few weeks, the committee will have plenty to […]