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7,791 | 3 |
Under Mayor Angel Taveras "Providence's bond rating was downgraded from A to BBB, two steps above junk-bond status.
|
August 31, 2013
|
city budget
|
american leadhership pac
|
The American LeadHERship PAC is a political action committee that describes itself as "an organization dedicated to increasing the ranks of progressive women in governors' seats across the country." During the 2014 election, the only candidate featured on its website was Gina Raimondo, a Democrat who was ultimately elected Rhode Island governor.
|
rhode island
| 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
a website
|
American LeadHERship is accurate in noting that one of three bond-rating agencies, Fitch Ratings, downgraded Providence’s bond rating to two notches above junk-bond status in March 2011. Although not noted on the PAC’s website, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s ratings also were lowered, but at that point were less negative than Fitch. Coyne-McCoy, well-schooled in Rhode Island politics, knows perfectly well that Taveras inherited the deficit from the previous mayor, who lied about the city’s financial condition. And she does not mention that the new mayor took immediate actions to improve Providence’s finances -- actions that have been praised, including by the bond-rating agencies. The judges realize that she may not consider Taveras as good a leader as Raimondo, but the statement she posted on American LeadHERship is reminiscent of Cicilline’s comments about the city’s financial condition. Because it leaves out important details and takes things out of context, the judges rule . (If you have a you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, e-mail us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)
|
21,714 | 1 |
An image shows Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in front of a cross with a figurine of former President Donald Trump on it.
|
July 19, 2022
|
religion;facebook fact-checks
|
tiktok posts
|
Posts on the video-sharing platform TikTok.
|
georgia
| 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 60 | 18 |
a TikTok post
|
"My daily bread," Greene wrote in the original tweet. "It took years for me to read this book, but that time was the greatest investment I’ve ever made. It led me to Him." Greene’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. We rate this TikTok post .
|
16,705 | 4 |
Confederate veterans were conferred with many of the same benefits of other United States military veterans by Acts of Congress back in 1929 and 1957.
|
November 9, 2019
|
veterans
|
sid miller
|
Sid Miller, a former Texas House member, won election as state agriculture commissioner in November 2014.
|
texas
| 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
a Facebook post
|
"Who told them to leave?" Miller wrote. "Get a rope." – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information
|
10,868 | 3 |
Because of Obamacare "people's premiums ... are going up 35, 45, 55 percent.
|
October 25, 2015
|
health care
|
donald trump
|
Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016. He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.
|
national
| 36 | 85 | 120 | 194 | 360 | 179 |
comments on ABC's "This Week"
|
Trump said, "People’s premiums … are going up 35, 45, 55 percent." Some insurance plans in the federal exchange will see price hikes at the levels that Trump is suggesting. But he’s cherry-picking the high end of premium changes to come. Estimates for the national average are far below Trump’s figures, ranging from 4.4 percent to 13 percent. Trump’s is partially accurate but takes things out of context. We rate it .
|
2,957 | 4 |
The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they're in saltwater.
|
January 25, 2011
|
environment;water
|
barack obama
|
Barack Obama is the former president of the United States. Obama also served as a U.S. senator from Illinois. He was born in 1961 in Hawaii, where his parents met as students at the University of Hawaii. Obama's father is from Kenya and his mother is from Kansas. He graduated from Columbia University and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. Obama previously served in the Illinois state Senate and was an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School. He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
|
national
| 124 | 165 | 163 | 71 | 71 | 9 |
the State of the Union speech
|
"But broadly speaking, they're a world-class organization in terms of sustainability" In ruling on Obama's statement, we found that he's right about the regulatory division on salmon, with different agencies responsible for the fish when they're in freshwater versus when they're in saltwater. In fact, he leaves out a lot of detail, including the role of the states. The actual regulatory scene is even more complicated. But Fish and Wildlife in the Interior Department does have authority over fish when they're in freshwater, and the National Marine Fisheries Service in the Department of Commerce regulates them in saltwater. Because he left out some of the complexity, we rate his statement .
|
22,281 | 1 |
Kamala Harris said disaster aid should go to non-white citizens first.
|
November 1, 2022
|
race and ethnicity;natural disasters ;ad watch
|
america first legal
|
Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, launched the advocacy group America First Legal in April 2021, saying it would use "our legal system to defend our society and our families from any unlawful actions by the left."
|
georgia
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
an ad
|
America First Legal claimed in an ad that Harris said "disaster aid should go to nonwhite citizens first." The ad takes Harris’ comments out of context. She did not say any particular race would be prioritized in disaster relief efforts. We rate the .
|
11,543 | 2 |
Says Hillary Clinton "has been saying lately that she thinks that I am, 'not qualified to be president.'
|
April 6, 2016
|
candidate biography;elections;negative campaigning
|
bernie sanders
|
Bernie Sanders is a senator from Vermont. Sanders was first elected to the Senate in 2007 and was re-elected in 2012 and 2018. The senator also ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2016, losing the Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton. From 1991 until 2007, he was the representative of Vermont’s At-Large District of the House of Representatives. Sanders was the mayor of Burlington from 1981 to 1989. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago. In 2019, he announced he was running for the Democratic nomination for president and dropped out in April 2020.
|
national
| 21 | 62 | 48 | 26 | 18 | 0 |
a speech at Temple University
|
Sanders said Clinton "has been saying lately that she thinks that I am 'not qualified to be president.' " That's the spin some media outlets are putting on it, when Clinton dodged the question of whether or not she thinks Sanders is qualified. But she's never directly said it, as Sanders specifically alleged. Because the statement contains some element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, we rate it .
|
20,014 | 1 |
Some of you are being injected with saline because it would look too suspicious if everybody died at the same time.
|
July 18, 2021
|
facebook fact-checks;coronavirus
|
viral image
|
Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.
| null | 4 | 13 | 35 | 53 | 711 | 331 |
a Facebook post
|
Receiving a saline injection isn’t harmful, and millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses have been safely administered in the United States. A rigorous regulatory process and real-world shows that they effectively protect against COVID-19, and the vaccines continue to undergo safety monitoring . While the CDC has said that three deaths from a rare blood clotting issue could be linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, more than 160 million Americans are now fully vaccinated with minimal complications. The suggestion that people are being injected with saline as part of a bigger, deadly plot against humanity is unfounded and defies . We rate this .
|
3,190 | 1 |
Says broken compact fluorescent light bulbs "allegedly cause migraines and epilepsy attacks.
|
February 2, 2011
|
environment;consumer safety;public health
|
phyllis schlafly
|
Phyllis Schlafly has long been a conservative activist; she founded the Eagle Forum in 1972. She says in her official biography that she has attended and played an active role in every Republican National Convention since 1952.
|
texas
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
an e-mail blast
|
Schlafly pointed out that his mother’s use of the word "allegedly" signaled that she was "not claiming she had scientific proof CFLs cause migraines or epilepsy. However, it is a fact that some people who suffer from migraines or epilepsy believe that CFLs cause or aggravate those painful and debilitating conditions, he said. Our take: Flickering lights of various origins have been linked to migraines and epileptic seizures. But there appears to be no scientific that CFLs, broken or otherwise, cause either disorder. We rate Schlafly’s statement .
|
9,642 | 3 |
Says Scott Brown "voted to reward" companies "to ship jobs overseas.
|
October 21, 2014
|
jobs;government regulation;voting record;workers
|
jeanne shaheen
|
Jeanne Shaheen is a Senator from New Hampshire.
|
new hampshire
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
a debate
|
Jeanne Shaheen says Scott Brown voted to reward companies to ship jobs overseas. A bill in the Senate in 2010 called the Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act was aimed at giving companies incentives to bring overseas jobs back to the United States and reducing tax breaks that can benefit companies that move jobs outside of the country. On a procedural vote to move the bill forward, Shaheen voted in favor and Brown against. Brown did openly oppose the bill in a speech, but his actual vote was procedural -- not on the merits -- and it’s debatable whether his opposition amounted to "rewarding" companies that outsource or simply kept a status quo that treated all companies equally. On balance, we find Shaheen’s statement .
|
16,521 | 1 |
The Green New Deal "would put a $600,000 tax burden on every household.
|
September 20, 2019
|
environment;climate change;taxes
|
republican party of florida
|
The Republican Party of Florida represents Republicans in Florida.
|
florida
| 2 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 4 |
a tweet
|
The Florida GOP tweeted that the Green New Deal "would put a $600,000 tax burden on every household." The Green New Deal is a set of goals; it does not impose specific taxes. Instead, the $600,000 number comes from a brief that its author, the right-of-center American Action Forum, acknowledges is a preliminary and rough estimate. The analysis did not say that every household would pay an extra $600,000 in taxes. Instead, it estimated what costs might be under a range of scenarios over a period of 10 years. It’s possible the resolution will eventually lead to legislation that can be formally analyzed for potential costs, but at this point, such costs can’t be determined. We rate this statement .
|
33 | 5 |
Currently, we're at 36 percent of our children born out of wedlock.
|
September 5, 2007
|
families
|
sam brownback
|
Sam Brownback is a U.S. senator from Kansas, elected to that job in 1996. He previously served one term in the U.S. House and also was the state agriculture commissioner. He graduated from Kansas State University and earned a law degree from the University of Kansas. He was born in Garnett, Kan., in 1956. He and his wife, Mary, have five children. He withdrew from the presidential race on Oct. 19, 2007.
|
national
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Durham, N.H
|
Brownback is right when he says 36 percent of children in the United States are born out of wedlock. The latest data available is from 2005, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics. "The proportion of births to unmarried women increased in 2005 to 36.8 percent, compared with 35.8 percent in 2004," the report stated. "The proportions increased for all population subgroups by race and Hispanic origin."
|
15,425 | 1 |
Nearly 200,000 Florida voters may not be citizens.
|
November 12, 2018
|
immigration;elections
|
donald trump jr.
