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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Is the United States close to being classified as a failed state?
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
By Eric Smith
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NO
A failed state, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, can't provide public services, can't "project authority over its territory and peoples, [can't] protect its national boundaries" and can't maintain legitimacy in the eyes of its people and the world. While the combination of the coronavirus, social unrest and partisan politics is proving a challenge for many U.S. institutions, the country remains far from meeting those criteria.
The Fund for Peace, a Washington think tank, publishes a Fragile States Index ranking 178 countries across a variety of economic, political and social factors. Most fragile going into 2020: Yemen. Least fragile: Finland. Going into 2020, the U.S., as the 29th least fragile country, is much closer to Finland.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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