There’s no better time than this to be politically aware. As the next election year approaches, tampering with votes, campaign promises, and offensive adverts can be made easy with the help of this pro-transparency resource.
Have you ever wanted to understand how much a particular campaign has raised or spent? Which political race does your neighbor represent? This online database allows anyone to find information about the activities of political figures and their related campaigns. The data used and presented comes from the Federal Action Committee and allows citizens to know the political contributions of anyone and the activity of any political action committee.
Politwooops
Until May 2015, Politwoops kept a public record of the tweets of elected government officials and candidates that were posted and then deleted. Every day, tweets by members of Congress, representatives, from other branches of government are posted to their websites. Three years of support from Twitter ended because of an undisclosed dispute. No need to worry; The Sunlight Foundation still has a website available with tweets as of May this year in addition to other apps such as Follow the Unlimited Money, Churnalism and Influence Explorer that help make government more accountable.
Deleted tweets and photos from (R)Ted Cruz
Political
We’ve all heard of political leaders vowing to keep promises of new tax cuts or laws. Usually heard during their campaign period, when voting season rolls around again, it is hard to remember what their promises were and whether or not they in fact kept their word. Politifact was created for this exact purpose. The website serves as a way of reporting the results of fact-checking and flip-flopping. This new type of journalism forces public figures to watch out with their statements and maintain a level of honesty with the public.
Donald Trump’s recent fact-checking statements
More transparent and accountable government is a goal that many people support. This is particularly important for new millennials voting for the first time this coming fall. Biased information in our multi-sourced world can be difficult to work with, but luckily, these easy-to-use resources are there to help.
