Well, it seems to me that fact checking has never been a priority. A little fact checking by some Freepers turned up the fact that a man interviewed for one of AP's hit-pieces was not, as he claimed, a Navy SEAL.
The internet has made it possible for all interested parties to see the documents for themselves. "Fact-checking" is an obsolete concept. The editor is a dead job. Put the documents on the web and the market will correct the errors.
This is not a fad. It is not reversable. It is, to use an over-used phrase which really does apply here -- it is a PARADIGM SHIFT.
They will never get it. The old school never updates; it always just dies off.