Trump and the "Fact-Checkers"

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I saw a presentation by three journalism profs recently on "misinformation." It wasn't as biased as I expected it to be, but, of course, the "misinformation"/"disinformation" rhetoric was introduced as a new vector for criticizing conservatives. One of their recommendations to the students in attendance was: see what fact-checkers have to say about things. I argued that the fact-checkers are typically no more objective than the first-order journalism organizations of which they're typically a part. E.g. the WaPo "fact-checker" is really just more WaPo--ergo radically left-biased.

   It needn't be that way. Fact-checking could be a noble endeavor, in which the fact-checkers make a special, diligent, and solemn effort to be more objective. Because: effort matters in this context. Trying makes a difference. Also, people could be chosen who have a demonstrated record of objectivity. 

   But that's not how they do it. The "fact-checking" is just as hysterically anti-Trump as the first-order journalism. The "Russiagate" page at FactCheck.org is all anti-Trump, much of it outright bullshit. And Russiagate was something about which Trump was undeniably right. 

   Anyway. This is part of the Really Big Lie: the massive network of groupthink and propaganda formed by the progressive left, that engulfs even institutions like academia and journalism that are supposed to be dedicated to finding and disseminating the truth. It's horrifying if you look right at it for too long.