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PolitiFact says it’s false that the McCain campaign banned Sarah Palin from mentioning former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers

“Palin said she was banned from talking about one-time domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, but the record shows the complete and utter opposite.” —PolitiFact, July 26, 2013   Overview PolitiFact’s conclusion lacks a basis in logic. The Facts On July 26, 2013, PolitiFact published a fact check of a statement by John McCain’s 2008 vice-presidential running mate, Sarah Palin. Palin, appearing…
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ZFC joins the “Report an Error Alliance”

This site has joined the Report an Error Alliance. Members agree to prominently post reminders for readers to report any errors they see.  That reminder helps remind readers, in turn, that the site’s proprietors value accuracy.  The Alliance encourages members to download and use its icons.  We’ve taken the liberty of modifying an icon (the originals come from Mignon Khargie)…
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One “Pinocchio” is not enough

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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Misidentifying Nancy Metcalf’s error

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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‘The Newsroom’ speech: Is America not the greatest country in the world?

“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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EMILY’s List says Jim DeMint claims women want to be forced to have ultrasounds

“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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Consumer Reports repeats administration claim of Obamacare savings

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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Is the House abortion bill unconstitutional as Democrats claim?

“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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President Obama and the ideology ‘rejected by the vast majority of Muslims’

“[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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