It's getting hot in here!

Things got hot at PolitiFact Georgia, thanks to Josef Stalin, an aging stripper and a Cobb County school board member. Some days, there was nary a whiff of burning pants in the newsroom air. Atlanta Police Chief George Turner and U.S. Rep. Tom Graves earned Trues on crime statistics and taxes, respectively. It all changed when U.S. Rep. Paul Broun cranked up the heat with a False claim about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Stalin. A Cobb County school board member made a weak claim about the school calendar.    Democrats earned a Pants on Fire for an ad that claimed seniors might have to find work mowing lawns or running lemonade stands to pay for Medicare because of Republicans. In one scenario, an elderly man resorted to stripping. Hot! Want to comment on our findings? Go to our Facebook page and hit the "like" button to join the discussion. You can also follow us on Twitter.

By Willoughby Mariano :: Published on Sunday, April 24th, 2011 at 06:00 a.m.

PolitiFact Georgia goes for broke on the national debt

Thanks to recent battles over federal spending, the Truth-O-Meter hit a jackpot of claims that need checking. U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Mark Warner of Virginia barnstormed the Atlanta area Monday to drum up support for reducing the national debt, so PolitiFact Georgia went for broke. We greeted them with rapid-fire fact checks. The budget hawks were mostly on the money. Warner won a True on Social Security data. Chambliss scored a Mostly True on debt growth figures and a Half True on how tax cuts impact tax revenue. MoveOn.org and U.S. Rep. Paul Broun of Athens shortchanged us on the facts. Both earned False rulings on the budget debate. Want to comment on our findings? Go to our Facebook page and hit the "like" button to join the discussion. You can also follow us on Twitter.

By Willoughby Mariano :: Published on Sunday, April 17th, 2011 at 06:00 a.m.

Truth-O-Meter burrows for the truth

Trust PolitiFact Georgia to burrow for the darkest and fuzziest of truths. Last week, we tested a DeKalb County congressman on the economy, an Athens congressman on one of his tweets, boosterish claims about Atlanta tourism, and whether Egypt’s ambassador has his facts straight. Most importantly, we uncovered that metro Atlanta’s groundhog General Beauregard Lee, long overshadowed by the more famous Punxsutawney Phil, is better at predicting the weather. Scandalous. Join us on Twitter and Facebook to comment and read our latest updates.

By Willoughby Mariano :: Published on Sunday, February 6th, 2011 at 06:00 a.m.