San Diego Fact Check combines blog, TV and sponsors

Previously we covered the opportunity for local news organizations and start-ups to partner with Pulitzer prize-winning Politifact. Or, you could just use it for inspriation and create your own truth-seeking local news project.

That’s what independent news start-up Voice of San Diego has done, combining the true/false meter concept popularized by Politifact with a blog, a weekly TV show and – more interestingly – local sponsorships. Donovan’s, a local steakhouse, and the San Diego Taxpayers’ Association are the inaugural sponsors of the Fact Check Blog and Fact Check TV.

After all, election season isn’t the only time wild assertions are made by local officials and other stakeholders to frame local debates. According to the press release: “We are making sure those facts now have a new stop on their way to becoming accepted.”

The project, which “drew inspiration” from Politifact, according to the release,  will declare selected “facts” as either true, mostly true, barely true, false, misleading or just plain “huckster propaganda.” Accompanying the declaration will be a cute little Pinocchio-inspired cartoon character (seen above).  All writers will contribute to the blog, which is managed by staff writer Keegan Kyle. And each Friday at 6 p.m. a video version of Fact Check will air on NBC 7/39 with Andrew Donohue and Scott Lewis hosting.

In a nod to collaboration and transparency, users are being asked to submit facts for vetting and the blog will also host corrections to the facts voiceofsandiego.org itself puts out. You can follow the Fact Check feed on Twitter @sdfact.

UPDATE: Lewis, CEO of Voice of San Diego, offered this context via email: “We’ve been doing this kind of reporting for some time. But we had the idea — inspired by Politifact — to repackage it in a way that turned out to be attractive not only to the local NBC affiliate but also a sponsor and, based on the reaction so far, our users. It wasn’t so much innovative as much as it was a classic case of adapting a good idea to your organization and mission. Hopefully, readers and tv viewers and users can help us continue to evolve it.”

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