Fact Checks

Do U.S. fossil fuel power plants kill millions of birds annually?

The go-to paper on avian mortality from power plant operation has little to back its conclusions about plants using fossil fuels, and fact checkers struggle to describe it correctly. A funny thing happened when media fact checker PolitiFact looked into the question of birds killed by fossil fuel-burning power plants. PolitiFact either neglected to check the facts or neglected to…
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PolitiFact’s subjective treatment of Val Demings

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion,” said the late Sen. Patrick Moynihan, “but not to his own facts.” Fact checkers like PolitiFact have a way around Moynihan’s maxim. They first choose which claim to check, then choose how to check the claim. Both steps feature subjective judgments. The end result? The fact checkers choose their own facts. PolitiFact’s Feb….
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Was the BCRA Aimed at Reducing the Number of Medicaid Enrollees?

“The Medicare reduction was aimed at cost efficiency, while the Medicaid reduction was aimed at reducing the number of enrollees.” —PolitiFact’s Angie Drobnic Holan, during a May 9, 2018 Reddit AMA     “The Senate bill takes several steps to restrain Medicaid spending. It rolls back who is eligible.” —PolitiFact fact check of a Kellyanne Conway claim about Medicaid, written…
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Does CHIP renewal save $6 billion over 10 years?

“(W)e wanted permanent CHIP, which, by the way, saves $6 billion.” —Nancy Pelosi, from a Jan. 18, 2018 press conference   “CBO analyses back up Pelosi’s numbers. Because the reauthorization of CHIP would essentially take the place of more expensive programs, doing so would eventually net savings for the government. We rate her statement True. —PolitiFact, from a Jan. 24,…
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Did Sarah Sanders say the diversity visa lottery system does not vet applicants?

“White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that immigrants coming to the United States through the diversity visa program are not vetted before their arrival.” —PolitiFact, from a Nov. 2, 2017 fact check of Sarah Huckabee Sanders   Summary PolitiFact may have misled its readers about what Sanders was saying. Background facts After an immigrant acting in the name…
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Fact checkers awry on Trump and nuclear proliferation

“Donald Trump has repeatedly said he is OK with more countries having nukes.” —Headline from LA Times fact check, Oct. 4, 2016     “Donald Trump wrongly tweets that he ‘never said’ more countries should have nuclear weapons.” —Headline from PolitiFact fact check of Donald Trump, Nov. 14, 2016   Summary Does Donald Trump favor nuclear proliferation? Saying a nation…
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Snopes’ ‘Mixture’ ruling on Mike Pence and ‘conversion therapy’

“Mike Pence once supported the use of federal funding to treat people ‘seeking to change their sexual behavior.’” —Snopes.com, from a fact check published on Oct. 27, 2016   Overview Snopes’ fact check does too much to leave legs on a legless claim about Pence supporting the use of federal funds for gay “conversion therapy.”   Background Facts Republican vice…
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Traffic stops, racism, Tim Kaine, and PolitiFact

“Kaine said Castile was stopped by police 40 or 50 times before the time when he was fatally wounded. According to multiple independent press reports, that is accurate. Police had stopped Castile at least 46 times.” —PolitiFact, from a fact check of Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine, Oct. 5, 2016   Overview PolitiFact largely drops the context of Kaine’s remark,…
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Murders up or down under Mayor DeBlasio?

“Donald Trump off-base in saying murders are up in New York City” —PolitiFact headline, Sept. 27, 2016   Overview Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said murders are going down under New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, contradicting Clinton during debate, said murders are going up. PolitiFact came down on Clinton’s side, but the numbers do…
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Lauren Carroll, PolitiFact botch the “Trump Effect”

“They asked about 2,000 K-12 teachers who reported in large part that they were seeing an increase in bullying, especially among immigrants, children of immigrants and Muslim students.” —PolitiFact Senior Writer Lauren Carroll, during an Aug. 27, 2016 appearance on MSNBC Live.   Overview Fact-checker Lauren Carroll passed along false information to the MSNBC audience, reproducing and magnifying errors from…
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