NewsTrust - Most Recent Stories

Innocuation Misinformation

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Newsweek - By Jess Henig - Oct. 24 (Special Report) - Wild rumors are flying about the newly developed vaccine for pandemic influenza H1N1, also known as "swine flu." We've seen e-mails stating that the vaccine is tainted with antifreeze or Agent Orange, causes Gulf War syndrome, or has killed U.S. Navy sailors. One says the vaccine is an "evil depopulation scheme." The claims are nearly pure bunk, with only trace amounts of fact.

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Heather Graham Teaches Us About Polls

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Justin Bank - Oct. 23 (Special Report) - The liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org Political Action has released another health care ad featuring a Hollywood celebrity. Last time it was Will Ferrell talking of pygmy horses and executive compensation. This time it’s actress Heather Graham dressing up as a track and field runner (labeled "public option") and challenging health insurance executives to a race. [...]

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Inoculation Misinformation

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Jess Henig - Oct. 19 (News Analysis) - Wild rumors are flying about the newly developed vaccine for pandemic influenza H1N1, also known as "swine flu." We’ve seen e-mails stating that the vaccine is tainted with antifreeze or Agent Orange, causes Gulf War syndrome, or has killed U.S. Navy sailors. One says the vaccine is an "evil depopulation scheme." The claims are nearly pure bunk, with only trace amounts of fact.

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Going Out of Business?

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - Oct. 08 (News Analysis) - A new health care ad from a conservative group claims that "Medicare will be bankrupt in eight years." That gives a false impression. The program does have huge financial problems, but there's no reason to think it's going out of business as the word "bankrupt" implies.

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26 Lies about House Health Care Bill

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson, Lori Robertson, Jess Henig, D'angelo Gore - Aug. 30 (News Analysis) - The chain e-mail purports to give "a few highlights" from the first half of the bill, but the list of 48 assertions is filled with falsehoods, exaggerations and misinterpretations.

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Seven Falsehoods About Health Care

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson, Viveca Novak, Lori Robertson, Jess Henig - Aug. 25 (News Analysis) - So much for a slow news month. August feels like campaign season, with claims on health care coming at us daily. Does the House bill call for mandatory counseling on how to end seniors' lives sooner? Absolutely not. Will the government be dictating to doctors how to treat their patients? No.

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Dying on a Wait List?

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - Aug. 10 (News Analysis) - Perhaps the most emotional of the health care ads we’ve seen in recent months is the one featuring Canadian Shona Holmes, who warns of the dangers of a government-run health care system. Holmes tells viewers: "I survived a brain tumor. But if I’d relied on my government, I’d be dead. … As my brain tumor got worse, my government health care system told me I had to wait six months to see a specialist. In six months, I would have died.”

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Pushing for a Public Plan

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - Jul. 06 (News Analysis) - Liberal groups have hit TV and radio with ads praising the idea of a public health insurance plan, an option that President Obama and other Democrats support as part of changes to the health care system. But the ads lack context and could well mislead the public

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The 'Real' Uninsured

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Jess Henig - Jun. 24 (Special Report) - Some critics say fewer people lack access to health coverage than official statistics make it appear. We break down the numbers.

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Obama's Health Care Claims

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Jess Henig, Lori Robertson - Jun. 18 (News Analysis) - We found several claims in Obama's recent health-care sales pitches that could use some explanation or qualification. He said "the average family pays a thousand dollars in extra premiums to pay for people going to the emergency room who don't have health insurance." That's from a recent report by Families USA, a group that lobbies for expanded government coverage. But another study for the authoritative Kaiser Family Foundation thinks that figure is far too high. The president said the estimated $1 trillion cost of his proposals is "less than we are projected to have spent on the war in Iraq." Maybe. But so far, Iraq war costs are around $642 billion. He said that the U.S. spends 50 percent more per capita on health care than the next most expensive country. Not quite. We spend 20 percent more than the second most expensive country, and 50 percent more than the third. On other points we found the president's facts checked out. For example, many countries that spend much less on health care nevertheless have higher life expectancy than the U.S. And while we find it doubtful that the uninsured cost other families $1,000 in higher premiums alone, once higher taxes and higher medical costs are factored in, the price tag for the uninsured could well be that high.

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100 Days of Spin

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - May. 01 (News Analysis) - After 100 days in office, we find President Obama is sticking to the facts – mostly. Nevertheless, we find that the president has occasionally made claims that put him and his policies in a better light than the facts warrant.

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Obama strays from some facts, or spins

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

San Francisco Chronicle - By Brooks Jackson - Apr. 26 (Review) - After nearly 100 days in office, we find that President Obama is sticking to the facts - mostly. Nevertheless, we at FactCheck.org have a mission of "holding politicians accountable," and we have noted that the president has occasionally strayed from the facts - or has spun them. And he has done so generally in ways that put him and his policies in a better light than the facts warrant.

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Doctor's Orders?

