Bush and Kerry repeat discredited claims in their final flurry of ads. Here’s our pre-election summary of the misinformation we found during the Bush-Kerry presidential campaign.
Issues: Social Security
$8 Million Worth Of Distortions
Two Bush ads full of misleading and false statements ran more than 9,000 times in 45 cities last week.
Kerry Falsely Claims Bush Plans To Cut Social Security Benefits
A Kerry ad claims “Bush has a plan to cut Social Security benefits by 30 to 45 percent.” That’s false. Bush has proposed no such plan, and the proposal Kerry refers to would only slow down the growth of benefits, and only for future retirees.
Misinforming Voters From The Stump
Bush and Kerry both pepper their standard political speeches with misleading claims.
Lies in the E-mail, Part 2
Since my first article on lying e-mails, I’ve gotten dozens of inquiries about a snarky little message blaming Democrats alone for all sorts of bad changes to Social Security. I’m calling it “Lying E-mail #2.”
Bush Ad Is “Troubling” Indeed
The President’s ad recycles bogus claims, then tells only part of the story about Kerry’s position on tax breaks for couples and children.
Taxing Social Security & Gasoline: Bush Attack Lacks Context
Kerry supported an increased tax on Social Security benefits, but he also supported a repeal and Bush didn’t.
What To Do When Your Friend’s E-mail Lies To You.
Let me put the matter bluntly: an awful lot of the e-mailed messages zipping around the Internet are lies — and too many are being sent on by gullible, lazy friends who ought to know better.
Kerry’s Attack Video Misleads on Veterans, Jobs
Campaign says Internet ad is to ‘set the record straight.’ But it contains some distortions.