The Lacuna Project

lacuna (n.) a gap in a record where something should be

Independent research. Not affiliated with any government, agency, or company.

Nonprofit

The Poynter Institute for Media Studies (operates PolitiFact and the International Fact-Checking Network)

Findings that rest on exhibits naming this entity

  • INF-5.9: FactCheck.org's funding page lists Meta payments of $2,159,207.34 for fiscal years 2017 through 2025 and $104,244 in Meta fellowship grants for fiscal years 2021 through 2023, and states that Meta and Google "neither sought nor was given any control over our editorial decisions." PolitiFact's disclosure page lists Meta and TikTok as organizations that gave more than 5 percent of its revenue in the previous calendar year, without amounts.
  • INF-5.15: On 9 August 2024 the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Children's Health Defense's suit against Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, the Poynter Institute and Science Feedback, holding that the alleged harm came from Meta's own policy and that Children's Health Defense alleged no government coercion or agreement. The opinion recites that Meta disabled the group's donate button and barred its ads because it "repeatedly posted content that has been disputed by third-party fact-checkers."

Exhibits naming this entity

  • Exhibit 1075 16 September 2020; editor's note 17 May 2021. PolitiFact (Poynter Institute): Archived fact-check: Tucker Carlson guest airs debunked conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was created in a lab
  • Exhibit 1076 26 October 2020; editor's note 20 May 2021. PolitiFact (Poynter Institute): Pa. Rep. Scott Perry airs debunked claim that Wuhan lab constructed the coronavirus
  • Exhibit 1081 Archive capture of 4 January 2026. PolitiFact (Poynter Institute): Who pays for PolitiFact?
  • Exhibit 1082 Current page; capture of 14 April 2024. International Fact-Checking Network, Poynter Institute: The commitments of the Code of Principles (International Fact-Checking Network)
  • Exhibit 1083 March 2026 (survey 3-15 February 2026; data for calendar 2025). International Fact-Checking Network, Poynter Institute: State of the Fact-Checkers Report 2025
  • Exhibit 1084 Page updated October 2026; read 10 November 2026. The Poynter Institute for Media Studies: Major Funders (Poynter's Top Funding Sources)
  • Exhibit 1085 9 August 2024. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: Children's Health Defense v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 21-16210 (9th Cir. Aug. 9, 2024)