‘Fact-Checking’ Was Always Just Censorship. Polls Show Americans Could See Through It
Legacy media and Big Tech colluded with so-called “fact-checkers” to censor Americans’ speech for years — from Covid-19 to the Hunter Biden laptop story to the 2020 election to former President Joe Biden’s mental decline. Now, these self-appointed arbiters of speech are losing power because the public can see through their lies.
Mentions of “misinformation” and “disinformation” — the left’s favorite terms for disapproved speech — on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News have apparently dropped to the lowest levels since 2020, according to Axios. “Professional fact-checking went mainstream during the first Trump administration, but it’s since become politicized,” Sara Fischer wrote for Axios.
The outlet should know, as it has engaged in repeated propaganda operations under the guise of “fact-checking.” After reporting former Vice President Kamala Harris was “appointed by Biden as border czar,” Axios tried to fact-check Republicans, claiming “she never actually had” the title. As The Federalist previously reported, this is the same outlet whose co-founders demanded now-President Donald Trump apologize for getting shot in the head.
So Axios’ admission that fact-checking has “become politicized” is telling. It speaks to the fact that Americans are no longer willing to fall for media hoaxes. After all, Pew Research found that this year, public support for censorship fell for the first time since 2018. And as Axios reported, the number of so-called “fact-checking” sites had been growing since before 2016 — but in recent years, it began falling.
Manipulating the Public
“Fact-checkers” like Politifact, Snopes, and the Poynter Institute claim to be nonpartisan, but often silenced dissent.
In 2020, Big Tech colluded with such services to censor speech about the Covid-19 vaccine. For example, Twitter (now X) censored a post from The Federalist suggesting Americans should build natural immunity. The same year, USA Today tried to “fact-check” The Federalist for criticizing a Biden adviser’s vaccine research.
Also in 2020, as shown in the “Twitter Files,” the platform colluded with the FBI to suppress The New York Post’s accurate reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop. The laptop revealed incriminating evidence about Hunter Biden, the family’s corruption, and the presidential candidate, less than a month ahead of November’s race for office. A later poll found the overwhelming majority of Americans believed the laptop cover-up changed the results of the election.
After the contentious 2020 election, Facebook (now Meta) slapped a warning label on a post from The Federalist’s Editor-In-Chief, Mollie Hemingway, when she expressed concerns over ballot meddling in Georgia. As recently as 2023, when The Federalist reported left-wing organizations were using funding to influence local elections, Facebook — citing Politifact — claimed the article was “Partly False.”
After Biden became president, the “Facebook Files” revealed the White House colluded with Facebook to censor inconvenient speech about the Covid-19 vaccine — even if it was “true” content. In 2021, the platform continued to censor The Federalist for supporting free speech about the disease. Media, Big Tech, and so-called “fact-checkers” have collaborated to censor The Federalist various other times.
During Joe Biden’s presidency, media and “fact-checkers” ran cover for Biden, whose mind was already unraveling. When Brit Hume correctly observed on Fox News that “Biden’s senile,” Politifact rated the statement “false,” citing “geriatric experts.” Meanwhile, the American people saw the president unravel before their very eyes.
While on a campaign trip to Las Vegas last summer, Biden suffered a medical event that triggered an emergency response, as The Federalist reported at the time. Legacy media neglected to investigate this, while “fact-checkers” simply tried to quell concerns.
A Changing Landscape
As Axios reported, in 2017, 43 percent of Americans trusted the Trump administration, while 38 percent trusted media. That gap has since widened. As of February, 44 percent trusted the Trump administration, while just 28 percent trusted media. Apparently, Americans understand the goal of “fact-checking” — not objective truth, but spreading left-wing propaganda and silencing dissent.
Almost immediately after taking office, Trump moved to correct years of abuse with an executive order Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship. The federal government had been censoring conservative media like The Federalist and The Daily Wire through the now-defunct Global Engagement Center. And as The Federalist reported earlier this month, the National Science Foundation had incubated a host of online censorship tools.
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced in The Federalist that he is terminating the GEC, and its successor, forever. And just days ago, the NSF terminated grants for projects focused on “misinformation” and “disinformation.” These moves, along with Americans’ clarity on censorship, could signal a nation more open to free speech.
Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He is a spring 2025 fellow of The College Fix. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.
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