What is the least left leaning fact checker?

The least left-leaning fact-checking website is probably the centrist FactCheck, Party Lines Archives - FactCheck.org but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter and I say this as somebody who is center-right.

I am also going to go out on a limb and tell you why these fact checking sites are actually useful for Classic Liberals and Conservatives.

This picture of migrant children in cages was taken in 2014. It was wrongly attributed to attack Donald Trump in 2018 . Here is the AP Fact Check. AP FACT CHECK: 2014 photo wrongly used to hit Trump policies

But before we get there. Try this experiment yourself.

Pick twenty stories on Snopes or Politifact Or FactCheck and predict before looking at their evaluation whether the story is correct or not. If you are the type of person who samples news from across the political spectrum, have a well honed BS detector and an eye for the hyperbole I can guarantee that at the very least you will be able to knock almost ninety percent of these right out of the park.

To assist here are a few simple heuristics that could help you.

1. If a story seems way-over-the top it is most likely false
2. Claims of the best, greatest, strongest and highest are almost always false
3. Conspiracies are generally incorrect or unsubstantiated
4. Politicians on all sides of the aisle regularly bungle statistics
5. The same politicians are even worse with the details of history (even if they get the general idea correct).

Fact Checking sites build their reputation by debunking this low hanging fruit and in this respect I give them credit. They basically save you time for what you could do yourself. This is far and away the vast majority of material on their sites. Good riddance…we don’t need nonsense clouding our analysis.

Source: Presidential Fact Check Cartoon - Chip Bok's Bokbluster

But what about the left wing bias? Isn’t this a concern?

Oddly enough not really as much as you would think. You see in order for Fact Checkers to have credibility (and if they don’t they won’t last long) they have to at the very least get the facts straight and contrary to the oft repeat cliche here on Quora - Facts do not have a left wing bias. Hell they have no bias. They are what they are. Which means that ultimately there is a constraint factor that restricts the spin within the fact check medium.

Check these out

Ocasio-Cortez wrong on several counts about unemployment

Gillibrand's claim on stock trade tax isn't the whole story

Kamala Harris' False claim on auto industry jobs

Barack Obama wrong on limits of US gun laws

Clinton on the hot seat with Wisconsin voter claim

Video: Harris, Warren on Michael Brown Shooting - FactCheck.org

I am not sure if you noticed but many of these checks center around strong Progressive talking points (the wage economy, taxes, job growth, gun laws, voter suppression and race crimes). They are not the meaningless softballs referred to earlier.

All of these checks actually support conservative positions on these key issues. If one is true to the facts these ought to be welcomed, especially as Bubble Progressives with almost no exception treat these Fact Checkers as hooray voices for their ideological position. They would be wise to dig deeper. All too often this is not the case.

You see you can’t have it both ways. If you use the fact checkers to justify your ideology then you have to be intellectual honest and not ignore the many times that the fact checker flips your well held belief on its head. Swords can cut in many directions. Conservatives need to make Progressives live by their own book of rules here (paraphrasing the radical Saul Alinsky).

Source: How to fact-check | Africa Check

Would the same criticism not apply to Conservatives?

It would be for conservatives who are wedded to doctrine that requires a certain purity. All ideologues are susceptible to this. However Conservatism is more of an attitude than an ideology.See Gavin Kanowitz's answer to In what way do conservatives think differently than other ideologies?

The attitude encompasses a strong empiricist focus. Conservatives ought not to let this go. This is its big advantage over Progressivism.

Consequently it is critical for Conservatives to reflect on one’s assumption and rework them if the evidence supports it. This does not mean that one should forego skepticism but an above board analysis that pokes holes in what one believes to be true can if treated correctly actually solidify the pragmatic stance that many conservatives take.

So how should one approach a Fact Checking Site?

1. Focus on the numbers and the hard facts rather than the opinions. Politifact and AP Fact Checker often weaken their analysis by delving into the latter. This is where the left wing bias comes in.
2. Check numerous sources when reaching a particular claim. If a Fact Checkers provides a link to a primary source go there yourself
3. Don’t live or die by the Fact Checker. They are not gospel and appear to have a selection bias with respect to which claims/stories they wish to fact check. Keep this in mind. They also err and at times can be shoddy with their research. Check this out The ‘Fact-Checkers’ Do Not Check Facts | National Review
4. Remember as well that there is no substitute for a thorough self directed investigation.

Fact Checkers are at the very best the Cliff Notes for any topic. Within the very narrow specific fact mandate they can have credibility. Beyond that they appear to be on far more shaky ground.

Is there such a thing as the illiberal left or is that a myth?

Yes they exist and sadly it is not a myth. Here is an example from an Anti-War Demonstration in San Francisco in 2003

Source: We Support Our Troops When They SHOOT Their Officers

The illiberal left can also be described as the Regressive Left (or simply Regressives) - a term that was first coined by the Muslim liberal reformer Maajid Nawaz and popularized by Sam Harris, Dave Rubin and Richard Dawkins. It is not a new phenomenon with a history going back to the French Revolution.

Source: Maajid Nawaz- the Times

Regressives see Western Civilization as inherently evil and in chronic need of restructuring along a perceived ideal. The Will to Power drives their aspiration. Various segments will resort to violence if it is deemed necessary. Regressives are however prepared to tolerate other counter radicalisms (eg. Islamism) if that ideology is directed at the same primary target. Freedom of speech however is only appreciated if it works in their favor. At its most fundamental it is anti-democratic but will use the vehicle of democracy as a means to an end.

