TY - JOUR AU - Vinhas, Otávio AU - Bastos, Marco PY - 2021/09/15 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - THE LIMITS OF FACT CHECKING: EIGHT NOTES ON CONSENSUS REALITY JF - AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research JA - SPIR VL - 2021 IS - SE - Papers V DO - 10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12258 UR - https://spir.aoir.org/ojs/index.php/spir/article/view/12258 SP - AB - In this study, we review the literature on fact-checking and the empirical evidence contending that it can correct prior knowledge and false information. We posit that the growing fact-checking industry is detached from the mis – disinformation landscape and outline eight fundamental problems with fact-checking revolving around epistemology, implementation, bias, efficacy, ambiguity, objectivity, ephemerality, and criticism. We discuss these shortcomings in relation to the establishment of fact-checking agencies across the world and their role in national elections in the United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia, and Brazil. The article concludes with a discussion on the extent to which fact-checking may be effective against false information in a context where consensus reality has been super-imposed by individual reality. ER -