|
Donald Trump Jr. is the son of President Donald Trump and his former wife Ivana Trump.
|
florida
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 |
a tweet
|
As Florida underwent a recount of three key races, Trump Jr. tweeted a headline that said "nearly 200,000 Florida voters may not be citizens." He said it was "amazing, but not shocking at all anymore." It’s actually not , and years old. The story itself provides a more complete picture — and an editor’s note with clarifications that Trump overlooked. The state’s 2012 voter purge started with a list of potentially 182,000 noncitizens on the voter rolls. State officials whittled that list to more than 2,600 names sent to county election supervisors. Ultimately 85 noncitizens were removed. We rate this .
|
22,703 | 1 |
Video shows President Joe Biden recalling an alien encounter.
|
February 15, 2023
|
facebook fact-checks
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a Facebook post
|
"There are trusted interlocutors," Biden said. "Think of the people — if your kid wanted to find out whether or not there were — there’s a man on the moon, or whatever — you know, something, or, you know, whether those aliens are here or not — you know, who are the people they talk to beyond the kids who love talking about it? They go to people they respect, and they say, ‘What do you think?’" And on Oct. 21, 2021, he joked that first lady Jill Biden "went like this," and then pointed "down the hall" for him to sleep in another bedroom in the White House after failing to get free community college in a piece of legislation. We rate claims that this is an authentic video showing Biden talking about an alien encounter .
|
20,037 | 1 |
Coca-Cola has lost $4 bil in market value as people are boycotting Coke for their 'try to be less White' statement.
|
June 25, 2021
|
corporations;economy;race and ethnicity;sports;facebook fact-checks
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a post on Facebook
|
While the S&P 500 rose 0.4% that day, Coca-Cola's shares dropped 1.6%, from $56.17 at the beginning of the conference to $55.22 by the end of the conference, resulting in an overall loss of $4 billion. Despite the apparent simultaneity between Coca-Cola’s tumble and Ronaldo’s press conference, Coca-Cola’s Chief Financial Officer John Murphy told Reuters in July that the beverage company has not seen any direct sales impact following Ronaldo’s snub. Our ruling "Coca-Cola has lost $4 bil in market value as people are boycotting Coke for their ‘try to be less White’ statement," the Facebook post reads. While Coca-Cola stoked controversy in February for a diversity and equity employee training module which included the phrase, "try to be less white," there’s no that the statement led to product boycotts that affected the company’s market value in mid-June. We rate this .
|
9,646 | 5 |
Kansas has not elected somebody other than a Republican (to the U.S. Senate) since before 'The Wizard of Oz' hit the movie theaters.
|
November 2, 2014
|
elections;punditfact
|
jonathan karl
|
Jonathan Karl was named ABC News' Chief White House Correspondent in December 2012.
| null | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
comments on ABC's "This Week"
|
Talking about the midterm campaign with the most blunders, Karl said Roberts is the "clear worst candidate of the year," pointing to the fact that "Kansas has not elected somebody other than a Republican since before The Wizard of Oz hit the movie theaters." Karl’s talking point is on the money. Kansas last elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 1932. The Wizard of Oz was released seven years later. His rates .
|
3,802 | 1 |
(New Jersey Network) is the only news station which covers New Jersey government.
|
June 6, 2011
|
state budget
|
loretta weinberg
|
Loretta Weinberg is a Democratic state senator representing Bergen County.
|
new jersey
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
a column on bluejersey.com
|
"In addition, News 12's election season includes live coverage on election night, a schedule of political debates, live coverage of the State of the State address, plus inaugurations, town hall meetings, and more." Let’s review: Weinberg said NJN is the " only news station which covers New Jersey government," but other television stations clearly cover government in the Garden State through news and political talk shows. Weinberg later praised the extent of coverage provided by NJN, but her statement was not about comparing coverage among different news stations. She said NJN was the only one doing the job, and that’s why we rate her statement . To comment on this ruling, go to NJ.com .
|
1,159 | 2 |
A "massive" federal computer network will make your medical records available to "millions of people" with a "complete lack of privacy and confidentiality," while doctors and hospitals who don't take part face "stiff penalties.
|
October 1, 2009
|
health care;technology;privacy issues
|
senior citizens league
|
an advocacy group for senior citizens affiliated with the Retired Enlisted Association
|
national
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
a letter to members
|
The Senior Citizens League has a point that HIT presents unprecedented challenges in privacy and security, and that strategies to keep up with these threats continue to evolve. However, the group significantly overstates the degree to which HIT is intended to collect medical data in one place and the extent to which users will be able to poke around records that they don't have a legitimate need to access. It's to say that there will be a "complete lack of privacy or confidentiality;" laws against unauthorized use are already in place, and federal officials have explicitly made privacy a high priority. Finally, the penalties against nonparticipation that the group cites begin in 2015 — after several years in which providers can receive financial bonuses for participating. On balance, we find the group's claims .
|
16,314 | 1 |
Says ex-Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti "publicly did not stand in opposition to" former Gov. Bruce Rauner's decision to sign a bill that expanded the public funding of abortions in Illinois.
|
July 26, 2019
|
abortion
|
jeanne ives
|
Jeanne Ives is a former three-term Republican state representative from Wheaton, Ill. She unsuccessfully challenged former Gov. Bruce Rauner in Illinois' 2018 Republican primary election.
|
illinois
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
a TV interview
|
Ives said that as lieutenant governor, Sanguinetti "publicly did not stand in opposition" to Rauner’s decision to sign a bill that expanded the public funding of abortions in Illinois. That narrative is contradicted by numerous news articles published the day Rauner announced he would sign the bill, which quote directly from a statement Sanguinetti released clearly stating she disagreed with his decision. We rate Ives’ . — The statement is not accurate. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.
|
19,958 | 1 |
Says the Wyoming State Parks Department said it "discovered what looks like a giant root system stemming from the base of the Devils Tower.
|
July 6, 2021
|
facebook fact-checks
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a Facebook post
|
The information in the Facebook post is , and it’s also not new. Snopes debunked it back in 2017 , after a Facebook page that posts satire published the claims . Other fact-checkers looked into it in 2020. It’s 2021, and it’s still . We rate this post .
|
13,123 | 0 |
Babysitter on crystal meth eats 3-month-old baby.
|
February 28, 2017
|
fake news;punditfact
|
bloggers
|
Blog posting on the Internet
| null | 8 | 18 | 24 | 53 | 233 | 396 |
a Internet rumor
|
The site says in its disclaimer that it is responsible for "the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content." There is no indication on the post we checked, or on most of the others reblogging the same story, that it's fabricated. Comments on these stories make it clear some horrified readers were tricked. But this story about a babysitter getting high and attempting to eat a child never happened. We rate it !
|
1,527 | 3 |
''Both Democrats and Republicans are advocating for the use of student test scores to measure teacher effectiveness.''
|
March 26, 2010
|
bipartisanship;education
|
foundation for florida's future
|
Foundation for Florida's Future is an education policy nonprofit organiztion founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
|
florida
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
a press release
|
Asked why Florida Democrats don't follow what she sees as a national trend, she replied: "That's the million-dollar question. It really is federally and in other states a bipartisan issue." It is that President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan support performance pay for teachers, which is among the key provisions in SB 6. But in Florida, where the foundation also focuses its , the Democrats are on the other side of this very contentious debate. So we rate the .
|
21,085 | 2 |
Donald Trump's appeasement of Putin wasn't just a personal act of treason, it's the Republican Party's official position.
|
March 2, 2022
|
legal issues;foreign policy;patriotism;ad watch;ukraine;russia
|
votevets
|
VoteVets is progressive veterans advocacy group and political action committee.
| null | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
an ad
|
VoteVets said: "Donald Trump's appeasement of Putin wasn't just a personal act of treason, it's the Republican Party's official position." Trump’s acts regarding Ukraine that resulted in his impeachment did not rise to the level of treason. And the Republican Party does not have an official position to appease Putin. In 2016, the party removed from its platform language about arming Ukraine in its fight against Russia, but the platform contained language threatening action against any future Russian aggression. Meanwhile, as Trump has said complimentary things about Putin, other Republican leaders have heavily criticized Putin’s actions. The statement contains only an element of . We rate it .
|
7,440 | 0 |
Says two-thirds of groups targeted for IRS scrutiny were not conservative.
|
May 31, 2013
|
taxes
|
progress texas
|
On its website, Progress Texas describes itself as a "nonprofit communications hub that educates the public about politicians, policies and organizations that have a direct impact on the everyday lives of Texans." Its mission, according to the website, is "to provide a strong, credible and enduring progressive voice that will ensure more inclusive, just and sustainable policies for Texas."
|
texas
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
a tweet
|
Progress Texas has twice said that two-thirds of the groups whose applications for tax-exempt status were scrutinized by the IRS were not conservative. The group’s fraction appears to be an unsupported assumption tied to a government report saying that 96 of 298 IRS-scrutinized organizations, or about a third, had "tea party," "patriot" or "9/12" in their names. The report listed other criteria the IRS used, some of which appeared to be aimed at conservatives. But the report has no information on the political makeup of the other groups, and we see no other indications that their political leanings have been authoritatively summed up or individually revealed, though the IRS has said the scrutinized groups without "tea party" in their names reflected "all political views," which presumably would fold in liberals to moderates to conservatives. Progress Texas’ shakes out as and, given the lack of backup documentation, . !
|
21,917 | 0 |
Video shows Joe Biden has a body double.
|
September 6, 2022
|
facebook fact-checks
|
viral image
|
Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.
| null | 4 | 13 | 35 | 53 | 711 | 331 |
a Facebook post
|
Another set of photos shows Biden in 2008 and in 2019 . Yet another set of images compares Biden’s earlobes , particularly how they look more attached to his head in one photo than the other. But this isn’t of a body double plot. These photos primarily show the effects of the passage of time. We rate claims that this video proves Biden has a body double .
