Bill Adair
@billadair.com
Professor at Duke; founder of PolitiFact; author of Beyond the Big Lie; fan of facts. billadair.com
Tremendous story by Duke alum @billmccarthy.bsky.social showing how White House stitched together footage from other cities and claimed they were from Chicago factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Tremendous story by Duke alum @billmccarthy.bsky.social showing how White House stitched together footage from other cities and claimed they were from Chicago factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
Smart and thorough analysis from @ninajankowicz.com: Jim Jordan Claims Google Censored Conservatives. His Own Committee’s Work Shows Otherwise. wiczipedia.substack.com/p/jim-jordan...
Jim Jordan Claims Google Censored Conservatives. His Own Committee’s Work Shows Otherwise.
Google execs’ interviews before the House Judiciary Committee show no evidence of “censorship” or government coercion - so who’s lying?
wiczipedia.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Smart and thorough analysis from @ninajankowicz.com: Jim Jordan Claims Google Censored Conservatives. His Own Committee’s Work Shows Otherwise. wiczipedia.substack.com/p/jim-jordan...
Why does Microsoft do this? Every day (???), it sends an "Reaction Daily Digest" email that summarizes the "thumbs-ups" (and, I guess, other emojis) that I have received that day. What value is that email, coming hours after a respondent sent them?
September 15, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Why does Microsoft do this? Every day (???), it sends an "Reaction Daily Digest" email that summarizes the "thumbs-ups" (and, I guess, other emojis) that I have received that day. What value is that email, coming hours after a respondent sent them?
A smart and simple fact-check. To check Trump's claim that the Smithsonian has "nothing about success, nothing about brightness, nothing about the future," PolitiFact fact-checkers simply toured the museums. Pants on Fire. www.politifact.com/factchecks/2...
Trump is wrong: Smithsonian does feature success, brightness
President Donald Trump attacked the Smithsonian Institution for being “woke” and giving no attention to “success,” “brightness” and the “future.” Visiting several of the most popular museums, we found...
www.politifact.com
August 20, 2025 at 11:26 PM
A smart and simple fact-check. To check Trump's claim that the Smithsonian has "nothing about success, nothing about brightness, nothing about the future," PolitiFact fact-checkers simply toured the museums. Pants on Fire. www.politifact.com/factchecks/2...
Hey Chicago! Come and see me Sept. 6 at Printers Row Lit Fest! I'll be discussing lying in politics and misinformation with @barbmcquade.bsky.social! -- moderated by the Chicago Tribune's @jake-sheridan.bsky.social!
August 15, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Hey Chicago! Come and see me Sept. 6 at Printers Row Lit Fest! I'll be discussing lying in politics and misinformation with @barbmcquade.bsky.social! -- moderated by the Chicago Tribune's @jake-sheridan.bsky.social!
Three news alerts, three different takes
August 12, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Three news alerts, three different takes
Great lede here from @joshuabenton.com: "Alden Global Capital just can’t understand. Why would any newspaper not want to be the next to pass through its digestive tract?" www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/alde...
Alden Global Capital is miffed that The Dallas Morning News won’t offer itself up for disembowelment
The hedge fund threatens to shift their takeover bid to shareholders — while trying to sweet-talk the only shareholder that matters.
www.niemanlab.org
August 1, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Great lede here from @joshuabenton.com: "Alden Global Capital just can’t understand. Why would any newspaper not want to be the next to pass through its digestive tract?" www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/alde...
Some thoughts on Google’s announcement ending the use of ClaimReview in search:
June 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Some thoughts on Google’s announcement ending the use of ClaimReview in search:
A lot of people believed Meta's decision to end its support of fact-checkers would lead to a dramatic decline. But that hasn't happened, at least not yet, according to the latest census by the Duke Reporters' Lab. reporterslab.org/2025/06/19/f...
2025 census: Fact-checkers persevere as politicians, platforms turn up heat - Reporters' Lab
In its annual census, the Duke Reporters’ Lab counts 443 active fact-checking projects, down about 2 percent so far from 2024.
reporterslab.org
June 20, 2025 at 2:22 PM
A lot of people believed Meta's decision to end its support of fact-checkers would lead to a dramatic decline. But that hasn't happened, at least not yet, according to the latest census by the Duke Reporters' Lab. reporterslab.org/2025/06/19/f...
Isn't this the result for, like, everything? Every issue, every question that begins, "Do you support President Trump..."
June 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Isn't this the result for, like, everything? Every issue, every question that begins, "Do you support President Trump..."
I was watching a video on Spotify today and I realized… that I was watching a video on Spotify. It has become a platform for music + audiobooks + podcasts + now, podcasts with video. It’s the everything platform.
June 5, 2025 at 7:23 PM
I was watching a video on Spotify today and I realized… that I was watching a video on Spotify. It has become a platform for music + audiobooks + podcasts + now, podcasts with video. It’s the everything platform.
