In an interesting twist, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell is under fire from his Democratic opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, for “personally” taking “$600,000 from anti-coal groups.” But that’s a huge stretch.
Kentucky Coal Connections
Ernst and ‘Privatizing’ Social Security
Democratic TV ads in Iowa have repeatedly misrepresented Republican Joni Ernst’s position on Social Security, claiming she “would privatize Social Security” or that she has “proposed privatizing Social Security.”
FactChecking the Colorado Senate Race
Colorado’s Senate race pits Democratic freshman Sen. Mark Udall against Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, who is in his second term in the House.
NRA’s Ominous But Misleading Appeal
A series of NRA ads employ images of an intruder breaking into the home of a mother home alone with her baby to make the case that Democratic candidates have “voted to take away your gun rights.” But the implication of the jarring imagery goes far beyond the facts.
FactChecking the Kentucky Senate Race
Kentucky voters have a stark choice between Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell and Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes. Their fierce battle has included falsehoods on jobs, coal and health care.
Settling the Dust in Arkansas
Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor tries to make political hay out of agricultural dust by distorting the facts in a new TV ad, while Republicans manufacture a bogus jobs claim against the Democratic senator.
Black Lung Battle in West Virginia
Republican Evan Jenkins claims Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall “cut black lung benefits,” in an ad that fires back after Rahall claimed Jenkins pledged to “take away” black lung benefits from coal miners.
Cherry-Picking Salary Data in Oregon
An ad from Republican Monica Wehby cherry-picks data to make the case that Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley is “paying the women on his staff thousands less than their male counterparts.”
FactChecking the Arkansas Senate Race
The Arkansas Senate race between Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor and Republican Rep. Tom Cotton began for us in June 2013 — just six months into the new Congress — with an article that carried the headline “It’s Groundhog Day for Fact-Checkers.” It hasn’t gotten much better for fact-checkers since then.
FlackCheck.org Video: Midterm Deceptions
FlackCheck.org, our sister website for political literacy, looks at two recent political campaign ads that mislead viewers using common patterns of deception.