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Says unemployment would be at 10 percent if people who have quit looking for work were included in federal labor force calculations.

February 3, 2012

economy;jobs

rob portman

Rob Portman was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. He is a former Republican congressman who also was a U.S. trade representative and director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George H.W. Bush.

ohio

a news release

The extra 3 million people that Portman counts as unemployed is an estimate -- one that includes all people but not participating in the workforce as unemployed. That’s something BLS cautioned against. That Portman opted to use an estimate, rather than one of the many alternative unemployment indicators that BLS calculates, undermines his assertion that the 10 percent unemployment rate is a "more accurate gauge of the current jobs environment," than BLS numbers. Those are important details needed to evaluate his . On the -O-Meter, Portman’s rates .

Said he is the only Democratic candidate for state attorney general who has "represented the entire state of Georgia.

June 5, 2010

candidate biography

rob teilhet

Rob Teilhet is a Democratic candidate for Georgia Attorney General.

georgia

a candidate questionnaire

Teilhet said he has talked on the campaign trail about the oath of office directing representatives to serve the interests of the state. "Maybe that would have been a little tighter [to say in the questionnaire]," Teilhet said. We agree that Teilhet would have been better served if he said he represented the "interests" of the state. As even Hooks said, Teilhet's statement is "broad." We rate Teilhet's statement as .

When it comes to taking cuts in tough budget times, Wisconsin "state workers haven't had to sacrifice.

February 18, 2011

labor;state budget

club for growth

The Club for Growth is an anti-tax group.

wisconsin

a television ad

Their as it relates to health and pension benefits -- the focus of Walker’s proposal -- is pretty much on target. But pay is also part of the equation -- a big part -- and on that score state workers took 3 percent pay cuts in the form of furloughs, among other wage-related cutbacks. On the -O-Meter, the definition of is a statement that "contains some element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression." That fits. And that is our rating of the ad’s "no sacrifice" .

Says she "stood up to" Gov. Scott Walker on tax cuts "for wealthy corporations" while her congressional opponent voted with Walker.

July 9, 2012

economy;jobs;state budget;taxes

kelda helen roys

Kelda Helen Roys, a Madison Democrat, was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2008 and served until 2012. In 2012, she lost to Mark Pocan in the race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives. She is running for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2018. An attorney, Roys is the former executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, which supports abortion rights.

wisconsin

news conference remarks

Pocan did vote for two bills that potentially could help large corporations cut their tax bills, so she is partially on target. But she leaves out important details that change the picture. Pocan opposed a much bigger-ticket tax break bill in the same session, and the two he backed helped small businesses as well as large corporations. What’s more, two-thirds of Democrats in the Assembly backed the bills -- and Roys herself is a past supporter of one of the programs. We rate her .

Says unlike Tim Kaine, who "invested" in education, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence "slashed education funding.

July 23, 2016

education;state budget

hillary clinton

Hillary Clinton was the 2016 Democratic nominee for president. She served as U.S. Secretary of State during the first four years of the Obama administration. She is formerly a U.S. senator from New York, first elected in 2000. She was a candidate for president in 2008. She previously served as first lady when her husband, Bill Clinton, served two terms as president. She was born in Chicago in 1947, graduated from Wellesley College and earned a law degree at Yale Law School. She and her husband have one daughter.

national

Miami, Fla

Clinton said that unlike Tim Kaine, who "invested" in education in Virginia, Mike Pence "slashed education funding" in Indiana. The clear implication from Clinton’s statement is that Pence cut education in Indiana while Kaine grew it in Virginia. That sends voters an message. Pence made various individual cuts and investments in education, but overall state spending has increased every year in his term so far. Kaine made notable investments in certain educational projects as Virginia’s governor, but state education spending shrunk overall throughout his term. However, this was primarily because the recession caused massive budget shortfalls. We rate Clinton’s . https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/d903da3f-8806-47e1-9b6e-b4d423291fe7

Here, we have Thanksgiving, we have Christmas, we have the 4th of July. Every year in Iran, they celebrate Death to America day.

March 11, 2015

history;foreign policy;nuclear

ted cruz

Ted Cruz is a U.S. Senator from Texas, first elected in 2012. Cruz also was a candidate for president of the United States in 2016. He is the former solicitor general for the state of Texas, previously serving as the director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a domestic policy advisor on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign, according to his campaign biography.

texas

an interview with Hugh Hewitt

Cruz said that every year, Iran has a holiday like Thanksgiving, Christmas and the 4th of July called Death to America Day. Every year, demonstrations in Tehran mark the Nov. 4 anniversary of students taking over the U.S. embassy in 1979 and taking hostages. But that date doesn’t appear to be akin to the special American days Cruz singled out. In fact, it’s not a holiday on the calendar at all nor is it formally designated Death to America Day. We rate this , which has a strand of but ignores critical facts, . https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/1d8e2d9a-3a10-42bf-98da-9231275df481   – The statement contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

The vaccination campaign" increased COVID-19 deaths by 175% in one year.

September 29, 2021

public health;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.

an Instagram post

A viral image claimed that "the vaccination campaign" increased COVID-19 deaths by 175% in one year. It reaches that conclusion by comparing death figures for Sept. 28, 2021, and the same day a year earlier, before vaccines were available. The uses a flawed comparison to reach a conclusion for which it provides no . According to the CDC, unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19, and no has established that the COVID-19 vaccines have caused any deaths. We rate the post .

Says California has a top income tax rate of 13.3% "and people aren't leaving.

February 25, 2020

taxes

quentin fulks

Quentin Fulks is the president of Think Big Illinois, an advocacy group that supports replacing Illinois' flat income tax with a graduated rate structure, among other causes.  He is also the chairman of Vote Yes for Fairness, a group campaiging in favor of a constitutional amendment in the November 2020 election that would permit the state to institute graduated rates.

illinois

a TV interview

Saying he did not see a connection between individuals leaving a state and higher tax rates, Fulks pointed to California’s 13.3% top rate and said, "people aren’t leaving." His office clarified he was only referring to people subject to that top rate. Based on the context of his remarks, that makes sense. The research on millionaire migration in California after the state’s top tax rate in 2012 is mixed. For instance, a Stanford report highlighted by Fulks’ office found a small number of millionaires did leave after the tax was hiked. However, it also notes the net migration of millionaires to the state remains positive. We rate Fulks’ . – 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.

Charlie Crist "supported Biden's agenda to defund the police.

August 24, 2022

criminal justice;race and ethnicity

republican party of florida

The Republican Party of Florida represents Republicans in Florida.

florida

a campaign ad

Crist did vote for the measure, but it did not aim to "defund the police." ​ The ad included an interview where Crist said he supported a plan in St. Petersburg to hire a unit of social workers to respond to nonviolent calls. The city's police department said the move ultimately increased their budget.  Neither Biden nor Crist supports defunding the police. We rate the ad's . 

Says Austin is "creating more jobs than any other city in the country.

May 8, 2018

economy;jobs

steve adler

Attorney Steve Adler won election as mayor of Austin in December 2014, drawing 67 percent of the vote in a December 2014 runoff. He was sworn in Jan. 6, 2015. He sought re-election in 2018.

texas

an interview on KLBJ-AM

Adler told the morning radio hosts that Austin is creating more jobs than any other U.S. city. To the contrary, federal figures show the five-county Austin metropolitan area (not Austin alone) trails some other U.S. metros including the No. 1 Midland area for its pace of jobs gained and it lags more than 25 metro areas in raw jobs gained. It would be accurate to say the Austin area lately has enjoyed greater percentage job gains than other metro areas of 1 million residents or more. We rate this Adler . – The statement is not accurate. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, "we lost thousands of plants.

September 20, 2018

economy;jobs;trade

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

an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity

Trump said that since NAFTA, "we lost thousands of plants." That's actually an understatement. The United States lost 80,000 plants since then. Not all can be blamed on NAFTA, but even if only a fraction of them can be, Trump has a point. We rate the statement . Editor's note, Sept. 24, 2018:  PolitiFact has joined an effort with other North American fact-checkers to examine statements about trade and tariffs. Poynter.org is documenting the project ; see its report for links to other fact-checks.

We've now gained private sector jobs 12 months in a row.

February 19, 2011

economy;jobs

tim kaine

Tim Kaine is a U.S. senator representing Virginia, elected to the Senate in 2012. He was the 2016 Democratic nominee for vice president. Kaine was governor from 2006 to 2010, lieutenant governor from 2002 to 2006, mayor of Richmond from 1998 to 2001, and city councilman of Richmond beginning in 1994. He was also the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011. Kaine was born in St. Paul, Minn. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1979 from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and a law degree from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass., in 1983. He took a year-long break during law school to work with the Jesuit order as a Catholic missionary in Honduras, becoming fluent in Spanish.  

virginia

a speech at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner

Speaking as an advocate of the president and his party’s policies, Kaine presented private sector job growth in the best possible light. But it is important to remember that the economy has recovered just 20 percent of the private sector jobs lost in 2009. Kaine said private sector jobs have been created for "12 months in a row." He was close, but missed the bull’s eye. We rate his statement .

