ICYMI:

Leaving Walter Reed, Trump Urges Americans Not To Let Coronavirus 'Dominate You'

Sacramento, Yolo, San Joaquin Counties Move Into Less Restrictive Reopening Tier Here’s What That Means

Is A Third COVID-19 Surge Coming? Experts Say It’s Likely, Unless Behaviors Change

On a Monday morning in late August, I opened a database of flagged social media posts that Facebook shares with CapRadio. As the station’s PolitiFact California reporter, it’s my job to sift through this vast collection of memes, videos and text, one that overflows with misinformation.

I found posts shared thousands of times on Instagram that claimed California voters who go to the polls would be “TURNED AWAY & CANNOT VOTE” due to the state’s mail-in voting plans. This discovery was one of many in our new initiative to fact-check false and deceptive information on social media platforms. In this case, we rated the post Pants On Fire! and published our fact check online.

This summer, CapRadio joined a coalition of news outlets that partners with Facebook to fact check viral posts on Facebook and Instagram. The other news groups include the Associated Press, USA Today and our national partner PolitiFact.

Our goal is to slow the spread of misinformation in people’s news feeds and counter it with verified, well-sourced information. In other words, to empower our audience with the facts.

Anyone who uses Facebook knows the challenge is immense. PolitiFact acknowledges “there is too much content for us to check,” and that the third-party fact-checking program is “not a cure-all” for a platform that is often infected with false news.

Still, CapRadio believes our audience deserves accurate, nonpartisan information on the platforms they use most. More and more people are getting their news on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other social platforms. In fact, 55% of adults in the United States now get their news from social media either “often” or “sometimes,” according to a Pew Research Center Report published in 2019.

Countering the spread of misinformation is especially important this year as Californians seek trusted news on the 2020 election, COVID-19, racial justice, climate change and the West Coast wildfires. We know people make decisions based on what they see and read on social media and we want to hold those who distort the facts accountable.

The first step in our fact-checking process is to sift through the Facebook database, a collection of rapidly-spreading social media posts reported by users as potentially false or misleading. We’re able to see how fast and how far these posts have spread — some are shared thousands of times and reach millions of users in less than 24 hours.

We zero-in on posts that make a claim about the facts and avoid those that are simply partisan or opinion-based. Notably, Facebook does not tell CapRadio which posts to fact check, nor does it influence the rating we select.

Next, I work with my editors to decide which ones are most relevant to our California audience. Then, we start the debunking! I examine primary documents and contact experts from law professors to physicians to find out what’s true and what’s not.

Before we publish, three CapRadio editors review the fact check and then vote on the rating. If we find the story to be “false,” a warning label is attached to the original post in Facebook’s news feed. After receiving that label, Facebook’s algorithm makes it more difficult for the disputed post to spread virally. Additionally, that warning travels with the post each time someone shares it on Facebook.

Facebook offers an appeals process if users feel our fact check got it wrong. So far, we haven’t had anyone appeal.

In this age where the truth is often under attack, I am sometimes asked: ‘Does fact-checking really make a difference?’

I believe it does. My work and CapRadio’s new initiative might be just a small step in correcting the record. But the alternative — allowing false and deceptive information to go unchecked and saturate our public forums — doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.

Chris Nichols
PolitiFact California Reporter

Deeper Dive:

What's On The Ballot? Here's A Look At California's 2020 Propositions

What’s Allowed And What’s Not At Voting Sites In California

Starting October 1, we began a managing partnership with North State Public Radio (NSPR) based in Chico, CA. The partnership is the result of an effort to preserve and expand essential public services provided to the communities in the North State region that NSPR covers.

CapRadio already had a strong editorial relationship with NSPR, having collaborated extensively during coverage of the wildfires that decimated the communities in Paradise and Redding for which NSPR and its news team were recently awarded a prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Award for broadcast excellence.

And now, by working with us, NSPR will gain operational efficiencies and financial security to help improve local, regional and state news coverage, as well as grow listenership, membership and community engagement for the station.

In the words of NSPR General Manager Phil Wilke:

“Through an extended evaluation period, it became clear that this partnership would secure a healthy and promising future for NSPR. With CapRadio, we’ll gain a partner that will allow us to serve our communities in a more robust way. We look forward to being in a position to maintain and expand our essential news and cultural programming.”

At a time when newsrooms across the country are shedding staff and reducing essential services for their listeners, our partnership with NSPR will position the station for stability and growth. Ultimately, this partnership will result in a stronger public radio presence in Northern California and a richer experience for listeners and members.

Join us in welcoming NSPR into the CapRadio family!

Jun Reina
General Manager

Last month, CapRadio partnered with the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and other news organizations around California to collaborate on collecting COVID-19 data across the state.

Since April, the Times has generously been letting CapRadio, KQED and KPCC use their daily county-by-county totals of COVID-19 cases and deaths for our California COVID-19 Tracker. This new collaboration extends this relationship and makes this data available to journalists around the state to keep our communities informed about the ongoing pandemic. The group includes CapRadio, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The San Diego Union-Tribune, KQED, KPCC, CalMatters and students at the Stanford Computational Journalism Lab.

The Los Angeles Times’ Data & Graphics Department and a similar team at the San Francisco Chronicle have been gathering data from California counties and agencies separately for the past six months. In this new collaboration, the Times and the Chronicle will be combining their efforts.

