PolitiFact | Crime

The Poynter Institute

Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

I would like to contribute

True

0%

Mostly True

15%

Half True

0%

Mostly False

0%

False

0%

Pants on Fire

0%

All Fact-checks for Crime

stated on February 8, 2023 in News release

Under a GOP bill on cash bail, "a large quantity of people who are accused of crimes, including anyone who even witnesses certain crimes, could now be detained and subject to bail."

true

half-true

stated on March 9, 2023 in a speech about his budget proposal

“More cops are killed responding to domestic violence calls than anything else.”

true

false

stated on March 2, 2023 in a speech at CPAC

The Justice Department has been “calling parents that are concerned about what their kids are being taught, they are labeling them terrorists.”

true

false

Instagram posts

stated on February 26, 2023 in an Instagram post

Rifles “were involved in 297 deaths” in the U.S. in 2022 and “constipation killed 2,167.”

true

false

stated on February 26, 2023 in a post

The officers who beat Tyre Nichols targeted him because he was “allegedly dating” one of their wives.

true

false

stated on January 8, 2023 in ABC This Week interview

"Parents that go to school board meetings" and question the curriculum are being "flagged by the Department of Justice and the FBI for attending a meeting."

true

false

stated on December 19, 2022 in a Facebook post

People who stole U.S. Postal Service uniforms are posing as postal workers and robbing people at gunpoint.

true

false

stated on December 15, 2022 in a Facebook post

Says U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., “says pedophilia isn’t a crime — it’s an identity.”

true

pants-fire

Instagram posts

stated on December 12, 2022 in an Instagram post

Human traffickers are putting toxin-laced tissues on gas pumps and door handles, then waiting for potential victims to pass out.

true

false

stated on November 15, 2022 in Twitter

In Milwaukee, "The (homicide) rate has nearly doubled in the past two years."

true

true

stated on November 23, 2022 in a TV interview.

“When you compare us to the European Union, we're something like 23 times more likely” to have homicides and handgun killings.

true

mostly-true

stated on November 20, 2022 in a tweet

The Club Q shooting was a “false flag.”

true

pants-fire

stated on October 20, 2022 in an interview.

They were “never my comments” that a woman can’t get pregnant from rape.

true

half-true

stated on October 24, 2022 in News conference

Tony Evers “wants to let out between 9,000 and 10,000 more” Wisconsin prisoners

true

false

stated on September 28, 2022 in a debate

“We have seen over the last 10 years ... under Republican governors a rise in the murder rate in Arizona of 20%.”

true

barely-true

stated on November 1, 2022 in a podcast interview

At the Pelosi house, “the glass it seems was broken from the inside to the out, so it wasn’t a break-in, it was a breakout.”

true

pants-fire

stated on October 30, 2022 in an interview on Meet the Press

“One in six local election officials have received threats of violence” and threats against judges have doubled over four years and threats against members of Congress have increased by 10 times over five years.

true

mostly-true

Instagram posts

stated on November 29, 2022 in an Instagram post

Police dispatch audio from Paul Pelosi’s attack was recorded in a Moscow studio.

true

pants-fire

stated on October 30, 2022 in an Instagram post

Security cameras at Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home malfunctioned “for the duration of the break-in, so officials have ended their investigation.”

true

pants-fire

stated on October 29, 2022 in an Instagram post

The Pelosis “are refusing to turn over surveillance video of their home.”

true

false

7 false claims from Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s segments on Jan. 6 footage

7 false claims from Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s segments on Jan. 6 footage

By Samantha Putterman • March 7, 2023

Fact-checking Ron DeSantis' 2023 State of the State claims about crime, Florida’s growth

Fact-checking Ron DeSantis' 2023 State of the State claims about crime, Florida’s growth

By Yacob Reyes • March 7, 2023

This statistic on police indictments is misleading. Here's why.

This statistic on police indictments is misleading. Here's why.

By Amy Sherman • February 10, 2023

Here’s what you should know about the claim that Tyre Nichols was ‘reckless driving’

Here’s what you should know about the claim that Tyre Nichols was ‘reckless driving’

By Tom Kertscher • February 1, 2023

PolitiFact Wisconsin’s recent ‘High Five’ fact checks

PolitiFact Wisconsin’s recent ‘High Five’ fact checks

By D.L. Davis • January 9, 2023

In context: What Biden said about migrants at the southern US border and Jews fleeing the Holocaust

In context: What Biden said about migrants at the southern US border and Jews fleeing the Holocaust

By Amy Sherman • January 6, 2023

La comparación de Charlie Crist sobre el crimen bajo Ron DeSantis carece de datos

La comparación de Charlie Crist sobre el crimen bajo Ron DeSantis carece de datos

By Yacob Reyes • November 1, 2022

Fentanyl deaths are up, but GOP ads mislead by blaming ‘open borders,’ migrants crossing illegally

Fentanyl deaths are up, but GOP ads mislead by blaming ‘open borders,’ migrants crossing illegally

By Tom Kertscher • October 28, 2022

Inmigrante acusado de agredir sexualmente a una niña no emigró durante la presidencia de Biden

Inmigrante acusado de agredir sexualmente a una niña no emigró durante la presidencia de Biden

By Maria Ramirez Uribe • October 26, 2022

Scaring voters to the polls? How political ads use crime statistics to try to sway voters

Scaring voters to the polls? How political ads use crime statistics to try to sway voters

By Tom Kertscher • September 28, 2022

Floridians with felony records face illegal voting charges. The state allowed them to register

Floridians with felony records face illegal voting charges. The state allowed them to register

By Amy Sherman • September 9, 2022

Fact-checking Herschel Walker attack ad about Raphael Warnock domestic violence allegations

Fact-checking Herschel Walker attack ad about Raphael Warnock domestic violence allegations

By Tom Kertscher • September 8, 2022

Can Donald Trump run for president if charged and convicted of removing official records?

Can Donald Trump run for president if charged and convicted of removing official records?

By Amy Sherman • August 9, 2022

PolitiFact Wisconsin 'High Five' for May 2022

PolitiFact Wisconsin 'High Five' for May 2022

By D.L. Davis • June 6, 2022

Here’s how to avoid misinformation as you read about Uvalde and other mass shootings

Here’s how to avoid misinformation as you read about Uvalde and other mass shootings

By Bill McCarthy • May 25, 2022

What is the ‘great replacement theory’ linked to the Buffalo shooter?

What is the ‘great replacement theory’ linked to the Buffalo shooter?

By Bill McCarthy • May 16, 2022

The faulty premise of the ‘2,000 mules’ trailer about voting by mail in the 2020 election

The faulty premise of the ‘2,000 mules’ trailer about voting by mail in the 2020 election

By Bill McCarthy • May 4, 2022

In context: What Jen Psaki said about ‘soft-on-crime consequences’

In context: What Jen Psaki said about ‘soft-on-crime consequences’

By Louis Jacobson • February 1, 2022

How Fox News hosts’ Jan 6 texts, on-air comments told different stories of attack

How Fox News hosts’ Jan 6 texts, on-air comments told different stories of attack

By Bill McCarthy • December 16, 2021

The 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance

The 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance

By Angie Drobnic Holan • December 15, 2021

Latest promises about Crime

Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act

Direct federal resources to help prevent violence against transgender women

Have mandatory minimum sentences for criminals caught trying to re-enter the United States illegally

Fully fund the COPS program

Fully fund the Violence Against Women Act

Initiate a grant and training program for law enforcement to deter cyber crime

Push for Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation

Create new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud

Restore funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program