WE all know that the Unionist press and political ranks are full of people who are happy to say anything and everything about independence which could undermine the case for Scotland voting Yes.
Part of the role of The National is to be the counter-point to the Unionist press – and over the years we’ve dabbled in myth-busting and fact-checking, but never to the extent that we’ve committed to today.
We pledge to go examine claims about Scotland in great depth, and work out exactly why they are false (or otherwise).
We’ll supply a “doorstep answer” – which will be relatively short and will provide you with a couple of sentences you need to say in a conversation to rebut these claims.
From the Spanish veto, to the deficit, to the SNP’s mandate, the level of disinformation around Scottish politics can be remarkable. But no more!
READ MORE: FACT CHECK: Does the SNP have a cast-iron mandate to hold indyref2?
Normally, this service will be reactive. If Boris Johnson says something at Prime Minister’s Questions then we want to get our response out there within a couple of hours.
But for our launch day today, we’ve collected seven dodgy – and one not-so-dodgy claims made by politicians, newspapers and others to the test.
We're asking our readers to buy an EXTRA copy of Saturday's paper and get it into the hands of a No voter!
We’re aiming to publish at least two or three a week – but of course that depends on how outlandish the Unionist arguments become.
We won’t give away the identity of our secret team of fact-checkers – but we can confirm that they have the clout, track record and in-depth knowledge that is required to deliver on this task.
You will be able to find all of our Rebuttals here:
www.thenational.scot/news/fact-check
Finally ... we’ve only been able to launch this service today because you have signed up to support us and our 10,000 Steps Campaign. We can do so much more as well – if you haven’t backed us yet then please do at www.thenational.scot/subscribe
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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