Fact-checking is dead

GLOBAL CONSEQUENCES: WHY SOUTH AFRICANS SHOULD WORRY

- LEON HARTWELL

Over the past five years, far-right actors in the United States have mounted a relentless war on fact-checking. What began as a fringe grievance has morphed into a coordinated campaign to discredit, defund, and dismantle efforts to counter disinformation.

The strategy is simple: cry censorship, launch lawsuits, and harass those who work to separate truth from fiction. The consequences are global, and South Africans should take note.

At the onset of the Covid pandemic, tech giants like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter (now X) collaborated with researchers to curb the spread of falsehoods.

Social media platforms introduced fact-checking mechanisms, flagging false claims and, in extreme cases, removing harmful content.

Then came the backlash. Some time in 2020, a coalition of bad-faith actors—led by figures like Representative Jim Jordan—began railing against so-called Big Tech censorship, particularly in the lead-up to the US presidential election. Conservative media outlets amplified these claims, reframing fact-checking as an ideological weapon wielded against right-wing voices.

Later on, the focus had shifted. Now, it wasn't just Big Tech under fire, but also the researchers studying falsehoods.

Groups like the America First Legal Foundation and the Conservative Partnership Institute—backed by Trump administration insiders—mobilized to provide legal and political muscle to the cause. Their goal? To intimidate, investigate, and litigate fact-checkers out of existence.

US Congress, too, became a tool in this war. The House Weaponization Subcommittee, chaired by Jordan, became a megaphone for baseless claims of censorship. The subcommittee launched investigations and legal challenges against researchers.

Meanwhile, the so-called "Twitter Files"—a series of curated leaks alleging widespread censorship—were riddled with inconsistencies and factual errors, but nonetheless fueled the anti-fact-checking crusade.