FactCheck.org | A Project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center

<h3>Florida Ad War: Mitt Pounds Newt</h3>

We look at the flood of TV ads attacking Gingrich in Florida's key primary.

<h3>The State of Obama’s Facts</h3>

We assess what was said, and left unsaid, at the State of the Union address.

<h3>Misleading Claims in Obama’s First 2012 Spot</h3>

Dissembling on ethics, jobs and oil imports.

<h3>Viral Spiral</h3>

Don't get spun by Internet rumors.

The Wire		Featured Articles
More Florida Fouls January 27 Newt Gingrich falsely claimed he never favored a federal mandate requiring individuals to have health insurance. Romney repeated a false accusation that President Obama failed to denounce Hamas rocket attacks in a speech to the United Nations. And Santorum insisted that Muslim terrorists are seeking missile bases in Cuba — … More >> Gingrich Spanish Radio Ad Pulled January 26 Before we got a chance to write about it, Newt Gingrich yanked a Spanish-language radio ad off the airwaves in Florida. The reason: No, it wasn’t a stellar fact-checking by journalists. Rather, it was Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s complaint that the ad’s criticism of Mitt Romney was “inaccurate, inflammatory, and … More >> Liberal Union Joins Attack on Romney in Florida January 26 Newt Gingrich is getting help from a surprising ally: the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The liberal-leaning labor group is running a TV ad in Florida slamming Mitt Romney for profiting personally from a company later convicted of Medicare fraud while he was a director. The ad … More >> Refereeing the Republican Response January 25 We concentrated our fact-checking efforts on the main attraction last night — the president’s State of the Union address — but we also found factual fouls in the Republican response from Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. Daniels took a swipe at President Obama for dictating which light bulbs Americans should use … More >> Disgrace, Influence Peddling and Other Debate Charges January 24 Newt Gingrich complained that in one early burst at the first Florida debate, Mitt Romney said “at least four things that are false” about him. Now Gingrich has specified which claims he was talking about, and we’ve checked the evidence he promised he would — and did — post on … More >> Factual Flubs in Florida January 24 The four remaining candidates debated once again, this time in Tampa, Florida — where facts took a beating. Mitt Romney falsely claimed the Navy is smaller now than at any time since the start of World War I. (It had fewer ships as recently as four years ago.) And Newt … More >> Did Gingrich ‘Slash’ Federal Spending? January 20 Winning Our Future’s new TV ad falsely claims Newt Gingrich “slashed” spending in his four years as House speaker. Federal spending went up 18 percent from 1995 to 2000, the time frame mentioned in the ad. In addition, the ad credits Gingrich for “record-breaking surpluses.” There were surpluses for four … More >> Gingrich’s Plan: Nearly Zero Tax for Romney January 18 Newt Gingrich joked that he ought to rename his proposed 15 percent flat tax the “Mitt Romney Flat Tax,” so “all Americans would pay the rate Mitt Romney paid.” Actually, not all Americans. Under Gingrich’s tax plan, Romney would likely pay closer to zero percent. Although he has not released … More >> Newt’s Faulty Food-Stamp Claim January 18 Newt Gingrich claims that “more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history.” He’s wrong. More were added under Bush than under Obama, according to the most recent figures. The former speaker made that claim Jan. 16 in a Republican debate in … More >> View the full Wire archives		Florida Ad War: Mitt Pounds Newt We look at the flood of TV ads attacking Gingrich in Florida's key primary. January 26 The air wars in a pivotal Florida Republican primary race have so far been a decidedly one-sided affair, with Mitt Romney and a pro-Romney super PAC saturating the airwaves for weeks with a slew of attack ads aimed chiefly at Newt Gingrich. … More >> The State of Obama’s Facts We assess what was said, and left unsaid, at the State of the Union address. January 25 Summary The president’s State of the Union address got the facts right — mostly. Obama said “the Taliban’s momentum has been broken” in Afghanistan. But targeted assassinations continue, and at least one independent foreign policy expert says the enemy may just be waiting until the U.S. leaves. The president said … More >> Misleading Claims in Obama’s First 2012 Spot Dissembling on ethics, jobs and oil imports January 20 President Obama’s first 2012 campaign ad misleads on ethics, “clean-energy” jobs and U.S. dependence on oil imports. The spot uses outdated quotes from groups that said his record on ethics is “unprecedented” and that he “kept a promise to toughen ethics rules.” One of those same … More >> South Carolina Smackdown . . . And then there were four. January 20 Facts were sometimes used as blunt instruments as the four remaining GOP presidential candidates hammered away at each other in the last debate before Saturday’s South Carolina primary. Santorum and Romney tangled … More >> Facts Strained in ‘King of Bain’ Pro-Gingrich super PAC offers one-sided, distorted view of Romney’s years at Bain Capital. January 13 A 28-minute political documentary released this week by a pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC presents a one-sided, often distorted and misleading view of Mitt Romney’s years leading the venture capital firm Bain Capital. Interspersed with appropriately eerie music, the video … More >> Gingrich’s ‘Baloney’-filled Attacks on Romney A new ad and Web video make misleading claims about the GOP front-runner. January 11 Newt Gingrich is out with two new attacks on Mitt Romney: an ad airing in South Carolina that tries to brand Romney as a “pro-abortion” governor, and a nearly three-minute Web video that gauges Romney statements on a “Baloney-O-Meter.” We found a bit of baloney in both … More >> View more Articles