Says Bill Clinton "spent $3 billion and got nothing. And (North Korea) started making nuclear weapons a day later.

June 12, 2018

foreign policy;nuclear

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

Singapore press conference

Trump said Clinton "spent $3 billion and got nothing. And (North Korea) started making nuclear weapons a day later." The money that went toward North Korea as part of the Agreed Framework, negotiated by Clinton in 1994, amounted to approximately $400 million. The rest of the $1.3 billion the United States has spent on North Korea went toward food aid. North Korea’s nuclear capabilities were curbed for almost a decade, experts told us, tempering Trump’s that the deal accomplished "nothing." There's an element of in that money changed hands and North Korea found another way to get nuclear bomb material. But the specifics Trump offered are overblown and . So we rate this .

Said his mother had to fight with health insurance companies for treatment because of a pre-existing condition.

August 11, 2009

candidate biography;health care

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

New Hampshire

Normally, we steer clear of fact-checks about politicians' families or claims that are less than timely. But Obama used the anecdote to make a case for a significant change in the law that affected the national health care system. We find Scott's reporting and the New York Times story to be compelling that he got a crucial detail , and the White House did not dispute that. His mother was fighting for insurance payments as she was dying, but for disability insurance, not health insurance, as her son said he remembered. So we rate his statement .

Titan submersible passenger Shahzada Dawood is the World Economic Forum's vice chairman.

June 21, 2023

facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

an Instagram post

Shahzada Dawood was a British-Pakistani businessman and a member of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families, The New York Times reported.  He also serves as a trustee on the boards of the Engro Foundation and the Dawood Foundation and serves as a director across boards of several companies, according to his profile on the Engro website.  The World Economic Forum website said, "Shahzada is a leading voice in the institutionalization of key international networks and contacts. He aspires to a sustainable future and believes in inclusive business models involving low-income communities building value chains along business interests." We rate the Instagram video’s .

The photonics bill that was sponsored in Congress and written, was written by Congressman Tom Reed, not Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.

October 18, 2016

economy;jobs

mark assini

Mark Assini is the Republican Town Supervisor of Gates, NY in Monroe County. He is currently running to represent New York's 25th Congressional District.

new york

a debate on WROC

At a debate between candidates in the 25th Congressional District, Assini said, "The photonics bill that was sponsored in Congress and written, was written by Congressman Tom Reed, not Congresswoman Louise Slaughter." Financial support for the new photonics institute comes from Department of Defense funds that existed before Congress approved the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2014.  The Department of Defense says Rochester was selected based on the application prepared by SUNY Polytechnic Institute. The state says no lawmakers were involved in crafting the application, but Slaughter did ask the Obama administration to consider Rochester in the selection process. We rate Assini’s as . https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/0a6ff59a-dc68-4f2b-907f-a66231686f02

Measures in Barack Obama's health plan could "lower health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year.

October 29, 2008

health care

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

a television ad

The $2,500-per-family savings that Obama mentioned in his ad is a speculative estimate of what he hopes will happen once all the pieces of his plan are in place. It's $500 to $1,000 dollars higher than the number we came up with using Thorpe's independent analysis. We recognize that plans are vague and it's difficult to predict future numbers with any precision. But Obama's numbers are significantly higher than the best independent estimate we could find. So we find his statement .

The pipe bombs were never mailed.

October 25, 2018

fake news;facebook fact-checks

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a post on Facebook

The complaint describes such a package containing an IED—made with approximately six inches of PVC pipe, a small clock, a battery, wiring and energetic material—delivered via U.S. mail to George Soros’s home among others in October. After interviewing U.S. Postal Service employees, federal officials determined that between about Oct. 18 and Oct. 20, packages sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Robert De Niro, Maxine Waters and Joe Biden were routed through the USPS Royal Palm Mail Processing Center in Opa-Locka, Florida. So bloggers are right that the packages had six stamps, but the pipes used to make the IEDs were lightweight plastic, not steel. CBS News reported on Oct. 26 that investigators think whoever put the devices together was trying to keep the weight down so that they could drop them in a mailbox without having to go to a post office. We rate this statement .

In his very first budget, (Milwaukee) Mayor Tom Barrett broke his pledge to keep a lid on property taxes and has continued increasing taxes and fees ever since.

March 22, 2012

city budget;taxes

republican governors association

the gubernatorial campaign arm of the Republican Party.

wisconsin

a website alert

A new fee -- the stormwater management charge -- went into effect under Barrett. Our conclusion The Republican Governors Association said, "In his very first budget, (Milwaukee) Mayor Barrett broke his pledge to keep a lid on property taxes and has continued increasing taxes and fees ever since." The group is on Barrett’s first budget, no matter which of Barrett’s promises you consider. But there’s an element of in the part of the alleging continual fee and tax increases, depending on how you define fees. We rate the RGA statement .

A patch on law enforcement officers in Portland is for "ZTI solutions, a PRIVATE contractor.

July 25, 2020

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

oregon

an image

ZTI Solutions, whose website appears to be down, is a small business founded in 1997 and based in Edinburg, Va. It provides "consultative, engineering, and architecture services," according to an archived version of its website. We found no government contracts mentioning ZTI Solutions on the General Services Administration website. The Facebook post is . We rate it .

Bernie Sanders admits he is a Democratic Socialist. … Nazis were Democratic Socialists.

October 13, 2015

candidate biography;history

jason villalba

Jason Villalba, a lawyer, won his first term in the Texas House in 2012.

texas

a tweet

Villalba said Sanders "admits he is a democratic socialist… Nazis were Democratic Socialists." Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist. The Nazis were not democratic socialists. Whether or not Villalba intended to link Sanders to the Nazis, his tweet neatly did the job. We find this historically and . ! – The statement is not accurate and makes a . Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

When Roy Barnes was governor, "Georgia created 235,000 jobs.

May 21, 2010

economy;message machine 2010

roy barnes

Roy Barnes is the former governor of Georgia.

georgia

a campaign commercial

But overall, economic data show the state's economy did grow. Georgia's overall gross domestic product grew from about $224 billion to $267 billion. Georgia's annual personal income -- the income received by all the residents of the state -- increased during Barnes' time as well. Barnes' statement was correct but gave the impression that employment conditions were stronger than they were. We therefore rate Barnes' as .

Baby boomers didn't have autism, seizures, allergies and other ailments when they were kids.

May 18, 2022

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

This post wrongly suggests that baby boomers only suffered measles, mumps and chickenpox while children today endure a slew of new ailments. While cases of some of these diseases and disorders are more prevalent now than they were in children born in the 1940s to the mid-1960s, these are not new illnesses.  Some people commenting on the post also connected the supposed new medical problems to vaccines, but there’s no credible to support that. Meanwhile, vaccines have reduced cases of measles, mumps and chickenpox among children today.  We rate this post .

The IRS scandal "clearly showed some criminal behavior.

June 16, 2013

legal issues;taxes

mike rogers

Mike Rogers is a Republican from Michigan who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2015, including a stint as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. A former FBI special agent, he is now a national security commentator for CNN.

national

an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation"

Rogers said the IRS scandal "clearly showed some criminal behavior," but the experts we interviewed were skeptical that such a threshold has been met, at least for now. Proving a civil rights violation would be hard, requiring of officials’ intent to deny someone’s civil rights. More plausibly, prosecutors could go after officials for statements or perjury, though it would be a stretch to call that part of the original targeting scandal that Rogers referred to on Face the Nation . In all, experts said Rogers’ use of the adverb "clearly" went too far. If anything, they suggested, "murky" might be a more appropriate descriptor. Not all the is in, but Rogers is pushing the envelope well beyond what is publicly known today. We rate his .

Her health care plan will cost $110-billion in the first year, which can be paid for with savings.

September 17, 2007

health care

hillary clinton

Hillary Clinton was the 2016 Democratic nominee for president. She served as U.S. Secretary of State during the first four years of the Obama administration. She is formerly a U.S. senator from New York, first elected in 2000. She was a candidate for president in 2008. She previously served as first lady when her husband, Bill Clinton, served two terms as president. She was born in Chicago in 1947, graduated from Wellesley College and earned a law degree at Yale Law School. She and her husband have one daughter.

national

Des Moines, Iowa

At the time, the two physicians wrote in Health Affairs , "For decades, vendors have capitalized on this enthusiasm. But hospitals and clinics have ended up with little to show for their large outlays." Himmelstein said Tuesday that promises of big savings through information technology is "pure vaporware." "And though there's some that disease management improves care, there's no it saves money," he said. "People getting in to see their doctors means more cost, not less."

First volunteer in UK coronavirus vaccine trial has died.

