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<\/a><\/p>\nby Aaron Klein
\nBREITBART<\/p>\n
TEL AVIV \u2014 The organization partnered with Facebook to help determine whether a certain story is \u201cdisputed\u201d is financed by billionaire George Soros and a slew of other left-wing funders.<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) drafted a code of five principles for news websites to accept, and Facebook yesterday announced it will work with \u201cthird-party fact checking organizations\u201d that are signatories to the code of principles.<\/p>\n
Facebook says<\/a> that if the \u201cfact checking organizations\u201d determine that a certain story is fake, it will get flagged as disputed and, according to the Facebook announcement, \u201cthere will be a link to the corresponding article explaining why. Stories that have been disputed may also appear lower in News Feed.\u201d<\/p>\nIFCN is hosted by<\/a> the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. A cursory search of the Poynter Institute website finds that Poynter\u2019s IFCN is openly funded by Soros\u2019 Open Society Foundations as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, and the National Endowment for Democracy.<\/p>\nPoynter\u2019s IFCN is also funded by the Omidyar Network, which is the nonprofit for liberal billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. The Omidyar Network has partnered<\/a> with the Open Society on numerous projects and it has given grants<\/a> to third parties using the Soros-funded Tides Foundation. \u00a0Tides is one of the largest donors to left-wing causes in the U.S.<\/p>\nAnother significant Poynter Institute donor is the Craig Newmark Foundation, the charitable organization established by Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark. On Monday, just days before the announcement of the Facebook partnership, Poynter issued a press release <\/a>revealing that Newmark donated $1 million to the group to fund a faculty chair in journalism ethics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nStates the press release:<\/p>\n
The gift will support a five-year program at Poynter that focuses on verification, fact-checking and accountability in journalism. It\u2019s the largest donation Poynter\u2019s ever received from an individual foundation.<\/p>\n
The Newmark Chair will expand on Poynter\u2019s teaching in journalism ethics and develop certification programs for journalists that commit to ethical decision-making practices. The faculty member will also organize an annual conference on ethics issues at Poynter and be a regular contributor to Poynter.org.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Newmark funds scores <\/a>of liberal groups also financed by Soros, including the Sierra Club, the New America Foundation, and the Sunlight Foundation.<\/p>\nNewmark also finances <\/a>the investigative journalism group called the Center for Public Integrity, where he serves on the board. \u00a0Soros\u2019 Open Society is another <\/a>Public Integrity donor.<\/p>\nSoros has earned his megafortune in part by short selling currencies and causing economic crises. He is credited with breaking the pound on September 16, 1992 in a day that became known in Britain as \u201cBlack Wednesday.\u201d He reportedly <\/a>made $1.2 billion from that crisis.\u00a0 In 2002, he was convicted <\/a>for insider trading.<\/p>\nPoynter, meanwhile, has hosted controversial journalism programs in the past, including one that was accused of downplaying the threat of global Islamic terrorism. FoxNews.com reported<\/a> the course suggested reporters \u201ckeep the death toll from Islamic terrorism in \u2018context\u2019 by comparing that toll to the number of people killed every year by malaria, HIV\/AIDS and other factors.\u201d<\/p>\nThe course taught reporters that the term \u201cjihad\u201d means internal struggle, and it discussed what it claimed was the issue of \u201cright-wing activists\u201d attempting to link American Muslims to terrorism.<\/p>\n
Continued FoxNews.com:<\/p>\n
The section includes the good-journalism tip that reporters should check to see if experts they\u2019re interviewing \u201chave a bias or a stake in the story you are covering.\u201d But then it only cites examples of anti-Muslim groups.<\/p>\n
The course in Islam, Fox News reported, was supported by a group calling itself the Social Science Research Council, which has received funding from Soros-financed groups.<\/p>\n
