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Says Delaware County has more waterfront property than any other county in the state of Ohio

June 6, 2013

environment;water

kris jordan

Kris Jordan is a Republican who represents the Ohio Senate’s 19th District, which includes Delaware and Knox counties as well as portions of Franklin County. He is serving in his first term. A lifelong resident of Delaware County he served six years as a county commissioner before being elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2008. He and his wife, Melissa, live in Ostrander.

ohio

a speech on the Senate floor

Alum Creek Lake and Delaware Lake, two other man-made bodies of water, also are in Delaware County. Each is home to a state park. Jordan’s was that Delaware County had more waterfront property than any other in the state of Ohio. ODNR’s experts, using computer data to prepare the estimates, would agree. On the -O-Meter, his rates .

Every time we've cut taxes, revenues have gone up, the economy has grown.

April 17, 2011

economy;federal budget;this week - abc news;taxes

joe walsh

Joe Walsh is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois.

national

an interview on "This Week with Christiane Amanpour"

We’re examining Walsh’s statement, "Every time we've cut taxes, revenues have gone up, the economy has grown." He said "every time," and that’s not the case. Revenues did not go up in 2001, 2002 or 2003, after tax rates were lowered. We also find it problematic to make hard claims about tax cuts growing the economy enough to increase tax revenues and helping balance the budget. Overall, we rate Walsh’s statement .

A year ago we had the lowest unemployment in history without using taxpayers money.

April 24, 2021

federal budget;jobs;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A Facebook post said: "Why do we need a $4 trillion jobs plan, when a year ago we had the lowest unemployment in history without using taxpayers money?" Biden has proposed two spending plans totaling $4 trillion, but they go well beyond jobs. A year before the post, in April 2020, the unemployment rate was the highest on record, not the lowest. In late-March 2020, Trump signed a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill into law. We rate the post .

In the last 24 months, 10 rural Texas hospitals have been forced to shut their doors because state leaders" chose not to expand Medicaid.

April 28, 2015

corrections and updates;health care;public health;state budget

children's defense fund-texas

The Children's Defense Fund-Texas says on its website it's been helping achieve affordable health care for Texas children for more than 15 years, also helping the young get to college and get good jobs.

texas

a press release

Children’s Defense Fund-Texas said: "In the last 24 months, 10 rural Texas hospitals have been forced to shut their doors because state leaders have chosen not to invest in our state’s health care systems by rejecting billions in available Medicaid funds to cover more of our state’s uninsured." Ten rural hospitals closed, we found, though different hospitals later opened on two sites. Also, as Bresette acknowledged, the non-expansion of Medicaid wasn’t the only reason for the rural closings. Our sense is they occurred due to various squeezes extending, in a few cases, to an owner’s fraudulent acts. We rate this . – 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. UPDATE, 2:01 p.m., May 15, 2015 : We revised the wording of our ruling to clarify that Bresette acknowledged the non-expansion of Medicaid wasn't the only reason for the hospital closings and to make it clear we found a range of factors.

Says the United States is "the Saudi Arabia of coal.

May 20, 2011

energy

eric cantor

Eric Cantor is a former congressman who represented Virginia's 7th District from 2001 to 2014. He rose to House minority whip in 2009 and House majority leader in 2011. Cantor was upset by Dave Brat in the 2014 GOP primary for congress. He is now vice chairman and managing director of Moelis & Company, a global investment bank.      

georgia

a press conference

"It’s not realistic to equate the coal reserves in the United States with the oil reserves in Saudi Arabia," said McGinley, who served on a panel that investigated the coal mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 29 people in April 2010. Cantor’s argument is supported by data that show the United States currently has the world’s largest coal reserve. America has fallen far behind China in terms of coal production, and the United States is behind several other nations in exporting coal. The congressman’s statement leaves out some details concerning America’s standing in coal. Since the United States is still the Saudi Arabia of coal reserves, we rate Cantor’s as .

Once a woman enters into the sex trade, her average life expectancy is seven years.

May 14, 2015

children;crime;public health;public safety;recreation;sexuality;women;workers

rebecca quigley

Rebecca Quigley is a host on the public affairs program "State of the State."

rhode island

a comment on a "State of the State" TV program

Rebecca Quigley said, "Once a woman enters into the sex trade, her average life expectancy is seven years." She — like many others on the Internet — are incorrectly quoting a FBI budget report that only deals with child prostitution and offers no documentation. And the FBI is now trying to set the record straight. There’s little doubt that prostitution can be one of the most dangerous endeavors undertaken by a woman. But the seven-year is flat out .   (If you have a you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)

There is no precedent for what the Democrats are doing with this deception. ... We have never written a reconciliation bill to amend a law that does not exist.

March 15, 2010

health care

cliff stearns

Cliff Stearns is a Republican from Ocala serving in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Congressional District 6.

national

a speech on the House floor

So, that brings us back to Stearns' original . While the combination of a self-executing rule and reconciliation is a relatively novel combination of procedural tools, all the congressional experts we spoke with agreed that there are plenty of similar examples of what the Democrats are proposing to do, nor is the party flouting procedures that are already on the books. As a result, the first part of Stearns's is somewhat . However, Stearns is correct that this is the first time Congress has ever written a reconciliation bill to amend a law that does not exist. As a result, we find Stearns' to be .

An aide "acted on his own" and "was not representing the Thompson campaign" when he sent an email criticizing the sexual orientation of U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin.

September 6, 2012

elections

tommy thompson

Tommy Thompson, a Republican, was a 2012 candidate for the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin. He served as governor of Wisconsin from 1987 until 2001, when he left office to become President George W. Bush's secretary of health and human services. He previously spent 20 years in the Wisconsin Assembly. Thompson briefly ran for president, withdrawing in 2007.

wisconsin

an email

It was sent to conservative bloggers and others. It was clearly meant to draw attention to the video of Baldwin’s appearance at the gay pride event. The average reader of the email got the message loud and clear: Thompson’s campaign was criticizing Baldwin. Schmitz’s statement is , and it’s . We rate it .

This incident of supposed feces depicting a swastika on the wall of a bathrooms in one of the halls ... has been supported by zero fact.

November 12, 2015

education;crime;race and ethnicity

peter kinder

Peter Kinder, a Republican, serves as lieutenant governor of Missouri. He is running for governor in 2016.  

missouri

comments on Breitbart

Kinder made his "zero fact" statement 19 days after the swastika was discovered, and 12 days after its discovery was reported by multiple news outlets, including the Missourian, The Columbia Daily Tribune, the Jefferson City News Tribune , the Associated Press and every local television station in the Columbia-Jefferson City market. These stories were based on information supplied by the MU Police Department and the MU News Bureau. On Nov. 6, then-Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin issued a letter condemning the swastika and other forms of hate speech. His response was also widely reported. The sources Kinder cites updated their articles on Nov. 12 to include the police report. Although Kinder’s spokesman said the lieutenant governor stopped saying there was no of a swastika after those two websites updated their stories, the majority of local news sources reported its existence based statements from named MU officials. We rate Kinder’s .

Only the fully vaccinated should fear the new 'worst ever' Covid-19 variant; data shows they already account for 4 in every 5 Covid deaths

December 3, 2021

facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a blog post

An article claimed, "Only the Fully Vaccinated should fear the New ‘Worst Ever’ Covid-19 Variant; data shows they already account for 4 in every 5 Covid Deaths."  This is and . Without controlling for outside factors, data for U.K. COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and vaccinations appear to indicate that a higher percentage of vaccinated people have contracted COVID-19 and experienced serious health outcomes compared to unvaccinated people. But experts have repeatedly warned that interpreting the available COVID-19 data this way is . There is no that only those who are fully vaccinated should fear the omicron variant. Studies show that the available vaccines are safe and effective at preventing severe COVID-19, hospitalization and death — at least in variants that have been researched. We rate this .

I cut taxes 23 times when I was mayor of New York City.

October 9, 2007

taxes

rudy giuliani

Rudy Giuliani is the former mayor of New York City. He was born in Brooklyn in 1944 and previously served as a federal prosecutor, as well as an associate attorney general under President Reagan. He graduated from Manhattan College and earned a law degree from New York University Law School. He has been married since 2003 to Judith Nathan and was married twice before. He has two children, Andrew and Caroline. He withdrew from the presidential race on Jan. 30, 2008.

national

Dearborn, Mich

The Giuliani campaign has argued that Giuliani deserves credit for any tax cuts under his watch. Giuliani made the case himself to a reporter in an exchange that was captured on video. In the video, Giuliani said he deserves credit for the tax cuts because he publicly argued for them and lobbied for them, and that he was the chief executive of the tax base that was affected. Still, we find it's a stretch for Giuliani to personally take credit for 23 when many of them were primarily pushed by others. So we find his to be .