From @glennkessler.bsky.social, anatomy of a flip-flop: How Trump has changed his claims that he can end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Analysis | Trump’s flip-flop on how easy it would be to end the Russia-Ukraine war
The president has gone from a “24-hour” deal to “back away” in just a few months.
www.washingtonpost.com
May 23, 2025 at 4:11 PM
From @glennkessler.bsky.social, anatomy of a flip-flop: How Trump has changed his claims that he can end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
A great fact-check by Grace Abels and some other tremendous actors. www.instagram.com/reel/DJo946k...
May 15, 2025 at 12:06 AM
A great fact-check by Grace Abels and some other tremendous actors. www.instagram.com/reel/DJo946k...
I lied to a guy on national TV. So I decided to track him down and say I was sorry. This is the story of my search. www.cjr.org/analysis/pol...
Brian from Michigan
Thirteen years ago, I lied to a guy named Brian on national television. So I decided to find him and apologize.
www.cjr.org
May 7, 2025 at 12:52 PM
I lied to a guy on national TV. So I decided to track him down and say I was sorry. This is the story of my search. www.cjr.org/analysis/pol...
Anybody know how long Trump has been in office? I'd love to see some coverage of that...
April 29, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Anybody know how long Trump has been in office? I'd love to see some coverage of that...
Ran into John from @themountaingoats.bsky.social exactly where you'd expect a big rock star on a Saturday night, in the parking lot of Target, where he was shopping for Easter candy. What a smart, wonderful guy. Reminded me why I love the Goats.
April 20, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Ran into John from @themountaingoats.bsky.social exactly where you'd expect a big rock star on a Saturday night, in the parking lot of Target, where he was shopping for Easter candy. What a smart, wonderful guy. Reminded me why I love the Goats.
“I would like to say one more thing,” Chávez said. “Again to our trans students, we see you and we love you.” 9thstreetjournal.org/2025/03/28/d...
Durham school board vows to support transgender students - 9th Street Journal
At a time when the transgender community feels under attack at the federal and state level, the Durham school board is taking a public stand…
9thstreetjournal.org
March 28, 2025 at 9:31 PM
“I would like to say one more thing,” Chávez said. “Again to our trans students, we see you and we love you.” 9thstreetjournal.org/2025/03/28/d...
Journalists who use "[timely word]gate" in a headline should be suspended without pay for a week. Today's example: "Signalgate."
March 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Journalists who use "[timely word]gate" in a headline should be suspended without pay for a week. Today's example: "Signalgate."
Not sure how new this is, but the NYT's Athletic now has a button so you can directly bet on teams. The gap between journalism and gambling keeps narrowing.
March 23, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Not sure how new this is, but the NYT's Athletic now has a button so you can directly bet on teams. The gap between journalism and gambling keeps narrowing.
My Newswriting students are reading one of my favorite works of student journalism, @carmela.bsky.social's "I watched all 162 crashes at the Can Opener," which then led me to watch way too many YouTube videos. But a fun way to spend an afternoon! 9thstreetjournal.org/2021/04/13/i...
I watched all 162 crashes at the Can Opener. Here’s what I saw. - 9th Street Journal
To understand Durham's most notorious location for crashes, I watched every video. I identified three types: the Curious Cat, the Bullet, and the Barbershop Shave.
9thstreetjournal.org
March 20, 2025 at 6:48 PM
My Newswriting students are reading one of my favorite works of student journalism, @carmela.bsky.social's "I watched all 162 crashes at the Can Opener," which then led me to watch way too many YouTube videos. But a fun way to spend an afternoon! 9thstreetjournal.org/2021/04/13/i...
NYT using crowdsourcing for coverage of JFK assassination files.
March 19, 2025 at 10:04 AM
NYT using crowdsourcing for coverage of JFK assassination files.
I always worry when I see an obit for Bill Adair - until I realize it’s not me.
March 17, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I always worry when I see an obit for Bill Adair - until I realize it’s not me.
Interesting addition to my Google search results that I haven’t seen before
March 14, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Interesting addition to my Google search results that I haven’t seen before
A student used "literally" in a paper, which gave me an excuse to watch this youtu.be/gYB-dM2Tsd0?...
Literally Every Time Chris Traeger Says "Literally" | Parks and Recreation
YouTube video by Parks and Recreation
youtu.be
March 13, 2025 at 7:18 PM
A student used "literally" in a paper, which gave me an excuse to watch this youtu.be/gYB-dM2Tsd0?...
This is tremendous news. The amazing @edeggans.bsky.social becoming Knight professor at Washington & Lee. columns.wlu.edu/eric-deggans...
Eric Deggans Named Knight Chair in Journalism and Media Ethics at W&L
Eric Deggans, television critic, media analyst and guest host with NPR, has been selected to serve as the next John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Journalism and Media Ethics at Washington and Lee…
columns.wlu.edu
March 12, 2025 at 8:09 PM
This is tremendous news. The amazing @edeggans.bsky.social becoming Knight professor at Washington & Lee. columns.wlu.edu/eric-deggans...