In an ad attacking a Republican senator, the League of Conservation Voters claims the average Wisconsin family pays $7,500 a year in federal income tax. Not so. The tax would be $724 for the family shown in the ad with the income specified by the league.
Sen. Bernie Sanders claims that in the United States, “almost all of the wealth rests in the hands of the few.” He exaggerates. At most, the top 0.1 percent of U.S. families own 22 percent of the nation’s wealth.
As we do every three months, we offer here a fresh update of selected statistical indicators of what has happened since Barack Obama first took the oath of office in January 2009.
Sen. Bernie Sanders has repeatedly claimed that 1 in 5 seniors “live on an average income of $7,600 a year.” The reality is not quite so shocking.
Real estate developer Donald Trump’s speech announcing he is running for the Republican nomination for president contained a number of false and misleading statements.
Democratic presidential contender Martin O’Malley claims that “70 percent of us are earning the same or less than they were 12 years ago.” Actually, weekly paychecks for rank-and-file workers are 6.6 percent higher, even after adjusting for inflation.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders claims that “in America we now have more income and wealth inequality than any other major country on earth.” Not really.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie claims “we’ve had a huge shift from full-time work to part-time work” under President Obama. That’s false.
The American Press Institute published two new studies that it said are “a cause for optimism that fact checking in journalism can lead to a better-informed public.”
New research shows fact-checking is a measurably effective tool for correcting political misinformation and increases the audiences’ political knowledge. It is also growing at a dramatic rate.