April 25, 2020

facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a blog post

"We urge people not to give these any credibility and to not circulate them." Considering the attention paid to the news about her death, Granato’s actual passing would have certainly drawn media coverage. But as we prepared to publish this fact-check, the most recent report we could find about her was a May 5 story in the Oxford Student, a student newspaper at Oxford. It quotes Granato saying she was randomly chosen as the first person to be vaccinated, resulting in "a lot of attention from the media, countless emails from all over the world and — sadly — some pretty vicious online attacks by individuals and groups opposed to vaccines. "  We rate this Facebook post .

Says Ted Cruz supports "legalizing people who are in this country illegally.

December 15, 2015

immigration

marco rubio

Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, was a candidate for president of the United States in 2016 and then dropped out and won re-election to the Senate. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and took office Jan. 5, 2011. Rubio served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and is a former Speaker of the Florida House. He served on the West Miami City Commission from 1998 to 2000. He is from Miami and holds a law degree from the University of Miami.

florida

Las Vegas

Rubio said Cruz "is a supporter of legalizing people that are in this country illegally."  Cruz proposed an amendment in 2013 to the immigration bill that would have stripped the citizenship provision. But it would have kept intact the language in the Senate bill that allowed illegal immigrants to still apply for the Registered Provisional Immigrant program in the overall bill, which would have resulted in a work permit and 10 years later application for permanent residency. But it’s a stretch for Rubio to label Cruz as a supporter of legalization when he was an ardent critic of the overall bill for months and voted against it. Cruz’s amendment appeared to be a legislative tactic. We rate this statement .

After 9/11, Jim put us all first by serving for 23 months in Iraq, the war's longest tour.

September 6, 2016

public service

jim mowrer

Jim Mowrer is a Democrat running for Congress in Iowa's 3rd District. 

iowa

In a television ad

The ad claims Mowrer served "for 23 months in Iraq, the war’s longest tour." It’s that Mowrer’s unit was deployed for 23 months, the longest continuous deployment of the Iraq War. But the ad says Mowrer "served in Iraq for 23 months," which is not accurate. Mowrer served in Iraq for about 16 months.   Being deployed, which can include training in the United States, is different from being "in country," with boots on the ground of a foreign nation.  We rate this . 

Hypocrisy at the Clinton Foundation: Top male staff made on average $218,029 while top female staff made $153,014 from 2010-2014.

May 24, 2016

candidate biography;women;workers

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

an Instagram post

Trump’s post said, "Hypocrisy at the Clinton Foundation: Top male staff made on average $218,029 while top female staff made $153,014 from 2010-2014." If you allow some leeway on what accounts for top staff, Trump is close on the numbers. But the statistical pool is too limited and the methodology is too crude to demonstrate of hypocrisy. Trump is guilty of ignoring the nuances of gender-based wage disparities, just as Democrats often over-simplify the meaning of the 77-cent figure. The statement is partially accurate but takes things out of context, so we rate it . https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/ba673130-73fe-4886-9d2d-d3a5f79b4428

As mayor, Barrett led efforts to redevelop the Menomonee Valley, "which now supports nearly 4,000 jobs in Wisconsin.

November 10, 2010

jobs

tom barrett

Tom Barrett served as the 44th mayor of Milwaukee from 2004 until 2021. The mayoral position is non-partisan. A member of the Democratic Party, he was previously elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly (1984–1989), Wisconsin Senate (1989–1993) and U.S. House of Representatives (1993–2003). Barrett lost bids for governor in 2002, 2010 and in the 2012 recall race against Gov. Scott Walker. He was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg on Dec. 23, 2021.

wisconsin

a campaign video and numerous other campaign statements

For instance, Harley originally expected to build an office complex with nearly 400 jobs near its museum, but those plans have been on hold since the economy tanked. Nevertheless, there is plenty to look at in assessing Barrett’s . As a former candidate for governor, and current civic cheerleader, Mayor Tom Barrett boasts of creating thousands of jobs in the Menomonee Valley. While overall jobs in the city are down, and Barrett came into office with some key assets put in place by his predecessors, our tally puts new jobs in the valley since 2004 at more than 4,000. We rate Barrett’s statement .

The percentage of Americans with natural immunity from getting COVID-19 is "a very powerful vaccine in itself.

December 8, 2020

public health;health check

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.

comments made during a White House Operation Warp Speed vaccine summit

Though Trump was in the ballpark when he referenced the share of Americans who have been infected with the coronavirus, his overall point -- that the natural immunity these people acquired is a powerful vaccine -- does not hold up. Experts repeatedly have warned that not enough is known about the immunity people appear to gain after recovering from a COVID-19 infection to know how effective or lasting it is. And there have been reported cases of COVID re-infections. Also, experts agree more than 70% of the U.S. population needs to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity. Fifteen percent is nowhere close to that threshold and should not be considered as effective as a COVID-19 vaccine. Moreover, that 15% statistic brought with it hundreds of thousands of deaths. We rate this .

I cut spending while serving in the state Legislature

December 11, 2013

state budget;states;taxes

marilinda garcia

Marilinda Garcia is a state representative in New Hampshire and a candidate for New Hampshire's Second Congressional District in 2014. She is a Republican.

new hampshire

a tweet

Garcia said, "I cut spending while serving in the state Legislature." Her voting record on the state budget -- which comprises any legislator’s biggest impact on state spending -- show that Garcia voted against every budget that increased spending and voted in favor of the O’Brien budget that cut state spending for the first time since World War II. We found two minor asterisks. Even though she voted against the most recent state budget, she didn’t oppose it because it increased spending -- she opposed it because of how it treated a program that governs hospital construction and expansion. And she supported a bill on telephone and communication company poles and conduits that would have had the effect of raising taxes. Still, there are few, if any, votes she’s taken that would have increased spending or increased the size of government.  On balance, we rate her statement .

Nearly 20 million Americans ... have gained health insurance since (the Affordable Care Act) passed in 2010.

April 17, 2019

health care

joe manchin

Joe Manchin is a U.S. senator from West Virginia. The former governor of West Virginia won a special election in November 2010 to complete the balance of the late Sen. Robert Byrd’s term.

west virginia

a tweet

Manchin tweeted, "Nearly 20 million Americans ... have gained health insurance since (the Affordable Care Act) passed in 2010." From 2013, the year before the law took effect, to 2017, the number of Americans with health insurance rose by 26.6 million, meaning that Manchin actually understated the gains. It’s worth noting, however, that gains in Medicare and from employer-sponsored health care account for a portion of that increase, so the increase can’t be credited entirely to the Affordable Care Act. We rate this statement .

Says U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley were "totally misrepresenting what took place inside of the hospital. Their news conference after I left for El Paso was a fraud. It bore no resemblance to what took place with those incredible people that I was so lucky to meet and spend time with.

August 7, 2019

guns

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

a tweet

Trump said the remarks from Democrats Brown and Whaley misrepresented his visit with survivors, medical staff and first responders of the shooting in Dayton. He called their presentation "a fraud." Brown and Whaley said very little about Trump’s meeting, but what they said leaned toward the positive. Brown called Trump "comforting," and said he was glad Trump had come. Whaley said people were grateful that the president had visited. That might amount only to measured praise of Trump’s time at the hospital, but it doesn’t come close to being a fraud or misrepresenting the mood. We rate this .

Thirty years ago, the United States ranked sixth among advanced economies in the share of women in the workforce. You know where we are today? Twenty-three.

October 5, 2021

children;economy;jobs;women

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. 

Howell, Mich

Biden said, "Thirty years ago, the United States ranked sixth among advanced economies in the share of women in the workforce. You know where we are today? Twenty-three." The specific rankings vary a bit depending on what measure one uses, though by one measurement, the U.S. position is even worse than Biden said. The general conclusion is the same: The United States used to rank near the top of the pack of industrialized countries in women’s participation in the labor force, but over the past 30 years, many other countries have leapfrogged the U.S. in that measurement, as the rate in the U.S. stagnated or even fell. Economists say the U.S. rate has been lagging for several reasons, including a lack of government policies encouraging child care and paid leave and other countries catching up to the United States’ earlier gains in women’s educational attainment. We rate the statement .

TriMet is "spending 4.2 million in fed funds to save $168K per year.

December 21, 2010

stimulus;transportation

lars larson

Lars Larson is a conservative radio talk show host. The "Lars Larson" show runs on 18 radio stations in Oregon and Washington. His Compass Media Networks national show is carried by 200 radio stations around the country. Larson got his start in radio, then reported for KPTV, Channel 12, in Portland for many years.

oregon

Twitter

That said, he certainly simplified the grant and the expenditure. To say it’s a simply case of spending ‘x’ to save ‘y’ seems somewhat disingenuous. As with most political statements, this one needs some context. We rate this . Return to OregonLive to comment on this PolitiFact Oregon ruling .

Doctors and nurses who administer the coronavirus vaccine can be "tried as war criminals.