|
10,013 | 5 |
Six of the nation's 10 wealthiest counties, "according to median income, are in and around the Washington, D.C. area.
|
February 6, 2015
|
economy;federal budget;income;population;wealth
|
scott walker
|
Scott Walker, a Republican, is the former governor of Wisconsin. He was first elected in November 2010. He survived a recall election in 2012, defeating Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett after igniting controversy with a bill curtailing public-employee union collective-bargaining rights. He won re-election to a four-year term in November 2014 and was a 2016 presidential candidate before dropping out in September of 2015. He was defeated by Tony Evers in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Walker is a former Milwaukee County executive and former member of the state Assembly.
|
wisconsin
| 26 | 45 | 39 | 40 | 44 | 11 |
a speech
|
Six of the top 10 counties were in D.C. suburbs in Maryland or Virginia. We rate Walker's statement . To comment on this item, go to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s web page . ------ More on Scott Walker For profiles and stories on Scott Walker and 2016 presidential politics, go to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Scott Walker page .
|
14,988 | 0 |
JUST IN: Actor 'Vin Deisel' dies after a Failed Attempt to Perfect a Stunt on set."
|
August 22, 2018
|
fake news;punditfact
|
bloggers
|
Blog posting on the Internet
| null | 8 | 18 | 24 | 53 | 233 | 396 |
a blog post
|
We were unable to get in touch with the website where the article was posted, as we could not find any contact information for them. A story on a website, thth.mayatmenen.info, claims that actor Vin Diesel died "after a failed attempt to perfect a stunt on set." The article provides no to support this , and no major news outlets are reporting that Diesel died. This is an iron giant of a hoax. We rate it !
|
21,387 | 1 |
Video shows abortion rights activist urging women to "run on down to the abortion clinic" if they get pregnant.
|
May 7, 2022
|
abortion;facebook fact-checks
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a Facebook post
|
A video claims to show an abortion rights supporter brazenly encourage young women to go get abortions. But the woman shown in the video is a longtime evangelist who travels the country to preach at college campuses, often using crude language and over-the-top rhetoric as satire to try to relate to the young students. In a video on Social she described herself as "pro-life." We rate this . PolitiFact reporter Yacob Reyes contributed to this report.
|
5,833 | 5 |
As Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney used a line-item veto to cut "millions of dollars for firefighting equipment," including firefighters' "coats, pants, helmets and boots.
|
June 12, 2012
|
candidate biography;labor;public safety;state budget;unions;workers
|
mahlon mitchell
|
Mahlon Mitchell has served as president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin union since January 2011. A Democrat, he lost to Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in Wisconsin's June 2012 recall elections. In November 2017, he announced his candidacy for governor in the 2018 election.
|
wisconsin
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
a news release
|
Spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger provided a video clip of comments Romney gave in response to an interview question about his statement that the nation didn’t need more firefighters. That had nothing to do with Mitchell’s , so we emailed Brandenburger again, but got no reply. Our rating Mitchell said that as Massachusetts governor, Romney used a line-item veto to cut "millions of dollars for firefighting equipment," including firefighters' "coats, pants, helmets and boots." In 2006, Romney vetoed $2.5 million in grants for all types of fire safety equipment, including those Mitchell cited. We rate Mitchell’s statement .
|
17,527 | 1 |
Says Democrats are on vacation until May 4 and "refuse to come back" to sign a bill to help small businesses.
|
April 16, 2020
|
fake news;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a Facebook post
|
The legislation could be approved by unanimous consent, which does not require a majority of members to be present. But Democrats have not refused to come back from "vacation." Both the Senate and the House are in recess until May 4 to avoid spreading the coronavirus. The decision was made by congressional leadership. This post rates .
|
5,032 | 2 |
President Obama told people "to skip coming here (Las Vegas) for conventions and meetings.
|
February 4, 2012
|
economy;tourism
|
mitt romney
|
Mitt Romney is a U.S. senator from Utah. He ran for president in 2012 as the Republican nominee, losing to incumbent President Barack Obama. Prior to that, Romney served one term as governor of Massachusetts, elected to the post in 2002. He was born in 1947 in Michigan, where his father was governor from 1963 to 1969. Romney graduated from Brigham Young University and received both a law degree and an MBA from Harvard University. Romney helped found the investment firm Bain Capital in 1984, which launched or rebuilt such companies as Staples and Dominos Pizza. Romney managed the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City from 1999-2002. He ran for president in 2008 but lost the Republican nomination. He and his wife, Ann, have five sons, Tagg, Craig, Matt, Ben and Josh.
|
national
| 31 | 33 | 58 | 35 | 32 | 19 |
Las Vegas
|
Romney said that Obama told people "to skip coming here (Las Vegas) for conventions and meetings." Obama said heads of corporations shouldn’t use taxpayer money for Vegas jaunts (or corporate jets or Super Bowl excursions or any other flight of luxury paid for by the rest of us). And he said parents shouldn’t spend their money on Vegas trips when they need to be saving for kids’ college. That could certainly be construed as a rap on tourism. But a suggestion to skip meetings and conventions? The president said no such thing. Romney’s , like so much about Las Vegas, was over the top. We rate it .
|
21,488 | 1 |
This image shows the victims of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
|
May 24, 2022
|
facebook fact-checks;guns
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
|
texas
| 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
Facebook post
|
The victims who have been identified are not the ones in the photos included in the collage on the Facebook post. A post published on Facebook says a collage of photos identifies the victims of the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. However, the photo is not of the Uvalde victims. The post uses a photo of the 20 students and six adults that were killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newton, Connecticut in 2012. We rate this post .
|
21,416 | 1 |
Democrats want open borders so they can bring in and amnesty tens of millions of illegal aliens — that's their electoral strategy.
|
May 14, 2022
|
immigration;elections
|
blake masters
|
Blake Masters is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona. Until 2022, Blake Masters was Chief Operating Officer at Thiel Capital, the investment firm of billionaire Peter Thiel.
|
arizona
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
a tweet
|
Masters said that to win more elections, "Democrats want open borders so they can bring in and amnesty tens of millions of illegal aliens." The rules, manpower and hardware at the southwest border might not satisfy Masters, but he by saying the border is open. The process of becoming a U.S. citizen takes many years. And while current Hispanic voters lean Democratic, they have low turnout rates on Election Day. In the 2020 election, Republicans increased their share of Latino voters. We rate this .
|
9,134 | 1 |
Says Common Core is a federal mandate.
|
July 19, 2014
|
children;education;federal budget;states
|
joe leibham
|
Wisconsin state Sen. Joe Leibham, R-Town of Sheboygan, was elected to the state Assembly in 1998 and to the Senate in 2002. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the Aug. 12, 2014 Republican primary for the 6th District congressional seat.
|
wisconsin
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
a news release
|
Our rating Leibham said the Common Core education standards are a federal mandate. States put themselves in better position for federal education funding by adopting Common Core. But the school standards were voluntary for states to adopt, not mandatory, and some have since pulled out of the program -- just as Wisconsin is considering doing. We rate the statement . To comment on this item, go to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s web page .
|
5,081 | 3 |
Says "there are homes for sale on and around (Oswego Lake) right now for under $150,000 that anyone is welcome to buy.
|
February 11, 2012
|
housing
|
doug thomas
|
Doug Thomas is the board of directors president of the Lake Oswego Corporation.
|
oregon
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
an Oregonian article
|
There are some condos with lake access that go for less than $150,000. But that price is hardly the norm. Those are important details -- and his statement ignores them. We give this a . Return to OregonLive to comment on this staterement and ruling.
|
8,530 | 5 |
As attorney general, I have prosecuted judges, district attorneys and other public officials across Texas who violated that (public) trust, who have been corrupted.
|
February 10, 2014
|
city government;county government;criminal justice;legal issues;public service
|
greg abbott
|
Greg Abbott won election as governor of Texas in November 2014, carrying 59 percent of the vote. Abbott was re-elected in 2018. Abbott, a former member of the Texas Supreme Court, served three terms as the state's attorney general before being succeeded by Ken Paxton in early 2015.
|
texas
| 15 | 13 | 13 | 19 | 15 | 6 |
The (McAllen) Monitor
|
Abbott said, "As attorney general, I have prosecuted judges, district attorneys and other public officials across Texas who violated that (public) trust, who have been corrupted." During Abbott’s decade-plus as attorney general, his office has helped prosecute 104 cases against public officials across Texas -- 61 of them appearing to involve public corruption and five of those against judges, a county attorney and a DA. We rate his statement as . – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.
|
16,463 | 1 |
A duck's quack doesn't echo and nobody can figure out why.
|
August 28, 2019
|
animals;facebook fact-checks
|
viral image
|
Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.
| null | 4 | 13 | 35 | 53 | 711 | 331 |
a Facebook post
|
Trevor Cox, an acoustic engineering professor at the University of Salford in Manchester, investigated the myth that a duck’s quack doesn’t echo when he heard from journalists asking him if it was , according to a 2003 story in the Guardian . He conducted experiments with a duck named Daisy, which quacked in an anechoic chamber designed to suppress all sound reflection and in a reverberation chamber designed to produce an echo, and then tested his hypothesis running virtual trials in outdoor and concert hall conditions. Cox said he thinks the no-echo myth stems from the fact that a duck’s quack is relatively quiet and its echo just isn’t heard. But it’s not non-existent, and somebody figured that out. We rate this Facebook .
|
19,645 | 1 |
70% of Americans don't believe a word the mainstream media puts out," so "everyone who thinks Biden won are only 30% of the population.
|
April 23, 2021
|
elections;facebook fact-checks
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
on social media
|
The Facebook post said, "70% of Americans don't believe a word the mainstream media puts out," so "everyone who thinks Biden won are only 30% of the population." The level of people who have a complete distrust of the media is about half as high as the post says, according to the most recent Gallup poll, and the most recent poll asking about Biden’s legitimacy found 66% support, which is more than twice as high as what the post said. We rate the statement .
