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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Are Federal Workers Overpaid?

President Barack Obama’s recent announcement to freeze the pay of federal civilian workers did little to ice the debate over whether federal workers are overpaid or underpaid. … Both sides are armed with official government statistics, but neither side is right. …

The Truth About Health Insurance Premiums

Leading Republicans in Congress are blaming the new health care law for double-digit rate increases being sought by insurance companies in Washington state, New York and Connecticut. But insurance regulators, leading health care experts …

The 2010 FactCheck Awards

The 2010 FactCheck Awards

Election Day has arrived; every voter has made up his or her mind (or should have, by now). So — just as we’ve done on Election Days past — we offer here some of the ads that we thought deserved special attention, not for the facts they present but for sheer style points (or lack thereof).

Stimulus Jobs in China?

In a bit of political payback, several Republicans are running false or misleading TV ads accusing their opponents of shipping jobs to China — a charge that Democrats have frequently and often incorrectly leveled against Republicans. …

Court Watch: Mudfest 2010

Millions of dollars are pouring into races for slots on state Supreme Courts, where the winners will make decisions about the lives and liberty of individuals, the fates of major corporations and other weighty matters. Unfortunately the TV ads …

Health Care Spin — Again

As the election draws near, some conservative groups are making ever-wilder claims about the new health care law: An elderly man in a Crossroads GPS ad makes the death-panel-esque claim that the law “threatens our lives.” The 60 Plus Association …

Whoppers of Campaign 2010

Midterm elections are an embarrassment of riches for fact-checkers — this year more than others. With Democrats fighting desperately to keep control of the House and Senate, and a torrent of money from corporations and other undisclosed …

Tall Tax Tales

Republican Sharron Angle says in a TV ad that Nevada Sen. Harry Reid “voted to raise taxes” 300 times. A “staggering 300 times.” He didn’t. We reviewed the 304 votes provided by the Angle campaign and found its final tally was padded …

Sales Tax Spin

Democrats are running misleading ads in several House and Senate races accusing Republicans of supporting a “23 percent national sales tax.” The ads fail to mention that the proposed tax — while controversial — is designed to replace all federal income …

Toss-ups: Pennsylvania Cash Attack

Two independent groups are spending heavily in the Pennsylvania Senate race, and we find both are airing TV ads that go a bit too far: VoteVets.org, a left-leaning veterans group, is up with an ad that claims Republican Pat Toomey supports letting Wall Street …