Political attack ads all too often try to spin an opponent’s jaywalking tickets into felonies. As an example, consider Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes’ claim that his GOP primary opponent, Scott Taylor, “violated federal election law 19 times.”
Donald Trump suggests “there is no drought” in California because the state has “plenty of water.” He promises “to start opening up the water,” and he says he’ll “get it done quick.” But there is a drought, and we explain why there is no “quick” solution.
Donald Trump claimed that a federal judge presiding over a civil lawsuit against Trump University is a “member of a club or society very strongly pro-Mexican.” That’s an inaccurate description of a group for Latino lawyers and law students in San Diego.
Donald Trump falsely claimed Iran is “taking over the oil” in Iraq. Experts told us Iran does not control any Iraqi oil fields, and we could find no evidence of it.
Bernie Sanders claims that “Democrats win when the voter turnout is high” and “Republicans win when the voter turnout is low.” But past voter turnout numbers and research on what could happen with higher turnout don’t support such a definitive statement.
In a recent speech, President Obama criticized Republicans for making claims about the economy and health care that are “not supported by the facts.” But Obama resorted to some spin of his own.
The State Department inspector general’s report on Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email system while secretary of state had members in both parties spinning the facts to score partisan points this election season.
Hillary Clinton said that she “read” that Donald Trump “said he wants to … abolish the VA.” But Clinton distorted the facts, as CNN’s Jake Tapper explains in this week’s fact-checking video.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell falsely claimed that “the average person is about $3,000 or $4,000 a year worse off today than when President Obama came to office.”
Trump said wind farms in the U.S. “kill more than 1 million birds a year.” Reliable data are scarce, but current estimates range from 20,000 to 573,000 bird deaths per year. Trump also falsely claimed shooting an eagle leads to five years in prison.