|
7,072 | 4 |
The majority of my contributions have been from private individuals" giving $125 on average, "not from PACs, not from groups.
|
March 6, 2013
|
campaign finance;elections;legal issues
|
ed fallone
|
Ed Fallone, a law professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee, is running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2013.
|
wisconsin
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
an interview
|
The Wisconsin Club for Growth spent on behalf of Roggensack’s campaign. Our rating Fallone said "the majority of my contributions have been from private individuals" giving $125 on average, "not from PACs, not from groups." Not all private individuals are created equal, we found, but Fallone’s analysis is reasonable, his numbers are on target and his about average gift size is slightly off but in his favor. His statement is accurate with those clarifications. We rate it .
|
12,898 | 2 |
Says Georgia's 5th congressional district, represented by John Lewis, is "in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested).
|
January 14, 2017
|
economy;crime
|
donald trump
|
Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016. He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.
|
national
| 36 | 85 | 120 | 194 | 360 | 179 |
a tweet
|
Trump said Georgia’s 5th congressional district is "in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested)." The district isn’t in as terrible economic shape as Trump suggests. While it has higher unemployment and poverty rates than the national average, it still has a thriving economic hub in Atlanta and higher educational attainment. Atlanta does have a much higher crime rate than the national average, but like most major cities, that has been in decline. We rate Trump’s . Correction : A previous version of this article compared the fifth district's poverty rate for families to the state's and country's poverty rates for all individuals. The district's overall poverty rate is 21.3 percent.
|
2,905 | 5 |
This kind of snowstorm happens every 10 or 15 years.
|
January 12, 2011
|
weather
|
john eaves
|
John Eaves, a Democrat, is chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners
|
georgia
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
a newspaper article
|
We occasionally get snow and we occasionally get ice. But we rarely get the snow-ice-Arctic-conditions metro Atlanta lived through last week. We may not like how state and local officials responded to the snow and ice, but history shows this perfect storm of winter weather is rare. Eaves’ estimate of this type of thing occurring only every 10 to 15 years might actually be a bit conservative. We rate his statement as .
|
23,351 | 1 |
When Bill Nye said "the Earth is a closed system," he suggested space exploration is impossible.
|
July 25, 2023
|
space;facebook fact-checks
|
instagram posts
|
Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.
| null | 3 | 3 | 15 | 51 | 405 | 140 |
an Instagram post
|
He then said the quote cited in the Instagram post about Earth being a "closed system" but added, "There’s no place to throw your trash." On multiple occasions, Nye has expressed skepticism about settling outside of Earth, saying, "We can’t live anywhere else in the solar system" and people won’t " settle on Mars ." But Nye has acknowledged discoveries made through space exploration. In 2020, he told Space.com , "It's the exploration of space that led to these profound, profound improvements for quality of life for so many of us." We rate the that Bill Nye’s saying "the Earth is a closed system" suggested that space exploration is impossible .
|
6,539 | 3 |
President Barack Obama (is) the first president in history to cut Medicare by $700 billion.
|
October 19, 2012
|
health care;medicare
|
ohio republican party
|
Statewide organization for Ohio's Republicans.
|
ohio
| 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
an election flier
|
Those savings were credited to the health care law to keep it from adding to the deficit. What the law does not do, as the implies, is chop $700 billion that was already allocated to Medicare for its programs.. One other point worth noting: The changes that lead to the projected savings are a result of legislation that was approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law by Obama -- not as a result of an executive order or decision Obama made individually in his administration. Those are important details that give context to the statement. On the -O-Meter, the Ohio Republican Party’s rates .
|
3,138 | 4 |
The richest 400 taxpayers are taxed at a lower rate than a $29,000-a-year worker
|
February 13, 2011
|
income;taxes
|
sheldon whitehouse
|
Sheldon Whitehouse is a Democratic U.S. Senator from Rhode Island.
|
rhode island
| 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
a speech
|
Although IRS spokeswoman Peggy Riley said those taxes are not factored into the IRS analysis, we understand the point of including them because the Social Security tax, in particular, has a significant impact on low- and middle-income people. According to calculations by Whitehouse’s office -- which match our own -- when you include Social Security and Medicare taxes, the effective tax rate for the wealthiest 400 Americans would have been 16.72 percent in 2007; the tax rate for a worker earning $29,000 a year would have been 16.79 percent. In short, Whitehouse accurately reported the IRS's most recent summary of its top 400 tax filers, even if he incorrectly cited the year of the report. When we audited his suggestion that the super-rich pay a lower rate than someone making just $29,000, we concluded he's right if you include all payroll taxes, but off by about $40,000 if you only consider income tax, as the IRS report does. We rate his statement as .
|
1,523 | 5 |
Farouk is on fire.
|
March 1, 2010
| null |
j. xavier
|
J. Xavier is a hip hop artist from Houston.
|
texas
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
a song for Farouk Shami's gubernatorial campaign
|
The Chronicle later pointed out that Shami could fire his employees, some of whom quit rather than be fired. We couldn't reach Shami to gauge if he was ever truly "on fire." But seeing as we've previously rated a Shami statement as , he definitely was en fuego here. So, we must rate J. Xavier's statement as . And we wish you a happy April Fools' Day.
|
4,401 | 2 |
The Tax Foundation figures Rhode Island as the 10th highest state for state and local tax burden per capita in the country. We're the 6th worst in the country for the business tax index. We're the 3rd highest per capita in the country for all taxes.
|
October 5, 2011
|
economy;small business;taxes
|
peter palumbo
|
Peter Palumbo was a Rhode Island state representative whose district included Cranston. He served in the legislature from 1994 until he was defeated for reelection in 2014. Prior to that he was a Cranston City Councilman for five years.
|
rhode island
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
a speech
|
Palumbo spoke with authority, cited specific numbers from a specific source and gave the impression that the numbers were both correct and current. His overall point -- that Rhode Islanders are taxed well above the national average -- is supported by the Tax Foundation's rankings. But he misread the Tax Foundation report in one -- and possibly two -- of the rankings. And those numbers don't accurately reflect Foundation data that have been available at least since the end of March. As a result, we rate his statement as . (Get updates from PolitiFactRI on Twitter . To comment or offer your ruling, visit us on our PolitiFact Rhode Island Facebook page.)
|
12,979 | 0 |
Terrorism and terrorist attacks in the United States and Europe have "gotten to a point where it's not even being reported.
|
February 6, 2017
|
terrorism
|
donald trump
|
Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016. He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.
|
national
| 36 | 85 | 120 | 194 | 360 | 179 |
Tampa, Fla
|
Trump said that terrorism and terrorist attacks in the United States and Europe have "gotten to a point where it's not even being reported." We found no support for the idea that the media is hushing up terrorist attacks on U.S. or European soil. The media may sometimes be cautious about assigning religious motivation to a terrorist attack when the facts are unclear or still being investigated. But that’s not the same as covering them up through lack of coverage. There is plenty of coverage of in the American media of terrorist attacks. We rate the statement ! https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/b82d39fc-cb0f-4459-b7fa-88831caa85c7
|
14,634 | 2 |
Thanks to the strong charter school reforms put in place while I was Senate President" the online charter school ECOT "was caught and is out of business.
|
May 11, 2018
|
education
|
keith faber
|
State Rep. Keith Faber is running for state auditor in 2018. His hometown is Celina, in western Ohio.
|
ohio
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
a statement to the press
|
Faber said, "Thanks to the strong charter school reforms put in place while I was Senate President" the online charter school ECOT "was caught and is out of business." Faber was referring to House Bill 2, which passed in 2015 and required online schools to keep accurate and accessible attendance records. But Faber is overstating credit by hanging the demise of the school on that bill. The key change that led to the school shutting down was when the education department decided to require e-schools to provide student log-in data. This showed that that the school couldn’t account for many of its supposed students, leading the state to conclude the school owed $80 million. Faber doesn’t get credit for that. The only kernel of here is that the bill that passed under his leadership was another affirmation by the state that e-schools had to provide attendance data. We rate this . You may not realize this, but as a nonprofit news organization, we depend on — and answer to — you. Your support directly impacts our abilility to provide objective reporting on issues that matter. Donate to our Spring Campaign. Go on the record as saying facts matter!
|
18,355 | 0 |
CDC announces that students may be kept from parents overnight as Ohio sets up COVID-19 FEMA camps.
|
September 9, 2020
|
facebook fact-checks;coronavirus
|
instagram posts
|
Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.
|
ohio
| 3 | 3 | 15 | 51 | 405 | 140 |
an Instagram post
|
"There’s no substance behind it. " FEMA money has reimbursed the state for the costs of housing some hospital workers in hotels so they wouldn’t expose vulnerable family members to COVID-19, DeWine said. But claims that families would be forcibly separated because of the coronavirus are "absolutely ," he said. "There is no intention to separate children." We rate this Instagram post .
|
19,014 | 1 |
6 states will cast their (electoral) votes for Trump AND for Biden," which will lead to a second Trump term.
|
December 15, 2020
|
elections;facebook fact-checks
|
instagram posts
|
Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.
|
national
| 3 | 3 | 15 | 51 | 405 | 140 |
an Instagram post
|
An Instagram post says that "6 states will cast their (electoral) votes for Trump AND for Biden," which will lead to a second Trump term. Although unofficial shadow electors did meet to cast votes for Trump in these states, these votes have no legal standing and do not qualify as certified electoral votes. The conditional electoral votes cast by these uncertified electors would only come into play if courts attempted to throw out the officially-cast electoral votes, and courts across the nation have repeatedly affirmed the legitimacy of Biden’s win in these states. This post is .
|
5,441 | 2 |
Says Gov. Scott Walker signed abortion, sex education and discrimination bills "in secret.
