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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Reid Attacks Angle on Social Security

Democratic Sen. Harry Reid’s reelection campaign on June 11 released an ad attacking GOP nominee Sharron Angle for wanting to “get rid of Medicare and Social Security” — a charge she called “nonsense” in a June 14 interview with Fox News commentator Sean Hannity. It’s true that Angle has proposed phasing out Social Security and Medicare.
The Reid campaign, however, cannot support its claim that her plan to replace government-run Social Security with privately managed investments “cuts benefits for everyone coming into the system.”

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of June 8-June 14

This week, readers sent us comments about massages for inmates, climate change, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter’s position on Social Security and a continued misunderstanding about Arizona’s S.B. 1070.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.

Space Ad: Wrong on Pay, Misleading on Taxes

Democratic Rep. Zack Space of Ohio has kicked off his TV campaign with an ad that falsely accuses Republican challenger Bob Gibbs of voting to raise his legislative pay and misleads voters about Gibbs’ record on taxes.

Since June 8, Space has been running a TV ad called "Check Your Wallet," which claims “Gibbs voted himself a pay raise.” The charge, however, is false. The last pay raise bill, H.B. 712, was passed in 2000 —

Satire Alert: Dodd’s ‘Quote’ on Mortgages

Q: Did Sen. Dodd of Connecticut really say that requiring homebuyers to make a 5 percent down payment "would restrict home ownership to only those who can afford it"?
A: No. This quote was made up by satirist John Semmens, who regularly writes a blog called Semi-News — A Satirical Look at Recent News.

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of June 1-June 7

This week, readers sent us comments about Arizona’s S.B. 1070, Obama’s birth certificate and FactCheck’s official seal of approval.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.

Misleading Mailer in NJ

In New Jersey’s 3rd congressional district, Republican candidate Jon Runyan made an early attack on Democratic incumbent John Adler in a campaign flier he released June 1. The flier exaggerates when it says Adler “created” the state’s estate tax, and makes true, but misleading, claims about the congressman’s votes on taxpayer funding for needle exchange programs and the repeal of the state’s death penalty. The flier also provides no specific citations to backup any of its statements.

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of May 25-May 31

This week, readers sent us comments about VA benefits, endangered jobs and partial immigrants.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.

Phony ‘Big Oil Bailout’ Claims

In a highly competitive race for an open U.S. Senate seat in Missouri, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan accuses Republican Rep. Roy Blunt of supporting a “Big Oil bailout” and sticking the taxpayers with the cleanup costs. We find the charges to be false.

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of May 18-May 24

This week, readers sent us comments about misinformation burnout, immigration, Sunday shows and the word "gender."
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of May 11-May 17

This week, readers sent us comments about immigration and … well, practically nothing else. Our story seemed to hit a nerve.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.