[EL] shark attacks vs voter fraud vs "fact checking"

[Doug Hess]

Rick's blog links to the PolitiFactFlorida article (see link below) which
seems to demonstrate the potential for these "fact checking" websites to
get a bit tangled up in themselves. On the one hand, they want to have some
fun with the "probably a larger number of shark attacks in Florida than
there are cases of voter fraud" quote, while serving the public interest by
putting some numbers to the story. That is all to the good, of course. On
the other hand, they get a little high handed (motivated I think by the
belief that they are the moderate arbiters) and in doing so mess things up
a little bit. In this case, they come to the odd conclusion that the
statement is "mostly true."

The authors (un-named, which I think is bad policy in journalism) compare
shark attacks in FL to "cases deemed legally sufficient for an
investigation." They note that some cases "may represent multiple counts of
voter fraud" plus they add the usual observation that there must be cases
of fraud out there that are not captured in the report. Thus, they say the
claim is only "mostly true" because the number of investigations is close
to the number of reported shark attacks. That is silly, and it is worth
pointing this out because it leaves in readers' mind that there is a need
for greater policy response...including, perhaps the bizarre registration
laws the FL put into place. The quote, from an ACLU staff member, says
nothing about investigations of fraud and nothing about reported shark
attacks. This point may seem pedantic or somewhat Gradgrind-ish, but what
is good for the goose is good for the gander. I.e., there are likely shark
attacks that are not reported and it is uncertain how many people are
involved in an "attack," etc. More importantly, the quote hedges by saying
"probably" which in this instance I think is fair to read as a colloquial
way of saying "roughly."

Of course, the real point of the quote is to say voter fraud (note:
not INVESTIGATIONS) is rare. Which is completely true, not mostly. More can
be said on this, but the point is that these factchecking websites are a
great public service....but, seriously...you cannot check "facts" if you
cannot interpret statements fairly; and you must treat the facts you
marshal fairly, too. Otherwise you leave the wrong impression (and miss the
more important point). So, have some fun, but ... check your facts.

http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2012/mar/02/aclu-florida/shark-attacks-are-more-common-voter-fraud-florida/
#
Doug
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