|
April 6, 2012
|
transparency;women
|
kathleen falk
|
Kathleen Falk, a Wisconsin Democrat, lost a bid in 2012 for the Democratic nomination to run against Gov. Scott Walker in a recall election. Falk served as the Dane County executive from 1997 to 2011. She ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002 and for state attorney general in 2006.
|
wisconsin
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
a news release
|
But although Walker sought to quietly approve these bills -- that’s his prerogative. The timing was only partially in his control, and it’s not unusual to sign big batches of bills out of direct public view, for practical reasons or political ones. We think it’s a stretch to call it "secret" when the signing will ultimately become public -- and when it was announced in a news release. In short, we think there’s an element of to Falk’s but it ignores critical facts that could give a different impression. That’s our definition of .
|
15,611 | 1 |
Says the NC elections board received "no calls" after alerting Bladen County voters to possible absentee ballot fraud.
|
January 17, 2019
|
elections
|
dallas woodhouse
|
Dallas Woodhouse is the executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party.
|
north carolina
| 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
a tweet
|
That’s not the case. We rate this . This story was produced by the North Carolina Fact-Checking Project, a partnership of McClatchy Carolinas, the Duke University Reporters’ Lab and PolitiFact. The NC Local News Lab Fund and the International Center for Journalists provide support for the project, which shares fact-checks with newsrooms statewide. To offer ideas for fact checks, email [email protected] .
|
20,234 | 1 |
President Putin bans mandatory vaccinations in Russia.
|
September 7, 2021
|
government regulation;public health;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus
|
instagram posts
|
Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.
| null | 3 | 3 | 15 | 51 | 405 | 140 |
an Instagram post
|
President Vladimir Putin keeps saying vaccines should not be mandatory, the effect for many Russians is just that." The Associated Press reported from Moscow in June that 18 Russian regions made vaccinations mandatory for employees in certain sectors, such as government offices, retail, health care, education, restaurants and other service industries; and that Moscow authorities said companies should suspend without pay employees unwilling to get vaccinated. Also in June, Reuters reported that Moscow city authorities ordered mandatory vaccinations for all workers with public-facing jobs — some 2 million people in the city, including hairdressers, retailers, taxi drivers, bank tellers, teachers and performers. Companies were given a month to ensure at least 60% of staff had received first doses, or face fines or temporary closure. We rate the post .
|
4,339 | 4 |
Says "Every year air pollution protections are delayed, another 34,000 people will die prematurely.
|
September 23, 2011
|
environment;government regulation;public health
|
earl blumenauer
|
Earl Blumenauer is the Democratic representative for Oregon's 3rd Congressional District. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1996. He started in politics in the Oregon Legislature in 1972, where he served three terms. In 1978, he was elected to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, where he served for eight years before being elected to the Portland City Council in 1986. He was a city commissioner for 10 years.
|
oregon
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
a House floor speech
|
We find that Blumenauer was on solid ground. But he also cherry-picked the highest death number rather than using the range of 13,000 to 34,000 additional deaths. While that omission does not change the conclusion that air pollution is bad for public health, it could exaggerate the problem. For that reason, we rate this : . Return to OregonLive.com/politics to comment on this PolitiFact/Oregon ruling .
|
19,659 | 1 |
Photo that shows COVID-19 test swabs labeled positive and negative proves that the tests are fixed.
|
April 25, 2021
|
facebook fact-checks;coronavirus
|
instagram posts
|
Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.
| null | 3 | 3 | 15 | 51 | 405 | 140 |
an Instagram post
|
An Instagram post suggests that COVID-19 tests are fixed because a photo shows two packages of antigen testing kits with the labels "positive control swab" and "negative control swab." This is a misinterpretation of the labels. Positive and negative control swabs are routinely included in testing kits for quality control — to ensure that the test is working correctly — not for patient testing. We rate it .
|
20,382 | 2 |
Says Joe Biden's IRS reform proposals "would require banks and credit unions to hand over private information about routine transactions to the IRS.
|
September 24, 2021
|
economy;income;privacy issues;wisconsin
|
bryan steil
|
Bryan Steil, R-Janesville was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018.
|
national
| 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Twitter
|
Steil said Biden's IRS reform proposals "would require banks and credit unions to hand over private information about routine transactions to the IRS." An initial proposal does include a $600 threshold, and shifted the burden to banks. That was dropped by Democrats amid outcry from banks -- something not acknowledged in Steil’s tweet. Likewise, the suggests every transaction will be reported, when the proposal calls for a higher-level summary. For a statement that contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression our rating is .
|
15,907 | 1 |
Says President Barack Obama once said, "The American dream is to be Donald Trump
|
April 2, 2019
|
fake news;wealth;facebook fact-checks
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a Facebook post
|
A Facebook post claims in 1991 Obama said that "the American dream is to be Donald Trump." Obama did mention Trump in a Harvard paper that he co-wrote with a friend. But the passage says "I may not be Donald Trump now, but just you wait; if I don't make it, my children will," referring to Trump as an example of Americans’ expectations that they will be financially secure in the future. So, yes Obama did refer to Trump as a financially stable person, but he never said or wrote the words that are being attributed to him on social media. The quote is , exaggerated and taken out of context. We rate it .
|
22,089 | 1 |
55,000 years ago the world was 2 degrees warmer Celsius than it is today.
|
September 12, 2022
|
climate change;science;weather;facebook fact-checks
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a video on Facebook
|
A video circulating on Facebook showed Peña saying Antarctic ice cores show the Earth was 2 degrees Celsius warmer 55,000 years ago. Scientific research looking at the Southern and Northern hemispheres shows that assertion is . Although the planet’s temperatures have fluctuated over billions of years, research published in 2016 shows the Antarctic was 6.9°C colder compared with 2006, the most recent year for which ice core data has been collected. We rate this .
|
9,130 | 3 |
Between June 30 and July 10, CNN interviewed "17 Israeli public officials versus one" Palestinian official.
|
July 22, 2014
|
israel;foreign policy;punditfact
|
rula jebreal
|
Rula Jebreal is a Palestinian journalist who emerged as a Middle Eastern voice in Western media after sharing her experiences about growing up in the West Bank and reporting in Egypt during the Arab Spring,
| null | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
comments on MSNBC
|
Jebreal said, on CNN "this time around, you have, between June 30 and July 10, you had 17 Israeli public officials vs. one" Palestinian public official. She is referencing a preliminary tally of Israeli and Palestinian officials’ voices during that time by a pro-Palestinian media watcher. Our tally confirms there was a disparity, but it was not quite as lopsided as Jebreal said. We found 20 appearances by Israeli public officials on CNN compared to 5 appearances by Palestinian officials. Also, the tally is measuring appearances, not the number of officials from each side who appeared. And it's worth noting that any look at the media coverage is incomplete because the story is continuing to unfold. Because of those caveats, we rate Jebreal’s .
|
21,953 | 5 |
40% of the folks who have student loans do not have a college diploma, four-year diploma. These are people who are truck drivers and who are nail technicians and nurses' aides.
|
August 28, 2022
|
education
|
elizabeth warren
|
Elizabeth Warren is a senator from Massachusetts. Warren was elected to the Senate in 2012 and was re-elected in 2018 and is running for re-election in 2024. Warren received a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology and audiology from the University of Houston and a J.D. from Rutgers Law School. In 2019, she announced her race for the Democratic nomination for president and dropped out March 5, 2020.
|
national
| 8 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
an interview on CNN
|
Warren said that "40% of the folks who have student loans do not have a college diploma, four-year diploma. These are people who are truck drivers and who are nail technicians and nurses’ aides." The data on borrowers and the degrees they hold are imperfect, but they support Warren’s statistic. Some of the data suggests she underestimated the number, which could be as high as 60%. As for the types of jobs touched by Biden’s plan, a sizable percentage of people took on student debt to attend non-college degree programs in cosmetology and nursing and health care. Truck drivers are less numerous, but they are still among the borrowers. We rate this statement .
|
7,783 | 4 |
The United Nations has conducted "172 successful peacekeeping missions and negotiations.
|
September 10, 2013
|
foreign policy;military;pundits
|
van jones
|
Van Jones is a host of CNN's Crossfire. A former environmental and human rights activist, Jones in 2009, served as the "green jobs" adviser to President Barack Obama. He is the author of two New York Times best-selling books, The Green Collar Economy (2008) and Rebuild the Dream (2012).
|
national
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
a discussion on CNN's "Crossfire"
|
Jones said the United Nations has conducted "172 successful peacekeeping missions and negotiations." His comes from a U.N. document, though one that is eight years old and that referred to a somewhat different metric. U.N. officials say there’s no way of knowing the correct number today, but the 2005 figure, combined with other data that is up to date, suggests that 172 is a reasonable approximation. We rate the .
|
18,525 | 0 |
Photo shows Chris Wallace and Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein's private island.
|
October 1, 2020
|
facebook fact-checks
|
viral image
|
Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.
| null | 4 | 13 | 35 | 53 | 711 | 331 |
a Facebook post
|
"He’s a heck of a nice guy," Wallace said in the interview, later adding, "He’s liberal … and we don’t always agree on the issues, but we can disagree agreeably. " More photos from that trip can be seen here and here . Jeffrey Epstein is not pictured, nor is he mentioned in news coverage. Because he wasn’t there. We rate these posts !
|
13,304 | 5 |
We're experiencing a net outflow of illegal, undocumented workers from America back to Mexico.
|
February 16, 2017
|
immigration;homeland security
|
ron kind
|
Democrat Ron Kind has represented Wisconsin's third congressional district since 1996.
|
wisconsin
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
a radio interview
|
The overall number of illegal immigrants in the United States — from all countries of origin — held steady from 2009 to 2014 at around 11 million, Pew estimates. In 2014, the Border Patrol apprehended more non-Mexicans than Mexicans for the first time in at least 60 years, Pew reported. Mexicans still accounted for about 52% of illegal immigration in 2014, though. Our rating Kind said more unauthorized Mexican immigrants are returning to Mexico than coming into the U.S. Immigration data gathered by a respected group shows that is an accurate synopsis of the trend since 2007. We rate Kind’s statement .
|
8,514 | 3 |
Sarah Eckhardt "refused to take her own pay increases repeatedly.
|
February 26, 2014
|
candidate biography;county budget;county government
|
changeaustin.org
|
ChangeAustin.org, a political action committee founded in 2008, describes itself as "dedicated to bringing ordinary voters of all persuasions and Austin’s local businesses to City Hall to demand fiscal restraint, open government, and that growth should pay for itself. In essence, we are about building a cross-partisan movement for political reform."
|
texas
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
an email blast
|
ChangeAustin.org said that as a Travis County commissioner, Eckhardt "refused to take her own pay increases repeatedly." In two fiscal years, 2008 and 2013, Eckhardt completely declined pay raises, while in fiscal 2009 and 2011, she accepted percentage raises equal to the percentage hikes approved for all commissioners, though Eckhardt's pay did not catch up to the highest level she could have reached. We see this as partly accurate and rate it . – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.
|
9,568 | 5 |
Ninety-five percent of Oregonians now have health insurance coverage, tens of thousands for the very first time.
|
October 20, 2014
|
health care
|
john kitzhaber
|
John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, was governor of Oregon for two terms, starting in 1995. He was inaugurated in 2011 for an unprecedented third term.
