-
-
Viral Spiral
FactCheck Mailbag
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of May 7-13.
See letters from previous weeks“ Why is that worth noting? Does it change the facts? ” -
-
2012 Players Guide
The Real Scott’s Shady?
We had plenty to say recently about a misleading health care ad from a group called Conservatives for Patients’ Rights. We criticized the ad on its merits — but another organization has taken a different tack. Health Care for America Now released this TV spot, titled "Shady," on May 7, attacking the …
More >>
Misquoting Yamamoto
Advocates of gun rights often argue that in World War II Japan was deterred from invading the U.S. mainland by a fear of American citizens with guns in their closets. They frequently quote Japan’s Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto as saying: "You cannot invade mainland United States. There would be a rifle …
More >>
Swine Flu Fact and Fiction
You can’t spell "pandemic" without "panic," and news about swine flu has put people in a tizzy. As with any tizzy, this has resulted in some misinformation getting mixed in with the real-time updates. We present a few misconceptions about swine flu that we’ve seen or heard in the last …
More >>
Specter’s Statistic on the Switch
Sen. Arlen Specter’s remarks about changing political parties contained one statement that tripped our fact-checking radar: "Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats." Two hundred thousand people in one state changing their political colors from red to blue? Could it be true? Unfortunately, …
More >>
How Serious Is Swine Flu?
Blogs, news organizations and Twitter are all exploding with rumor and fact about the swine flu outbreak. But at the National Academy of Sciences today, President Obama said there was no need to panic: Obama: We are closely monitoring the emerging cases of swine flu in the United States. And …
More >>