Says 642,000 crimes were committed against Texans by criminal immigrants in a recent seven-year period.

March 7, 2018

immigration;crime

sean hannity

Sean Hannity is a conservative political commentator and hosts a nationally syndicated radio show, as well as two television shows on the Fox News Channel. In a 2013 interview Hannity said that he is a “registered Conservative” and ”not a Republican, though people often mistake me for one.” Hannity has authored three books.

texas

his Fox News program

Hannity told Ramos that 642,000 crimes were committed against Texans by criminal immigrants in a recent seven-year period. This misrepresents a 2014 state presentation indicating that more than 200,000 immigrants jailed in the state over a recent 69-month period had accumulated in their lifetimes 642,000 charges--not convictions. Not all the immigrants were living in the state illegally at the time of their latest arrest. We rate the  . – The statement is not accurate. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

The survival rate for COVID-19 is over 99% for most age groups.

August 3, 2021

public health;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

instagram posts

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

an Instagram post

The data it cited does not show the likelihood of surviving COVID-19. The post’s is based on data used to model pandemic scenarios. Experts say a person cannot determine their own chances at surviving COVID-19 by looking at national statistics, because the data doesn’t take into account the person’s own risks and COVID-19 deaths are believed to be undercounted.  Survival rate data is not yet available from the CDC. We rate this .

The gap between the very rich and everyone else in America is wider today than at any time since the 1920s.

June 4, 2015

economy;income

bernie sanders

Bernie Sanders is a senator from Vermont. Sanders was first elected to the Senate in 2007 and was re-elected in 2012 and 2018. The senator also ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2016, losing the Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton. From 1991 until 2007, he was the representative of Vermont’s At-Large District of the House of Representatives. Sanders was the mayor of Burlington from 1981 to 1989. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago. In 2019, he announced he was running for the Democratic nomination for president and dropped out in April 2020.

national

a post on Twitter

  Sanders said, "The gap between the very rich and everyone else in America is wider today than at any time since the 1920s." One commonly used method supports that argument -- at least for one recent year, 2012. However, it’s worth noting that this method tends to widen income differences more than other approaches do. On balance, we rate Sanders’ statement .

Sanders' "Medicare for All" plan "would cost more than the entire federal budget that we spend now.

February 7, 2020

health check

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. 

comments during the New Hampshire presidential primary debate

Biden argued that Medicare for All "would cost more than the entire federal budget that we spend now." This relies on faulty math. Medicare for All would certainly represent a substantial increase to the federal budget. But it would neither match nor dwarf current federal spending overall. We rate this .

Research from Japan shows "ivermectin is effective against omicron in Phase III trial.

January 31, 2022

drugs;science;health check;coronavirus

tweets

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

Twitter posts

The World Health Organization said it should only be used in clinical trials until more data is found.  The updated Reuters story points out that hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug also used to treat lupus, had been touted as a potential treatment for COVID-19 by former President Donald Trump and others after promising lab results. Subsequent studies on humans did not find a benefit.  Claims that new research shows ivermectin is effective for treating COVID-19 were based on a reporting error. We rate them .

The economy is "creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999.

January 20, 2015

economy;jobs

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

the State of the Union address

Obama said the economy is "creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999." The current jobs recovery isn’t perfect, but Obama is correct that it’s the fastest since 1999. So we rate the .

The Republican governor who stood up and cut spending instead of raising taxes.

September 21, 2007

taxes

mitt romney

Mitt Romney is a U.S. senator from Utah. He ran for president in 2012 as the Republican nominee, losing to incumbent President Barack Obama. Prior to that, Romney served one term as governor of Massachusetts, elected to the post in 2002. He was born in 1947 in Michigan, where his father was governor from 1963 to 1969. Romney graduated from Brigham Young University and received both a law degree and an MBA from Harvard University. Romney helped found the investment firm Bain Capital in 1984, which launched or rebuilt such companies as Staples and Dominos Pizza. Romney managed the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City from 1999-2002. He ran for president in 2008 but lost the Republican nomination. He and his wife, Ann, have five sons, Tagg, Craig, Matt, Ben and Josh.

national

a television ad

Also, state payments to cities and towns for schools and police were reduced, which caused those local governments to increase property taxes. The Club for Growth, a conservative political action committee that pushes for spending cuts and tax cuts, evaluated Romney's fiscal record: "Overall, Romney's record on tax policy is mixed. His record is marred by questionable statements and positions and his fee hikes and 'loophole' closures are troubling." We will note that the Club for Growth applauded Romney for supporting broad-based tax cuts. We find his that he "cut spending instead of raising taxes" to be only half of the story about how he dealt with the state's financial crisis.  

Says he got "support all over Raleigh

October 11, 2017

elections

charles francis

Charles Francis is a Democrat running for mayor of Raleigh

north carolina

a press conference

Francis said he got support "all over Raleigh." He also said he got "broad support in some inside-the-Beltline precincts and some northwestern precincts" and that he got "overwhelming support in Southeast Raleigh." Francis was right about his performance in Southeast Raleigh but wasn't exactly competitive in northwest Raleigh and inside the beltline. That large swath of Raleigh stretching from Hillsborough Street to Millbrook Road – where he didn’t come close to competing with McFarlane – is too big and too dense of an area to suggest that he was competitive "all over Raleigh." We rate his .

Says Kevin Cramer wants to cut Social Security and Medicare to pay for tax cuts.

June 8, 2018

medicare;social security;taxes

senate majority pac

Senate Majority PAC is a super PAC that works to elect Democrats to the U.S. Senate.

national

campaign ad

The Senate Majority PAC said, "And now, Cramer says, they’ll have to cut Social Security and Medicare to pay for (tax cuts)." Cramer said reform was necessary in order to make Medicare and Social Security solvent. Recently, he broadly suggested raising the eligibility age by "a month or two" and increasing means testing. Experts said they could be interpreted as calls for cuts. But they don’t affect retirees or people nearing retirement, and were not accompanied by any concrete policy proposals. Also, the Democrats linked his position to the tax bill, but he has held that position for years. We rate this .

Under Hillary Clinton, State Department "officials were sending official thank-yous to people who gave to the Clinton Foundation.

March 24, 2016

corrections and updates;foreign policy;punditfact

grover norquist

Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform, a group he founded in 1985 to advocate for a tax system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. Its flagship program is the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which it began promoting in 1986 and expanded to the state level in 1990. Those who sign on to the pledge commit to oppose any effort to increase income taxes on individuals or businesses. Norquist also serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association of America, the American Conservative Union and The Nixon Center.

a Fox Business interview

Norquist said that State Department officials were sending official thank-yous to donors to the Clinton Foundation. We looked at the source documents he relied on and found nothing that supported his version of events. State Department staff did ask for lists of projects and partners in preparation for a speech Clinton was to give at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting. However, there is no hint that any staff member expressed official appreciation to any donor. There is no indication that money for those projects flowed through CGI. Finally, Clinton thanked governments for showing up, but didn’t thank donors. She praised the audience in general, but that would include many who were on the receiving end of CGI’s efforts. The documents do not say what Norquist suggested they said. We rate this . Correction:  An earlier version of this story said the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation separated in 2009. Actually, the groups separated in 2010.

For immigrants with visa overstays, "we make no effort to hold them accountable to that or uphold the law.

September 4, 2016

immigration

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

an interview on Meet the Press

Pence said, "An enormous number of people come to this country legally and then simply overstay their visas because we make no effort to hold them accountable to that or uphold the law." Pence’s statement suggests there are no repercussions for people who overstay their visa. While they are not ICE’s top concern — officials say they prioritize the removal of convicted criminals over visa violators— they can still be deported and barred from coming back into the United States. About 8 percent of the 235,413 people removed from the country in fiscal year 2015 belonged to a category that includes visa overstays.  We rate Pence’s statement .

Virginia spends $400,000 on abstinence programs while losing $2.5 million in federal funds due to Gov. Bob McDonnell's "political agenda.

June 6, 2011

abortion;state budget

naral pro-choice virginia

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia is an abortion-rights advocacy group. It is the state chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

virginia

a web video

It’s the state spent about $400,000 for a federal abstinence-only grant. And it’s that the McDonnell administration did not apply for a comprehensive sex education grant that would have sent almost $2.6 million to Virginia during fiscal year 2010 and 2011. Because Virginia is now ineligible to apply for the comprehensive grant through 2014, the state will wind up declining a much greater amount of money than NARAL claimed. We won’t penalize NARAL for understating its case. Its statement is . 

