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U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, was part two of the most-clicked fact checks. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
The U.S. House of Representatives took center stage in December, with four of the top five PolitiFact Wisconsin fact checks getting the most page views involving House bills or House members.
Rounding out the high five is a former Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly who is now a candidate for governor.
Easily the most popular item in December, with a Half True rating, was a fact check of an ad by NARAL Pro-Choice America that said House Speaker Paul Ryan is leading the effort to "pass a tax bill with divisive conception language by disguising it as a college savings plan" in "another attempt to ban abortion and rob women of their reproductive rights."
NARAL’s statement is partially accurate, but leaves out important details -- our definition of Half True.
Coming in second, with a Half True rating, is U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and her assertion that the House tax plan "would provide permanent tax cuts for individuals who are multi-millionaires and billionaires," but "all middle-class families will eventually face a tax increase, since tax relief for them expires."
The rest of the five:
3. U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, a northern Wisconsin Republican who has consistently backed President Donald Trump, made Democrat-bias allegations about a man who may pose a threat to Trump’s presidency: special counsel Robert Mueller.
Duffy said special counsel Robert Mueller "has brought in Democrat campaign donors at a very high level" on his team of lawyers. Duffy’s statement was partially accurate -- Half True.
4. Ryan’s claim that the 1986 tax reform approved under Ronald Reagan "was polling at about 18 percent right before they passed it." The claim earned a rating of Half True.
5. Kelda Helen Roys, a former Democratic Wisconsin state representative from Madison who is seeking to unseat GOP Gov. Scott Walker, used social media to criticize tax reform efforts by Trump and other Republicans.
"Under Trump’s new tax plan … 99.8% of Americans" get "not one nickel" in tax cuts, Roys said, earning a Pants on Fire.
Our Sources
PolitiFact Wisconsin items as noted