He was elected to the Oregon Legislature in 1978, rising to the position of Senate President. He spearheaded the Oregon Health Plan as a legislator and as governor. Kitzhaber graduated from Dartmouth College and the University of Oregon Medical School (now Oregon Health & Science University). He worked as an emergency room physician in Roseburg from 1974 to 1988.
|
oregon
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
a campaign debate
|
This blows that out of the water." The ruling: Kitzhaber, trying in a debate to put the Cover Oregon debacle in the best light, claimed that 95 percent of Oregon residents have health insurance coverage, many for the first time. The author of the report that produced the number said its accuracy is bolstered by regulations that make Oregon one of a few states allowed to collect comprehensive health insurance enrollment information directly from insurers. None of those insurers has questioned the validity of the report’s numbers, including the 95 percent figure. The is healthy enough to be rated .
|
18,085 | 3 |
West Virginia is the state with the oldest population.
|
July 27, 2020
|
population;retirement
|
jim justice
|
Jim Justice is the Republican governor of West Virginia. A businessman, Justice was originally elected as a Democrat.
|
west virginia
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
a press conference
|
Justice has a point that West Virginia has an older population than many states, and as recently as two decades ago it did rank No. 1. However, today, it’s not the oldest, by two different measures. West Virginia has the third-highest population of 65-and-over residents and the fourth-oldest median age of any state. So Justice wasn’t correct to say that his state is the nation’s oldest, but it does rank near the top. We rate the statement .
|
18,873 | 1 |
Biden lead disappears in NV, AZ, GA, PA.
|
November 10, 2020
|
elections;facebook fact-checks
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a Facebook post
|
The Biden team has begun preparing for the White House, even as the Trump administration works to thwart the transition. Trump accepted the media’s calls in 2016. A review of the Internet Archive shows he changed his Twitter biography to read "President-elect of the United States" on Nov. 9, one day after the 2016 election. He met with President Barack Obama in the White House on Nov. 10. We rate this Facebook post .
|
1,287 | 2 |
Chile ranks third internationally in economic freedom, while the U.S. ranks 17th.
|
January 15, 2010
|
economy;foreign policy;pundits
|
glenn beck
|
Glenn Beck is the host of The Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show. He also hosts an Internet-based TV show. Beck formerly hosted a television talk show on CNN Headline News and then Fox News.
|
national
| 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
a video blog post
|
So while there is some to Beck's underlying point that Chile has improved its economic freedom, he's to portray Chile as ranking far ahead of the United States. By several measures, the United States ranks significantly higher than Chile; in one, Chile is slightly ahead. So we find his . Editor's note: This statement was rated when it was published. On July 27, 2011, we changed the name for the rating to .
|
20,181 | 2 |
Former President Donald Trump "was blocked from getting troops out of (Afghanistan) by Liz Cheney and others.
|
August 17, 2021
|
afghanistan;congress;foreign policy;military
|
warren davidson
|
Warren Davidson is a Republican who has represented a district in Ohio since 2016, succeeding former House Speaker John Boehner, a fellow Republican. He is a former special operations officer in the U.S. Army.
| null | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
an interview with Breitbart
|
Davidson said that Trump "was blocked from getting troops out of (Afghanistan) by Liz Cheney and others." "Blocked" is too strong a term for what the amendment was designed to do, since it allowed troop reductions to proceed as long as reports were submitted confirming the safety of U.S. forces and the protection of national security. Moreover, Trump ignored the law: He did not produce a report as the amendment required when he began reducing troop levels. Still, the amendment laid out robust terms before a drawdown could proceed, setting a national security requirement, and imposing terms on funding. We rate the statement .
|
16,267 | 0 |
Says country hip-hop star Lil Nas X was "dropped from Wrangler endorsement" after coming out of the closet.
|
July 1, 2019
|
fake news;facebook fact-checks
|
bloggers
|
Blog posting on the Internet
| null | 8 | 18 | 24 | 53 | 233 | 396 |
a story
|
The Wrangler x Lil Nas X collab is still in full effect. You can shop it here: https://t.co/O35Rr1WAeO 😉 We’re aware of a news article circulating misinformation regarding our apparel collaboration with Lil Nas X and take issues like these very seriously. As a company, we support love and diversity wholeheartedly and nothing has changed about our relationship with Lil Nas X. We rate this story !
|
18,263 | 1 |
These photos show Jacob Blake posing with a gun.
|
August 25, 2020
|
crime;race and ethnicity;facebook fact-checks
|
viral image
|
Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.
|
wisconsin
| 4 | 13 | 35 | 53 | 711 | 331 |
a Facebook post
|
Second, they previously spread on social media in connection with the death of 16-year-old Pierre Loury, who was shot by a police officer in 2016 in Chicago . We couldn’t find credible sources confirming that the person in these photos is Loury, either. His Facebook account now only shows two photos, including one that says "R.I.P." A different photo the Chicago Tribune published from Loury’s Facebook page in 2016 shows him posing with a gun. His mother "said the photo was taken while he was promoting a rap song, nothing more," the caption says. We rate this Facebook post .
|
15,870 | 1 |
Women in Virginia have been incarcerated at an increasingly high rate. It's around (a) 300 percent increase in the past four or five years.
|
April 15, 2019
|
criminal justice;women
|
kaye kory
|
Kaye Kory, D-Fairfax Couny, was first elected to Virginia's House of Delegates in 2010. She previously served 11 years on the Fairfax County's School Board.
Kory was born in Chicago and his lived in Fairfax for more than 30 years. She has a B.A. degree in English from The Western College for Women, today part of Miami University in Ohio.
|
virginia
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
radio interview
|
Kory said, "Women in Virginia have been incarcerated at an increasingly high rate. It’s around (a) 300 percent increase in the past four or five years." She cited the surge as a big reason why Virginia needs to ratify the federal ERA amendment. The number of women inmates in Virginia and the nation has soared, but it’s occurred over five decades - not just the last few years. During the last 4 ½ years, there’s been an 18 percent increase, nowhere near Kory’s . Any credit we might give Kory for acknowledging she was is blunted by her substitute explanation: That she meant to say that nationally, there’s been a fivefold increase in women prisoners since 2001. That, too, is way off. There’s been a 36 percent increase. Kory’s numbers are astronomically , and we rate her statement .
|
4,706 | 3 |
Says IBM leader told Obama that using IBM technology to cut fraud could "pay for" health care reform.
|
November 5, 2011
|
federal budget;health care;technology
|
newt gingrich
|
Newt Gingrich is a political adviser and author. A former Georgia congressman, Gingrich served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Gingrich sought the GOP nomination for president in 2012.
|
texas
| 7 | 11 | 21 | 17 | 15 | 12 |
The Woodlands, Texas
|
Gingrich did not reveal the source of his or provide backup beyond the Journal interview. Meantime, the White House did not confirm or deny Palmisano’s claims. Contrary to Gingrich’s debate , though, the then-CEO said $200 billion in funding would come from cutting fraud -- not nearly enough to pay for the health-care overhaul. We rate Gingrich’s statement .
|
11,230 | 2 |
With 320,000 net Ohio manufacturing jobs lost, (Sen. Rob) Portman calls NAFTA a 'proven success'.
|
December 10, 2016
|
trade
|
ted strickland
|
Ted Strickland was governor of Ohio from 2007 through 2010. He lost his bid for re-election in 2010 to Republican John Kasich.
|
ohio
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
a Facebook post
|
Strickland said, "With 320,000 net Ohio manufacturing jobs lost, Portman calls NAFTA a ‘proven success.’ " The implication that NAFTA is solely responsible is a gross oversimplification of a very complex economic phenomenon. Just as one politician’s four-year term can’t be the sole cause of over a quarter-million lost jobs, the NAFTA trade deal isn’t wholly to blame either. We rate this .
|
14,639 | 0 |
Breaking: Santa Fe killer expresses his love for Obama.
|
May 18, 2018
|
fake news;crime;punditfact
|
daily world update
|
Daily World Update is a fake news site promoting false information.
| null | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
a headline
|
While Blair identifies The Daily World Update as satire, other blogs often pick up Blair’s stories without the satire asterisk. accounts imitating the suspect on Facebook also depicted him wearing a hat showing support for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid, with a background photo displaying a banner espousing anti-fascists, or Antifa, views. The Daily World headline said, "Breaking: Santa Fe killer expresses his love for Obama." We found no that the suspect declared his love for Obama. We rate this statement .
