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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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Mostly True

14%

Half True

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Mostly False

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Pants on Fire

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All Fact-checks for Pennsylvania

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

stated on May 11, 2020 in a Facebook post

“Gov. Wolf is not allowing companies that distribute U.S. flags to ship out orders to be placed at veteran’s graves for Memorial Day.”

true

mostly-true

stated on May 14, 2020 in a speech

“You have areas of Pennsylvania that are barely affected and [the governor wants] to keep them closed.”

true

half-true

stated on May 9, 2020 in a video

“Guess what, [children are] not at risk unless they have an underlying medical issue.”

true

false

stated on May 2, 2020 in a Facebook post

Gas is under $1 in 13 states, but $2.27 in Pennsylvania, because of the governor.

true

barely-true

stated on March 18, 2020 in a Facebook post

“The poor are, ironically, the most likely to be employed in the industries deemed ‘essential’ while their upper-class peers are freed to bunker down for weeks until the first death wave passes.”

true

true

stated on April 15, 2020 in a Politico interview

“In a matter of days, and in some cases the moment may even have passed, that we’ve reached the peak of the rate of infections.”

true

half-true

stated on April 13, 2020 in on CNN

"The president looks like he was ahead of the curve – as you know, he talks about this all the time – on shutting down travel from China."

true

barely-true

stated on March 16, 2020 in a Facebook post

The government is closing businesses to stop the spread of coronavirus even though "the numbers are nothing compared to H1N1 or Ebola. Everyone needs to realize our government is up to something ...”

true

pants-fire

stated on March 28, 2020 in a video on Twitter

“My mask will keep someone else safe and their mask will keep me safe.”

true

true

Brian Fitzpatrick

stated on March 23, 2020 in comments he made on the radio

“We’ve got to give the American public a rough estimate of how long we think this is going to take, based mostly on the South Korean model, which seems to be the trajectory that we are on, thankfully, and not the Italian model.”

true

half-true

stated on February 28, 2020 in a news article

“Swing State Hit With 2020 Voting Lawsuit - Accused Of Registering Over 1,500 Deceased People In Pennsylvania.”

true

barely-true

stated on February 19, 2020 in a Facebook post

“Fact: Mike Bloomberg spent $12 million to re-elect a Senate Republican (Toomey) in 2016. Toomey beat the Dem (McGinty) by 1.5 points. If McGinty had won, Ds would have controlled the Senate after Doug Jones won and could have blocked Kavanaugh from the Supreme Court.”

true

half-true

stated on December 12, 2019 in a Facebook post

Says a photo shows "a Trump rally in downtown Philly yesterday."

true

pants-fire

stated on October 15, 2019 in a debate

"Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania actually in the latest jobs data have lost jobs, not gained them."

true

false

stated on August 13, 2019 in a speech

"From 2010 to 2017, natural gas production plummeted by nearly 70 percent in New York, but it soared almost 1,000 percent in Pennsylvania."

true

mostly-true

stated on May 22, 2019 in remarks in the Rose Garden

Says Pennsylvania Republican nominee for Congress Fred Keller "was a 50-50 shot" before his landslide victory.

true

false

stated on October 11, 2018 in Campaign email

"Our unemployment rate is 20 percent higher than the national average."

true

false

stated on October 6, 2018 in a televised debate

Capital punishment is a "specific deterrent with the most heinous crimes."

true

barely-true

National Republican Congressional Committee

stated on September 12, 2018 in a TV ad

Scott Wallace wants to tax families of five for 'irresponsible breeding'

true

false

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