It is a fact that it costs more to run the schools in August.

March 9, 2011

education

kathleen angelucci

Kathleen Angelucci, a Republican, is district 4 representative on the Cobb County school board.

georgia

a newspaper article

Cobb is spending less money this school year from factors associated with the balanced calendar, according to data produced by the district. Some officials, like in Texas, have produced data that shows starting the school year earlier can cost a district more money. Area school officials who have used a balanced calendar for years say there’s not much financial difference either way. There is scant that Angelucci made a valid point, and she failed to provide us anything to back up her statement. We rate her as .

Wisconsin is broke," and "state government is $3 billion in debt.

September 2, 2011

state budget

scott walker

Scott Walker, a Republican, is the former governor of Wisconsin. He was first elected in November 2010. He survived a recall election in 2012, defeating Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett after igniting controversy with a bill curtailing public-employee union collective-bargaining rights.  He won re-election to a four-year term in November 2014 and was a 2016 presidential candidate before dropping out in September of 2015. He was defeated by Tony Evers in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Walker is a former Milwaukee County executive and former member of the state Assembly.

wisconsin

a fund-raising letter

Understandable, perhaps. After all, the letter is geared toward getting supporters to contribute money to the campaign in the face of a possible recall attempt in 2012. But in doing so, Walker contradicts his own statements -- and reality. The statements are and . .

Hedge fund managers and others in private equity pay much lower (tax) rates on their income than do truck drivers and teachers and nurses.

February 14, 2016

labor;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 television interview

Baldwin said "hedge fund managers and others in private equity pay much lower (tax) rates on their income than do truck drivers and teachers and nurses." Based on the carried interest provisions, there could be some individual scenarios in which a truck driver would pay a larger portion of income than a hedge fund manager. But when looking at average tax rates -- the amount typically paid after deductions and exemptions -- a typical truck driver, teacher or nurse would pay a far smaller percentage of their income in taxes. We rate the .

The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children.

April 5, 2008

health care

moveon.org

MoveOn.org is a left-leaning political advocacy group. It endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination.

national

an e-mail message

(Though McCain's history with the group isn't that great, either. In 2006, his score was 10 percent and in 2005 it was 22 percent.) But MoveOn omits the caveat that his vote against SCHIP was based on spending concerns. But these are minor points, and not enough to notch down the -O-Meter too much. We find MoveOn's statement about McCain's rating and his stance on the children's health bill to be .

A heat wave melted turbine blades at a Texas wind farm.

June 17, 2021

weather;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

texas

Facebook post

The post and others like it come on the heels of a recent heat wave that has gripped Texas and other states across the southwest and southeast over the past week which has sent demand for electricity skyrocketing as air conditioning units in homes and businesses are being run day and night.  What’s more, the company running the wind farm in the post — RWE Renewables — told Reuters in a statement that the damage was a result of storm damage and not excessive heat. "The damage to the turbine was definitely NOT related to heat or high temperatures," RWE spokesman Matt Tulis said in the statement. The turbine shown in the Facebook post is one of 48 at the same wind farm operated by RWE, according to Reuters. We rate the that heat melted the blades of this wind turbine as .

Betty Sutton "gutted Medicare by $500 billion" with her vote for the president's health care bill.

May 11, 2012

health care;medicare;voting record

jim renacci

Jim Renacci, a Republican, is running against U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, in 2018. Renacci is the representative from Ohio's 16th Congressional District. He is a businessman and also the former mayor of Wadsworth. He was first elected to Congress in 2010.

ohio

a campaign website posting

In this case Renacci’s website claims Sutton’s support of health care reform was a vote that "gutted Medicare by $500 billion."   There is an element of in this from Renacci: the health reform law is forecast to cause less spending on Medicare than what was previously forecast. But that spending reduction is a result of slowing growth so that less is spent in the long run, not cutting out traditional Medicare benefits. Those are critical facts missing from Renacci’s . On the -O-Meter, this rates .

Says a video showing water inside a glass on a spaceflight proves space isn't real

June 12, 2023

china;space;facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

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

a post

The glass, meanwhile, was affixed to the table. In its own fact-check of the same , the China-based Global Times wrote that Velcro strips held the glass in place as the taikonauts used it to give students a demonstration on the lack of water buoyancy in space. A YouTube clip showed that when Yaping removed the glass from the table and passed it to her crewmate, Ye Guangfu, the water remained confined within the glass, even though the glass itself floated in the air. Space is real, and it’s pretty cool. The that a water glass proved otherwise is . 

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom was "for (high-speed rail), before he's against it, and then he's for it again.

September 20, 2017

infrastructure;state budget;the 2018 california governor's race;transportation

antonio villaraigosa

Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, is a candidate for California governor, former mayor of Los Angeles and former state Assembly speaker. 

california

a newspaper article

In fairness to Newsom, he’s consistently expressed concern that the project no longer represents what voters supported in 2008 and that his main worry was its cost. Villaraigosa’s statement could have used this additional information. We rate his  .  – 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.

The problem with mail ballots in Lancaster County is a sign of "voter fraud.

May 17, 2022

elections

tweets

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

pennsylvania

tweets

Social media posts extrapolated a problem with mail ballots in Lancaster County as a sign of "voter fraud." There is no of fraud. The issue had to do with a vendor that printed the mail ballots using a identification code; the ballots would not scan, so they will need to be copied by hand. County officials dismissed notions of vote tampering or other illegal activity. What happened in Lancaster is a vendor error, and suggestions that it amounts to voter fraud are . We rate this .  RELATED : All of our fact-checks about elections RELATED : Dave McCormick’s -O-Meter RELATED : Mehmet Oz’s -O-Meter RELATED: Why France reports election results faster than the US

Says Rep. Ken Legler "voted against installing fire sprinklers and emergency power generators in nursing homes.

June 16, 2010

housing;retirement

boyd richie

Boyd Richie served three terms as chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. He did not seek re-election in 2012.

texas

an e-mail

Remaining facilities without sprinklers were facing a federal mandate to follow suit, at their own expense; the amendment could have enabled them to do so at no cost to themselves. By implying that Legler was an opponent of nursing home safety, Richie’s statement painted the situation as far more dire and widespread than it really was. His statement is . Editor's note: This statement was rated when it was published. On July 27, 2011, we changed the name for the rating to .

The average American family" saw income rise $7,500 under Bill Clinton and decline $2,000 under George Bush.

August 28, 2008

economy

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

Denver

Having said all that, Obama didn't mention working-age families as part of his speech. Obama is right with the overall point he's making. Incomes did rise under Clinton and decline under Bush. But the numbers he uses don't include seniors, who today represent about 12 percent of the population. So we rate his statement only .

Man dug tunnel from home to the pub and drank every night while his wife slept.

October 7, 2017

fake news;facebook fact-checks

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

"We messed up," the addendum says. "The story is a hoax, and we fell for it. We’re really sorry. Original story follows." We rate this statement !

Pope Francis says covid vaccine will now be required to enter heaven.

December 9, 2020

religion;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

But the pope hasn’t said a COVID-19 vaccine is a requirement to enter heaven. Those words are from a Nov. 30 post on The Babylon Bee, a satire website that writes "about Christian stuff, political stuff, and everyday life." While some Facebook users seemed to have caught on that the posts stem from satire, others appeared to be unaware. The Facebook posts are promoting as fact something that is fabricated. We rate the posts !

Since parole abolition, Virginia's "crime rate has fallen to third lowest in the country, our recidivism rate is down 20 percent and that's the second lowest in the country.

July 21, 2015

criminal justice;crime

mark obenshain

Mark Obenshain, R-26th, is a Virginia State Senator. His district is comprised of Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah and Warren counties and Harrisonburg and part of Rockingham County.  Obenshain lost the 2013 Virginia attorney general's race to Democrat Mark Herring by a slim margin after a recount.  Obenshain was born in Richmond. His father, Richard Obenshain, was a Virginia Republican Committee chairman and Republican National Committee co-chairman and died in a plane crash during a U.S. Senate campaign. Obenshain graduated from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, in 1984, and received a law degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law, Lexington, in 1987.

virginia

a radio interview

Obenshain says that since parole abolition, "Our crime rate has fallen to third lowest in the country, our recidivism rate is down 20 percent and that’s the second lowest in the country.’ Virginia’s violent crime rate did drop to the nation’s third lowest  in 2013. The recidivism rate is a stickier issue. It fell by 10 percent over the last 20 years -- half of what Obenshain said. And the No. 2 national ranking, released by Virginia’s DOC, is fraught problems because different states compute their recidivism rates in vastly different ways. But on the whole, crime trends have gone down in Virginia and we rate Obenshain’s statement .

