No one died by shooting at Hurricane Florence

No one died by shooting at Hurricane Florence

2018 hurricane hoax uses 2008 Anderson Cooper photo

2018 hurricane hoax uses 2008 Anderson Cooper photo

What percentage of Americans own stocks?

What percentage of Americans own stocks?

Calif. Democrat accused of demanding sex for campaign cash

Calif. Democrat accused of demanding sex for campaign cash

Rulings from PolitiFact National

Says Michigan congressional candidate Elissa Slotkin "just parachuted into the district to run for ... — Mike Bishop
Says Marsha Blackburn "at the behest of the pharmaceutical industry, co-sponsored a law that ... — Phil Bredesen
Says 3,000 people "did not die" in two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. That ... — Donald Trump
Says Dino Rossi "stripped" health care "from 45,000 children." — House Majority PAC
Says Minnesota U.S. House candidate Joe Radinovich has "spent his life running from the law, charged ... — Congressional Leadership Fund
"Puerto Rico’s electric grid and their electric generating plant was dead before the storms ... — Donald Trump
Says the Trump administration transferred $10 million from FEMA to ICE. — Jeff Merkley
Says Joe Donnelly "voted to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, including criminals, ... — One Nation PAC
Says at his confirmation hearing Brett Kavanaugh said birth control methods could be considered ... — Kamala Harris
Says Joe Radinovich "was cited 30 times for not paying court fines." — Congressional Leadership Fund
"When Abraham Lincoln made the Gettysburg Address speech, the great speech, do you know ... — Donald Trump
"Your family" will pay $2,500 "after Kara Eastman eliminates your tax cut." — Congressional Leadership Fund
Says Amy McGrath "wants to fund more welfare for people who can work, but ... — Congressional Leadership Fund
"In Augusta, (Jared) Golden voted to let welfare recipients use your tax dollars to ... — Congressional Leadership Fund
"We’re making (Medicare) stronger. We’re making Social Security stronger." — Donald Trump

The Latest from PunditFact

Pants on Fire!

A flood of falsehoods

Viral image

Says CNN’s Anderson Cooper stood in a ditch during Hurricane Florence to exaggerate water levels.

— PolitiFact Facebook fact-checks on Tuesday, September 18th, 2018

True

Hannity said that, but O'Rourke didn't send text

Bloggers

Says Sean Hannity told listeners of his radio show that "Beto O’Rourke is asking for help in getting undocumented to vote."

— PunditFact on Friday, September 14th, 2018

Mostly True

Yes, though not purely GOP's fault

Scarborough

Joe Scarborough

"President Trump’s Republican Party will create more debt in one year than was generated in the first 200 years of America’s existence."

— PunditFact on Wednesday, September 12th, 2018

Half-True

ISPs under fire

Fight for the Future

Fight for the Future

"We saw the true danger of the FCC's net neutrality repeal when Verizon was caught throttling California fire fighters."

— PunditFact on Friday, September 7th, 2018

False

Study's design pre-ordained that result

Trump

Says "96 percent of (Google News) results on ‘Trump News’ are from National Left-Wing Media."

— PolitiFact National on Wednesday, August 29th, 2018

False

Rush to judgment

Limbaugh

"It appears that the (Jacksonville) shooter was part of the Trump 'Resistance'."

— PunditFact on Tuesday, August 28th, 2018

Pants on Fire!

No treason = no pardon

Bloggers

"John McCain was pardoned for treason"

— PunditFact on Monday, August 27th, 2018

Pants on Fire!

Defies logic

Coulter

"The Dutch (Afrikaners) were" in South Africa "first."

— PunditFact on Monday, August 27th, 2018

False

No black business boom

Bloggers

"Black business ownership jumped 400% in one year."

— PunditFact on Monday, August 27th, 2018

Pants on Fire!

No one appointed yet

Bloggers

"BREAKING: Sheriff Joe Arpaio will take over (John) McCain’s seat in the Senate."

— PunditFact on Monday, August 27th, 2018

Pants on Fire!

Fails our truth test

Bloggers

"US President D. Trump Approves Scholarship for 50,000 African Student to Study in USA 2018"

— PunditFact on Monday, August 27th, 2018

Pants on Fire!

He never said that

Bloggers

"Trump: ‘I am sending troops to South Africa and they will not leave until the killing stop and the land issue resolved.’ "

— PunditFact on Friday, August 24th, 2018

Mostly False

A far out claim

Bloggers

"NASA says an asteroid bigger than a football pitch is heading towards Earth."

— PunditFact on Friday, August 24th, 2018

Half-True

Worked for Hillary in 2015, then switched to Trump

Bloggers

"Omarosa Exposed: Turns out she was actually working for Hillary"

— PunditFact on Thursday, August 23rd, 2018

Pants on Fire!

Drift away from this claim

Bloggers

"JUST IN: Actor ‘Vin Deisel’ dies after a Failed Attempt to Perfect a Stunt on set."

— PunditFact on Thursday, August 23rd, 2018

Pants on Fire!

Granny with a gun isn't real

Bloggers

Says a 79-year-old woman with AK-47 rescued two LAPD officers from a street gang.

— PunditFact on Tuesday, August 21st, 2018

Pants on Fire!

Stolen from a satire site

Bloggers

"Cops take a knee then walk out on Redskins, leaving them stranded in their locker room overnight."

— PunditFact on Monday, August 20th, 2018

Mostly False

No dead people voting

AmericanJournalReview.com

AmericanJournalReview.com

"Red Alert: Major Signs of Voter Fraud Uncovered In Ohio."

— PolitiFact Ohio on Monday, August 20th, 2018

Pants on Fire!

Tower of Babble

Giuliani

The Trump campaign "didn’t know" that Natalia Veselnitskaya "was a representative of the Russian government. ... I don't even know if they knew she was Russian at the time."

— PunditFact on Monday, August 20th, 2018

Mostly False

Just feels that way

Bloggers

"Science says that being single will kill you faster than obesity."

— PunditFact on Monday, August 20th, 2018

What is PunditFact?

PunditFact is a project of the Tampa Bay Times and the Poynter Institute, dedicated to checking the accuracy of claims by pundits, columnists, bloggers, political analysts, the hosts and guests of talk shows, and other members of the media.

We define a pundit as someone who offers analysis or opinions on the news, particularly politics and public policy. One can engage in punditry by writing, blogging or appearing on radio or TV. A pundit is not an elected official, not a declared candidate nor anyone in an official capacity with a political party, campaign or government.

PunditFact is funded in part by $625,000 in grants over two years from the Ford Foundation and the Democracy Fund. Seed money for the project was provided by craigconnects.

Check out new After the Fact responses.

Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by pundits and rate them on PolitiFact’s Truth-O-Meter:

TRUE – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing.

MOSTLY TRUE – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.

HALF TRUE – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.

MOSTLY FALSE – The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.

FALSE – The statement is not accurate.

PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.

For more details, see the Principles of PolitiFact, PunditFact and the Truth-O-Meter.

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