Helpful research from FactCheck.org about the first presidential debate between Obama and Romney. Lots of exaggerations and false claims on both sides, aptly debunked by a pioneer of online fact-checking.

Good fact-checking on Obama's proposed tax cuts, by Glenn Kessler at Washington Post. This report focuses on factual evidence from reliable sources, and presents a fair and well thought-out analysis of this controversial issue.

Insightful essay about the future of journalism education by Howard Finberg, who created Poynter's NewsU site and spearheaded new ways to teach journalism online. He makes an important point that innovation is needed to reform our education system to instill the values of good journalism more widely and effectively.

Excellent opinion by Brooks Jackson on how we implicitly encourage politicians to tell us what we want to hear, rather than the hard truth. The root cause of this problem may well be our unwillingness to reconsider our beliefs and face the facts. Finding a cure for blind faith may turn out to be the most important challenge of our times.

Another helpful fact-check on claims that Obama increased federal spending. Romney's false claims about Obama's spending "inferno" are expertly debunked by FactCheck.org, which also refutes another claim endorsed by the White House, stating that such a binge “never happened”. As always, the truth lies somewhere in between partisan claims from both sides, and FactCheck presents a well-sourced analysis to help us read through the lines and make an informed decision based on facts, not opinions.