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Viral Spiral
FactCheck Mailbag
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of May 7-13.
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2012 Players Guide
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Gillespie Twists the Facts on Bain Capital
A letter Bain Capital sent to its investors is now becoming a talking point for Mitt Romney surrogates. But once again the company letter, which boasts of Bain’s success, is being misrepresented — this time by Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign. Gillespie claimed that “less than …
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Mandel’s Deceptive Defense Against Sen. Brown
The campaign of Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel of Ohio is fighting back against “negative ads” from Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown with one of its very own. But it’s one that makes several inaccurate claims: The ad claims that Brown “gave huge bonuses to executives.” That’s not true. Brown actually …
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Sununu Misfires on Bain ‘Jobs’ Claim
John H. Sununu, a top surrogate for Mitt Romney, wrongly claimed Bain Capital was “able to save jobs … about 80 percent of the time” at companies in which it had invested. Sununu was misreading or misrepresenting a Bain statement on revenues, not jobs. Sununu, a former governor of New …
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Lemon-Picking Bain Capital, Obama-style
President Obama and a super PAC that supports him are stealing a page from Newt Gingrich and Ted Kennedy in running TV ads and web videos that slam Mitt Romney for his years at Bain Capital. And, like Gingrich and Kennedy before him, Obama is lemon-picking — that is, highlighting …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged Bain Capital, Edward Kennedy, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President Obama
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Soft Glove, Same GPS Fist
A new TV ad from Crossroads GPS features an actress playing a downcast mother of two jobless adult children. She says “things changed for the worse” after she supported Barack Obama for president. Her voice is soft, and so is the background music — but her situation is unlikely; her …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
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Spotlight On: John Heath
John Heath said he’s skeptical of claims that portray the government as incompetent. So, he was suspicious of a recent Web video produced by Arkansas Rep. Tim Griffin. The video depicts a program that subsidizes phone service for very low-income persons as a government giveaway that is costing taxpayers billions. …
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Posted in Spin Detectors Spotlight Articles
Tagged Arkansas Rep. Tim Griffin, Lifeline program
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Congressman’s Slippery Cell Phone Claim
A congressman’s Web video goes too far when it portrays a program that subsidizes cell phone service for very low-income persons as a government giveaway that is costing taxpayers billions. The video also misleadingly claims Arkansas Rep. Tim Griffin is “reforming” the program. His proposed legislation — the “Stop Taxpayer-Funded Cell …
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Posted in Spin Detectors Articles, The FactCheck Wire
Tagged Federal Communications Commission, Lifeline program, Tim Griffin
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Spinning Gov. Chris Christie’s Greatest Hits
A TV ad in support of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie supplies some misleading information about the governor’s record. The ad praises Christie and unnamed “reformers from both sides” for: “Creating jobs.” But the state has added only 37,100 jobs since he took office in January 2010. New Jersey and …
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