PolitiFact | Wisconsin

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This partnership of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and PolitiFact helps you find the truth in Wisconsin politics. Scroll down to search through our fact checks and analysis.

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Mostly True

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Pants on Fire

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All Fact-checks for Wisconsin

stated on January 26, 2022 in Radio interview

“All these athletes are dropping dead on the field” after receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.

true

false

stated on January 26, 2022 in a Facebook post

“It begins. Wisconsin Assembly votes to remove electoral votes from Biden.”

true

false

Scott Fitzgerald

stated on December 21, 2021 in Twitter

"Mask mandates on children lead to learning loss that harms early childhood development."

true

barely-true

stated on January 7, 2022 in a Facebook video

“The Wisconsin voter roll has over 120,000 active voters who have been registered to vote for over 100 years.”

true

false

stated on January 9, 2022 in Public statement

On not seeking a third term.

true

full-flop

stated on November 17, 2021 in TV interview

“In Wisconsin, we have 50% of the population paying 50%, 60%, 70%, sometimes 80% for their housing.”

true

false

Derrick Van Orden

stated on December 7, 2021 in Twitter

Actions by Joe Biden left "10,000 - 15,000 American citizens abandoned to terrorists in Afghanistan."

true

barely-true

stated on December 12, 2021 in TV interview

The push for high-speed internet for rural areas, from the start, “was a Democratic thing.”

true

half-true

stated on November 30, 2021 in Twitter

Says Joe Biden “shut down travel from 8 countries in response to the Omicron variant, but he refuses to require a #COVID19 test for illegal immigrants crossing our Southern border.”

true

half-true

stated on December 10, 2021 in a Facebook post

“Wisconsin 2020 election investigation finds more illegal votes were cast than Biden's margin of victory.”

true

false

stated on December 8, 2021 in Radio interview

Around the world, people who exercise their "health autonomy" and don't get vaccinated are being put "basically into internment camps."

true

pants-fire

stated on November 6, 2021 in Panel discussion

“Within two years, there were two 500-year (storm) events” in Wisconsin.

true

mostly-true

stated on November 19, 2021 in Twitter

Kyle Rittenhouse was an “armed person” crossing state lines when he came to Kenosha protests in 2020.

true

false

stated on November 20, 2021 in a Facebook post

“The gas station where they initially attacked” Kyle Rittenhouse “is owned by his grandparents.”

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false

stated on November 5, 2021 in News release

“Wisconsin is almost equally divided on partisan lines” and therefore new Legislative maps could be drawn to “represent that 50-50 split.”

true

barely-true

stated on November 5, 2021 in TV interview

"Only a court can decide that somebody is incompetent to vote" -- the state Election Commission "cannot force facilities, private facilities, to allow special voting deputies" inside.

true

mostly-true

stated on November 15, 2021 in a post on Facebook

“500 National Guardsmen being called to Kenosha ahead of the Rittenhouse verdict. Had they done this in the first place, there wouldn’t have been a trial.”

true

false

stated on November 15, 2021 in a Facebook post

Timothy Simpkins, a Black teen shooter, got 1 day in jail and $75,000 bail, while Kyle Rittenhouse, a white teen, got 2 months in jail and $2 million bail. “I think it’s pretty evident ... that white privilege is a myth.”

true

half-true

stated on November 13, 2021 in a viral image

Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother “drove him across state lines and dropped him off in the middle of a riot armed with an assault rifle” in Kenosha.

true

false

stated on October 28, 2021 in Twitter

Says President Joe Biden “is in talks to pay illegal immigrants $450,000.”

true

half-true

What you need to know about the fake Trump electors

What you need to know about the fake Trump electors

By Amy Sherman • January 28, 2022

Same-day voter registration is on the Democrats’ wishlist. Why do some Republicans oppose it?

Same-day voter registration is on the Democrats’ wishlist. Why do some Republicans oppose it?

By Amy Sherman • January 19, 2022

Fact-checking claims about Kyle Rittenhouse, shooter in Kenosha, Wis., protests

Fact-checking claims about Kyle Rittenhouse, shooter in Kenosha, Wis., protests

By Tom Kertscher • November 17, 2021

Fact checking Kenosha shootings, violent protests one year later

Fact checking Kenosha shootings, violent protests one year later

By Vanessa Swales • August 24, 2021

Updating Evers' promises on tax cuts, education spending, expanding broadband and more

Updating Evers' promises on tax cuts, education spending, expanding broadband and more

By Madeline Heim • July 27, 2021

Are state legislators really seeking power to overrule the voters?

Are state legislators really seeking power to overrule the voters?

By Louis Jacobson • July 14, 2021

What Ron Johnson gets wrong about the COVID-19 vaccines

What Ron Johnson gets wrong about the COVID-19 vaccines

By Madeline Heim • April 23, 2021

Was ‘Democracy in the Park’ illegal?

Was ‘Democracy in the Park’ illegal?

By Eric Litke • March 10, 2021

Fact-checking Biden's Milwaukee visit

Fact-checking Biden's Milwaukee visit

By Eric Litke • February 17, 2021

A look back at our Act 10 fact checks

A look back at our Act 10 fact checks

By Eric Litke • February 9, 2021

Checking Evers' promises on Act 10, prisons, commissions

Checking Evers' promises on Act 10, prisons, commissions

By Eric Litke • January 22, 2021

9 key fact-checks about the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin

9 key fact-checks about the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin

By D.L. Davis • January 4, 2021

Pants on Fire in Review 2020 -- Wisconsin

Pants on Fire in Review 2020 -- Wisconsin

By Haley BeMiller • December 28, 2020

COVID-19 fact checks in review -- Wisconsin

COVID-19 fact checks in review -- Wisconsin

By Madeline Heim • December 28, 2020

Top Flip-O-Meter fact checks 2020 -- Wisconsin

Top Flip-O-Meter fact checks 2020 -- Wisconsin

By Haley BeMiller • December 28, 2020

Top 10 Kenosha-related fact checks of 2020

Top 10 Kenosha-related fact checks of 2020

By Eric Litke • December 28, 2020

Top election fact checks -- Wisconsin

Top election fact checks -- Wisconsin

By Haley BeMiller • December 24, 2020

Top 10 fact checks of 2020 -- Wisconsin

Top 10 fact checks of 2020 -- Wisconsin

By Eric Litke • December 24, 2020

Rudy Giuliani, Trump legal team push conspiracy theories, baseless claims about 2020 election

Rudy Giuliani, Trump legal team push conspiracy theories, baseless claims about 2020 election

By Samantha Putterman • November 20, 2020

Fact-checking Trump’s election fraud falsehoods in White House remarks

Fact-checking Trump’s election fraud falsehoods in White House remarks

By Daniel Funke • November 5, 2020