|
7,032 | 4 |
Two-thirds of Wisconsinites receiving unemployment checks "are not required to search for work due to current work search exemptions.
|
February 13, 2013
|
jobs;government regulation;poverty;welfare
|
scott walker
|
Scott Walker, a Republican, is the former governor of Wisconsin. He was first elected in November 2010. He survived a recall election in 2012, defeating Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett after igniting controversy with a bill curtailing public-employee union collective-bargaining rights. He won re-election to a four-year term in November 2014 and was a 2016 presidential candidate before dropping out in September of 2015. He was defeated by Tony Evers in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Walker is a former Milwaukee County executive and former member of the state Assembly.
|
wisconsin
| 26 | 45 | 39 | 40 | 44 | 11 |
a speech
|
But Emsellem said it would be counterproductive, both for employers and employees, to require laid-off employees to look for new jobs if they are likely to soon return to their old job, or similar work. Those people are not likely to find better jobs -- or temporary ones -- simply by making "cold calls" to other employers, he said. Getting back to the most recent figures that Walker relied on, for January 2013, here’s a breakdown from the Department of Workforce Development of the 40,119 people who filed new claims for unemployment insurance who were not required to look for work: Our rating Walker said two-thirds of Wisconsinites receiving unemployment checks "are not required to search for work due to current work search exemptions." The statement is accurate, but needs additional information -- namely that the vast majority of unemployment insurance recipients who aren’t required to look for work are expected to be working again relatively soon, many at the same jobs they were laid off from. We rate Walker’s statement .
|
773 | 1 |
The centerpiece of Senator McCain's education policy is to increase the voucher program in D.C. by 2,000 slots.
|
October 15, 2008
|
education
|
barack obama
|
Barack Obama is the former president of the United States. Obama also served as a U.S. senator from Illinois. He was born in 1961 in Hawaii, where his parents met as students at the University of Hawaii. Obama's father is from Kenya and his mother is from Kansas. He graduated from Columbia University and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. Obama previously served in the Illinois state Senate and was an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School. He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
|
national
| 124 | 165 | 163 | 71 | 71 | 9 |
Hempstead, N.Y
|
It was clear to us that McCain's plan to use — or continue using — Title II funds to improve teaching is the centerpiece of his education policy, even before McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said this in an e-mail: "The focus of our plan is the reform of... Title 1 and 2 funding – which is in excess of 16 billion dollars... Moreover, we have higher ed and early ed policy which have nothing to do with the DC opportunity scholarship expansion." We agree. On this one, Obama gets an F for .
|
6,395 | 1 |
Says the "public option" considered in the health care law backed by U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin was "wildly unpopular.
|
September 19, 2012
|
health care;medicare;message machine 2012;polls and public opinion
|
u.s. chamber of commerce
|
From the chamber's Web site: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. More than 96% of U.S. Chamber members are small businesses with 100 employees or fewer."
|
wisconsin
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
a TV ad
|
But a significant number of people’s support for Obama’s reform plan overall was conditioned on his including a public option. Our rating The Chamber terms the Baldwin-supported public option "wildly unpopular." That’s way off target based on a broad look at surveys taken during the health care debate. The public option was far more popular than not, though some of that support was fickle. We rate the group’s .
|
16,819 | 2 |
I (found) the Republican votes for the Recovery Act, Obamacare, help us from falling into a Great Depression.
|
December 13, 2019
|
candidate biography;economy;health care
|
joe biden
|
Joe Biden is the president of the United States. A Democrat, Biden served as a Delaware senator from 1973 (elected at the age of 29) until 2009. During his time in the Senate, he served as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, chair of the International Narcotics Control Caucus and chair of the Judiciary Committee. He subsequently served as Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2016. Biden launched unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008. He received a degree in history and political science from the University of Delaware and his J.D. from Syracuse School of Law.
|
national
| 25 | 64 | 65 | 52 | 55 | 7 |
San Antonio, Texas
|
Biden said cited the 2009 economic recovery bill and the 2010 Affordable Care Act as proof that he can "bring the country together." At most, those legislative wins show Biden can bring Democrats together. The vote totals showed minimal to no bipartisanship. The recovery bill was opposed by every Republican except for three in the Senate. There was no Republican support in either chamber for Obamacare. We rate this .
|
4,790 | 5 |
And, as of today, New Jersey state government has less employees than when Christie Whitman left office in 2001.
|
December 20, 2011
|
jobs
|
chris christie
|
Chris Christie announced June 6, 2023 that he is running for the Republican nomination for president. Christie was the governor of New Jersey and a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. As governor, Christie won office in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. Prior to that, he was U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2008.
|
new jersey
| 21 | 20 | 27 | 11 | 17 | 8 |
an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe
|
In a television interview, Christie claimed "New Jersey state government has less employees than when Christie Whitman left office in 2001." The governor’s right, according to the latest preliminary labor statistics. By November, there were 600 fewer state workers than when Whitman stepped down in January 2001. We rate the statement . To comment on this ruling, go to NJ.com .
|
15,397 | 0 |
Says Stacey Abrams posed with a campaign sign that described her as a "communist" and part of the "Muslim-Brotherhood
|
November 3, 2018
|
fake news;facebook fact-checks
|
bloggers
|
Blog posting on the Internet
| null | 8 | 18 | 24 | 53 | 233 | 396 |
a post on Facebook
|
One ad recently tried to connect Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Democrat running to represent California’s 50th district in the U.S. House race, to the group. We rated that ! Our Ruling An altered photo tried to tie Abrams to the "Muslim-Brotherhood," by adding words like "Communist" and "#MuslimBrotherhood," to a photo of her with Palestinian Muslim American activist Linda Sarsour. Everyone agrees the image is a lie: Abrams’ campaign said the viral image had been altered and the user who posted the photo acknowledged it was . We rate this !
|
1,361 | 4 |
Despite touting the economic stimulus as a great triumph, "The very same report, however, notes that unemployment will average 10 percent for the rest of the year.
|
February 11, 2010
|
economy;stimulus
|
john boehner
|
John Boehner of Ohio is the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was formerly the Republican minority leader from 2007-2011, and was the majority leader briefly prior to that.
|
national
| 17 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 2 |
a press release
|
Many economic forecasters believe that's exactly the case. Still, projections about the number of jobs saved or created by the stimulus are just that, projections. And many economists believe it is still way too early to measure its effectiveness. But we think it's to simply point to a stagnant unemployment rate as proof that the stimulus isn't working. And so we rate Boehner's statement .
|
19,502 | 2 |
We spent billions on a border wall and quit when it was 90% finished.
|
March 23, 2021
|
immigration;border security;homeland security
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a Facebook post
|
That’s not in dispute. But construction was not 90% finished. In addition, most of the work completed under the Trump administration involved the replacement of older barriers. The post contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it .
|
5,821 | 4 |
Austin is the biggest city in America with a Tier One research university (UT-Austin) but without a medical school.
|
June 20, 2012
|
education
|
austin fund for quality healthcare
|
The Austin Fund for Quality Healthcare is a nonprofit that operates HealthyATX, a program created to build support for a medical school. Its mission is to "coordinate the expansion of innovative medical education, research and public health through community collaboration, fostering cooperation between community institutions and the creation of public/private partnerships in order to position Central Texas as a center for accessible, world-class healthcare for everyone, to create jobs and increase economic prosperity."
|
texas
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | null |
The that Austin is the biggest U.S. city home to a top-flight research university but lacking a medical school holds up. Still, Texas A&M hopes to make its nearby medical college into a full-fledged medical school. That information is missing from the statement, which we rate .
|
15,730 | 1 |
The Democrats' Green New Deal includes "working towards ending air travel.
|
February 25, 2019
|
environment;climate change;congress;transportation
|
rick scott
|
Rick Scott, a wealthy Florida businessman, was first elected Florida's 45th governor on Nov. 2, 2010 and re-elected Nov. 4, 2014. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and is running for re-election in 2024.
|
florida
| 15 | 36 | 42 | 42 | 38 | 8 |
an Orlando Sentinel op-ed
|
Time to bring this fact-check in for a landing. Scott wrote in an op-ed that the Democrats’ Green New Deal includes "working towards ending air travel." The resolution makes no mention of ending air travel. Instead, it calls for "overhauling transportation systems," which includes "investment in high-speed rail." Scott seized on a messaging document from Democrats that mentioned, perhaps in jest, getting rid of "farting cows and airplanes." But we found no that getting rid of airplanes is a serious policy idea from climate advocates. We rate this statement .
|
10,734 | 4 |
At this point in 2012, "Rick Perry was ahead at 29.9 percent, and we had seven more leads before it finally settled on Mitt Romney.
|
September 20, 2015
|
elections;polls and public opinion;punditfact
|
karl rove
|
Karl Rove is a former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush. He has worked as a commentator and political analyst for Fox News.
| null | 0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
comments on "Fox News Sunday"
|
Rove said the leader in the race for the Republican nomination changed seven times between September 2011 and the end of February 2012. Using the polling average numbers, that is a fair summary, and some might argue that the lead moved around even more. We found that five individual candidates -- Perry, Romney, Cain, Gingrich and Santorum -- handed the lead back and forth during that time period. Looking at individual polls, the lead might shift less often, but the window on the race those polls offer is not as detailed as the method Rove used. There might be minor quibbles about the exact tally, but Rove was in the ballpark. We rate this .
|
11,734 | 2 |
Says Patrick Murphy "switched his vote on All Aboard Florida ... because his father tried to get in a bid to build it and was unsuccessful.
|
May 15, 2016
|
congress;transportation
|
alan grayson
|
Alan Grayson was initially elected to Congress in 2008, then defeated for re-election in 2010. He was elected again to Congress from a different district in 2012. He lost the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Florida in 2016.
