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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

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 …

Outside Ads Mislead in California

In the race for California governor, outside groups supporting Republican Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown are airing new TV ads that mislead voters. An independent group financed by labor unions distorts Whitman’s record as president and chief …

Obama’s (Latest) Social Security Whopper

President Obama claimed that Republican leaders are pushing to make “privatizing Social Security a key part of their legislative agenda” should they regain control …

AFSCME’s Misleading Tax Attack

AFSCME, the big labor union, is running a misleading ad attacking one of the GOP’s premier House candidates. In an attempt to protect a vulnerable freshman Democrat, Rep. John Boccieri of Ohio, AFSCME badly misrepresents his Republican challenger’s stance on taxation. AFSCME’s ad …

Corporate-Labor Smackdown in Minnesota

Minnesota’s race for governor is pitting corporate money against money from labor unions and wealthy Democrats. So far, the misleading attack ads are all coming from the liberal side, and the corporate side is being badly outspent to boot. The Alliance for …

Democrat-on-Democrat TV Attacks in Florida

In a Senate race chock full of attack ads, the Florida Democratic primary pits Rep. Kendrick Meek against billionaire investor Jeff Greene. Both men carry heavy political baggage; Meek did favors for a developer who is now under indictment, and Greene …

Hayworth’s Misleading Attack on Immigration

J.D. Hayworth — who is seeking to unseat Sen. John McCain of Arizona in the Aug. 24 Republican primary — makes illegal immigration the subject of his first TV buy. The ad attacks the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 for potentially …

Whitman, Unions Swap Misleading Charges

A coalition of labor unions called California Working Families for Jerry Brown has relentlessly attacked Meg Whitman since she won the Republican gubernatorial nomination June 8. Now Whitman is firing back — accusing Democrat Brown of …

Mystery, Drama, Deception in Alabama

The big question in the final days of Alabama’s runoff election for the GOP gubernatorial nomination isn’t just who is going to win the tight race between Bradley Byrne and Robert Bentley. It’s the mystery of who’s behind a largely bogus TV ad attacking Byrne. …

Oil Spill Whoppers

The April 20 explosion that started oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico has prompted a slew of claims and counterclaims about the disaster. What caused it, how it’s being handled, the history of drilling accidents in the area – all are subjects ripe for false or misleading statements by politicians and others. …