James Carvin has purchased CounterChecker.com with the intention of building an app and a plugin for checking fact checks. The plug-in will be designed as an automated add-on for any website or social media platform. The app and plug-in will share a database indexed on user controlled key words. It will be the only fact checking tool that offers multiple perspectives rather than self proclaimed independent fact checks. Carvin’s goal is to provide a tool for digging deeper and deeper into facts without concern for bias. Fairness and balance are to be accomplished through multiple viewpoints without censorship. It will override the typical concern about fact checkers not truly being independent by providing all sides to every story.
There will be a conservative team and a progressive team. Other teams with special interests may also participate as explained below. Here is how it will work. Participants, known as “CounterCheckers” will be selected by their own appointed teams so that each team has a single voice. For any news page linking with the CounterChecker plug-in code, an opportunity to discuss relevant facts will be presented to each team. To counter anything written by an opposing side, the team’s CounterChecker will highlight any word of the text. This will create a hyperlink to a new fact check branch of the CounterChecker tree of truth.
Fact check branches will be similar in length and style to Wikipedia pages. Like Wikipedia pages, they can be edited at any time. Whenever they are created or edited, a notice will be sent to the opposing team(s). The end result is something similar to a debate, only there is no time limit. Therefore, the level of detail will be unlimited.
Carvin’s intention is to end political division and re-unite the country through fairness and non-censorship. Bias in the news and in journalism, fake news, is commonplace, but a divided country is confused about which news is actually fake. The CounterChecker app will settle that question by allowing each side to have its say. The hope is that documentation will trump conversation and the many will find unity somewhere in the middle, where the truth is most likely to be found.
Libertarians and other minority groups may also form teams to express their unique view points. Since many of these see news much the same way as political conservatives or progressives, they will be able to add endorsements on branch pages. If their view differs on any point, they can begin their own branch for that point. Each branch will be marked by which team initiated the challenge.
To create a new team, administrative approval will be required. Carvin’s goal is to reduce redundancy while creating an index of viewpoints. There is only one chief editor per team, selecting their own CounterCheckers and their teams of researchers and journalists can be as many or few as they wish. Team member selection is controlled entirely by each chief editor. Branches will not be moderated or censored unless they explicitly incite violence or illegal activity or specified types of hate speech. Exterior links will be permitted but limited in number per branch page on the truth tree and will not be restricted or monitored.
Individuals with unique opinions may offer personal commentary and branch ratings on their own timelines. Timelines will identify any teams that users are members of. This will provide a method by which every user may offer input to their team. The Chief CounterChecker for each team will have final approval of the team’s group content as chief editor for each branch on the tree of truth so that there is one voice for that team. The CounterChecker app will not be a popularity contest. It will eliminate duplicate and circular arguments to make it easy to search through the database of facts and counter facts. It will be a group exercise in accountability to the truth that allows every user the opportunity to contribute their unique insights to their team as they consider what opposing viewpoints exist.
If you are a developer interested in taking part in this project, contact James Carvin.