Is Ted Cruz eligible under the Constitution to become president?

Rising Republican star Ted Cruz, the junior senator from Texas, is being looked at as a potential presidential contender. But some question whether Cruz, who was born in Canada, could become the chief executive because of the Constitution’s requirement that the president be a "natural born citizen." We look at the legal issues.

By Tom Feran :: Published on Thursday, May 9th, 2013 at 5:06 p.m.

Lie of the Year: the Romney campaign's ad on Jeeps made in China

Mitt Romney's claim about Jeep moving production to China at the expense of American jobs was last-ditch effort to win the election, but it hit a roadblock: the facts. People often say that politicians don’t pay a price for deception, but this time was different: A flood of negative press coverage rained down on the Romney campaign, and he failed to turn the tide in Ohio, the most important state in the presidential election.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 at 4:00 p.m.

PolitiFact's guide to Thanksgiving dinner

Find yourself sitting beside a relative who has sent you lots of chain e-mails? Here's our annual guide on what to say. Stash it under the green bean casserole until you need it.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Tuesday, November 20th, 2012 at 2:45 p.m.

The value of fact checking in the 2012 campaign

Critics harrumph that fact-checking doesn't work because politicians keep lying. But we're not writing for the politicians. Our target audience is the voters.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Thursday, November 8th, 2012 at 5:30 p.m.

Has 'In God We Trust' been taken off U.S. coins?

On the campaign trail recently, Mitt Romney brought up an issue that sounded familiar to us: the question of whether "In God We Trust" has been removed from U.S. coins. It's not a new claim, but now that it's emerged in the presidential campaign, we took a new look at its origins.  

By Louis Jacobson :: Published on Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 at 11:30 a.m.

A scorecard on President Obama's campaign promises

Four years ago, Barack Obama made an extraordinary array of campaign promises -- 508 pledges on everything from taxing the rich to ending the Iraq war. As Democrats convene in Charlotte, N.C., we review our Obameter to see how Obama has fared on his promises.

By Angie Drobnic Holan, J.B. Wogan :: Published on Tuesday, September 4th, 2012 at 11:45 a.m.

Checking Romney's claim on 'you didn't build that'

For more than two weeks, the Romney and Obama campaigns have argued about whether President Barack Obama insulted entrepreneurs. The dust up involves remarks Obama made at a stop in Roanoke, Va. The key phrase: "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."   A Romney video claims the president was saying success  "is the result of government," not "hard-working people." We ran that assertion through the Truth-O-Meter.

By Robert Higgs :: Published on Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 at 5:30 p.m.

PolitiFact Ohio marks two years of the Truth-O-Meter

Observers decrying a decline in the quality of political discourse used to cite 30-second sound bites as a symptom or cause.  Thirty seconds is practically a filibuster now.   The typical statement in broadcast news stories today is closer to nine seconds. Just enough time to recite a talking point. Just enough words to fill a 140-character Tweet.    Long enough to grab our interest, to enlighten, mislead or enrage. Enough to make PolitiFact Ohio say "Really?"   PolitiFact Ohio is celebrating two years of checking these sound bites, and looking forward to more.

By Tom Feran :: Published on Sunday, July 29th, 2012 at 11:57 a.m.

Debunking claims about a new home sales tax

Did you get the chain email that claims the health care law will institute a new tax on home sales?  It boldly proclaims that the health care law includes "a 3.8% sales tax" on "all real estate transactions." The claim has persistently circulated for two years, but there's just one catch: It's not true. We ran it through the Truth-O-Meter.

By Robert Higgs :: Published on Thursday, July 26th, 2012 at 12:15 p.m.

Rating Romney's claim on Finnish auto stimulus

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, in an ad that's airing in Ohio called "Where did all the money go" charges that stimulus money went overseas to pay for electric cars in Finland. We took a look to see if money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus act, helped to Fisker Automotive manufacture high-end, plug-in cars.

By Robert Higgs :: Published on Monday, July 23rd, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.

Blazing the way on health care reform claims

The debate over the Affordable Care Act will go on, even with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.   If history is any guide, the claims, both pro and con, that PolitiFact has been checking will continue to be used.   Here's some of the leading claims that each were set ablaze on the Truth-O-Meter.  

By Tom Feran :: Published on Thursday, June 28th, 2012 at 4:30 p.m.

Americans for Prosperity's traffic light claim

Is stimulus money paying for traffic lights on Chinese streets? That's a claim made by Americans for Prosperity in a TV ad running in Ohio and seven other states. The ad blames President Barack Obama for sending stimulus money overseas while Americans are out of work. The claim about traffic lights is the third one we've checked out.    

By Becky Bowers, Robert Higgs :: Published on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 at 10:50 a.m.

Americans for Prosperity cites stimulus for Finland

Is your tax money paying for jobs in Finland? That's one of the claims in an ad Americans for Prosperity is airing in eight states, including Ohio. The ad takes aim at President Barack Obama, claiming that stimulus money was sent overseas while Americans are out of work. The claim about Finland is the second one we've checked out.

By Becky Bowers, Robert Higgs :: Published on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 at 4:55 p.m.

Checking the claims from Americans for Prosperity

Americans for Prosperity takes aim at President Barack Obama in a ad running in Ohio and seven other states, claiming that stimulus money was sent overseas while Americans are out of work. "Tell President Obama, American tax dollars should help American taxpayers," the narrator says. Instead, $2.3 billion in tax credits funded jobs in Mexico, Finland and China, the ad claims. We checked it out the so-called funding for jobs in Mexico and found the claim somewhat incendiary.

By Becky Bowers, Robert Higgs :: Published on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 12:00 p.m.

Even in an age of fact checking, the whopper lives

Politicians of all parties have been bending the truth since the beginning of the republic. The two previous presidential administrations are perhaps best known for lies or untruths -- see Lewinsky, Monica, and weapons of mass destruction. And even in this, another presidential election year, rare is the day when a candidate does not utter or repeat a claim that will be debunked by an independent truth squad. Why do they do it? Those who study politics and communications say the consequences appear to be minimal.  

By Henry J. Gomez :: Published on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 12:30 p.m.