Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

FactCheck.org

U.S. center to center-left

Owned byAnnenberg Public Policy Center, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania (a nonprofit academic institution)
FundingPrimarily the Annenberg Foundation endowment (established 1993 by the late Walter Annenberg); public donations accepted since 2010; formerly received grants from Meta/Facebook (2016–2025, ended when Meta dropped its U.S. fact-checking program in January 2025); one-time Google grant for COVID-19 coverage (2020). Does not accept funds from corporations (beyond those exceptions), unions, partisan organizations, or advocacy groups.
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

FactCheck.org launched in December 2003, founded by veteran Washington journalist Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. It was originally conceived as a temporary project for the 2004 presidential election cycle, but it gained sudden national prominence when Vice President Dick Cheney cited the site—incorrectly, as it turned out—during his 2004 debate with John Edwards, driving a massive spike in traffic. The site became a permanent operation after that election. Funding has come primarily from the Annenberg Foundation, the endowed nonprofit created by media magnate Walter Annenberg; the site began accepting public donations in 2010. From 2016 to January 2025, FactCheck.org also received grants from Meta (Facebook's parent company) as part of Meta's third-party fact-checking initiative—a relationship that drew some criticism from those who argued it created a conflict of interest, though Meta disclaimed any editorial control. Meta ended its U.S. fact-checking partnerships at the start of 2025 and shifted to a community-notes model. AllSides, a media-bias rating firm, moved FactCheck.org's rating from 'Center' to 'Lean Left' in August 2023, citing story selection and a heavier focus on Republican politicians. Ad Fontes Media has placed it closer to the center. During Trump's second term, FactCheck.org has published detailed statistical tracking pieces critical of administration claims on the economy, immigration enforcement, and drug prices, reflecting its longstanding pattern of scrutinizing sitting executive-branch statements.

Sources

  1. FactCheck.org – Wikipedia
  2. About Us – FactCheck.org
  3. Our Funding – FactCheck.org
  4. Our Partnership with Meta Is Ending – FactCheck.org
  5. FactCheck.org Media Bias – AllSides
  6. FactCheck.org Bias and Reliability – Ad Fontes Media
  7. Trump's Numbers, Second Term – FactCheck.org
  8. Annenberg Public Policy Center – Wikipedia
  9. Meta's Fact-Checking Funding – Nieman Journalism Lab

Profile compiled 2026-06-30; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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