February 6, 2021

facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a video on Facebook

It says nothing about using tested and approved vaccines on patients. In the U.S., all 43,448 participants in the Pfizer vaccine trial provided "written informed consent," according to the FDA. The U.K. requires consent before health care providers administer vaccines. Coleman’s is and . We rate it !

We are the only advanced industrialized nation that bases our educational funding on property taxes.

July 28, 2019

education;taxes

marianne williamson

Marianne Williamson is an American self-help author, spiritual leader and politician. In 2014, Williamson unsuccessfully ran as an independent for California's 33rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Williamson is a Democratic candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

national

an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation"

Williamson said, "We are the only advanced industrialized nation that bases our educational funding on property taxes." The U.S. gets about 36% of its education money from property taxes. So it’s a slight stretch to say the U.S. bases its school funding on property taxes, although there’s a heavy dependence. More to the point, experts said that while some other countries rely in part on property taxes to help pay for their schools, the United States banks on them the most.  We rate this statement .

There's over a trillion dollars of money unspent from previous (coronavirus) relief bills ... still sitting in a bank account.

February 21, 2021

coronavirus

steve scalise

Steve Scalise is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Louisiana.

national

an interview on ABC News' This Week

Scalise said, "There's over a trillion dollars of money unspent from previous relief bills ... still sitting in a bank account." Scalise’s point-in-time figure is in line with one running tally, but he oversimplified the status of the funds. A large share of the total is already allocated or scheduled to be spent. A key factor is that Washington is getting up to speed in disbursing funds approved in late December. The money is not sitting in budget accounts, but neither has it reached its final destination.. We rate this .

Says he "voted for even stronger protections (in the Violence Against Women Act) than Obama's agenda will allow.

August 5, 2014

criminal justice;crime;message machine 2014;women

mitch mcconnell

Mitch McConnell is a U.S. Senator from Kentucky and the Republican minority leader in the U.S. Senate.

national

a campaign ad

McConnell’s ad claimed that he "voted for even stronger protections than Obama’s agenda will allow." Perhaps McConnell could argue that the mandatory minimum sentences Republicans required in their alternative made for a "stronger" bill, but advocates of domestic abuse awareness opposed this measure as unnecessary. And the Republican measure was absent several protections for certain groups that were included in the bill Obama signed. McConnell is within his right to oppose those provisions, but it makes it hard for him to prove that he supported "stronger" legislation. We rate the .

These 60 acres (the Atlanta Braves want to build a stadium on) have produced zero SPLOST money for parks and recreation, have produced zero money for education.

November 19, 2013

baseball;sports

john loud

John Loud, owner of Loud Security, is leading an effort to bring the Atlanta Braves to Cobb County.

georgia

newspaper article

The site’s owners currently pay property taxes that go to the county’s school system. Loud said he was referring to sales tax revenue from the land. His quote in the newspaper article could had been clearer about the point he was trying to make. There is some additional detail that must be understood for anyone who reads Loud’s quote. Our rating: .

Barack Obama appeared in the video for 'Whoomp! (There it is!)'

June 8, 2010

candidate biography

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

national

a rumor widely discussed on the Internet

But we've got the meter shakin'! So for all you conspiracy theorists -- and you party people! -- ! Can you dig it?

Women's menstrual cycles and fertility are affected by being around people who have received COVID-19 vaccines

April 15, 2021

facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

Instagram post

Social media posts that women’s menstrual cycles and fertility are affected by being around people who have received COVID-19 vaccines. There is no mechanism by which unvaccinated individuals can contract any sort of side effects from people who are vaccinated, and there is no showing a link between menstrual irregularities, fertility and the vaccines. We rate this . RELATED LINK: COVID-19 vaccines did not cause a 366% increase in miscarriages, as article claims

Lottery winner arrested for dumping $200,000 of manure on ex-boss' lawn

November 1, 2018

fake news;facebook fact-checks

worldnewsdailyreport.com

worldnewsdailyreport.com is a fake news satirical website.

a post on Facebook

"I guess it is humor to a certain extent, but people need to read to the bottom and find out it’s not a real news story," Village President Len Austin told the Chicago Tribune at the time. "The problem these days is that people see a headline online and jump to conclusions." Our Ruling A viral World News Daily Report post claims that a lottery winner was arrested for dumping $200,000 of manure on his former boss’ lawn. While pulling photos from real news stories, the site itself admits that the article is satire. We rate this !

JUST IN: A MASSIVE CARAVAN of illegal aliens is forcing their way into the US!

May 12, 2023

immigration;border security

tweets

Twitter is a messaging service where people often discuss politics. Individual messages are called Tweets.

national

a tweet

The March event was also reported by Reuters and El País . Hundreds of migrants, Venezuelans, tried in vain to enter the U.S. crossing the bridge toward El Paso, and then returned to Mexico once they could not break through, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported. The rush across the bridge may have been sparked by rumors that border officials would let them cross massively, particularly people who arrived with children, as Camilo Cruz, an employee in Ciudad Juarez’s U.N. migration office, told KXAS-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth . This happened two months before the expiration of Title 42, a policy the Trump and Biden administrations used for three years to block many migrants at the southern U.S. border from seeking asylum.  We rate the . 

Says the Austin metro region "will lead" the nation "with population growth over 50%" over the next 30 years.

June 27, 2017

population

john thomaides

John Thomaides, a member of the San Marcos City Council since 2003, won election as mayor of San Marcos in 2016.

texas

a tweet

Thomaides said the Austin metro region "will lead" the nation "with population growth over 50%" over the next 30 years. That "over 50%" is actually an understatement, based on what experts including the Texas state demographer predict. And while the report behind the mayor’s showed Austin No. 1 in projected growth among similar-sized metro areas, less populous metro areas in Florida were projected to grow at even faster clips. We rate this . – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

Two months ago, Donald Trump said that ISIS was not our fight.

December 15, 2015

foreign policy;terrorism

jeb bush

Jeb Bush was a Republican candidate for president of the United States in 2016. He served two terms as the governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is also the brother of former President George W. Bush and the son of former President George H.W. Bush. 

national

a GOP debate on CNN

Bush said, "Two months ago, Donald Trump said that ISIS was not our fight" -- something Trump immediately denied. Trump didn't use those words two months ago -- even though he did five months ago -- but in the comments from two months ago, Trump said something close to what Bush indicated. We rate Bush’s comment .

An undocumented immigrant "was arrested on suspicion of arson in (the) Wine Country fires that have killed at least 40 residents.

October 17, 2017

fake news;fires;crime;public safety

breitbart

Breitbart is a conservative news website.

california

a news article

An article on the conservative website Breitbart recently claimed that Jesus Fabian Gonzalez, who federal officials have indicated is an undocumented immigrant, "was arrested on suspicion of arson in (the) Wine Country fires that have killed at least 40 residents." Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordono said deputies arrested Gonzalez for an unrelated small fire a week after the deadly blazes started. The sheriff added that "there is no indication he is related to these fires at all." A Cal Fire spokesman said the agency has not identified an arson suspect nor has it determined whether arson was the cause of the deadly fires. Sonoma County sheriff’s officials have pointed to Breitbart for fueling rumors about their investigation. At this point, there’s been no suspect identified and no arrests made tied to these deadly fires, contrary to the website’s and irresponsible . We rate Breitbart’s .   –  The statement is not accurate. Click here for  more  on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

What were the old annual deficits under Republicans have now become the monthly deficits under Democrats.

January 29, 2010

federal budget;stimulus

jeb hensarling

Jeb Hensarling is a U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Republican Conference.

national

Baltimore

"Any year," Horney said, "the deficit is largely the result of everything that goes before it." In summary, Hensarling's numbers only work if you cherry-pick the highest month under full Democratic control and compare it to one of the lowest years under full Republican control. If you compare average months (about $112 billion a month for Obama and the Democratic Congress) to average years under Bush (about $412 billion a year if you include his full 8-year term, or about $260 billion a year if you only include the first six years with a Republican Congress), Hensarling's numbers are . There are so many bookkeeping tricks in this one that he's far from the . We rule his .

You know, Sen. McCain said the other day that we might have troops (in Iraq) for 100 years...

January 15, 2008

iraq

hillary clinton

Hillary Clinton was the 2016 Democratic nominee for president. She served as U.S. Secretary of State during the first four years of the Obama administration. She is formerly a U.S. senator from New York, first elected in 2000. She was a candidate for president in 2008. She previously served as first lady when her husband, Bill Clinton, served two terms as president. She was born in Chicago in 1947, graduated from Wellesley College and earned a law degree at Yale Law School. She and her husband have one daughter.

national

Las Vegas

It's not American presence that bothers the American people, it's American casualties," McCain said. "And if Americans are safe wherever they are in the world, Americans — the American people don't mind that. So what I believe we can achieve is a reduction in casualties to the point where the Iraqis are doing the fighting and dying, we're supporting them, and, over time, then it'll be the relation between the two countries." McCain skirted questions about what kind of troop levels are acceptable in coming decades. Because McCain unabashedly entertains the possibility of an open-ended military commitment in Iraq — with little more than a proviso that American personnel should not come in harm's way — we rule Clinton's statement .