Included in the Regressive grouping are the various Marxist Revolutionary tendencies, much of the New Left, a growing share of ‘equality of outcome’ progressives (aka SJWs) and their fellow travelers in the shrill and outrage media. In France this roughly corresponds to the Red-Green-Brown alliance. Red–green–brown alliance - Wikipedia

Fortunately there is a non-regressive left who are well exemplified by the Euston Manifesto. The Euston Manifesto.

So how do you spot a Regressive ?

Look at the Trail of Hatred which is starting to look more and more like an Interstate at this point in time . Here is a list of eight warning signs.

While not all Regressives are defined by each and every point below if you hit five of them or more you are probably on to something big.

1.Hatred of the US: The US is an economic, scientific and culturally successful free market driven country. It also led the fight that ultimately culminated in the defeat of the Regressive Soviet Union. Hatred of the US is a very useful mechanism in uniting conflict Regressive ideologies. The leftist extension of its hatred of the US carries over to a vile disdain of other US influenced organizations such as the IMF, World Bank and NATO.

2. Hatred of Capitalism: Capitalism stands in the way of the world wide spread of International Socialism and its variances (Trotskyism, Maoism, Marxism, Eco-fascism etc) which Regressives seek to promote. It is important to note that it is not globalization that Regressives detest - their ideologies hinge on a global outlook as well – but the proliferation of the free market mantra.

3. Hatred of the Nature View Point: Regressives for the most part abhor genetic explanations especially in the field of psychometrics, as it undermines the relevant nurture based constructs that they believe can be manipulated to create the respective nirvana. Such a bias has manifested itself in the ideological clearing houses that go by the euphemisms of ‘studies disciplines’ in many universities.

4. Hatred of Organized Religion: In Regressive thought the organized traditional religions need to 'fade away' or be annihilated (depending on the urgency) so that their specific collectivist vision predominates. Organized religions also have a nasty habit of undermining leftist totalitarianism. Nevertheless Regressives will tolerate organized religion - and have done so through the mechanism of Liberation Theology - if it too opposes a greater threat viz. the US and Western Liberalism. Regressive sympathy for Islamism is an outcrop of such thinking.

5. Hatred of Tradition: Regressive Leftism centers on the twin notions of destruction and re-building. Tradition represents that which has to be destroyed as it is the product of the ‘old order’ (which in Regressive eyes is tainted…you know the Patriarchy and all of that).

Regressives, from the early days of the French Revolution - remember the guillotine happy Jacobin - have been hostile to tradition seeking to replace existing structures and establishments with those of their own making.

6. Hatred of Standards: Standards of excellence throw a wrench into the workings of Regressive Leftism and its adherence to moral and intellectual relativism. Standards also provide additional support for the ‘old order’ and validate the tradition that leftists wish to dismantle. It is for this reason that Post-Modernist thinking with its emphasis on anti-establishment rhetoric is so popular with leftists in university settings.

7. Hatred of Individuality: Regressives are ultimately opposed to individuality, although they will appear to offer tacit support in the short run as bait for the creative class. Individuality contradicts the groupthink creed inherent in Regressive ideology. Look no further than the way the Soviet Union suppressed artistic freedom and then co-opted it as a tool for the state.

8. Hatred of Debate/Counter Thought: Regressives are quick to complain about their voices being marginalized - there is strength in victimhood - yet once power is achieved are quick to negate free speech. Regressive championing of university speech codes, mandated language, human rights tribunals and ‘offense directed’ litigation are testament to this reality in the day-to-day.

Is the Regressive left not just a right wing bogeyman?

Not at all. In fact its growing strength should concern modern liberals and indeed every thinking person on the left who values Western Civilization.

It is not that we weren’t warned about this before.

Thank You George Orwell.

Picture Source: British Library. Orwell - A Man of the Left who could see through the facade of Regressivism and was willing to take his own side to task for not being forceful enough in rejecting i

Is there a difference between Classic Liberals and Conservatives?

Classic Liberals (or plainly Liberals) are largely focused on the rights of the individual and center on the Three Freedoms - speech, action and belief. It is meritocratic and stands firmly behind a strong market system with limited government intrusion. Private Ownership of property and the sovereignty of the individual are paramount. It is the chief mode of thinking of the so-called Scottish Enlightenment. John Locke, David Hume and Adam Smith are its inspiration. The US Constitution is essentially a Classic Liberal document.

Adam Smith - Source adamsmith.org

Conservatism incorporates that which classical liberalism stands for but goes further with regard to society as a unit. As Russel Kirk outlines in his ‘Ten Conservative Principles’ - custom, convention, and continuity - are vital . So is the abiding notion of precedent and prudence. Conservatives place strong value in the permanence of moral truths and are concerned with a transcendent order. Its greatest early thinker was Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke - Source Merion West

Both of these philosophies merge to form mainstream Modern American Conservatism. This brings together right-libertarian economic views with the pillars of traditional and social conservatism. American philosopher Frank Meyer described this joining of the two rivers of thought as Fusionism. Since the Reagan era it has played an important role in the political platform of the GOP.

Sources:

1. Ten Conservative Principles
2. Frank S. Meyer, In Defense of Freedom and Other Essays, Indianapolis, Liberty Fund, 1996
3. Liberalism - Classical liberalism