An independent experimental fact-checking site, exploring and advocating ways to make fact-checking better.
On July 19, 2013 the Washington Post Fact Checker, Glenn Kessler, published a fact check of President Obama’s claim that the ACA’s medical loss ratio rules saved consumers $3.4 billion. That interested us, for we fact checked a version of the same claim coming from Consumer Reports. Finding other fact checkers investigating similar claims provides an opportunity to see how…
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On July 14, 2013, we published a fact check of a claim from Consumer Reports’ website about the supposed savings for medical insurance consumers as a result of the health care reform bill, the Affordable Care Act. The fact check omitted a significant aspect of the story and reached some false conclusions about writer Nancy Metcalf’s story, including “Metcalf misrepresents…
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“There is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we’re the greatest country in the world. We’re 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, No. 4 in labor force and No. 4 in exports.” —”Will McAvoy,” fictional news anchor from the HBO series “The…
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“According to DeMint: women want to be forced to have ultrasounds.” —Melissa Ryan, digital director for EMILY’s List Overview The claim from EMILY’s List borrows a fabricated absurdity circulated by progressive sites. The Facts An email from EMILY’s list contained the following: Former Senator and current President of the Heritage Foundation Jim DeMint went on Meet the Press…
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Editor’s note July 28, 2013: The following is a revised version of a fact check first published on July 14, 2013. An entry in our Corrections section describes the reason for the changes. “[The Affordable Care Act] has already saved consumers billions.” —Nancy Metcalf, Consumer Reports, June 21, 2013 Overview The Consumer Reports claim ignores all the…
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“It is unconstitutional, and it is dangerous to the health and safety of American women.” —Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D—Calif. Summary Unconstitutional? Unclear. The Facts The decision of House Republicans in June 2013 to pass a bill restricting abortion led to a common response from Democrats: The bill is unconstitutional. The response from the Democrats’ chosen spokesperson in the…
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Last week we published a fact check of President Obama’s claim that the vast majority of Muslims reject the extremist terrorist ideology. The president described that ideology as seeing the U.S. in conflict with Islam and viewing violence against civilians as a fitting response to that conflict. The president also stated that Muslims make up the group most often victimized…
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“[S]ome extremists [believe] that Islam is in conflict with the United States and the West, and that violence against Western targets, including civilians, is justified in pursuit of a larger cause. Of course, this ideology is based on a lie, for the United States is not at war with Islam. And this ideology is rejected by the vast majority of…
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A May 28 press release announcing a new study of PolitiFact pushed the issue of selection bias in fact checking to the political front burner this week. The response from PolitiFact’s founder and editor, Bill Adair, provides a perfect avenue for highlighting some of the worst aspects of that fact check operation. The study, from the Center for Media and…
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What about (Ohio state senator Maag’s broader point — that Medicaid expansion under Obamacare would result in more deficit spending? … But the facts, projections and law, as they exist today, do not support his claim. We rate it False. —PolitiFact Ohio Overview PolitiFact Ohio uses specious reasoning in its rating of a Republican lawmaker from Ohio. The Facts…
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