This month the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s FactCheck.org was awarded two Webby Awards. The watchdog site took both the Webby and People’s Voice Awards in the politics category.
The Webbies — considered among the web’s most prestigious prizes — are presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The contest aims to recognize “excellence on the Internet,” according to WebbyAwards.com.
In its 14th year, Webby invites sites from across the globe to enter their products for consideration in approximately 70 categories. Judges, including celebrities such as Martha Stewart and Arianna Huffington, select five nominees and one winner.
Webbyawards.com boasts close to one million votes were cast toward the People’s Voice Awards in various categories.
FactCheck.org’s competition in the politics category included BBC Democracy Live, CNN Politics, AOL’s PoliticsDaily and Truthdig.com.
“We were up against some pretty big players,” Factcheck.org Deputy Director Viveca Novak said.
The Washington D.C.-based staff is proud of its content, Novak said. She explained that their goal of checking the accuracy of political speech “gets down in the weeds a lot,” but is important because “it is an area where other outlets don’t really focus their attention.”
Although FactCheck.org has won Webby awards in the past — including the People’s Voice Award in 2009 and both the Webby and People’s Voice in 2008 — the staff was “delighted,” Novak said, adding “it was exciting to win both awards in one year.”
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