The CDC is about to add the COVID vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule, which would make the vax mandatory for kids to attend school.

October 18, 2022

education;families;health care;public health;pundits;coronavirus

tucker carlson

Tucker Carlson was a Fox News pundit until his departure in April 2023.

a tweet

Carlson tweeted, "The CDC is about to add the COVID vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule, which would make the vax mandatory for kids to attend school." That misrepresents the reach of the CDC’s immunization schedule. It is not a mandate.  The CDC does not establish vaccination requirements for attending school or day care; states do that. Although state officials consider CDC recommendations when setting their immunization requirements, experts said no states follow the recommendations to the letter.  The statement contains an element of because the vaccine was added to the childhood immunization schedule. But it ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate this . PolitiFact reporter Jeff Cercone contributed research and reporting to this fact-check. PolitiFact researcher Caryn Baird contributed research to this report. RELATED: Ask PolitiFact: Why is the COVID-19 vaccine not among required school vaccinations? RELATED: Ask PolitiFact: Why were the recent COVID-19 boosters authorized before human trials were completed?

A video shows lawmakers in compromising positions with children.

November 25, 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.

a Facebook post

But that’s not the case. The photos were taken on a boat on Lake Como in Italy with several people, including actor George Clooney, his wife, Amal Clooney, former first lady Michelle Obama, her daughter Malia Obama and other unidentified guests in 2019.  The photo of a man identified as Schumer shows him kissing a child — but it’s not Schumer . It doesn’t look like him, a spokesperson for the senator said it isn’t him, and the image has previously been published in connection with reports of British men exploiting children in Gambia. We rate claims that this video shows politicians in compromising positions with children !  

Walmart is adopting a staggered shopping schedule by age group during the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 3, 2020

fake news;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

"  Other grocery stores have also announced senior citizen shopping hours during the pandemic. Walmart’s takes place every Tuesday, an hour before the store opens. The pickup hour Walmart recently announced will run at select locations from 7 to 8 a.m. and will be reserved for "customers over the age of 60, as well as first responders, customers with disabilities and anyone designated high-risk by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," according to the organization’s website. The company has implemented new policies for seniors and at-risk populations amid COVID-19, but it hasn’t mandated that certain age groups have to shop on specific days. This is !

We have reduced funding for education the least. They've suffered the least cuts.

July 25, 2012

education;state budget

fran millar

Fran Millar, a Republican, is a state senator from Dunwoody, a northern suburb of Atlanta.

georgia

an article

Millar’s argument loses some steam when examining spending between FY 2009 and now. We found a few larger departments with smaller percentage cuts than education. Additionally, there are some large departments with budget increases. Millar’s quote is accurate on some levels, but there are some details we found that lower his grade-point average on this statement. We rate the senator’s .

Photos show former President Barack Obama acting inappropriately with a child.

July 21, 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.

a Facebook post

The Baltimore Sun among other news organizations published the image, and Souza posted it on Medium .  By posting these images of Obama in connection with a photo that’s hard to look at — of a child seemingly in distress — innocuous photos of the former president take on a new, insidious meaning. But claims connecting him to sexual misconduct with children are completely baseless. This post is consistent with a wide-ranging QAnon conspiracy theory that falsely claims that a cabal of prominent Democrats and movie stars are Satan-worshipping pedophiles.  We rate this post . 

I haven't really proposed (phasing out aid to Israel) in the past.

August 4, 2014

federal budget;israel;foreign policy

rand paul

Rand Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky elected in 2010. He ran for president in 2016 before dropping out to seek re-election to the Senate. Paul is a medical doctor and an ophthalmologist. His father is Ron Paul, a 2008 presidential candidate and a former member of Congress from Texas. 

national

comments to reporters

Paul said, "I haven’t really proposed (phasing out aid to Israel) in the past." That’s rewriting history. Not only did Paul say he would eliminate all foreign aid during multiple media interviews in January and February of 2011, but as late as March of that year, his office released a budget proposal that included a zeroing-out of foreign assistance, with a section specifically inserted to defend the effect that policy would have on Israel. Paul is free to change his position, but saying he never held the position in the first place is flatly contradicted by his past statements and documents. We rate the .

That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay.

September 3, 2008

transportation

sarah palin

Sarah Palin was the Republican nominee for vice president in 2008. She is also the former governor of Alaska and the author of  Going Rogue: An American Life. Sarah Palin's previous experience includes leading the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and serving as the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

national

St. Paul, Minn

The jet was purchased that year by businessman Larry Reynolds, the owner of a sporting goods store and marine supply store in Valdez. Reynolds paid $2.1-million. So it's that Palin put the plane up for sale on eBay, but it didn't sell on eBay. That's not a huge point, but it is worth noting. We rate Palin's statement .  

Says there is an upcoming vote to preserve benefits of Texas homestead exemption for seniors and the disabled.

April 13, 2012

elections;taxes

chain email

Chain emails circulate on the Internet, usually anonymously, making a variety of political claims.

texas

a chain email forwarded by an Austin American-Statesman reader

The next statewide elections are the Republican and Democratic primaries on May 29, 2012. Proposed constitutional amendments do not appear on primary ballots. Finally: It’s not uncommon for chain emails to say Texans are voting on an issue not on the ballot. We pointed out a flaming example in 2010, adding that if voters want to check into anything on the ballot, the state recommends an online visit or a telephone call to the secretary of state at 1-800-252-8683. We rate the chain email about turning out to vote on behalf of elderly residents and people with disabilities as a golden-oldie .

COVID internment camps announced in America: Tennessee governor signs EO authorizing National Guard to carry out COVID medical kidnappings.

September 2, 2021

military;public health;public safety;science;coronavirus

tiktok posts

Posts on the video-sharing platform TikTok.

tennessee

a TikTok post

What did happen is that, faced with skyrocketing COVD-19 cases and limited capacity to treat these cases, the governor of Tennessee signed an executive order allowing the National Guard to help relieve strain on hospitals and medical providers by providing needed medical-related services where authorized. Nothing in the order would allow "kidnappings." A CDC document cited as is simply a paper that analyzed a method that aimed to protect people already living in refugee camps and other humanitarian settings who were also at high risk for COVID-19. The CDC determined that there was "no empirical " that this approach would reduce the risk of COVID-19 and highlighted the method’s risks and challenges.  We rate this !

President Joe Biden showed signs of cognitive decline when he walked away from an Air Force Falcons presentation with a jersey, snubbing a signed football and helmet.

May 13, 2023

facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

an Instagram post

What a great, great honor. I appreciate it very much. Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said, posing for pictures with Air Force quarterback Haaziq Daniels and running back Brad Roberts. Biden took only the jersey as he walked away, but there’s no sign it left the crowd, which stood as he left the room, "confused." We rate the that Biden showed signs of cognitive decline when he walked away with only a football jersey .

Says that except for Donald Trump, "every other major party nominee" for the past 40 years has released their tax returns.

September 19, 2016

candidate biography;income;wealth;taxes

tammy baldwin

Tammy Baldwin was elected to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 6, 2012. She represented Wisconsin’s Second Congressional District from January 1999 to January 2013. She served as a member of the Wisconsin Assembly from January 1993 to January 1999. She was a Dane County supervisor from 1986 to 1994 and briefly served on the Madison Common Council, filling a vacancy, in 1986.

wisconsin

a statement

She’s almost right. During that period, the only major-party presidential nominee who didn’t release returns was Ford, the Republican nominee in 1976. It's also worth noting that many nominees have released numerous years of returns, but some have released only one or two. We rate Baldwin’s statement . https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/3b799eb7-8454-41ff-a343-3c13c44e9c78

Starbucks executive "believes white men are the root of all evil.

February 17, 2018

fake news;facebook fact-checks

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a post on Facebook

"I decided not to talk about it directly with the folks in the room because there were actually no females, like, levels down. So I’m going to place a call to him." Her remarks led to hashtags like #boycottsamsclub and #boycottracistsamsclub, according to the Post. But while the comments may have been controversial, they don’t indicate that she thinks white men are "evil" or "the root of all evil." We rate this post !

Says "Oregon is one of only three states that allow the use of gillnets on inland waters.

May 30, 2012

environment;jobs;message machine 2012;recreation

stop gillnetting now

The Stop Gillnetting Now campaign is working to qualify a citizen initiative for the November ballot in Oregon.

oregon

campaign press statement

There are some states that don’t depend on commercial fishing so gillnets are not an issue. While not comprehensive, we found that the use of non-tribal commercial gillnets is more widespread than originally cited by the campaign. Oregon is among at least seven states that allow the use in inland rivers. Other states allow the use in bay, gulf and ocean water.   We rule the statement .

