Facebook Twitter Tumblr Close Skip to main content
A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Gasoline Prices Up Due to Global Supply-Demand Issues, Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Gasoline Prices Up Due to Global Supply-Demand Issues, Russian Invasion of Ukraine

U.S. presidents have little control over the price that consumers pay for gasoline. It depends mostly on the price of crude oil, which is set on the global market, based largely on worldwide supply and demand. Yet Republican campaign ads have falsely claimed or suggested that President Joe Biden and Democrats are solely to blame for the prices that motorists are paying at the pump.

Ad Misleads on Percentage Increase in Fentanyl Seizures Under Biden

Ad Misleads on Percentage Increase in Fentanyl Seizures Under Biden

The overall increase in fentanyl seized at the southwest border under President Joe Biden is nowhere near as high as a Republican ad misleadingly claims. U.S. border officials seized 13,021 pounds of the drug in Biden’s first full 15 months in office, which is 70% more than the 7,677 pounds seized in Donald Trump’s last full 15 months as president.

TV Ads About Cheri Beasley’s Record on Violent Crime Lack Context

TV Ads About Cheri Beasley’s Record on Violent Crime Lack Context

Democrat Cheri Beasley’s record in North Carolina Supreme Court cases involving violent crime is the subject of competing TV ads in the state’s U.S. Senate race. But neither ad gives viewers all of the necessary context for the claims portraying Beasley, a former state chief justice, as either weak or tough on crime.

NRSC’s Attack on Hickenlooper Lacks Proof, Context

NRSC’s Attack on Hickenlooper Lacks Proof, Context

A Republican TV ad strongly implies — without proof — that former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper accepted donations in exchange for not penalizing an oil and gas company involved in a fatal home explosion in 2017.

Midterm Mudslinging Not Yet Over

Midterm Mudslinging Not Yet Over

An ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee continues the relentless effort to tie Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu to President Barack Obama, who is not very popular in Louisiana. But the ad stretches the facts on several points.

NRSC Distorts Braley Tax Record

NRSC Distorts Braley Tax Record

In Iowa, a Republican ad claims that Democratic Senate nominee Bruce Braley “voted to raise taxes on every single Iowa taxpayer.” That badly distorts Braley’s clearly stated position.

NRSC Eliminates the Positive

Making an endorsement seem like a condemnation isn’t an easy deception to pull off — but the National Republican Senatorial Committee has done it.

In an ad attacking Democratic Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, the NRSC uses a series of highly selective quotes from a Denver Post piece: Bennet is “fighting for Obama … Obama and the Democrats overreached … helping to stick future generations with trillions in debt … lavishing billions on corporate bailouts and takeovers.”

NRSC Ad a Loser in Kentucky

The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s first ad against Democratic Senate candidate Jack Conway attacks him for supporting "a government takeover of health care."
This isn’t the first time we’ve written about Republican ads mischaracterizing the new health care law as a "government takeover," and unfortunately we’re certain it won’t be the last. This is one of the GOP’s top campaign themes.

The ad against Conway, Kentucky’s attorney general, also hits him for not joining other, mostly Republican,

Mis-Tweets on Twitter

Mis-tweet
v. To use Twitter to mislead your followers.
For providing false and misleading information, a 30-second TV spot crafted by a seasoned media consultant is still king. But there’s another medium this campaign year that makes …