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Lori Robertson - Feb. 27 (Special Report) - Critics of comparative effectiveness research, which the government has been funding for decades, claim that it will lead to treatment being approved or denied based on costs. Proponents say it will improve the quality of care and can, in some cases, show that more costly treatments aren't as effective as less expensive alternatives. We can't predict what will happen in the future, but we can say that several claims being made about the impact of the bill are simply opinions being passed off as facts.

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Mining the Minnesota Recount

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By D'Angelo Gore - Jan. 28 (Special Report) - The outcome of this squeaky-close race now rests with the courts. But even if Coleman wins on all points it's far from certain that he would gain enough votes to change the outcome. When the Canvassing Board was forced to count some disputed absentee ballots, for example, it was Franken who won a majority of them. Now Coleman wants even more rejected absentee ballots opened and counted, but nobody can say if he would get a higher percentage of those, or if he would just see Franken's margin increase.

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"Clean Coal" Confrontation

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Viveca Novak - Jan. 22 (Special Report) - On the campaign trail, President Obama embraced the coal industry's vision of "clean coal" technology. But even before he took office, a coalition of environmental groups (including Al Gore's) launched ads ridiculing the idea as a myth: "In reality, there's no such thing as clean coal."

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Highlighting Health Care

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Lori Robertson - Jan. 09 (Review) - It has started. A new TV spot is running nationally saying that "fixing health care" is "something that we must do." It is the first ad in what we expect will be a massive barrage of public relations claims on all sides of the coming debate over President-elect Obama's promised push for expanding federal health insurance programs. This one is notable primarily for who is sponsoring it: a collection of unlikely political bedfellows that includes the pharmaceutical manufacturer's lobby, the American Medical Association, the liberal group Families USA and a major labor union.

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Wash. Times failed to note Chambliss' filibuster flip-flop

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Media Matters - Dec. 01 (News Analysis) - In an article on the Georgia Senate run-off, The Washington Times reported Sen. Saxby Chambliss' suggestion that he would support filibustering judicial nominees if they are, in Chambliss' words, "liberal activist[s]," but did not note that Chambliss previously said that the filibuster of judicial nominations, preventing an up-or-down vote on the nomination, is unconstitutional.

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Spread the Tax Hooey!

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Viveca Novak, Jess Henig - Oct. 26 (News Analysis) - Republicans are misrepresenting Obama's tax proposals right down to the bitter end. New radio ads from the McCain campaign and a TV spot from the pro-Republican group Let Freedom Ring are targeting voters nationwide with some of the same tax deceptions we've been hearing all fall, rolled in a bundle and flung through the airwaves. One of the radio ads features Hank Williams Jr., the other Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. But new packaging doesn't make the charges any less false.

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ACORN Accusations

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Jess Henig, Ronald Lampard - Oct. 18 (Special Report) - The McCain-Palin campaign accuses ACORN, a community activist group that operates nationwide, of perpetrating "massive voter fraud." It says Obama has “long and deep” ties to the group. We find both claims to be exaggerated. But we also find Obama has understated the extent of his work with the group.

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Obama's "Welfare"

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Oct. 17 (Special Report) - As we've said any number of times, what Obama proposes would not raise taxes on any "hard-working families" unless they make more than $250,000 a year, a very small fraction of families. Independent analysis has shown than 95 percent of families with children would see federal income taxes go down.

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FactCheck.org: Unions Mislead on Health Care

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Lori Robertson - Oct. 17 (Special Report) - The biggest problem is that the report assumes McCain would levy Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes on the value of health benefits, in addition to federal income taxes. That's untrue. The McCain campaign has said that only federal income taxes would go up, not payroll taxes.

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FactChecking Debate No. 2

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson, Viveca Novak, Lori Robertson, Joe Miller, Jessica Henig, Justin Bank - Oct. 08 (News Analysis) - McCain and Obama debated for the second time, in Nashville. We noted some misleading statements and mangled facts:

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Sadly, Mostly True

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Oct. 07 (Special Report) - On the eve of their second presidential debate, McCain and Obama released TV ads accusing one another of untruthful attacks. Both are essentially accurate, though each tells only half the story.

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FactChecking Biden-Palin Debate

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson, Viveca Novak, Lori Robertson, Joe Miller, Jessica Henig, Justin Bank - Oct. 03 (Special Report) - * Palin mistakenly claimed that troop levels in Iraq had returned to “pre-surge” levels. Levels are gradually coming down but current plans would have levels higher than pre-surge numbers through early next year, at least. * Biden incorrectly said “John McCain voted the exact same way” as Obama on a controversial troop funding bill. The two were actually on opposite sides

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Who Caused the Economic Crisis?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - Oct. 02 (News Analysis) - A MoveOn.org Political Action ad plays the partisan blame game with the economic crisis, charging that John McCain’s friend and former economic adviser Phil Gramm “stripped safeguards that would have protected us.” The claim is bogus.

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