In 2007, Ed Gillespie "was paid $300,000 to be the frontman for a coalition that made the individual mandate the centerpiece of its health reform plan.

March 26, 2014

health care;message machine 2014

democratic party of virginia

The state Democratic Party.

virginia

a news release

The state Democratic Party said Gillespie was paid $300,000 "to be the frontman for a coalition that made the individual mandate the centerpiece of its health reform plan." This, Democrats said, belies Gillespie’s assertion that he’s always opposed mandatory health coverage. There’s no doubt Gillespie was a key adviser to the coalition, as was his business partner. His role was prominently noted in a news release announcing formation of the group, and he spoke on behalf of the group in a radio interview. The group supported an individual mandate, although there’s a bit of hyperbole in the Democrats’ contention it was the ‘centerpiece’ of their agenda. The top item listed on the coalition’s "core principles" was bringing market-based efficiency and price transparency to health care. The founder of the coalition says Gillespie privately voiced opposition to a mandate, urged the pursuit of other reforms and never attended the coalition's meetings with politicians. Records show Gillespie’s lobbying firm -- not Gillespie, himself -- was paid $300,000 by the health care coalition in 2007. Gillespie left the firm that June. During the first half of 2007, Gillespie was among 16 people at his firm registered as lobbyists for the coalition. The bulk of the payments came in the second half of 2007, after Gillespie departed. When we pointed this out to the Democratic Party, a spokeswoman backed away from its improbable the Gillespie received all the fees paid to his firm. Gillespie’s campaign denies he was paid $300,000, but would not say how much he did pocket. So bits of in the Democrats’ statement are tarnished with exaggeration and create an unsupportable story that Gillespie, when the money was right, led a lobbying effort for an individual mandate. We rate the .

Maurice Ferre says Kendrick Meek "has voted 98.6 percent of the time with the Democrat party.

July 1, 2010

voting record

maurice ferre

Maurice Ferre served as mayor of Miami from 1973 to 1985. He campaigned for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and was defeated in the Democratic primary on Aug. 24, 2010.

florida

an editorial meeting

Similarly, Graham's percentages between 1991 and 2002 ranged from 81.8 percent to 92.9 percent. The Washington Post database keeps records back until 1991. Chiles left the U.S. Senate in 1989. The only issue with Ferre's is the minor difference between 98.6 and 98.4 percent. And so we rate his statement .

Says many local governments in Wisconsin already require employees to pay 20 percent, 30 percent or even 40 percent of their health insurance premiums.

February 27, 2011

health care;labor;state budget

jennifer shilling

Jennifer Shilling, a Democrat from La Crosse in western Wisconsin, was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2000 and served there until winning election to the state Senate in 2011. Democrats elected her as their Senate leader in 2014.

wisconsin

a news release

So, what’s the bottom line? Shilling contended that Walker was misguided in claiming that communities had a lot of room for savings by getting employees to kick in more of health insurance costs because "many" already get double or even triple what Walker is asking. But the school data she points to shows that’s in only a tiny scattering of districts. In cities, 10 percent is typical, and Shilling could name only one city in the 20 to 40 percent range. We rate Shilling’s statement .

A photo shows "Barack Obama dressed up as Baphomet (Lucifer).

January 27, 2023

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.

an Instagram post

The story is from 2018 and juxtaposes the photo of the person in a headdress with a photo of Obama. "Side by side, the person dressed as Satan looks just like Obama," the caption says.  Although it claims to have "photometrically authenticated" that the person in the headdress is Obama, the basis of this storyline is speculation.   Snopes dug into  this in 2018 and found other photos taken of this person in the headdress. We rate this !

Says the Constitution "specifically states the Congress shall write legislation for immigration policy," so Barack Obama lacks the authority to defer the deportation of young illegal immigrants.

June 18, 2012

immigration;legal issues

john carter

Carter, of Georgetown, was initially elected to the U.S. House in 2002. He is a former state district judge.

texas

a radio interview

Congress has the power to make immigration laws, as Carter says. Less clearcut is Carter’s interpretation that Obama has overstepped his authority. Most legal experts we consulted thought Obama was on solid ground. We rate Carter’s statement .

The USA has a gun homicide rate 26 times higher than our peers.

January 23, 2023

guns

gavin newsom

Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California in 2018. He is the state's former lieutenant governor and served as mayor of San Francisco. He is a Democrat.

california

a tweet

Newsom tweeted "the USA has a gun homicide rate 26 times higher than our peers." His figure checks out with 2019 data for high-income nations and gun deaths measured by Everytown for Gun Safety. This number can shift based on what countries count as the U.S.’ "peers,", but Newsom’s main point stands. The statement is accurate but needs additional information. We rate this . 

Photo shows Bill Clinton among others not wearing a mask at John Lewis' funeral.

August 5, 2020

civil rights;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.

a Facebook post

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook .)  That’s because the photo is five years old and was taken by a photojournalist named Heidi Heilbrunn. It shows Clinton sitting next to Rev. Jesse Jackson during a funeral service for Jackson’s mother at the Springfield Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C.  Getty Images photos from Lewis’s funeral show people wearing masks.  We rate this Facebook post .

Says U.S. corporate tax rate is "highest in the world at 35 percent.

October 22, 2012

economy;federal budget;jobs;taxes

michael mccaul

Michael McCaul was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004.

texas

a League of Women Voters guide for Texas and Austin voters

McCaul said the U.S. "corporate tax rate" is the "highest in the world at 35 percent." The rate set by federal statute is the highest, both by itself and when considering the federal rate plus state and local taxes. However, there’s much less consensus about effective corporate tax rates -- the rates corporations actually pay. Studies don’t even agree on what the U.S. effective rate is, pegging it between 23 percent and 35.6 percent. Older studies put the U.S. near the top; a recent study says the U.S. is No. 1 among OECD nations. We rate McCaul’s statement as .

Under the Republican tax bill, President Donald Trump "and his family would walk off with more than a billion dollars personally.

November 20, 2017

taxes

lloyd doggett

Rep. Lloyd Doggett was initially elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994.

national

an interview with Sinclair Broadcast Group

Doggett said that under the Republican tax bill, Trump "and his family would walk off with more than a billion dollars personally." Independent analyses, working from bare-bones public information about Trump’s income picture, suggest that he stands to benefit in the short term by somewhere in the low tens of millions of dollars. Getting that figure up to $1 billion requires factoring in the estate tax -- but that demands some caveats that Doggett didn’t mention. There is no certainty that the House version of the bill, which eliminates the estate tax entirely, will ultimately prevail. And the family couldn’t simply "walk off" with $1 billion in benefits; to achieve that windfall might require waiting until Melania Trump’s death several decades from now. Tens of millions of dollars in tax savings would be real money to most Americans, but it’s far less than the catchy $1 billion figure Doggett has repeatedly highlighted. We rate the statement .

Says Rep. Michele Bachmann said President Barack Obama might be to blame for the Fort Hood shootings.

April 2, 2014

congress;punditfact

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook meme

I’m just saying that we have zero proof that he isn’t." And she wasn’t on Hannity on the night the posts says she was. The post appears to be satire, but not everyone has taken it that way -- all you have to do is read the comments on the original photo. That's why we're stepping in. We rate the !

Gov. Evers asked the director of WEDC to stay on

September 4, 2019

small business

alberta darling

Wisconsin state Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, served in the state Assembly from 1990 to 1992 and has served in the state Senate since 1992. She survived a recall election in August 2011 by defeating state Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay).

wisconsin

a Joint Finance Committee meeting

Darling told her legislative colleagues the governor asked Hogan to stay on as head of WEDC.  Though Evers was unable to address Hogan’s post before Sept. 1, court cases did create a brief window where he could have made a change. But declining to make a change amid a contentious court battle is not the same thing as asking Hogan to stay on — which implies he intended to leave earlier. Hogan by all accounts simply informed both Evers and Walker that he planned to leave this fall, then did so. We rate Darling’s .

U.S. Rep. John Barrow of Georgia has helped support the implementation of "Obamacare.

April 30, 2013

health care

national republican senatorial committee

The National Republican Senatorial Committee helps elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate.

georgia

a press release

The NRSC says Barrow’s unwillingness to vote for repealing the health care law is a "real life pain" for people and businesses because of its costs. An argument can be made that Barrow’s votes against repeal are tantamount to indirect support of its implementation. In other words, the NRSC says, Barrow owns it. Barrow, however, voted against the original Obamacare legislation and wants to repeal various parts of the law. The GOP cherry-picked a few votes to stretch a point here on a lawmaker it wants to defeat, Our rating: .

Says Mike DeWine "interfered with and stifled" a sexual harassment investigation and then "eliminated the office that investigated harassment claims within the AG's office.

