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Daily Archives: June 11, 2019

Number of fact-checking outlets surges to 188 in more than 60 countries

Poynter – Strong growth in Asia and Latin America helps fuel global increase – “The number of fact-checking outlets around the world has grown to 188 in more than 60 countries amid global concerns about the spread of misinformation, according to the latest tally by the Duke Reporters’ Lab. Since the last annual fact-checking census in February 2018, we’ve added 39 more outlets that actively assess claims from politicians and social media, a 26% increase. The new total is also more than four times the 44 fact-checkers we counted when we launched our global database and map in 2014.

Globally, the largest growth came in Asia, which went from 22 to 35 outlets in the past year. Nine of the 27 fact-checking outlets that launched since the start of 2018 were in Asia, including six in India. Latin American fact-checking also saw a growth spurt in that same period, with two new outlets in Costa Rica, and others in Mexico, Panama and Venezuela. The actual worldwide total is likely much higher than our current tally. That’s because more than a half-dozen of the fact-checkers we’ve added to the database since the start of 2018 began as election-related partnerships that involved the collaboration of multiple organizations. And some those election partners are discussing ways to continue or reactivate that work— either together or on their own…”

GAO identifies potential economic effects of climate change

Climate Change: Opportunities to Reduce Federal Fiscal Exposure. GAO-19-625T: Published: Jun 11, 2019. Publicly Released: Jun 11, 2019. “There were 14 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events in the U.S. in 2018—with a total cost of at least $91 billion. These costs will likely rise as the climate changes, researchers say. The federal government’s… Continue Reading

America Adrift – How the U.S. Foreign Policy Debate Misses What Voters Really Want

Center for American Progress Study, America Adrift, May 5, 2019 – “These days, foreign policy and national security publications are filled with stark warnings about the demise of the U.S.-led rules-based international order—the system of global alliances and institutions that helped advance peace and prosperity for America and its allies in the aftermath of World… Continue Reading

Mary Meeker – Internet Trends 2019

Mary Meeker, general partner at venture capital firm Bond Capital, delivered her annual Internet Trends slideshow – for 2019 it is 333 pages. “Recode has pulled out some of the significant and most interesting trends in Meeker’s report: Some 51 percent of the world — 3.8 billion people — were internet users last year, up… Continue Reading

“To Be Honest I’m Not Sure If We Have a Textbook”

Hybrid Pedagogy – Maura A. Smale – Undergraduate Access to Course Reading – “Faculty and staff don’t often know how hard it is for students to get their course materials. I’m a library director and professor at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), and I worry about student access to required course readings. Our… Continue Reading

The Self-Destruction of American Power

Via Axios: “The July/August issue of Foreign Affairs offers what editor Gideon Rose calls “an autopsy of the last decades of American global leadership — the years when U.S. elites squandered the inheritance and good name bequeathed to them.” Fareed Zakaria on “The Self-Destruction of American Power”: Sometime in the last two years, American hegemony… Continue Reading