|
florida
| 7 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
an interview with CBS4
|
Grayson says Murphy "switched his vote on All Aboard Florida ... because his father tried to get in a bid to build it and was unsuccessful." There is one kernel of here: Murphy did switch his position on the rail project. But he did not switch his votes, which were consistently against funding for it. Murphy said he switched his vote because of community blowback to the rail project, and not as a result of his father’s business dealings. The onus is on Grayson to prove that Murphy flip-flopped because his father didn’t get a contract out of it, and he did not prove his case. The entities involved are private, which makes primary documents hard to obtain. Coastal Construction’s vice chairman said the company had preliminary talks with the private rail project but did not file a bid. We rate this .
|
3,210 | 0 |
Damage by protesters to the Wisconsin state Capitol will cost $7.5 million to repair.
|
March 3, 2011
|
labor;state budget
|
mike huebsch
|
Mike Huebsch is a member of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. He is a former secretary of Wisconsin's Department of Administration and former Republican member of the state Assembly, representing West Salem.
|
wisconsin
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
a statement made by a staffer during a court hearing
|
The new estimate: $347,500, some 20 times less than the original one. And there are indications that even that could be high. This smells like an effort to pour gas on the anti-protester fire. The was high. And that gets a rating.
|
22,854 | 0 |
Hillary Clinton indicted.
|
April 7, 2023
|
facebook fact-checks
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
| null | 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a Facebook post
|
Rather, it shows three video clips. In the first, from August 2016, Paul said about Clinton "I think an indictment would be a good idea, followed by a prison sentence." The second, also from August 2016, shows Paul on Fox News reiterating that sentiment and criticizing the FBI’s decision to not recommend charges against Clinton for using a private email system when she was leading the State Department. The third clip doesn’t even feature Paul, but shows Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also discussing Clinton’s emails. We rate this !
|
2,277 | 1 |
Says Bill White "didn't pay taxes while earning $133,600 annual salary as deputy secretary of energy.
|
September 7, 2010
|
transparency;taxes
|
rick perry
|
Rick Perry is the U.S. Energy Secretary and was governor of Texas from late December 2000 through 2014. He was re-elected in 2002, 2006 and 2010. He unsucessfully ran for president in 2012 and 2016.
|
texas
| 26 | 24 | 43 | 30 | 31 | 18 |
a press release
|
Why? His business losses later that year largely offset the income taxes he had already paid through withholding, he said, leaving him with no taxable income in 1995. Is that the same as White paying no taxes that year while he did his federal job, as Perry says? We think not. We rate the statement .
|
21,037 | 0 |
The 2020 election "was stolen from Donald J. Trump.
|
February 25, 2022
|
ohio;elections
|
josh mandel
|
Josh Mandel, a Republican from Lyndhurst, is a Marine veteran who served two tours in Iraq. He served as Ohio treasurer from 2011 to 2019. Before that, he was a state representative from the 17th Ohio House District. He unsuccessfully challenged Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in the 2012 US Senate race. Mandel is running for the GOP nomination for an Ohio U.S. Senate seat in 2022.
|
national
| 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Florida
|
Mandel said that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. Multiple investigations in six key states that Trump lost uncovered scant cases of fraud, and nothing on the scale needed to have changed the outcome. We rate this ! RELATED: Republicans facing off in 2022 GOP primaries are running ads claiming the 2020 election was stolen
|
14,402 | 0 |
Say Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was raped and beaten in prison.
|
March 19, 2018
|
fake news;punditfact
|
bloggers
|
Blog posting on the Internet
| null | 8 | 18 | 24 | 53 | 233 | 396 |
a blog
|
Bloggers said Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was raped and beaten in prison. There are a number of factual errors with this story. Roof has not been housed in Charleston — where the purported assault happened — since April 2017. The item also misstates the number of parishoners Roof killed. Despite being previously debunked, this hoax continues to persist. We rate this .
|
9,712 | 0 |
A sign in Dearborn, Mich., for the Advancement of Islamic Agenda for America says, "Allah be praised. America we will kill you all and nothing you can do to stop it.
|
November 20, 2014
|
religion;terrorism
|
facebook posts
|
Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.
|
national
| 24 | 50 | 108 | 245 | 1,410 | 570 |
a meme on social media
|
The meme claims that a sign in Dearborn, Mich., purportedly hung by a group called the Advancement of Islamic Agenda for America says, "Allah be praised. America we will kill you all and nothing you can do to stop it." However, nothing about this sign is . It doesn’t exist; it was created using a freely available web tool. We rate it .
|
2,588 | 1 |
Democratic U.S. House candidate Julie Lassa pushed for a "Canadian-style government takeover of health care.
|
October 9, 2010
|
health care;message machine 2010
|
national republican congressional committee
|
National Republican Congressional Committee
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wisconsin
| 4 | 5 | 9 | 20 | 14 | 9 |
a campaign TV ad
|
Hardly. The differences are many: Who pays, how the plan is funded, insurance choices for consumers. Broad strokes are often used in political attacks, and in some cases those making them paint outside the lines. In this case, the lines got painted over. We rate the .
|
7,754 | 5 |
According to a recent poll, "there are more young Republicans enrolled in their parents' (health insurance) plans than young Democrats.
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September 4, 2013
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health care
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bill clinton
|
Bill Clinton was president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He is married to Hillary Clinton, the 2016 presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.
|
national
| 9 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Little Rock, Ark
|
Clinton said "there are more young Republicans enrolled in their parents' (health insurance) plans than young Democrats." Polling data from the Commonwealth Fund supports the . We rate the statement .
|
20,288 | 3 |
As a result of the massive decline in natural gas prices, we're saving 11,000 lives per year in the U.S.
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September 13, 2021
|
climate change;energy
|
gary palmer
|
Rep Gary Palmer, R-Ala., is chair of the House Republican Policy Committee.
|
national
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
remarks during a House hearing
|
Palmer said, "As a result of the massive decline in natural gas prices, we’re saving 11,000 lives per year in the U.S." That fairly represents a study’s findings. But the study looked narrowly at wintertime mortality related to prices, without taking into account other implications of increased natural gas use, such as air pollution. Public health researchers warned that variation in seasonal flu and other factors make it difficult to draw clear links between cold and mortality. Meanwhile, other research finds that warmer temperatures due to climate change cause 12,000 premature deaths a year. Palmer’s is partly accurate, but takes a narrow view of the implications of Biden’s policies for combating climate change and leaves out important context about research on the connection between temperatures and mortality. We rate this .
|
9,257 | 4 |
Says his "Act 10 reforms" have "saved the taxpayers some $3 billion.
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July 21, 2014
|
city government;county government;health care;pensions;state budget;taxes
|
scott walker
|
Scott Walker, a Republican, is the former governor of Wisconsin. He was first elected in November 2010. He survived a recall election in 2012, defeating Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett after igniting controversy with a bill curtailing public-employee union collective-bargaining rights. He won re-election to a four-year term in November 2014 and was a 2016 presidential candidate before dropping out in September of 2015. He was defeated by Tony Evers in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Walker is a former Milwaukee County executive and former member of the state Assembly.
|
wisconsin
| 26 | 45 | 39 | 40 | 44 | 11 |
a news article
|
Our rating Walker says his "Act 10 reforms" have "saved the taxpayers some $3 billion." Requiring most state and local government employees to contribute more to their pensions has saved public employers more than $3 billion, including $2.35 billion in pension costs, and there are more savings that haven’t fully been tallied. Those costs haven’t simply been eliminated, however. They’ve been taken on by public employees, who are also taxpayers. We rate the statement .
|
6,788 | 4 |
The so-called doc fix in the fiscal cliff deal will cut payments "for treating illnesses disproportionately impacting minorities, including end stage renal disease and diabetes.
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January 1, 2013
|
federal budget;health care;medicaid;medicare
|
marcia fudge
|
Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Warrensville Heights, is the congresswoman from Ohio's 11th district. Prior to her election to the House of Representatives, she was mayor of Warrensville Heights.
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ohio
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
a news release
|
But she suggested that harm will result, saying that cuts will be made to programs that treat diseases disproportionately affecting minorities, including end stage renal disease and diabetes." The impact is unsettled for now. The GAO and inspector general have called out some of these programs for waste or unnecessary spending. Yet Fudge is in good company -- namely, the American medical community, although like any constituency, it too has its interests to protect. Because her requires this additional information to fully understand, we rate it .
|
5,638 | 5 |
Says "one in four women and one in seven men have been victims of domestic violence in their lifetime.
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May 16, 2012
|
crime;women
|
suzanne bonamici
|
Suzanne Bonamici is a member of the Oregon Senate. She is also the Democratic nominee to represent the state's 1st congressional district.
|
oregon
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
a House floor debate
|
On page 2 of the CDC report’s executive summary is this sentence: "About 1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner (e.g., hit with a fist or something hard, beaten, slammed against something) at some point in their lifetime." The numbers are repeated on page 43 of the 124-page report. Sprinkled throughout the report are detailed analyses of each segment of the . While the broader study includes behavior that many people would not normally associate with domestic abuse, Bonamici’s statistics refer directly to "severe physical violence," acts that include rape and assault and violent behavior that easily falls within the common understanding of domestic abuse. We rate this .
|
9,064 | 3 |
Another great endorsement! Barrow Journal explains the difference between me and Jody Hice.
|
June 23, 2014
|
elections
|
mike collins
|
Mike Collins co-owns Collins Industries, a trucking company. His father, Mac, served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Collins is running as a Republican for Georgia's 10th Congressional District.
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georgia
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
a Twitter post
|
Whether the support was from specific figures such as Donald Trump, community leaders or, you guessed it, newspapers, the majority of the 1,000-person sample said endorsements did little to help and could even hurt a candidate. With all of that in mind, it appears Collins did refer to an endorsement and link to a newspaper column. But he did not a specific endorsement – which needs some explaining to understand. It’s that additional information that moves it down a bit on the AJC -O-Meter. We rate Collins’ statement .
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