More than 40,000 troops are still stationed in Afghanistan with no clear objective. Even in the best case, by the end of the year at least 10,000 American soldiers will still be on the ground.

February 7, 2014

afghanistan;military;terrorism

david alameel

David Alameel, a dentist-turned-investor, was the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Texas in 2014.

texas

an email blast

Alameel, who advocates ending the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, said more than 40,000 U.S. troops remain there now and under his "best-case" scenario, at least 10,000 will remain at the end of 2014. This may have been close in spirit, but it aired outdated information. There were about 34,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan just before Alameel piped up though there had been more than 40,000 troops there as of December 2013. Also by the time the candidate spoke, a general had reportedly recommended reducing U.S. troop levels to 10,000--or zero--by the end of this year, though no decision had been announced. We rate this , which overstates both the troops there now and the possible number of troops by year’s end, as . – 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.

Quotes Andy Borowitz as saying "stopping Hillary is a short-term solution. The long-term solution — and it will be more difficult — is fixing the educational system that has created so many people ignorant enough to vote for Hillary.

December 9, 2019

fake news;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

The quote in the image is doctored to make it look like Borowitz is being critical of Clinton.  We found that he posted the statement on his verified Facebook page on Nov. 4, 2016, four days before the presidential election. The only words altered in the Facebook post’s version are the two references to "Hillary," in which Borowitz actually wrote "Trump."  The statement has been altered. We rate it .

Obama said that "since 1992, the Republicans have had all the good ideas...

January 18, 2008

ethics

bill clinton

Bill Clinton was president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He is married to Hillary Clinton, the 2016 presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

national

Pahrump, Nev

Our take, Obama may want to think twice before invoking the R-word again any time soon. But in this case, it was little more than a sound bite taken out of context and twisted. Obama never said Republicans have all the good ideas. We rate Bill Clinton's statement . Hillary's too, for that matter.

Roe v. Wade happened because a woman lied about being raped by black men.

May 3, 2022

abortion;supreme court;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a post

But the allegation of rape was not taken into consideration during the case. The Supreme Court did not consider the circumstances of the plaintiff’s pregnancy, and the court’s ruling does not mention Roe’s of rape. McCorvey’s lawyers did not mention the alleged rape in court and did not include it in their legal argument. McCorvey’s desire to terminate the pregnancy — not her allegation of rape — is what led to the Roe v. Wade legal proceedings. We rate this .   

Democrats do not have a plan for extending the Bush tax cuts.

August 5, 2010

taxes

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

a note on Facebook

But Palin was distorting the facts when she said, "All we have is smoke and mirrors based on an old Obama campaign pledge." There is much more than that in the public record from both President Obama and Democrats in Congress. Frankly, we anticipated criticism when we published our  report on Palin, but we were not anticipating the criticism that the Democrats are hiding their intentions on tax rates for people of lower incomes, or the that Obama has not published fairly detailed outlines of what he intends for the tax code. There is a plan, and you can see it on pages 39 and 164-165 of the budget. We rate Palin's statement .

Only about a third" of Texans who enroll in college graduate.

June 25, 2010

education

scott hochberg

Scott Hochberg, initially elected to the Texas House in 1992, did not seek re-election in 2012.

texas

a speech at a caucus at the Texas Democratic convention

As we learned in earlier checking candidate claims about high-school graduation rates, there are several ways to sort the numbers. The state’s six-year graduation rate at universities, for example, is far higher than the rate Hochberg cites. Yet rolling students seeking associate degrees into the equation supports Hochberg’s assessment. About a third of Texas students lately graduate from a Texas college. His statement is .

Creflo Dollar needed a $65 million Gulfstream G650 to carry thousands of pounds of food and other supplies -- as well as the Word of God -- worldwide.

March 13, 2015

religion;transparency

juda engelmayer

Creflo Dollar spokesman and New York publicist Juda Engelmayer in comments to The Christian Post and The Associated Press published March 13th, 20

georgia

interviews

It’s an airplane generally reserved for world leaders, the top crop of business executives and billionaires. One rationale given for buying the aircraft was that the church needed to be able to carry thousands of pounds of food and other goods -- as well as ministers bringing the Word of God -- to other parts of the world. That argument never got off the runway. It is and bordering on . We rate it .    

Clinton has "raised the most money from Washington lobbyists ... from the health industry, drug companies, health insurance companies (and) the defense industry.

October 30, 2007

ethics

john edwards

John Edwards is a former U.S. senator from North Carolina who was John Kerry's running mate in 2004. A personal injury attorney, Edwards was born in South Carolina in 1953 and now lives in Chapel Hill, N.C. He graduated from North Carolina State University and earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina Law School. He is married to Elizabeth Edwards, who has been diagnosed with cancer. They have three children; a fourth was killed in an auto accident. He withdrew from the presidential race on Jan. 30, 2008.

national

Philadelphia, Pa

In October, the Huffington Post, a liberal blog, analyzed Federal Election Commission data on the campaign contributions from employees of the top five U.S. arms makers. Their study found that these individuals gave Clinton a total of $52,600, more than half of the total going to all Democratic candidates and equal to 60 percent of the total for Republican presidential hopefuls. But more extensive data analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics shows that the number one recipient from defense industry employees is, in fact, Dodd. The single-digit-polling Senator from Connecticut gathered $168,800 from the defense industry in the first nine months of this year, the Center found, while Clinton came in a close second with $123,583. So overall, we find Edwards attack on Clinton to be .

AIG "said they were giving $57 million (in retention payments) to people who were being terminated.

March 16, 2009

economy

elijah cummings

Elijah E. Cummings is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland.

national

a TV interview

This is a complex issue, and much of the detail about the retention bonuses has not yet been publicly revealed. And it's certainly debatable whether the company needs to be paying such large retention bonuses to so many employees. But the fact we are checking here is whether AIG plans to spend $57 million on retention awards for people it expects to terminate in the future. And the answer, according to the company's recent SEC filings, is yes. We rule the statement .

When I talk about (raising the) minimum wage ... half of Republicans agree with it.

March 5, 2014

economy;jobs;polls and public opinion

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

Boston

Obama said, "When I talk about (raising the) minimum wage ... half of Republicans agree with it." Republicans do support a minimum-wage hike if you don't specify a dollar figure. But once you mention the $10.10 target Obama wants, his case gets shakier. We rate the .

Over 73% of all donations raised (from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge) are going to fundraising, overhead, executive salaries, and external donations.

August 28, 2014

disability;health care

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

national

blog posts

The blog post said that "over 73 percent of all donations raised (from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge) are going to fundraising, overhead, executive salaries, and external donations." Whether purposely or by incompetence, the anonymous blogger misreported the ALS Association’s figures. In reality, nearly 79 percent of the ALS Association’s expenditures were for purposes that advance its stated mission. Fundraising, overhead and executive salaries account for no more than 21 percent. We rate the .

Bill Gates worked to end livestock production, and is pushing lab grown meat.

May 4, 2020

environment;agriculture;food;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A Facebook post said "Bill Gates worked to end livestock production, and is pushing lab grown meat." Gates has invested at different times in several companies working to make meat replacements. Some of those companies are using biotechnology to grow their products in labs. But we found no that he has tried to get rid of all livestock production. Based on the information available, we rate this post .

Says Islamic studies professor Tariq Ramadan said Muslims are here "to colonize the U.S. and Canada and spread Sharia law" and won't "hesitate to use violent Jihad" if they have to.

March 20, 2019

religion;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

This appears to be entirely fabricated as, rape charges aside, he has called out violence within religion. It is important to note that Ramadan has spoken positively about "Jihad," but his views usually follow a mainstream  understanding of the term: "Jihad is the expression of a rejection of all injustice, as also the necessary assertion of balance and harmony in equity. One hopes for a nonviolent struggle, far removed from the horrors of armed conflict." Pointe De Bascule’s breakdown of Ramadan’s 2011 speech was republished by several anti-Islam websites, and the quote shared on social media appears to have turned into a mashup and exaggeration of Lebuis’ paraphrasing of Ramadan’s words. We rate this .

