“We’ve seen phenomenal growth in web traffic since we started publishing fact briefs.”
Matthew DeFour, State Bureau Chief of Wisconsin Watch
A catalyst for audience growth
Wisconsin Watch is one of Gigafact’s inaugural partners. They began publishing fact briefs in the fall of 2022 soon after Gigafact’s founding, and today have published well over 500 fact briefs, averaging 4 per week. For Wisconsin Watch, fact briefs have been a key element of their growth strategy, helping them reach new readers, explore new media and deploy their expertise.
Today, fact briefs are one of the best performing sections for Wisconsin Watch’s site in terms of page views, search referrals, new and returning visitors and evergreen content.
Local authority
Wisconsin Watch fact briefs are widely cited by national media outlets and Wisconsin politicians. The Washington Post, NBC, Univision, and many others referenced fact briefs as a source of local knowledge during a hotly contested and closely watched Supreme Court race in 2023. Members of Congress, Gov. Tony Evers, and even Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have pointed to Wisconsin Watch fact briefs when making their political points.
New funding for audience development
In 2024, Wisconsin Watch received a grant from the International Fact-Checking Network to expand their fact brief engagement efforts.
Their goals are to target news deserts in Wisconsin, publish fact briefs in Spanish and convert fact brief content to TikTok, YouTube and Instagram to reach younger audiences. Today, Spanish-language fact briefs are among Wisconsin Watch’s top new evergreen content, indicating they are a great way to reach this community. Wisconsin Watch is also now reaching more rural areas with low broadband access and usage and young voters who get most of their news and information through shared videos on their phones by publishing audio and video fact briefs.
The takeaway
For Wisconsin Watch, fact briefs have played a key role in growing their audience and brand, while staying true to their core mission of conveying accurate information to Wisconsin residents. We at Gigafact believe that their experience demonstrates the public’s hunger for clear, factual journalism that cuts through confusions, rumors, and misinformation online.