More than a month ago, after the massive Donald Trump's Twitter issues, The Washington Post has launched a new tool to hold the president-elect accountable for what he posts on his preferred social network. The plugin is called the "RealDonaldContext."
Washington Post New Browser Plugin: Fact-Checker
"We made a tool that slips a bit more context into Trump's tweets. It's still in the early stages, but our goal is to provide an additional context where needed for Trump's tweets moving forward (and a few golden oldies). For example, here's what it shows in relation to that Trump tweet," The Washington Post said in an announcement.
On Friday, The Washington Post introduced a Google Chrome plugin that will automatically display commentary next to tweets of Donald Trump. Started by the Post’s politics team at The Fix, the plugin provides context and fact-checking of, but not limited to, Trump’s claims that millions of people voted illegally in the November election.
"Donald Trump's primary means of communicating with the public is his Twitter account. Unfortunately, his tweets aren't always entirely accurate, by mistake or by design," the plugin's creators write in the Chrome store description. "The Washington Post's Fix team has decided to help ensure that the public receives the most accurate possible information by creating this extension, which will add more context or corrections to things that Trump tweets."
The Story Behind The Plugin
According to Fortune, it's no surprise that The Washington Post would roll out a tool that aims to undermine Trump’s statements. The paper is owned by Jeff Bezos, who famously sparred with Trump on Twitter. During his campaign, Trump blacklisted Post reporters from campaign events for a time. The Post Editorial Board in September referred to Trump’s business practices as “sleazy.”
While the president-elect has said he plans to be very restrained on Twitter after his inauguration, since Election Day he has shown no signs of letting up, as The Christian Science Monitor reported earlier this month. The Washington Post's new Chrome extension may be one sign of heightened scrutiny from the traditional media in pushing back against Trump tweets that are emotionally charged, exaggerated, or downright false.