Republicans tried to block the deficit commission.

August 15, 2010

federal budget

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.  

national

a segment of CBS' ''Face The Nation.''

We found that several Republican lawmakers who originally supported the Bipartisan Task Force withdrew their co-sponsorship only days before the vote took place. Had they not done so, the proposal would have passed. At the same time, the Democratic leadership also failed to get all of its members in line -- 22 Democrats voted against the measure. Democrats also overwhelmingly voted down a Republican-backed panel that would have looked at ways to reduce the deficit through spending cuts. In all, we rate this .

Joe Biden calls Pennsylvania voters who don't support him 'chumps.'

October 26, 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.

pennsylvania

a Facebook post

He was referring to a very specific group of people — those disrupting his speech — and not all of the president’s supporters in the state. And his comments came as he was saying that he would be a president for all Americans, not just those who support him.  We rate this Facebook post .  This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here , for more.

Michael Bennet cast the deciding vote" for the stimulus and the health care bill.

October 6, 2010

health care;history;message machine 2010;stimulus

national republican senatorial committee

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

national

a campaign commercial

The NRSC ad would have been quite justified in describing Bennet's vote for either bill as "crucial" or "necessary" to passage of either bill, or even as " a deciding vote." But we can't find any rationale for singling Bennet out as "the deciding vote" in either case. He made his support for the stimulus bill known early on and was not a holdout on either bill. To ignore that and the fact that other senators played a key role in completing the needed vote total for the health care bill, leaves out critical facts that would give a different impression from message conveyed by the ad. As a result, we rate the statement .

Says Jen Psaki said, "President Biden might need kneepads for riding his bike, but the last guy needed kneepads for visiting the Kremlin.

June 19, 2022

facebook fact-checks;russia

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 Twitter handle mentioned on the Instagram post is "@psaki" — an account that does not seem to exist. (The statement also does not appear on Psaki’s archived Twitter account from her time working for the Obama administration, @Psaki44.)  We also didn’t find the tweet after searching for it more broadly online. When people delete tweets, an echo of those posts still appears in Google search results, but there were none there in this case.  We rate claims that Psaki tweeted this !

We do know that Romney personally approved over $70 million in fictional losses to the IRS as part of the notorious 'Son of Boss' tax scandal, one of the largest tax avoidance schemes in history.

August 9, 2012

ethics;message machine 2012;taxes

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 campaign ad

The Obama ad says Romney personally approved $70 million in fictional tax losses through the Son of Boss tax shelter. Marriott International used Son of Boss. At the time, the illegality of the scheme had not been proven in court, but the nature of it was clear to all participants. Romney was head of Marriott’s audit committee at the time. Experts disagree on whether the corporate board would have known about the deal and had the chance to question it. The company neither confirmed nor denied that the board approved the transaction. At some point, the board would have approved filings that included the fraudulent losses, but it’s unclear whether Romney specifically favored the tax move. The statement includes a measure of but ignores important context. We rate it .

Maricopa County official purged machine records before audit started.

September 25, 2021

elections;facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

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

arizona

an Instagram post

An Instagram post says "Maricopa County official purged machine records before audit started." The Maricopa County Elections Department said it archived and backed up all November election data, and that nothing was deleted. Elections experts said this is standard procedure ahead of a forensic audit.  We rate this post .

Under President Obama, domestic oil production is at an eight-year high.

March 28, 2012

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.

virginia

a TV ad

Obama’s commercial is accurate in saying domestic oil production is at its highest level in eight years. The suggestion of the ad, however, overstates the administration’s role in achieving these results. Much of the increase in production during under Obama has come from state and private lands that the president does not control. So we rate the statement .

Morgan Freeman called out Joe Biden for talking about "ice cream" before commenting on the Nashville, Tennessee, school shooting.

March 29, 2023

facebook fact-checks

tiktok posts

Posts on the video-sharing platform TikTok.

national

a post

Biden then called on a group of children in the crowd to stand as he recognized them.  After the opening, Biden briefly addressed the shooting that had occurred that morning, saying that it was "sick" and that facts were still being gathered about what had happened; he then called for more action against gun violence. He spent the bulk of the appearance talking about women in small businesses and their impact on the economy.  As for the TikTok, Freeman didn’t call out Biden. That’s !

How many of you are aware that the female governor of Michigan is the niece of George Soros?

June 1, 2020

facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

Peter Soros married Flora Fraser in 1997 . Jeffrey Soros was married to Catharine Cosover in 1995.  If this disinformation connecting Whitmer to Soros seems arbitrary, keep in mind two things: A lot of anger was directed at Whitmer as she locked down Michigan to curb COVID-19, and baseless claims tying George Soros to the coronavirus have proliferated online. Combined, we have this Facebook post. And we’re rating it .

Blake Masters "wants to privatize" Social Security.

October 26, 2022

social security;arizona

mark kelly

Mark Kelly is a U.S. Senator from Arizona. Kelly is a retired astronaut and husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who was injured in a January 2011 shooting. The couple founded advocacy group Americans for Responsible Solutions.

national

a newspaper interview

Kelly said Masters "wants to privatize" Social Security. During the primary, Masters said "maybe, we should privatize Social Security." He no longer mentions that option and says he’s looking for ways to preserve the program for anyone who has counted on it being there. Kelly was speaking in the present tense and Masters is saying something different today. Kelly’s statement contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate his . RELATED: Democrats attack Republican Social Security plans. What’s in them?

Says "Bill Gates and other globalists, in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, are reportedly working to push tracking bracelets and 'invisible tattoos' to monitor Americans during an impending lockdown.

March 18, 2020

public health;science;technology;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

instagram posts

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

an Instagram post

An online post says that Bill Gates is pushing tracking bracelets and invisible tattoos to monitor Americans during the novel coronavirus pandemic. We find no that Gates has supported the concept of "tracking bracelets." His foundation awarded a grant to MIT to study invisible dyes that could accompany vaccines to keep track of vaccinations in developing countries. But this research began in 2016, and there is no that it has anything to do with the current coronavirus pandemic, or to "monitor" Americans specifically.  This post takes a small kernel of and frames it in a way that gives a impression. We rate it .

John Kerry at COP27 climate summit spoke about wanting to "wipe out the middle class … get you under the central banking digital currency system.

November 11, 2022

climate change;facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

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

a video

An Instagram video claimed Kerry spoke about wanting to "wipe out the middle class … get you under the central banking digital currency system." Kerry didn’t call for that during the COP27 climate summit. He spoke about private companies investing in greener technologies to combat climate change. He did not advocate for ending the middle class or implementing a central banking digital currency system. We rate this . 

Red Bull contains bull sperm.

August 25, 2019

animals;food;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

Scientists have debunked the notion that energy drinks like Red Bull are made with taurine derived from animals. In July 2018, Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, wrote that while scientists originally isolated taurine from bull semen, it’s now produced synthetically. "This compound is an ‘aminosulfonic acid’ that is widely distributed in the human body and plays a role in cardiovascular function, development of the nervous system and formation of bile acids," he says in the post. . Schwarcz warns that excessive consumption of energy drinks should be avoided, "but not because of a concern that taurine is isolated from bull semen. "  We rate this Facebook post . 

Obamacare "cuts seniors' Medicare.

August 25, 2014

health care;medicare

ed gillespie

Ed Gillespie is a Republican strategist who currently runs the firm Ed Gillespie Strategies. He served as counselor to former President George W. Bush. Gillespie has announced he will run for Virginia governor in 2017. He narrowly lost a 2014 bid for the U.S. Senate to Democrat Mark Warner.

virginia

a campaign email

Gillespie says Obamacare "cuts seniors’ Medicare," a statement that implies the law is reducing benefits across the board. There’s debate among analysts over how the law’s cost savings measures will impact some beneficiaries, particularly seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans run by private insurers. Some of those seniors -- who comprise about 30 percent of Medicare recipients -- may lose some of the extra benefits they had before the law or could see higher premiums. Overall, the health care law slows Medicare’s growth, but spending will still rise significantly and some new services for seniors were added. So we rate Gillespie’s statement .

Cori Bush is a career criminal and a con artist.

September 15, 2020

candidate biography

anthony rogers

Anthony Rogers is a Republican Party candidate running for the U.S. House to represent Missouri's 1st Congressional District. 

missouri

a Facebook post

Rogers called Bush a "career criminal and a con artist" on Facebook, but there is no to suggest that Bush is either. The court cases Rogers provided as were all civil cases.  None of the purported provided by Rogers to back his held up to the facts, either. When told of our findings, Rogers insisted he was still right.  Due to his denial of the facts and baseless claims, we rate Rogers’ .

