To learn a bit about how partisans create false political propaganda, take a few moments to study what’s behind this headline: “More People Getting Government Food than Actually Working.”
Food-Aid Foolery
Year: 2013
It’s Groundhog Day for Fact-Checkers
Patriot Majority USA, a Democratic political action committee, taps the same old playbook from summer 2012, dredging up all-too-predictable Medicare and health care claims in attacking Arkansas Republican Rep. Tom Cotton, a potential 2014 Senate candidate.
June 28: Climate Change, Consumer Confidence, Immigration
Spinning Obama’s Climate Change Plan
Rep. Eric Cantor said Americans are increasingly “losing faith in their economy.” Obama said that “since 2006, no country on Earth has reduced its total carbon pollution by as much as the United States of America.”
A Misleading Attack on McConnell
A conservative group misleadingly claims Sen. Mitch McConnell “funded the implementation of Obamacare.” McConnell voted to fund the government — including the department responsible for the Affordable Care Act.
The Facts on CBO’s Immigration Report
Two senators opposed to the Gang of Eight immigration bill are telling only half the story with their claims that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned the bill would be bad for wages and unemployment.
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of June 18-24
This week, readers sent us letters about international comparisons of education spending and Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband’s connection to the United States Postal Service.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the email we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
Comparing What Countries Spend on Education
This article published on your website today is headlined “Jeb Bush Gets ‘F’ on School Spending” [June 21]. Unfortunately,
Jeb Bush Gets ‘F’ on School Spending
Jeb Bush has repeatedly — and falsely — claimed that the United States spends “more per student than any country in the world.” Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland all spend more than the U.S. on elementary and secondary education.
Cherry-Picking McConnell’s Pay Raise Votes
A Democratic TV ad attacking Sen. Mitch McConnell for voting to “raise his own pay four times” simply ignores other votes he has cast to prevent automatic pay increases for members of Congress.
Parting Shots in Massachusetts
In the closing days of the Massachusetts Senate race, the campaign rhetoric has been marred by partial truths.