As news organizations covering the Golden State, there will always be stories that we’re competing on with each other. But for a story as big as this, Los Angeles Times Data and Graphics Editor Ben Welsh pointed out that we’d rather work together on getting the data so we can all focus on telling this story for our communities. I’m very excited to have CapRadio be a part of this ongoing effort.

Emily Zentner
Data Reporter

To help you navigate this election with clarity and transparency, get a deeper understanding about the issues that matter to you and lift up the voices of people who have historically been left out of campaign coverage, we’re excited to announce some temporary changes to our CapRadio News program schedule, effective Friday, Oct. 9:

Mondays at 8 p.m. through Nov. 16 
America Amplified: Election 2020 dives into the challenges and concerns facing Americans as they head to the ballot box this November. The series is driven by the national listening sessions and community engagement efforts led by public media’s America Amplified initiative.

Fridays at 1 p.m. through January 2021
Our Body Politic explores politics and this election cycle through the lens of women of color. Created and hosted by award-winning journalist Farai Chideya, the show examines how women of color experience the major political events of today — and how they’re having an impact on those very issues.

Friday, Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. (one show only)
NPR Special Report: Voting in America explores an extraordinary electoral season that’s coincided with the global pandemic. With early voting now underway, NPR’s Scott Detrow and Juana Summers share reports on how to navigate unprecedented challenges to casting a ballot this year.

Special Coverage Update
For the moment, the Senate Judiciary Committee is still scheduled to begin its confirmation hearing on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Monday, Oct. 12.

We have decided that the strongest possible listener service at this moment is to carry the portion of the hearing that’s expected to be the most newsworthy — in particular, the day(s) when senators question the nominee directly — live on the radio.

At other times, such as when senators give their opening statements, we will stick with our regular programming. We will monitor the hearing at all times and be prepared to jump in (or out) of NPR’s coverage as news warrants. And we will stream the entire hearing on our website.

We’re grateful that you choose to trust CapRadio as your source for fact-based reporting and analysis this election season. And we’re always open to your feedback. Read my full update about this decision, and our temporary program changes.

Take care, stay safe and stay informed.

Ben Adler
Director of Programming and Audience Development

I got into journalism to help communities identify issues and solutions for the places where they live. I see community-engaged news reporting as a way to share stories and knowledge that people need to thrive. And right now, in the midst of the election, we want to help serve the Meadowview community as they prepare to cast their votes.

Why Meadowview? We’ve been reporting in and with Meadowview residents over the past few years, and we even produced a six-episode Making Meadowview podcast that follows the lives of people in the neighborhood. Now, we hope to continue working with residents to make sure Meadowview has a bigger voice in the 2020 elections.

That’s why we’re launching an initiative called Meadowview Counts. We want to involve residents in the Meadowview neighborhood to better understand what questions are put to candidates and what issues are reported on during an election. Our goal is to engage residents by listening with humility and curiosity, producing stories based on what we hear, and offering resources that inform and support voting this election.

To connect with our Meadowview neighbors, we’re hosting a series of virtual conversations to find out what matters to them most in this election cycle. These intimate conversations will help shape some of CapRadio’s election stories, the issues we focus on and even the questions we’ll ask politicians. It’s our way of involving community members in producing journalism that helps people navigate their lives. To do it, we’re teaming up with The Sacramento Observer and the Local Voices Network.

If you live, work or worship in Meadowview, sign up to join a virtual conversation on Tuesday, October 6 and Wednesday, October 14, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Or share your thoughts and experiences with us by taking this brief survey.

jesikah maria ross
Senior Community Engagement Strategist

Wildfires In California Will ‘Continue To Get Worse,’ Climate Change Experts Explore Why

Newsom Signed Hundreds Of Bills Into Law. Here’s A Look At Some

St. Helena Under Evacuation Warning As Glass Fire Torches Neighborhoods, Vineyards

Meet Sacramento’s ‘Squad’: Four Women Fighting For Progressive Issues And Police Reform This Election

Newsom Makes Historic Appointment Of First Openly Gay Man To California Supreme Court

To Address Homelessness Crisis, Sacramento Considers Converting Private Land Into Temporary Housing Sites

This Friday, join host Donna Apidone and author and historian Gretchen Sorin to discuss her new book Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights.

Don’t miss the author interview before Sorin’s documentary with Ric Burns, which airs on October 13 at 9 p.m. on KVIE PBS.

Sorin's deeply researched book makes clear the magnitude of injustices and dangers faced by African-Americans while traveling. However, the invention of the car brought in a new period of independence to many, allowing Black people to hit the open road on a quest for freedom.

Latest CapRadio Reads Podcasts

Alka Joshi’s The Henna Artist
Joshi takes readers to 1950's India, where 17-year-old Lakshmi escapes an arranged and abusive marriage to start a new life in Jaipur as a henna artist — and confidante — to the city's upper-caste elite women. In this complex society, she must work cautiously to build and protect her reputation from the "gossip-eaters" who spread humiliation like oil.

Devi S. Laskar’s The Atlas of Reds and Blues
Inspired by the terrifying experience of a police raid on her own home, Laskar tackles what it means to be the daughter of immigrants in America and all of the prejudice and bias that comes with it.

CapRadio and NPR are accessible any time you want through your Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Apple Homepod smart speaker. To help you out, our digital products team put together a guide so you can easily stream the news and music you love.

In order to better serve our listeners, we now have a web page where you can check the status of our broadcast signals across our coverage areas. You can also report problems you're having and easily access other listening options through our online streaming, mobile app and more.