THE LIMITS OF FACT CHECKING: EIGHT NOTES ON CONSENSUS REALITY

Abstract

In this study, we review the literature on fact-checking and the empirical evidence contending that it can correct prior knowledge and false information. We posit that the growing fact-checking industry is detached from the mis – disinformation landscape and outline eight fundamental problems with fact-checking revolving around epistemology, implementation, bias, efficacy, ambiguity, objectivity, ephemerality, and criticism. We discuss these shortcomings in relation to the establishment of fact-checking agencies across the world and their role in national elections in the United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia, and Brazil. The article concludes with a discussion on the extent to which fact-checking may be effective against false information in a context where consensus reality has been super-imposed by individual reality.