EDITORIAL - Just the facts: In a world of misinformation, FactCheck can help

There is so much noise in our public discourse that it can be hard to separate information from misinformation, fact from opinion, conjecture from conspiracy theory and lies from the truth. This is particularly true on the Internet, but fortunately, FactCheck.org is available to help.

FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, is a source of extensive, nonpartisan analysis of what is said by major U.S. political players in advertisements, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. It is a valuable supplement to newspapers, magazines and journals, and it helpfully includes citations and sources for the details it provides.

Last week, the meticulous folks at FactCheck.org whose sole purpose is to monitor factual accuracy were honored by the Webby Awards, the Internet Web site equivalent of Oscars and People's Choice Awards combined. This is the third year running that it has been honored by Webby in its politics category.

Don't know what to make of a television commercial that suggests Congress is about to enact a British- or Canadian-style health system? A report on FactCheck.org separates fact from opinion from flat-out errors. The Web site provides analysis on a broad range of topics and can be helpful even when it can't come up with a definitive "yes" or "no" answer, as it did last week when tackling the question of what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew when on the subject of waterboarding.

This valuable tool is one more resource to help readers reach their own well-informed conclusions, a victory of substance over flash.