Chicago mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia claims in a new ad that Mayor Rahm Emanuel “took” money from closed public schools and “gave” it to “elite private schools.” Those “private schools,” in fact, are publicly funded charter schools — open to all students tuition-free.
No shortage of tall tales in the midterm elections, from both parties.
Democrats, Republicans spend nearly $50 million on TV ads that repeat old, scary Medicare claims.
FlackCheck.org, our sister website for political literacy, looks at two recent political campaign ads that mislead viewers using common patterns of deception.
A Republican TV ad in Illinois features indignant veterans scolding a Democratic House member about cuts to “veterans benefits” that never happened.
Republican Bruce Rauner falsely claims in a TV ad that Illinois leads the Midwest in “job losses” under Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. In fact, Illinois has experienced job growth — albeit small — since Quinn took office.
A slate of new ads from the 60 Plus Association evoke a well-worn conservative punching bag — “Obamacare” — to attack seven senators for supporting a lesser-known plan to overhaul the housing finance market.
Republican Bruce Rauner claims in a new Spanish-language TV ad that Illinois has lost 90,000 jobs in five years under Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. Illinois has lost 3,400 jobs in five years — not 90,000 — by the standard definition of “jobs.”
An environmental group launched in 1969 that targets a “Dirty Dozen” list of politicians for defeat.
Republican Rep. Mark Kirk is attacking his Democratic opponent in the Illinois race for the U.S. Senate with two ads that go beyond what the facts support. The ads make unsupported claims about the role Giannoulias played at his family’s troubled bank and strain to tie him to BP, among other dubious statements.
Kirk released the new ads less than a day after he apologized for embellishing his own military record.
Bank Shot
According to one of the ads,