(This article was originally posted June 3, 2004. We are reissuing it now, updated only to fix bad links and such. Politicians still can lie legally, and the high volume of ads expected in 2008 campaigns makes it likely that voters will be exposed to more deception than ever. —B.J.) Here’s a fact that may surprise you: Candidates have a legal right to lie to voters just about as much as they want. That comes as a shock to many. After all, consumers have been protected for decades from... Click to Read the Full Post
Where are all the nasty, personal, negative TV spots? Candidates seem to be reluctant to run them — and there’s a reason. A new law requires presidential candidates to appear in their own ads and take personal responsibility for what they say. The idea behind this new "stand by your ad" law is that anyone slinging mud will have to do it personally, and risk getting splattered by their own missiles. And this is a reform that actually seems to be working. So far. Stand By Your... Click to Read the Full Post
In my 33 years of covering Washington and national politics, I’ve had some of the best jobs in American journalism — including the development of ‘adwatch’ and ‘factcheck’ stories for CNN. And with the launch today of FactCheck.org I hope to continue my professional lucky streak. This is going to be a fun job — and somebody has to do it. There already have been lots of dubious factual claims and outright falsehoods tossed around in the Presidential campaign:... Click to Read the Full Post