January 4, 2018

legal issues

ohio democratic party

Statewide organization for Ohio's Democrats.

ohio

a press release

The Ohio Democratic Party said that DeWine "interfered with and stifled an investigation of sexual harassment allegedly involving a member of his inner circle, and then he eliminated the office that investigated harassment claims within the AG’s office." The cited by the Democrats does not show that DeWine interfered or stifled the investigation. There were three investigations -- one by human resources in his office, one by a prosecutor and then one by DeWine’s compliance officer. All three investigations were closed after the woman declined to identify the accuser, even to investigators. There is a kernel of related to the Democrats’ attack that DeWine eliminated the office that investigated harassment claims. A little more than a year after Cadek closed her investigation, she was promoted into another job. Rather than fill the position, DeWine changed the procedure for investigating such complaints by outsourcing them to a law firm. We rate this .

When using an ATM, customers should "press the cancel button twice before inserting the card. If anyone has set up the keypad to steal your pin code, this will cancel that set up.

January 16, 2019

fake news;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

While many ATMs are available 24 hours a day, try to go during the day. If you must go at night, consider taking someone with you. ATM scams are diverse and range from simple to very advanced. While pressing the "cancel" button twice before using the machine doesn’t have any drawbacks, customers shouldn’t expect it will keep their information safe. This is !

Under @BarackObama illegal immigration dropped to a 50-year low.

September 10, 2019

immigration

nate mcmurray

Nathan McMurray is supervisor of the town of Grand Island, New York. He is a Democrat running for a seat in the House of Representatives in the 27th District. 

new york

a Tweet

McMurray tweeted that during the Obama administration illegal immigration dropped to a 50-year low.  Nothing in the data we reviewed shows that to be . During Obama’s eight-year presidency, apprehensions of people who were in the country without authorization dropped to levels not seen since 1971. Apprehensions are not a precise measure of how many individuals enter the country and stay when they are not authorized to do so, and they do not include people who overstay their visas. But immigration researchers do use this data to make estimates about illegal immigration.   But even if McMurray had said apprehensions, his statement would have still been problematic. In November 2014, Obama said, "Overall, the number of people trying to cross our border illegally is at its lowest level since the 1970s." PolitiFact found his statement to be . While PolitiFact found Obama to be correct on the sheer numbers of people caught trying to cross the border in 2013 and the 1970s, experts noted that Obama created an imperfect comparison because the border situation was far different in 1970 than in 2013. In the 1970s, it was easier for people to make multiple attempts or excursions illegally across the border. Demographers use the size of the population of illegal immigrants residing in the United States to measure trends in illegal immigration. This population was much lower decades ago, based on available data, than it was during the Obama administration, though some studies show that this population fell during the last 10 years.   We rate McMurray’s .   

The coronavirus is "simply the common cold.

March 1, 2020

public health;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

The virus has an estimated 3.4% mortality rate. In short, the 2019 coronavirus is a novel strain that was unknown before December 2019. It is different and can be much more dangerous than the common cold. Despite the differences, prevention for both the 2019 coronavirus and the common cold are relatively similar : wash your hands, avoid touching your face and stay away from people who are sick. We rate the Facebook statement .

Both China and Japan have surpassed us, with Japanese cars now getting an average of 45 miles to the gallon.

May 7, 2007

energy

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

Detroit, Mich

The number he used doesn't really represent a realistic on-road achievement." Yet Schipper said he doesn't fault Obama for the confusion. "Everybody makes this . What matters is what cars really get on the road, how long it takes to change the entire fleet and how much people drive." (Japanese drivers drive about one-third as many miles per year as U.S. drivers.)

You can get vaccinated by sleeping with somebody who is already jabbed" with an mRNA vaccine. "It's called shedding.

March 20, 2023

facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

an Instagram post

An Instagram post claimed that "you can get vaccinated sleeping with somebody who is already jabbed" with an mRNA vaccine through "shedding." "Shedding" — known as the release of vaccine components in or outside of the body — is possible only with vaccines that contain a live weakened version of the virus. This is impossible with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. MRNA vaccines work by instructing cells to produce a piece of spike protein, which triggers an immune response in the body. They do not contain a live virus. We rate this .

United Nations caught helping and coaching caravan illegal aliens!

November 22, 2018

immigration;homeland security;facebook fact-checks

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a blog post

A post on usanetwork.info says, "United Nations caught helping and coaching caravan illegal aliens!" The United Nations has not been "caught helping and coaching" migrants in caravans wanting to come to the United States. The United Nations, openly, has provided humanitarian assistance and counseling to migrants. The organization has said that immigrants should be allowed to make asylum claims. The post mischaracterizes the United Nations’ actions. We rate it .

The novel coronavirus was "man-made.

May 15, 2020

coronavirus

kimberly lightford

Illinois Sen. Kimberly Lightford represents the state's 4th Senate District. In 2019, she became the chamber's majority leader.

illinois

a TV interview

Lightford said the novel coronavirus was "man-made." But research shows the genetic features of the virus rule out the possibility it was created or manipulated in a lab. The consensus among experts is that it originated in animals before being transmitted to humans. We rate her . — The statement is not accurate. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

Says his executive order requiring young girls to be vaccinated against HPV wasn't mandatory.

January 29, 2010

families;health care

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

a debate

Just because there's a loophole — a way to "say no," in the governor's parlance — doesn't mean the requirement doesn't exist. Physical education classes are also mandatory to graduate high school, but if you have any number of health conditions, you can skip the timed mile. We rate Perry's . Editor's note: This statement was rated when it was published. On July 27, 2011, we changed the name for the rating to .

You've heard endlessly about waterboarding. It happened to three terrorists.

May 21, 2009

terrorism

dick cheney

Dick Cheney served as Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 in the administration of George W. Bush.

national

a speech at the American Enterprise Institute

There has been no information publicly released that any other terror suspects have been subjected to waterboarding. "We only know of those three being waterboarded," said Joanne Mariner, a counterterrorism expert with Human Rights Watch. "That's all that's on the public record." In short, Cheney is on solid ground with this statistic. We rate his statement .

Under the Democratic health plan, families "will be forced to spend an additional $2,100 a year to keep their current health care.

November 30, 2009

health care

mike pence

Mike Pence is the former vice president of the United States. A Republican, Pence was elected governor of Indiana in 2012. Pence previously served for 12 years as a congressman from Indiana representing the Sixth Congressional District; he was first elected in 2000. During his time in the U.S. House of Represenatives, he served as House Republican Conference chairman and chairman of the House Republican Study Committee. Pence was born in Columbus, Ind. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1981 from Hanover College and a law degree in 1986 from Indiana University. After accepting Donald Trump's offer to be running mate, Pence ended his 2016 campaign to be re-elected as Indiana governor. 

national

a press release

It also does not account for the fact that the government would require individual policies to include better (more) coverage. And so we rule Pence's statement . Editor's note: This statement was rated when it was published. On July 27, 2011, we changed the name for the rating to . https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/f1db323b-6621-4343-a2e4-27037bc8f860

The Alternative Minimum Tax was never intended to hit people in middle income, upper middle income. It was meant for people who are rich and evading taxes.

October 30, 2007

taxes

hillary clinton

Hillary Clinton was the 2016 Democratic nominee for president. She served as U.S. Secretary of State during the first four years of the Obama administration. She is formerly a U.S. senator from New York, first elected in 2000. She was a candidate for president in 2008. She previously served as first lady when her husband, Bill Clinton, served two terms as president. She was born in Chicago in 1947, graduated from Wellesley College and earned a law degree at Yale Law School. She and her husband have one daughter.

national

Philadelphia

By 2006, 3.5-million taxpayers fell under the AMT, which equates to about 4 percent of American taxpayers, according to the Congressional Research Service. That brought in $24-billion in taxes. But that was with a "patch" by Congress that limited how many taxpayers are affected. Without a change for 2007, 23.4-million taxpayers are going to be paying the AMT, sending $70-billion to the federal government, according to an estimate by the Tax Policy Center, a joint effort by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute. Policymakers have been talking for years about changing the formula that triggers the AMT so that it only catches the very wealthiest taxpayers, but so far the rewrite hasn't happened.

Eric Cantor "voted to fully fund Obamacare in October.

May 9, 2014

health care;voting record

dave brat

Dave Brat represents Virginia's 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to the seat in 2014 after pulling of a stunning upset of Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Republican Primary. He is active in the Freedom Caucus, a conservative wing of Republican congressmen. Prior to Congress, Brat was chairman of the business and economics department at Randolph-Macon College.  Brat, a midwestern native, has obtained a Masters in Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in economics from American University. He began teaching at Randolph-Macon in 1996. Brat served two Governors on the Joint Advisory Board of Economists. He was president of the Virginia Association of Economists.

virginia

a radio ad

Brat’s says Cantor voted to "fully fund Obamacare" last October. He’s referring to a temporary appropriations bill that Cantor supported and Congress passed to end a 16-day government shutdown. The measure guaranteed continued funding for discretionary programs that rely on annual congressional appropriations, including defense and education. But Obamacare was only marginally affected by the shutdown and the bill Cantor backed. That’s because only about 10 percent of its costs are subject to appropriations by Congress. The bill Cantor supported to end the shutdown, among many other things, topped off the ACA’s funding tank. What Brat omits is that 90 percent of Obamacare remained funded throughout the shutdown and was unaffected by the bill Cantor backed. The legislation that mandated funding for the bulk of Obamacare was approved by the House in March 2010; Cantor voted against it and has repeatedly tried to repeal the measure.   So Brat’s statement has an element of , but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, We rate it .