Queen Elizabeth II was a reptile.

July 7, 2022

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

President Joe Biden has similarly been accused of being a reptile. In 2021, we fact-checked a that a video proved he wasn’t human because a snake had been seen emerging from his jacket during a debate with then-President Donald Trump. It wasn’t a snake, but a rosary Biden wears to remember his late son, Beau. And Joe Biden is human, just as the queen was.  We rate these posts !

Oil is now $61.30 a barrel and rising drastically! On Jan. 5, it was about $25 a barrel.

February 19, 2021

energy;trade;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A Facebook post claimed: "Oil is now $61.30 a barrel and rising drastically! On Jan. 5, it was about $25 a barrel." The latest prices for two major benchmarks as of the date of the post were roughly in the range of $61. But that was up from about $50, not $25, on Jan. 5. We rate the post .

Biden was responsible for "ending genocide in Bosnia.

December 27, 2007

foreign policy

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. 

national

a TV ad

NATO, led by Gen. Wesley Clark, played its role, too, as did many other U.S. and international leaders. So yes, Biden wanted to stop the genocide. He played an influential role in the debate. But he didn't end the war himself, as his ad implies. We rate his statement .

Says the U.S. government caused the coronavirus pandemic because it sent mRNA coronavirus vaccine candidates to university researchers weeks before the COVID-19 outbreak.

June 14, 2021

public health;science;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

national

a story

Articles suggest the U.S. government created the pandemic because its scientists sent mRNA coronavirus vaccine candidates to other researchers before the COVID-19 outbreak.  This is a misrepresentation of the facts and is not that the government is responsible for the cause of the pandemic. The vaccine candidates were for a coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, not for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. NIAID researchers have been working on developing vaccines for coronaviruses, which consist of hundreds of viruses, for several years. We rate this .

Florida's proposed amendment for medical marijuana would allow "people who alleged minor ailments such as muscle spasms, neck pain, back pain and even menstrual cramps (to qualify) for government-sanctioned pot-smoking.

November 19, 2013

drugs;health care;marijuana

grady judd

Grady Judd was first elected Polk County sheriff in 2004. He is also the president of the Florida Sheriffs Association. 

florida

a "Sun-Sentinel" editorial

Judd said that people with "minor ailments" could get access to marijuana if Florida’s proposed amendment passes next year. He mentioned spasms and other chronic pain as a minor condition, when sometimes those conditions are quite serious. But compared to most other states, Florida’s ballot language is flexible because it allows for physicians to determine whether a patient’s condition qualifies for a license. We rate Judd’s statement .

Says Nancy Pelosi tweeted that she was disgusted with Donald Trump over taxes

April 1, 2020

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

An image shared on Facebook that appears to be a tweet from Pelosi saying she is disgusted with Trump over tax breaks was posted by a now-defunct -tweet generator.  We rate the image .

The Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl win has been "put on hold as NFL plans to launch an investigation on possible (performance-enhancing drug) use by Patrick Mahomes during halftime.

February 12, 2023

sports

tweets

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

a tweet

There also have been no reports from credible media outlets about Mahomes being investigated for possible drug use.  At the end of the first half, Mahomes was tackled by an Eagles linebacker, aggravating a high ankle sprain the quarterback had suffered during the playoffs and was still recovering from. Sports Illustrated reported that during halftime, Mahomes refused treatment for his ankle, telling the team’s staff that he was fine. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Mahomes was able to "push through the pain" and carry the team to victory. We rate claims about a Mahomes investigation !

In seven years that (nuclear) deal will have expired, and Iran is free to go ahead and create nuclear weapons.

April 30, 2018

iran;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

a press conference

Trump said that the Iran nuclear deal expires in seven years and after that, Iran is free to develop a nuclear weapon. The agreement’s limits on enriched uranium last for another 12 years. While some restrictions ease after seven years, the key elements that prevent Iran from enriching the uranium needed for a bomb remain until 2030. In addition, certain terms last forever, including the prohibition on ever designing or making a nuclear weapon, and remaining under the eye of international inspectors. We rate this .

Tim Kaine announced he wants to raise taxes on everyone.

September 20, 2012

taxes

george allen

George Allen was a U.S. senator from 2001-2007. He was governor of Virginia from 1994-1998.

virginia

a news release

Allen claimed that Kaine "announced he wants to raise taxes on everyone." Kaine, in response to a question, said he would be "open to a proposal that would have some minimum tax level on everyone," but did not endorse the concept. If such a policy was enacted, it would not mean that everyone would pay higher income taxes. It would mean that the 47 percent of filers who had no income tax liability would pay something. Even if you go beyond the debate statement the Allen camp points to and look at Kaine’s other major tax positions -- ending the Bush era cuts for those earning more than $500,000 and eliminating some tax deductions in exchange for lowering rates -- that does not equate to a plan that would raise taxes on everyone. We rate Allen’s statement .

Says President Obama has cracked down "on employers who are attracting undocumented immigrants and hiring them more than any previous president.

July 20, 2013

immigration

debbie wasserman schultz

Debbie Wasserman Schultz became the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee in 2011 and resigned in July 2016. The Florida Democrat was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004 after serving in the state senate. She represents Congressional District 23 in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

florida

an interview

Wasserman Schultz said that Obama has cracked down "on employers who are attracting undocumented immigrants and hiring them more than any previous president." She used the word "employers" and not "employees" here for a reason: Obama shifted away from Bush’s strategy of workplace raids and turned the focus on employers. Between 2008 and 2009, immigration audits soared from 503 to more than 8,000. But other metric tell a more nuanced story. Final orders against employers, for example, were higher in the 1990s than they are now. We rate this .

I've never supported a payroll tax.

June 22, 2012

taxes

david dewhurst

David Dewhurst, the former state land commissioner, was initially elected lieutenant governor of Texas in 2002. He lost his 2012 bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and lost his bid for re-nomination in 2014.

texas

Dallas

During the state’s mid-decade tax debates, the Senate under Dewhurst’s leadership -- and to his praise -- incorporated payroll taxes in a proposal to replace the existing business franchise tax. No payroll tax passed into law. Still, it’s to say Dewhurst never supported a payroll tax. We rate his debate as .

I started with a $3.7 billion budget deficit. Now we are projecting a $1.2 billion surplus.

August 10, 2011

state budget

rick scott

Rick Scott, a wealthy Florida businessman, was first elected Florida's 45th governor on Nov. 2, 2010 and re-elected Nov. 4, 2014. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and is running for re-election in 2024.

florida

an interview

Let's go back to Scott's statement. He said, "When I walked into office we were projecting somewhere between a $3.4-3.7 billion budget deficit. Right now we are projecting for the fiscal year that started July 1 a $1.2 billion surplus." Scott's numbers are generally right but his word choice is problematic and the comparison is . The Legislature had to cut around $3.6 billion from the amount of money it was expected to have to spend in 2011-12. It wasn't a deficit -- which would mean the state didn't have the money to pay its bills -- but rather a projected shortfall. After making those cuts -- and cutting an additional $1 billion so it could beef up its reserves -- the state now has around $1.3 billion more than it needs to pay its bill as part of the 2011-12 budget.  But having the extra money is actually common practice for the state.  In fact, after Crist's last budget as governor, the state had an extra $433 million, or as Scott would say, a "surplus."  It also had a projected $3.6 billion shortfall. See the problem in making the comparison? In reality, the state ends most every year with what Scott calls a surplus because the state is required to pass a balanced budget and generally can't borrow money to pay its bills. And in recent years, because state revenue has been declining, the state enters the next year with a projected "deficit" using Scott's word -- or more accurately a shortfall. The fact is that while Scott has his numbers right, he's comparing apples to oranges to paint his fiscal policies in the best light.  We rate this .

There's only four senators senior to me ... there's still 44 older than me.

August 23, 2008

candidate biography

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. 

national

Springfield, Ill

Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C. (72), John McCain, R-Ariz. (71 until Aug. 29, 2008), Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. (71), Thad Cochran, R-Miss. (70), Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo. (69), Tom Harkin, D-Iowa (68), Harry Reid, D-Nev. (68), Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. (68), Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. (68), Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. (67), Ben Nelson, D-Neb. (67), Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. (66), Max Baucus, D-Mont. (66), Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. (66), Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. (66), Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. (66), Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. (66) and Bill Nelson, D-Fla. (66 as of Sept. 29, 2008). But this is all relative, since according to the Congressional Research Service, 2008's cadre of senators is among the oldest in history with an average age of 61.7 (just younger than Biden's 65). Since Biden was off by one rank of seniority and four elder peers, we rate this as .  