In response to the report, the Poynter Institute explained that it created the course \u201cas a tool for journalists who want to be accurate in educating their audience about the religion and culture of Islam, Muslim communities in the U.S., and the distinctions between Islam as a political movement and the radical philosophies that inspire militant Islamists.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe there is a need to better understand the complexities of Muslim societies and the online course offered by Poynter and Washington State University is a vital resource toward that end,\u201d Poynter added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe values underpinning the course are truth, accuracy, independence, fairness, minimizing harm and context \u2014 the core journalistic values on which we build all our teaching here at Poynter.\u201d<\/p>\n
IFCN is hosted by<\/a> the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. A cursory search of the Poynter Institute website finds that Poynter\u2019s IFCN is openly funded by Soros\u2019 Open Society Foundations as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, and the National Endowment for Democracy.<\/p>\n Poynter\u2019s IFCN is also funded by the Omidyar Network, which is the nonprofit for liberal billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. The Omidyar Network has partnered<\/a> with the Open Society on numerous projects and it has given grants<\/a> to third parties using the Soros-funded Tides Foundation. \u00a0Tides is one of the largest donors to left-wing causes in the U.S.<\/p>\n Another significant Poynter Institute donor is the Craig Newmark Foundation, the charitable organization established by Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark. On Monday, just days before the announcement of the Facebook partnership, Poynter issued a press release <\/a>revealing that Newmark donated $1 million to the group to fund a faculty chair in journalism ethics.<\/p>\n States the press release:<\/p>\n The gift will support a five-year program at Poynter that focuses on verification, fact-checking and accountability in journalism. It\u2019s the largest donation Poynter\u2019s ever received from an individual foundation.<\/p>\n The Newmark Chair will expand on Poynter\u2019s teaching in journalism ethics and develop certification programs for journalists that commit to ethical decision-making practices. The faculty member will also organize an annual conference on ethics issues at Poynter and be a regular contributor to Poynter.org.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Newmark funds scores <\/a>of liberal groups also financed by Soros, including the Sierra Club, the New America Foundation, and the Sunlight Foundation.<\/p>\n Newmark also finances <\/a>the investigative journalism group called the Center for Public Integrity, where he serves on the board. \u00a0Soros\u2019 Open Society is another <\/a>Public Integrity donor.<\/p>\n Soros has earned his megafortune in part by short selling currencies and causing economic crises. He is credited with breaking the pound on September 16, 1992 in a day that became known in Britain as \u201cBlack Wednesday.\u201d He reportedly <\/a>made $1.2 billion from that crisis.\u00a0 In 2002, he was convicted <\/a>for insider trading.<\/p>\n Poynter, meanwhile, has hosted controversial journalism programs in the past, including one that was accused of downplaying the threat of global Islamic terrorism. FoxNews.com reported<\/a> the course suggested reporters \u201ckeep the death toll from Islamic terrorism in \u2018context\u2019 by comparing that toll to the number of people killed every year by malaria, HIV\/AIDS and other factors.\u201d<\/p>\n The course taught reporters that the term \u201cjihad\u201d means internal struggle, and it discussed what it claimed was the issue of \u201cright-wing activists\u201d attempting to link American Muslims to terrorism.<\/p>\n Continued FoxNews.com:<\/p>\n The section includes the good-journalism tip that reporters should check to see if experts they\u2019re interviewing \u201chave a bias or a stake in the story you are covering.\u201d But then it only cites examples of anti-Muslim groups.<\/p>\n The course in Islam, Fox News reported, was supported by a group calling itself the Social Science Research Council, which has received funding from Soros-financed groups.<\/p>\n In response to the report, the Poynter Institute explained that it created the course \u201cas a tool for journalists who want to be accurate in educating their audience about the religion and culture of Islam, Muslim communities in the U.S., and the distinctions between Islam as a political movement and the radical philosophies that inspire militant Islamists.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe there is a need to better understand the complexities of Muslim societies and the online course offered by Poynter and Washington State University is a vital resource toward that end,\u201d Poynter added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe values underpinning the course are truth, accuracy, independence, fairness, minimizing harm and context \u2014 the core journalistic values on which we build all our teaching here at Poynter.\u201d<\/p>\n