Zebra Fact Checks

Fact checks and commentary articles that fact check fact checkers

PolitiFact claims the Violence Against Women Act accounts for a significant portion of the decline in domestic violence from 1994-2010

February 20, 2013 0 Comments

“The Violence Against Women Act — in the news this week following a U.S. Senate vote to reauthorize it — has been linked to reductions in domestic violence, according to several PolitiFact fact checks.” –Tom Kertscher, editor of PolitiFact Wisconsin   Overview Kertscher’s right that PolitiFact has linked the Violence Against Women Act to reductions in domestic violence.  Scant evidence…
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PolitiFact Texas vs. Louie Gohmert

January 26, 2013 2 Comments

PolitiFact Texas:  “Contrary to Gohmert’s characterization … Washington was not speaking about citizens arming themselves in case of government tyranny. Quite the opposite: The president and former general was calling for disciplined troops to fight on behalf of the government.” Overview PolitiFact Texas builds a dandy straw man in honor of Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). The Facts The line from…
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PolitiFact vs. Marco Rubio

January 7, 2013 0 Comments

PolitiFact Florida:  “Marco Rubio tweets that GOP didn’t support Social Security changes”   Overview Fact checker commits fallacy of equivocation in posting false headline. The Facts Marco Rubio’s tweet from 1:16 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2012:   Report that #GOP insisting on changes to social security as part of #fiscalcliff false.BTW those changes are supported by @barackobama.   PolitiFact reports…
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Is it worth trying to improve on FactCheck.org?

November 18, 2012 0 Comments

I’m on record calling Annenberg Fact Check, perhaps better known as FactCheck.org, the gold standard for mainstream fact checking.  At the same time I’m trying to make the case that there’s ample room for competition.  There’s potential to supplant today’s gold standard with an improved standard. A Nov. 14 story by former PolitiFact writer Robert Farley serves as an example. …
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Pitching to the swing state, Ohio

November 3, 2012 0 Comments

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Having noticed a theme in fact check coverage centering on presidential challenger Mitt Romney’s claims questioning of President Obama’s saving of the auto companies, I planned a commentary article to present my case. Before I typed the first word, Hans Bader of the Competitive Enterprise Institute largely beat me to it.  Though Bader puts his focus on inconsistent reporting by…
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David Axelrod attacks Romney’s ‘$5 trillion tax cut’

November 2, 2012 0 Comments

David Axelrod:  “Governor Romney, the centerpiece and really the only piece of his plan that is real is this $5 trillion tax cut, $2 trillion in extra spending for the Pentagon, no plan to pay for, it and deregulate Wall Street.“     Overview The “$5 trillion tax cut” language relies on creative math and a contested study from the…
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Romney wrong about Jeeps to China?

November 1, 2012 0 Comments

Editor’s note:  A different version of this post was originally published on Oct. 31 but was subsequently lost.   The Romney ad about Chrysler building Jeeps in China is apparently the fact check topic of the week. Here’s the ad:     The ad makes a number of claims. GM lost 15,000 workers.  China gained 15,000 workers through GM.  And…
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Presidential debate fact check: Our greatest geopolitical threat is …

October 27, 2012 0 Comments

President Obama:  “Governor Romney, I’m glad that you recognize that Al Qaida is a threat, because a few months ago when you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia, not Al Qaida; you said Russia, in the 1980s, they’re now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War’s been…
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Presidential debate fact check: The Obama apology tour?

October 24, 2012 10 Comments

Mitt Romney: “And then the president began what I have called an apology tour, of going to various nations in the Middle East and criticizing America.” President Obama: “Nothing Governor Romney just said is true, starting with this notion of me apologizing. This has been probably the biggest whopper that’s been told during the course of this campaign. And every…
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When fact checkers make things up

October 20, 2012 1 Comment

We have an example from yesterday of a fact checker doing something a fact checker should not do. PolitiFact, the popular fact checking site associated with the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, cherry-picked a definition and ruled on a politician’s statement based on that cherry picking. PolitiFact’s mistake occurs as it checks a claim from Republican senate candidate Linda McMahon.  McMahon’s…
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