Romney "would turn Medicare into a voucher program.

October 3, 2012

debates;medicare

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

the first presidential debate

Some experts in health policy say there are marked differences between the terms "voucher" and "premium support." While there are technical differences that may matter to health-policy professionals, these are not the type of differences that most beneficiaries would see as significant. In recent years, the definitions of "premium support" and "vouchers" have become almost indistinguishable. Generally, we think "voucher program" is a fair way of describing to voters the vision for Medicare under a Romney-Ryan administration. We rate Obama’s .

Under 'Trumpcare,'" domestic violence and sexual assault "could be considered pre-existing conditions.

May 4, 2017

health care;legal issues;crime;public health;women

gwen moore

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore is a Democratic member of Congress, representing Wisconsin's 4th District, which primarily includes Milwaukee. Moore, who served in the state Legislature from 1989 to 2004, was elected to Congress in 2004.

wisconsin

a news release

Our rating Moore says that "under ‘Trumpcare,’" the Republican replacement for Obamacare, domestic violence and sexual assault "could be considered pre-existing conditions" -- something that could trigger higher insurance prices for those victims. Moore’s goes too far. Simply being a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault would not mean a person had a pre-existing condition. But it is important to know that conditions stemming from those assaults, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, could. For a statement that contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, our rating is .

The sanctions that we put on (Russia) for the Crimea annexation and meddling in Ukraine ... have absolutely crushed the ruble by 50 percent. And GDP from 2014 to 2016 is 50 percent down in Russia, as well.

February 19, 2017

economy;foreign policy;punditfact

anthony tata

Anthony Tata is a former Army brigadier general and deputy commanding general of U.S. forces in Afghanistan from 2006-07. He regularly comments on national security to the media, and he is also a novelist.

an interview on CNN

Tata said, "The sanctions that we put on (Russia) for the Crimea annexation and meddling in Ukraine ... have absolutely crushed the ruble by 50 percent. And GDP from 2014 to 2016 is 50 percent down in Russia, as well." Russia’s ruble fell more than 50 percent in the year following the start of sanctions in 2014, but it started to regain value in 2016. There are no GDP figures yet for Russia in 2016, but from 2014 to 2015, it fell by about 35 percent. It seems a drop in oil prices are the main driver of Russia’s problems. But sanctions play at least some role — though it’s hard to evaluate exactly how much given the country’s oil crisis.   Tata is right that Russia’s economy has struggled in recent years, though his numbers are a little off. More critically, sanctions are only part of the reason for Russia's economic troubles. We rate his statement .

Because of the 2011 debt ceiling fight, "the stock market lost 2,000 points.

October 6, 2013

economy

charles schumer

Charles Schumer is a Democratic senator from New York and the Senate majority leader.

national

an interview on ABC's "This Week"

Our rating Schumer said that because of the 2011 debt ceiling fight, "the stock market lost 2,000 points." If you count the aftermath of the deal that avoided a debt ceiling breach, which included a historic downgrade of the United States’ creditworthiness rating, then Schumer is right that the Dow fell by 2,000 points. Still, Schumer makes it sound as if the drop happened right away. Actually, it dropped at the time of fight and continued to drop for another two months after the United States' credit rating was downgraded. We rate Schumer’s .

Guess what, governor? There's no fried butter in Newark. Just 13 percent unemployment.

July 9, 2013

jobs

barbara buono

 Barbara Buono is a Democratic state senator representing part of Middlesex County. Buono previously served in the State Assembly from 1994 to 2001.

new jersey

an online gubernatorial campaign ad

Buono said in a new online ad about Christie’s trips to other states, "Guess what, governor? There’s no fried butter in Newark. Just 13 percent unemployment." Data from the BLS shows that for almost all of Christie’s tenure as governor, Newark’s unemployment rate has been at least a full percentage point or two higher than what Buono’s ad claims. There have only been three months in which the city’s unemployment rate was in the 13 percent range: April 2012, April 2013 and a preliminary rate in that range for May. The point of Buono’s is that Newark has had consistently high unemployment, whether during the few months it was in the 13 percent range or when it stagnated in the 15 percent range. We rate her . To comment on this story, go to NJ.com .

Says that Secretary of State Jon Husted and former secretary Jennifer Brunner both have supported a provision in Senate Bill 47 that would limit the days organizers have to collect signatures for initiative and referendum petitions.

March 13, 2013

elections

bill seitz

Bill Seitz is a senator in the Ohio General Assembly, representing the 8th Senate District in Hamilton County. Seitz was appointed to the Senate in 2007. Prior to that he was a state representative, a township trustee from Green Township and a member of the Cincinnati board of education.

ohio

testimony before a House committee

Seitz said Husted supports the controversial SB 47 provision, which is accurate. Seitz also said Brunner supported it --  the past tense being paramount --  which is partially correct. The old provision didn’t include language about initiative petitions addressed in SB 47. In addition, the senator failed to fully explain Brunner’s past endorsement of petition restrictions,  and might have left the impression that she was a current supporter of the provision. We rate his .

The amount of attention paid this week to Chris Christie makes the coverage of Benghazi ... pale in significance.

January 12, 2014

terrorism;transportation;punditfact

karl rove

Karl Rove is a former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush. He has worked as a commentator and political analyst for Fox News.

comments on "Fox News Sunday"

Rove said that the coverage of Christie pales "in significance" to the coverage of Benghazi. When news of the attacks on Benghazi broke, coverage was widespread, and it continued through congressional hearings. Moreover, a lot of the coverage questioned the administration’s narrative and response to the attacks. Indeed, Christie has occupied much of the conversation, but it was also in a relatively slow news week. Benghazi garnered significant coverage, even during the height of the presidential election. Perhaps the outcome of those reports didn’t unearth the conspiracy conservatives alleged and hoped for. More is still likely to come out, and Republicans continue to keep it in the news. But to insinuate the mainstream media ignored the attacks while putting Christie through the ringer goes too far. We rate Rove’s statement .

Says Bill Gates said "at least 3 billion people need to die" from the planet.

January 25, 2021

climate change;facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

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

a video

"We make the future sustainable when we invest in the poor, not when we insist on their suffering," the letter says. The Instagram post is . We rate it . RELATED:  YouTube video takes Bill Gates out of context on coronavirus vaccinations

Ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID-19.

August 8, 2021

drugs;government regulation;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.

a Facebook post

A Facebook post declares that ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID-19. Some studies have raised the possibility that the drug might work against COVID-19.  But reviews of numerous studies of ivermectin have found there is no conclusive that it is effective against COVID-19, and public health authorities including the FDA have recommended against using it to treat the virus. That doesn’t exclude the possibility that ivermectin could work in isolated cases, but the post ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. The post contains only an element of . We rate it .

Says that the oil and gas industry comprises 35% of the Texas economy.

December 12, 2020

economy;energy;coronavirus

christi craddick

Christi Leigh Craddick is the chairwoman of the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's regulatory body over oil, natural gas, utilities, and surface mining. She has served on the commission since 2012.

texas

a tweet

Craddick said earlier this month that the oil and gas industry comprises 35% of the Texas economy. Craddick's office clarified that this figure represented the industry’s combined direct, indirect and induced economic impact, and that it represents a projection of how the industry will end the year after its recent bounce back.  The oil and gas industry has comprised as much as 40% of the state economy during the last decade’s fracking boom, yet shrunk to 30% before the pandemic shocked the world economy. Firm quarterly data showing the industry’s recent gains will not be released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis until late 2021. We rate this . 

Texas "ranks 50th in baby wellness checks, ranks 50th in clinical care for infants, ranks 50th in uninsured women, ranks 43rd in maternal mortality, ranks 44th in school funding per child, and ranks 46th in child hunger.

September 1, 2021

abortion;children;education;food;health care;women

occupy democrats

Occupy Democrats, founded in 2012, is an advocacy group created to counterbalance the Republican tea party, and to "give President Obama and other progressive Democrats a Congress that will work with them to grow the economy, create jobs, promote fairness and fight inequality, and get money out of politics!"

texas

on social media

The original Occupy Democrats post said that Texas "ranks 50th in baby wellness checks, ranks 50th in clinical care for infants, ranks 50th in uninsured women, ranks 43rd in maternal mortality, ranks 44th in school funding per child, and ranks 46th in child hunger." The post was correct about the women’s health insurance rankings and school spending, and it was close for child hunger. However, the most recent data shows that Texas is closer to the middle than to the bottom for baby wellness checks and maternal mortality. And a about clinical care for infants was unsupported. We rate the statement .

