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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Ryan’s Budget Spin

Rep. Paul Ryan spreads some false and misleading information in a series of “Setting The Record Straight” web posts, in which he criticizes the president’s proposed budget and promotes …

Job Loss, Health Care and Bankruptcy

Former Bush adviser Karen Hughes and Democratic Rep. James Clyburn both twisted facts to make partisan points on "Meet the Press."
Hughes claimed that the "vast majority" of recent job losses happened under President Obama, when in fact slightly more jobs were lost when her former boss George W. Bush was president.  And Clyburn claimed that inadequate health insurance is "the biggest cause" of personal bankruptcies, which isn’t quite true either. Health costs are a contributing factor to most bankruptcies,

Democrats Misfire on Social Security — Again

In Wisconsin and Kentucky House races, the Democrats are attempting to mislead voters into believing the Republican candidates support the privatization of Social Security — despite evidence to the contrary.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is up with an ad attacking Republican Sean Duffy in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, but the spot mischaracterizes Duffy’s position on Social Security. While Duffy has made some ambiguous statements in the past, he has never said he supports a privatized Social Security system,

A Bitter Battle in the Bayou

The primary in Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District has turned exceptionally nasty in the final days, with the top two Republicans airing harsh attack ads against each other that contain false and misleading claims. Most notably, former state House …

Hayworth Distorts McCain’s Immigration Record — Again

In his second TV ad, Republican challenger J.D. Hayworth continues to distort Arizona Sen. John McCain’s record on immigration policy.

McCain ‘Made It Worse’?
The ad, which started to air July 29, opens with an announcer saying: "The illegal alien invasion, and John McCain made it worse." In rapid fire, the ad lists a few of the ways McCain supposedly made things worse, beginning with: "McCain wrote the amnesty bill." The words "Wrote the amnesty bill"

Did Ed Case Kill 3,000 Hawaii Jobs? No.

As the days tick down to Hawaii’s May 22 special congressional election, Republican Charles Djou is airing an ad falsely accusing former Democratic Rep. Ed Case of voting to raise “taxes that kill 3,000 local jobs a year.”

The ad, which first ran May 14, makes this claim: “Case said he’s against higher taxes, but in Congress he voted to raise taxes. Taxes that kill 3,000 local jobs a year.” It cites a Jan. 5, 2006,

Extras: Obama, Bush, Health Care and More

In this edition of Extras, we look at morphing presidents, a piece of health care pie chart and an ad that checks itself.
Mighty Morphin’ Presidents
In Sunday’s New York Times, the American Civil Liberties Union took out a full page ad urging President Obama to try Sept. 11 defendants in criminal court, as opposed to military tribunals. The ad even included a stark graphic morphing Obama’s face with former President Bush’s:

But the ad cites a questionable statistic.

Czar Search

Q: Does Obama have an unprecedented number of "czars"?
A: "Czar" is media lingo, not an official title. But our research shows that George Bush’s administration had more "czars" than the Obama administration.

An Unlawful Congress?

Q: Have 84 members of Congress been arrested for drunk driving in the last year? Have seven been arrested for fraud?
A: We judge these statistics to be not credible. They originated nearly a decade ago with a Web site that still refuses to provide any proof or documentation, or even to name those accused.

Education Spin

Last year, the president touted U.S. gains in education, saying that our “fourth- and eighth-graders achieved the highest math scores on record.” He bragged that “African-American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs.” Last week, the president said those eighth-graders weren’t so great at math after all …