In review, Politifact has been called left biased by some
right leaning sources. In fact, there is a source called
Politifact Bias that is dedicated to pointing out Politifact’s biases. Politifact is also a signatory of the
International Fact Checking Network (IFCN), which outlines a code principles for credible fact checkers.
Politifact uses minimal loaded language in their articles and headlines such as this:
Trump falsely claims NATO countries owe United States money for defense spending. All information is well sourced to credible media and/or direct statements from experts in the field or the politicians themselves.
Fact Check selection leans slightly left as more right wing politicians are currently fact checked. This may be due to bias or the fact that Republicans currently control all branches of government and hence there is more to check. In fact, there was a recent academic study done that shows Politifact employs minimal bias through wording.
Overall, this update reveals a slight leftward shift in Politifact’s fact checking selection, but not enough to move them from the least biased category. (7/10/2016) Updated (D. Van Zandt 8/12/2018)