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

<h3>The Immigration Bill’s ‘$6.3 Trillion Price Tag’</h3>

Critics of the bill are wrongly using a Heritage Foundation study to make claims about the legislation's cost.

<h3>IRS Officials Misled Congress, Public</h3>

We document false, misleading or incomplete statements made by officials about the 501(c)(4) controversy.

<h3>Benghazi Attack, Revisited</h3>

President Obama misrepresented some facts in dismissing the Benghazi probe as a “political circus.”

<h3>Viral Spiral</h3>

Don't get spun by Internet rumors

The Wire		Featured Articles
A Botched Attack on IRS Budget June 14 An ad calling for the abolishment of the IRS incorrectly claimed that the federal agency’s budget increased by $2 billion. In fact, it’s down by nearly $1 billion during President Barack Obama’s first term. To its credit, though, Americans for Fair Taxation, the group behind the ad, removed the $2 … More >> IRS Probe So Far Yields Partial, Partisan ‘Facts’ June 13 The House Oversight Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat are overreaching in recent statements about the committee’s investigation of the IRS. Chairman Darrell Issa has yet to produce evidence of his theory that the Obama administration in Washington “directly … ordered” the agency to target conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. … More >> A Puffed-up Appeal to Job Fears June 12 A TV ad opposing the Senate immigration bill uses inflated numbers in an oversimplified, one-sided appeal to fears about job security. The ad claims that Congress is considering “adding 33 million foreign job seekers” when 20 million Americans can’t find a job. Both those numbers are inflated and misleading. Furthermore, … More >> Outside Attacks in Massachusetts June 12 New ads from outside Democratic groups attacking Massachusetts Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez distort his positions on Social Security and taxes. An ad from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee claims Gomez “supports protecting special tax breaks for corporations and multimillionaires – like himself.” But Gomez has supported the elimination of special … More >> Obama’s Judicial Juggling June 5 President Obama incorrectly claims that the Senate has taken three times longer to confirm his court nominees than those of his predecessor, George W. Bush. The president made the claim recently as he announced that he would nominate three judges to fill vacancies on the federal Circuit Court of Appeals … More >> Distortions in the Medicaid Battle May 31 Conservative critics of the Affordable Care Act are misrepresenting a study examining the health benefits of expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income people. In Arizona, a group calling itself American Commitment has launched a series of 30-second Web ads claiming that “a recent study shows that Medicaid doesn’t even improve … More >> Checking on Background Checks May 24 An ad from Mayors Against Illegal Guns accuses Sen. Jeff Flake of breaking a promise to strengthen background checks because he voted against a bill that would have expanded background checks. But Flake did not promise to expand background checks, and he voted in favor of a bill that he … More >> A False Claim of Blame in Mass. Senate Race May 23 Republican Gabriel Gomez falsely claims his opponent in the Massachusetts Senate race blamed him for the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and compared him to Osama bin Laden: Democratic Rep. Ed Markey did release a TV ad saying Gomez “is against banning high-capacity magazines like the ones used in the … More >> Republican Overreach on IRS May 21 While there has been plenty to find fault with in the revelation that the IRS targeted some tea party groups seeking tax exempt status, some of the Republican rhetoric has been an overreach. Rep. Michele Bachmann falsely claimed that Americans “most personal, sensitive, intimate, private healthcare information is in the … More >> View the full Wire archives		The Immigration Bill’s ‘$6.3 Trillion Price Tag’ Critics of the bill are wrongly using a Heritage Foundation study to make claims about the legislation's cost. June 4 Critics of a bipartisan Senate bill to overhaul the nation’s immigration system falsely claim that it will cost an additional $6.3 trillion, citing a study by a conservative group that opposes the bill. However, the report is not an analysis of the bill, and it says the cost of keeping the status quo … More >> Obama’s Numbers (Quarterly Update) From jobs to debt to oil production, what's changed since Obama took office. April 16 Reviewing some key statistical measures of Barack Obama’s presidency so far, we find: The economy has added more jobs since Obama took office than it did in his predecessor’s entire eight years in office. Despite the improved economy, the number of people receiving food-stamp assistance has continued to grow … More >> Obama’s Preschool Stretch The president makes misleading claims in his effort to sell a universal preschool plan. February 20 President Obama exaggerates the potential benefits of his ambitious plan for universal preschool, as he first outlined in the State of the Union and repeated elsewhere since then: Obama says every dollar invested in “high quality” preschool can return “seven dollars later on” but that is based on an economic analysis of a small, two-year program that targeted disadvantaged youth … More >> FactChecking Obama’s SOTU The president spins his accomplishments on jobs, health care and deficit reduction in annual address. February 13 President Obama put a rosy spin on several accomplishments of his administration in his 2013 State of the Union address. The president claimed that “both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion.” But that’s only an estimate of deficit reduction through fiscal year 2022, and it would be lower … More >> Rand Paul’s Bin Laden Claim Is ‘Urban Myth’ There’s no evidence the U.S. recruited, trained, armed or funded bin Laden in Soviet-Afghan war. February 8 In two recent statements, Sen. Rand Paul made the unsubstantiated claim that the U.S. government once “armed” and “funded” Osama bin Laden. The CIA and several of its top officials deny that the U.S. ever recruited, trained, armed or funded bin Laden during the Afghan war over Soviet occupation in the 1980s. Bin Laden himself has denied it. … More >> Viral Spiral 2012 The constant battle against crackpot claims, paranoid conspiracy theories and malicious lies. December 27 We’ve long warned our readers to make good use of the delete key when emails spreading sketchy claims pop up in their inboxes. But we’ve found that old viral emails, unfortunately, never die — and new ones spread like a highly contagious disease. These overwhelmingly anonymous messages are, by and large, bogus. More >> View more Articles