PolitiFact | Pennsylvania

The Poynter Institute

Facts are under assault in 2020.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer is partnering with PolitiFact, to fact-check Pennsylvania politicians. Through the work of an Inquirer reporter dedicated to this effort, and collaborating with other reporters and editors from both The Inquirer and PolitiFact, we will assess the accuracy of statements by elected officials, political candidates, and other public figures. This work is more important now than ever.

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All Fact-checks for Pennsylvania

stated on October 18, 2020 in a Facebook post

Pennsylvania rejected 372,000 mail-in ballots

true

false

stated on October 13, 2020 in a speech

“We’re putting our great coal miners back to work.”

true

barely-true

stated on October 7, 2020 in a post on Facebook

“Shredded Pennsylvania Mail in ballot Applications were discovered in a trailer. The applications were for @realDonaldTrump.”

true

false

stated on September 29, 2020 in a text post

Says Joe Biden “made it clear..No More Coal Fired Power Plants!! So, No More Coal!! Wake Up WV, PA,OH, KY”

true

half-true

stated on September 29, 2020 in a presidential debate

Poll watchers in Philadelphia “were thrown out.”

true

false

stated on September 22, 2020 in a speech

Says Joe Biden's plan for net-zero emissions "would instantly shut down all fracking and all mining immediately in Pennsylvania."

true

false

stated on August 31, 2020 in an ad

Says Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Eugene DePasquale support "socialized medicine," the Green New Deal and defunding the police.

true

false

stated on August 31, 2020 in a speech

“I am not banning fracking.”

true

mostly-true

stated on August 20, 2020 in a rally

Says Joe Biden “abandoned Scranton.”

true

pants-fire

Eugene DePasquale

stated on August 8, 2020 in a tweet

Says Donald Trump's payroll tax deferral “could leave American workers liable for thousands of dollars during tax season and could potentially leave programs like Social Security and Medicare weakened.”

true

mostly-true

stated on July 29, 2020 in an email

The Trump administration “added over 209,000 jobs, including 16,000 new manufacturing jobs, to Pennsylvania over the last three years.

true

false

stated on July 21, 2020 in an interview

Federal agents in Portland have been “kidnapping and holding citizens without charges.”

true

mostly-true

stated on July 22, 2020 in a speech

“Murders this year have spiked 27% in Philadelphia.”

true

true

stated on July 14, 2020 in a campaign call

Says Joe Biden proposed “killing over 600,000 jobs supported by fracking.”

true

false

stated on July 9, 2020 in a speech

On COVID-19, Donald Trump said that “maybe if you drank bleach you may be okay.”

true

barely-true

stated on July 9, 2020 in a speech in Dunmore, Pa.

"Three hundred sixty thousand Pennsylvanians fought on the side of the Union to defeat the flag, that Confederate flag, including more Black soldiers coming from Pennsylvania than any other state in the nation."

true

mostly-true

stated on June 12, 2020 in a press release

U.S. Rep. Matt “Cartwright proposes to defund the Wilkes-Barre police.”

true

false

stated on June 19, 2020 in a viral image

NFL player “stood alone" while his whole team stayed in the locker room during the national anthem, “a real American patriot!”

true

half-true

Brian Fitzpatrick

stated on May 5, 2020 in a radio interview

“For the World Health Organization, the international entity whose sole responsibility it is to alert the world of global pandemics like this, to miss this, is a huge problem.”

true

barely-true

stated on May 25, 2020 in a tweet

“[U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb] said he would NOT vote for [Nancy Pelosi] for Speaker, and did.”

true

pants-fire

Ballot drop boxes have long been used without controversy. Then Trump got involved

Ballot drop boxes have long been used without controversy. Then Trump got involved

By Amy Sherman • October 16, 2020

Fact-checking Mike Pence’s attacks against Joe Biden in his latest Pennsylvania campaign visit

Fact-checking Mike Pence’s attacks against Joe Biden in his latest Pennsylvania campaign visit

By Jessica Calefati • July 31, 2020

Pennsylvania’s coronavirus data is less reliable, robust than other states

Pennsylvania’s coronavirus data is less reliable, robust than other states

By Jessica Calefati • May 11, 2020

Ad watch: Biden attacks Trump on China and coronavirus

Ad watch: Biden attacks Trump on China and coronavirus

By Jon Greenberg • April 20, 2020

Fact-checking Philly’s new distinction as a coronavirus hot spot

Fact-checking Philly’s new distinction as a coronavirus hot spot

By Jessica Calefati • April 13, 2020

How the coronavirus pandemic is shaping the Democratic primary calendar

How the coronavirus pandemic is shaping the Democratic primary calendar

By Louis Jacobson • March 26, 2020

Fact-checking coronavirus claims by Pennsylvania politicians

Fact-checking coronavirus claims by Pennsylvania politicians

By Jessica Calefati • March 25, 2020

Are Pennsylvania Democrats fleeing the party to become Republicans?

Are Pennsylvania Democrats fleeing the party to become Republicans?

By Colin Deppen • October 5, 2018

Does Conor Lamb support mice more than Medicare?

Does Conor Lamb support mice more than Medicare?

By Colin Deppen • September 26, 2018

Fact checking Pa. Rep. Daryl Metcalfe's Facebook meltdown

Fact checking Pa. Rep. Daryl Metcalfe's Facebook meltdown

By Colin Deppen • April 23, 2018

Why Wolf and the Senate GOP are fighting over unemployment center layoffs

Why Wolf and the Senate GOP are fighting over unemployment center layoffs

By Cassie Owens • November 23, 2016

Pat Toomey's bank and fact vs. fiction in this noisy US Senate race

Pat Toomey's bank and fact vs. fiction in this noisy US Senate race

By Anna Orso • October 28, 2016

Sin taxes and Pennsylvania’s poor: New cigarette levy fits a pattern

Sin taxes and Pennsylvania’s poor: New cigarette levy fits a pattern

By Cassie Owens • August 2, 2016

What causes most gun violence in Philly

What causes most gun violence in Philly

By Cassie Owens • April 4, 2016

Impossible to check: John Fetterman’s claim that sanctuary cities are safer

Impossible to check: John Fetterman’s claim that sanctuary cities are safer

By Cassie Owens • February 29, 2016