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Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of a candidate or party. Please do not leave comments about either since I do not believe that GWB is the proper place for such a discussion. This is an examination of the capabilities of today's technology related to elections. I was watching part of a political speech given by a supporter of one of the presidential candidates the other night and my bovine manure detector started going off. So what do I do? I start a Google search. The first site that I happened upon was FactCheck.org. It seems to be even handed and run by a university. I actually saw a news anchor asking a party representative about a "Fact Check" that had been sent to him at the end of the speech. Since then ads have come out even misquoting FactCheck. Nothing like when you start fact checking ads where you yourself are involved. Now you have to be cautious. Since most web sites do not have anything to hold them accountable they can contain falsehoods as well. Check their affiliations and the facts that they present. Don't just rely on one source. The next site I found is votesmart.org. This one seems to be more about making the position of the opponents available. This is a nice contrast to FactCheck which focuses on debunking lies and bends in the truth. So where does this all go? I urge you not to take what you hear or see as the truth. Investigate to the best of your ability and make a decision from the information you have available to you. Read beyond the hype and use the tools available to us in this digital age to educate your vote.
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