The pangolin soup theory of COVIDs origin was touted by fact checkers as true. This was despite real concern from actual scientists.

Fact checkers fall into three possibly overlapping categories:

1. Government censorship units designed explicitly to convey what the government says as ultimate truth

2. Activist organizations using fact checking to control a narrative

3. Useful idiots who cite news or highly contentious sources (Wikipedia) as a source of truth

All 3 of these represent a version of “truth” conditioned on what sounds good or controls a narrative. “Common knowledge” is not always fact, too. In many cases fact checkers would be nice to have the truth is unknowable (think classified data). In no case are fact checkers unambiguously correct as they are often portrayed. Unfortunately, however, they are often given the unassailable position as truth-bearers. The “facts” (read “narrative”) changes so quickly on topics where a true oracle of truth would be indispensable the purpose of a fact checker is, factually, worthless.