Other states have considered or have sunset advisory commissions; the federal government has the ability, too.

February 16, 2012

state budget

bruce starr

Bruce Starr is a state senator in the Oregon Legislature. He was elected to the House in 2002 and re-elected in 2006 before running for the Senate. He owned a construction business, has worked for the Portland Business Alliance and now runs a business,  Cutting Edge NW, advising companies on public affairs strategies. He also previously served on the Hillsboro City Council.

oregon

a floor speech

The ability to review specific spending every few years isn’t the same thing as a broad-based commission with the power to kill agencies. Starr acknowledged as much in an interview with PolitiFact Oregon. His language on the floor was a little foggy and he clarified his comments in an interview. We don’t find this to be a significant piece of missing information, but feel readers should know the difference. We find the statement .

Says Marco Rubio tweeted a verse from the New Testament to shame "his own constituents for flocking to Trump rally.

December 9, 2017

religion;punditfact

verified politics

Verified Politics is a website founded in 2017.

an article on a website

Founded in 2017, Verified Politics describes itself as a political news website that it is for readers who are tired of news. We emailed the website and asked if they had any that Rubio tweeted a New Testament verse to shame his own constituents for flocking to a Trump rally, and we did not get a response. Rubio, a regular at Sunday mass, provided no explanation for his tweet so it’s merely speculation to conclude that his point was commentary on Trump’s Pensacola rally the previous night. The verse from Matthew that Rubio tweeted was part of the daily Mass for that Sunday. We rate this .

Says when he was governor, "we expanded participation in Virginia in early childhood programs by nearly 40 percent.

April 4, 2012

children;education

tim kaine

Tim Kaine is a U.S. senator representing Virginia, elected to the Senate in 2012. He was the 2016 Democratic nominee for vice president. Kaine was governor from 2006 to 2010, lieutenant governor from 2002 to 2006, mayor of Richmond from 1998 to 2001, and city councilman of Richmond beginning in 1994. He was also the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011. Kaine was born in St. Paul, Minn. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1979 from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and a law degree from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass., in 1983. He took a year-long break during law school to work with the Jesuit order as a Catholic missionary in Honduras, becoming fluent in Spanish.  

virginia

a policy paper

Kaine claimed that he was part of expanding participation in early childhood programs in Virginia by nearly 40 percent. The numbers confirm that. We rate Kaine’s statement .

Even if you took literally every single ounce of platinum in the world, it still wouldn't add up to enough needed to pay down our nation's debt.

January 9, 2013

debt

national republican congressional committee

National Republican Congressional Committee

new hampshire

a press release

And pricing that 335.3 million ounces total by $2,280, the market’s 20-year high  from March 2008, the total ($764.484 billion) would still fall more than $15 trillion short. Our ruling: There are no formal counts of platinum production dating back before 1975, but based on recent records and historical accounts, there is no to suggest the value of the world’s total platinum supply comes within reach of the national debt. Records from Johnson Matthey PLC, an industry leader, show that 167.65 million troy ounces were supplied between 1975-2012, and historical records indicate that number far exceeds the amount mined in the years prior. Even by the most generous counts, the total value of the the world’s platinum supply is only a fraction of the national debt. We rate this .

Tim Ryan called police the new Jim Crow.

September 4, 2022

corrections and updates;criminal justice;race and ethnicity

j.d. vance

J.D. Vance won the U.S. Senate race in Ohio in 2022. He has also worked as an investor, commentator, and bestselling author of Hillbilly Elegy. 

ohio

an interview

Vance said, "Tim Ryan called police the new Jim Crow." Ryan said in a 2019 town hall that he believes today’s criminal justice system is "racist," and he compared it to Jim Crow laws. Ryan’s remarks addressed criminal laws, prosecutions and sentencing. But he did not mention police specifically in relation to Jim Crow laws. Vance’s comment presented a specific pairing — the police and Jim Crow — that Ryan did not make.  We rate the statement . Update, Sept. 9, 2022 : Following publication, Vance’s campaign emailed PolitiFact with additional information. The story has been updated to reflect the campaign’s position. The rating is unchanged.  

Trump's plan "would suspend the 7.65% your employer matches. See? You will NOT get that, nor will your wage or salary increase by 7.65%

August 9, 2020

social security;taxes;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a post on Facebook

A Facebook post claims, Trump’s plan "would suspend the 7.65% your employer matches. See? You will NOT get that, nor will your wage or salary increase by 7.65%" The employer and employee payroll tax contributions are already separate, and the government already had deferred employer payment until the end of 2020. Trump’s action applies to the employee contribution, and it’s yet unknown if that deferral will reach the pockets of employees and when. We rate this post .

Homeopathy, acupuncture and aromatherapy "have been given elevated legitimacy under the Affordable Care Act.

February 13, 2015

corrections and updates;health care;punditfact

jonah goldberg

Jonah Goldberg is a senior editor for National Review, a nationally syndicated columnist, a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a member of the board of contributors to USA Today, and a contributor to Fox News. He was the founding editor of National Review Online.  

"National Review"

Goldberg wrote that homeopathy, acupuncture and aromatherapy "have been given elevated legitimacy under the Affordable Care Act." The law does provide a leg up for alternative therapies (although it’s unclear whether homeopathy and aromatherapy would ultimately benefit). In practice, though, it’s important not to oversell the impact. Most of the provisions in question are modest, and the one with potentially the biggest impact has been curbed by a subsequent guidance from HHS. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details, so we rate it .

You will be 'vaccinated' regardless of whether you receive the shot or not.

May 26, 2021

public health;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.

post on Instagram

An Instagram post claims that "you can be 'vaccinated' regardless of whether you receive the shot or not." That’s . The only way to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is to receive a vaccine. It is biologically impossible for COVID-19 vaccines to result in virus shedding that will expose others to the virus, let alone in a way that would give unvaccinated people immunity.  We rate this .

Half the kids in this country, when they graduate, can't read their diploma.

March 2, 2023

education

tommy tuberville

Former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, in his first run for public office, became the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat from Alabama in the 2020 election. He was elected to the U.S. Senate later that year.

a speech at the CPAC conference

Tuberville said, "Half the kids in this country, when they graduate, can’t read their diploma." Data shows that as many as two-thirds of American high school graduates have underdeveloped reading skills, measured by common standards for their grade level.  But the people in this category are not so functionally illiterate that they cannot read a diploma, which requires far less skill than what grade-level assessments are testing.  Experts say the percentage of young Americans who are truly functionally illiterate is far smaller than 50%. The statement contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it .

More than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled — doubled — since we were children.

June 15, 2008

families

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

a speech at a Chicago church

But solid research has shown that growing up in a single-family household, even if other factors are controlled, has a negative effect. "I think there are very few social scientists these days who wouldn't agree that children in single-parent households are at risk of a variety of bad outcomes and that family structure has some causal impact on that risk," she wrote. Obama's premise that the absence of fathers is leading to social problems is backed up by research, but we're not ruling on that part of his statement. We're ruling on his that, "More than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled — doubled — since we were children," which U.S. Census numbers substantiate. And we rule it to be .  

Says a new annual report shows that "West Virginia's tourism industry has grown for the second consecutive year, reversing years of decline and outpacing national growth by 58 percent.

October 16, 2019

economy;tourism

jim justice

Jim Justice is the Republican governor of West Virginia. A businessman, Justice was originally elected as a Democrat.

west virginia

a Facebook post

Justice said, "West Virginia’s tourism industry has grown for the second consecutive year, reversing years of decline and outpacing national growth by 58 percent."  These numbers align with the findings of a longstanding annual study of the West Virginia and national tourism economies. We rate the statement .

Says the Senate Intelligence Committee has held 10 public hearings this year, "more than double that held by the committee in any recent year.

June 13, 2017

congress;elections;foreign policy;transparency

richard burr

Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, has been a U.S. Senator since 2005.

north carolina

his opening statement before Jeff Session's testimony

Burr bragged about the transparency of his Senate committee’s ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. He said Sessions’ testimony was the 10th public hearing his committee has had already in 2017, "more than double that held by the committee in any recent year." Burr is right, and the committee has also been holding more public hearings now than its House counterpart, as well as more than it did during past investigations into topics like CIA torture, intelligence failures leading up to the Iraq War and intelligence failures before 9/11.  We rate this .