The Age Of "Fact Checking"

This is the dawning of the age of "fact-checking," and it has become the new "viral virtue"---as long as everyone knows you're fact-checking, it doesn't really matter what the facts actually are.

It's kind of like the Pharisees of Jesus' time---the most important thing about prayer is that you see me praying.

Before you start believing everything you see on social media---because you now know it's been "fact-checked"--- let's take a closer look.

Be informed.

On May 11 Twitter published its new 'fact-checking" system, offering this promise:

"Our teams are using and improving on internal systems to proactively monitor content related to COVID-19. These systems help ensure we're not amplifying Tweets with these warnings or labels and detecting the high-visibility content quickly."

Twitter is now flagging statements as, "misleading information," disputed claims," or "unverified claims."

Who decides what should be flagged?

They're using "trusted partners" to "identify content that is likely to result in offline harm."

Clearly, they have now evolved beyond merely "fact-checking" COVID-19 to include other people and things.

Twitter has, for the first time, put a fact-check label on President Trump in his claim that there is "no way" that "mail-in ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent."

It's instructive that Twitter seized on the mail-in ballot tweets as the first issue from Trump's social media feed to slap with a "fact-checking" label.

What Twitter failed to do was disclose in its so-called "fact-checking" that it is partnering with two groups financed by far-left donors that engage in voter participation efforts: Specifically, they participate in efforts to push ---you guessed it---mail-in balloting.

Group number one.

Twitter sits on the "Premier Partner" list of one of those groups alongside ViacomCBS, the merger of Viacom and CBS. Twitter's so-called "fact check" about Trump's mail-in balloting cited CBS political reporter Grace Segers vouching for mail-in voting.

Most analysts---not advocates, but analysts---believe mail-in balloting helps the Democrat Party.

Twitter also failed to disclose it is an active "Premiere Partner" of "Vote Early Day 2020," an election advocacy group that claims to be dedicated to "educating" voters so they can cast their ballots prior to Election Day by mail.

The front page of the group's website promotes mail-in voting, telling voters that "more states are adopting new ways, such as mail-in, for casting their votes."

The organization suggests voters "throw a party or parade" so "friends can come together to fill in their mail-in ballots."

They emphasize "voting early," even in states where early voting is not permitted because that will inspire others to vote early. And they say early voting will ensure that last-minute problems will not prevent them from casting their ballot and will help shorten voting lines on Election Day for everyone.

Group number two.

Vote Early Day is supported by a project at the New Venture Fund (NVF).

The New Venture Fund, NVF, is in turn managed under a management agreement with the shadowy, massively funded Arabella Advisors strategy company that pushes the interests of very wealthy, leftist donors.

Arabella specializes in sponsoring a number of dark money pop-up organizations advocating progressive policies and designed to look like a local volunteer grassroots activist group.

Capital Research Group has done an extensive report on their activities.

Billionaire activist George Soros's Open Society documents that it provided financing to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, one of 4 nonprofits run by Arabella Advisors, another being the New Venture Fund (NVF). Arabella non-profits also show close financial workings with initiatives for the Democracy Alliance, another network of highly influential, leftist donors, including George Soros.

And one more fact that needs to be checked.

The National Voter Registration (NVF) is also sponsored by the Democracy Fund, a charitable foundation created by eBay founder and far-left activist billionaire Pierre Omidyar. Omidyar is the funding source of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter Institute for Media Studies, which has partnered with Facebook to oversee their "fact-checking" to determine if it should be flagged as "disputed."

The Omidyar Network has partnered with the Open Society on various projects for a number of years and it has given grants to third parties using the Soros funded Tides Foundation as a "fiscal sponsor." Tides is one of the largest donors to left-wing causes in the United States.

Put all this on top of the fact that last week, May 22, MTV sponsored Michelle Obama hosting a viral "Prom-athon" for high school kids who lost their prom to school closure because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Who was Michelle's featured partner? "When We All Vote." An organization created to get kids and their parents to vote---early. Preferably by mail. Michelle is co-chair of the organization.

The New York Times thought it was a splendid idea.

Takeaway

The keepers, the moral administrators of facts and "truth" on social media platforms, are declaring trust us-- "fact check," "fact check"-- from the housetops, while misleading those who do actually trust them.

They are less righteous than the deceivers they claim to identify, label, and expose on social media.

In Matthew 23, Jesus, "speaking to the multitudes" seven times, declares, "Woe " to the Pharisees, calling them "hypocrites, blind guides, liars, fools, deceivers, killers and witnesses against themselves." He says, "For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness."

And they continued to pray publicly on the street corners so all could see their righteousness.

Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Informed. Be Prayerful.