The fact-check itself is interesting only in that it is an example of a Politifraud admission against interest. What I want to draw attention to is the Editor's note as evidence that Politifraud is Mostly Useless. Really? I'm trying to understand exactly how ignorant of the world you have to be not to know that […]
As I was writing last night’s critique of Politifraud’s sorry ruling on whether the U.S. tax codes contains incentives for businesses to move jobs overseas I noted that there were a few people who were listed as having been interviewed in right hand column that were nevertheless not quoted in Politifraud’s main analysis. The very […]
National Review in an unsigned editorial posted today lays out yet more reasons why the self-appointed watchdogs at Politifact can’t be trusted. I encourage you to read the whole thing, but there’s one part I want to highlight and then elaborate on. PolitiFact’s other arguments are that Medicare spending will continue to rise and that […]
The hits just keep on coming. First, somebody at Politifact just learned a new word after reading Mark Twain’s autobiography. In his 1906 autobiography Mark Twain wrote "figures often beguile me" in describing their persuasive ability to mislead. John Robitaille, a 2010 Republican candidate for governor in Rhode Island, cited a beguiling statistic when he […]
It wasn't just Politifraud's "fact"-check of that Crossroads GPS ad that drew my ire this week as I looked at their latest analyses. It was also this whopper that purported to show that the same president who's presided over the addition of $5 trillion to the national debt in less than five years—and would've spent […]
The Fraud-O-Meter weighed in today on comments made yesterday by his fraudulency, President Barack Obama, regarding Ronald Reagan. Obama’s statement that Ronald Reagan “understood repeatedly that when the deficit started to get out of control, that for him to make a deal he would have to propose both spending cuts and tax increases.” Politifraud rates […]
Last week, Politifact rated a claim by the Texas Public Policy Foundation that Texas had created more jobs over the last five years than the other 49 (or 56) states combined. In Politifact’s “analysis” this completely accurate statement was listed as “half-true.” The mental gymnastics required to come to this conclusion were summed up by […]
Pulitzer Prize-winning “fact-check” Web site Politifact.com has done it again. When last we criticized one of their findings, Politifact.com rated this statement by Rep. Mike Pence “half-true”: "To use money from the TARP fund in the manner that is being discussed by the White House and congressional Democrats would be a violation of the law." […]
...and dishonest. And not transparent. And thin-skinned. (Hat-tip to Politifactbias.com for the original observation that Politifact California is stupid. They can remove the question mark now.) A couple weeks back, I took Politifraud's California incarnation to task for their failure to correct Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom's dishonest mischaracterization of one of their fact checks. I […]
The self-proclaimed fact-checkers at Politifact have really had a banner day today, publishing two flawed fact-checks that betray their partisan leanings. The hacks at Politifact aren't even trying anymore. First, reporter Emma Hinchliffe and her editor Matt Schwartz go out of their way to find a way to cast doubt on the statement by Texas […]