Cut through political spin at these ‘truth’ Web sites
The air is already filling with political attacks and murky claims by candidates.
To slice through the blather, the well-prepared Web surfer should start bookmarking sites that can whack the growing campaign hyperbole and deception.
Two key sites for that purpose are Factcheck.org and Opensecrets.org. The first, run by the University of Pennsylvania at the Annenberg School for Communication, examines the accuracy or deceptiveness of campaign ads prepared for national and local politicians.
Avoiding any ideology, the site’s staff is rigorously nonpartisan as it scours facts and tries to answer issues raised by questionable or slimy campaign ads.
Opensecrets.org is focused on the role of money in politics. Its growing databases, operated by the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C., tracks how much money is being spent on campaigns and how that money is affecting policy. Practicing what it preaches, the center reveals that all its funding comes from various nonprofit, nonpartisan groups, such as the Ford Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trust.
A handy tool near the top of the page is the tab “Who Gets.” Plug in the name of your local member of Congress. You’ll find a quick set of links to recent elections. Clicking on an election shows the breakdown of contributions by groups (such as business, labor, or “ideological, single issue”).
Next to the “Who Gets” button is another nice tool, “Who Gives.” Click that and then drill down to the Search option. There you can search for contributors in Washington state for the 1998 and 2000 races, including presidential, state and local races. Plug in a name, such as “Paul Turner,” and see if he’s provided any cash to federal or state candidates in those elections.
http://ipredict.msnbc.com
MSNBC has launched a Web site that lets users predict the outcomes of forthcoming events.
Will Harry Potter die in the final book of the well-loved literary series?
Will Kathy Griffin replace Rosie O’Donnell on “The View”? Will Lou Piniella lose his cool and walk away from the Chicago Cubs once and for all?
Launched a while back, ipredict is all about letting the Web audience make predictions. The theory is that the mob, when voting collectively, can do a better job of predicting outcomes than individuals.
For some, this is nothing but a poll prettied up with charts and graphs. For others, it’s a cool use of Web technology, giving people a real-time read on social attitudes.
The questions posed to date are not especially interesting. They tend toward pop entertainment and sports. Even so, ipredict is trying to pull away from several other Web sites that do something similar. We’re still waiting to see if it can make this more than just a conversation-starter.