Some countries are contributing (peacekeeping) troops because they're making money off of them.

January 18, 2017

global news service;foreign policy

nikki haley

Nikki Haley announced on Feb. 14, 2023 that she is running for president in the Republican primary. Haley was the governor of South Carolina 2011-2017 and then served as President Donald Trump's ambassador to the UN in 2017 and 2018.

a Senate confirmation hearing

Haley said that "some countries" contribute peacekeeping troops because they make money off the U.N. payments. Every expert we reached agreed that for some nations, the financial payoff is a factor. However, they all said that money was not the sole driver, and that countries gained military training and experience from the role they played. Haley offered an accurate but limited comment on peacekeeping troops. We rate this .

Says Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans makes "$651,957 plus expenses" a year and "only 9 cents of every dollar" donated to the organization goes to helping people in need.

April 28, 2018

ethics;financial regulation;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A Facebook post shares an outdated rumor about the American Red Cross, claiming that CEO Marsha Evans makes "$651,957 plus expenses" and "only 9 cents of every dollar donated" actually goes to helping people in need. Marsha Evans is no longer the Red Cross CEO, and the current CEO and president, Gail McGovern, made $603,564 in 2017, with benefits, allowances and expenses factored in. When it comes to the percentage of donor dollars that go toward helping people in need, it is a little more murky. The organization has long touted that an average of 91 cents of every dollar donated is spent on humanitarian efforts, but that number has been challenged before, with different reports estimating it may be as low as 73 cents on every dollar. Still, we found no or any report that puts that number as low as 9 cents, as the post claims. We rate it .

Says most of Perry's chiefs of staff have been lobbyists.

August 14, 2010

ethics

bill white

Bill White, an author, is a San Antonio native who was mayor of Houston from 2004-2009. He was the 2010 Democratic nominee for governor of Texas.

texas

a speech

In 2009, Sullivan had seven clients listed to his name on the ethics website, including HNTP Corp., a toll-road engineering company. Seven chiefs of staff later, what have we learned? Far as we can tell, five have been registered as lobbyists, as White stated. Three of those — McKinney, Toomey and Sullivan — were lobbyists before Perry hired them as chief of staff. We rate White's statement as . 

Photos showed "bricks everywhere" in Kenosha during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.

November 17, 2021

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

Facebook posts

Facebook posts sharing an image compilation claimed that photos showed "bricks everywhere" in Kenosha during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. The photos and video screen grabs shown in the compilation are all more than a year old, and none were taken in Kenosha, let alone near the courthouse where Rittenhouse was tried. We rate these posts .

Sheila Bynum-Coleman said, 'We need to get the police out of the schools.'

October 13, 2019

education;public safety

kirk cox

Del. Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, is the majority leader of Virginia's House of Delegates. He was first elected to the House in 1989. Cox is a retired government teacher in Chesterfield County public schools.  

virginia

a TV ad

Cox’s ad says "Sheila Bynum-Coleman said, ‘We need to get the police out of schools.’" Bynum-Coleman used those words in a lengthy answer she gave to a question about the "prison-to-school pipeline," affecting many black students.  But in her next sentence, she explained that police "need" to be on hand "to make sure the school is safe, not to incarcerate the children and deal with disciplinary actions and that’s what’s taking place." And she elaborated a few minutes later, "I think that the police should only be there to make sure the school is safe and secure. They should not have any dealings with disciplinary actions within the school." Cox ignores this easily available context and, in an era of mass shootings, misleadingly creates the impression that Bynam-Coleman said she would leave schools unprotected.  We rate Cox’s . 

Ninety-five percent of all the wages in Texas are above minimum wage.

September 18, 2013

economy;workers

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

an interview on CNN's "Crossfire"

Perry said 95 percent "of all the wages in Texas are above minimum wage." That conclusion ties to 452,000 of the state’s nearly 10.9 million workers in 2012 being paid the minimum wage or less. But those numbers are incomplete, because the federal agency that analyzes such data doesn’t gauge how much any non-hourly workers are paid. It seems reasonable to speculate that most non-hourly workers earn more than the minimum wage, but it’s not an across-the-board certainty. We rate this statement as .

Every time somebody new gets the Ebola virus, it mutates.

October 15, 2014

ebola;public health;punditfact

glenn beck

Glenn Beck is the host of The Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show. He also hosts an Internet-based TV show. Beck formerly hosted a television talk show on CNN Headline News and then Fox News.

a broadcast of the "Glenn Beck Program"

Beck warned that every time someone new gets the Ebola virus, it mutates. First, mutation and replication go hand in hand and infecting a new person doesn’t change that. But the much larger point is that Beck is painting mutations with a broad brush. Most of them hurt the virus and are automatic dead-ends. Of those that don’t actually hurt it, about two-thirds don’t change how Ebola functions. Of those that change how the virus functions, there’s no data to say whether the functional changes matter. However, the most recent study in West Africa found that many new varieties are not passed on to new victims. Beck’s statement about Ebola mutations is partially accurate but leaves out important details. Accordingly, we rate it .

Says after leaving the White House, Hillary Clinton "was forced to return an estimated $200,000 in White House china, furniture and artwork that she had stolen.

June 20, 2015

ethics;punditfact

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 post shared on Facebook

A viral graphic said that Hillary Clinton was forced to return about $200,000 worth of furniture, artwork and china that she had stolen from the White House. The statement contains several inaccuracies. The Clintons returned about $48,000 in furniture, and they paid the government about $86,000 for other items. Any way you count it, the $200,000 figure is too high. According to top ethics lawyers, it’s at least debatable -- and at worst hyperbolic -- to say the Clintons "stole" the items. A congressional investigation found poor tracking of ownership and final disposition of gifts, which makes it hard to speak definitively of wrongdoing. In fact, two items the Clintons returned were ultimately sent back to them. Finally, it’s worth making clear that the "force" they responded to was political pressure, not legal jeopardy. Accusations of stealing are serious and require a high threshold of , unmet by the charges in this over-the-top graphic. We rate the .

During the year Kagan barred military recruiters from Harvard Law School's Office of Career Services, "military recruiting actually went up.

June 29, 2010

kagan nomination;lgbtq;military

elena kagan

Elena Kagan is a U.S. Supreme Court justice who was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2010 to succeed the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Prior to her nomination, she was solicitor general in the Obama Administration.

national

the Kagan confirmation hearing

But by citing the statistic (without the numbers), Kagan suggests it backs the contention that her decision to bar recruiters from the Office of Career Services during the spring semester of 2005 had negligible, and perhaps only a symbolic, effect on military recruiting at Harvard Law School. That's a matter of dispute. While the former dean and a 2006 graduate now in the military say the policy had little real effect on recruiting, military recruiters clearly disagreed. The number of recruits in any given year at Harvard Law School is so small, we don't think citing the 2005 increase - by 2 from the previous year - settles the issue one way or the other. And so we rate Kagan's .

Says Austin is the "safest big city in Texas with an unemployment rate under 3% that has been named the best place to live in the entire United States two years running.

April 25, 2018

city government;economy;history;crime

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

a tweet

Adler referred to Austin as the "safest big city in Texas with an unemployment rate under 3% that has been named the best place to live in the entire United States two years running." Hizzoner was right about Austin’s jobless rate of late and Austin getting named the city’s best place to live two years in a row though it’s worth clarifying that the rankings considered only the country’s 125 largest metro areas. Whether Austin is the safest big Texas city rests on interpreting crime data the FBI counsels against using to compare communities. This said, we previously found that the five-county Austin region in 2015 had a lower violent-crime rate than other Texas regions while in the first half of 2016, El Paso had a lower violent-crime rate than Austin. On balance, we rate this Adler . – 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.

Nobody's ever seen a number like this… (33.1%) economic growth is four times greater than what the experts expected.

October 29, 2020

economy

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

Tampa, Fla

Trump said no one has ever seen growth like the country saw in the third quarter, and it was four times higher than experts expected. Trump is literally correct that the jump in GDP is the highest as far back as the government numbers go. However, it came after a drop that was equally historic, and both were driven by a pandemic, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in a century. Trump erred on the expectations of forecasters. Experts were predicting high growth. The average in one large survey of economists came in about five percentage points low, but that’s a fraction of the error Trump stated. We rate this . This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here , for more.