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Fact-checking tonight's debate

National

Bill Adair

By Bill Adair November 28, 2007

The Truth-O-Meter will be busy tonight. Check back late tonight or early tomorrow for our full coverage of the CNN/YouTube debate in St. Petersburg.

stated on October 7, 2014 in a debate :

"The Common Core was not put together by the Department of Education in Washington. It was put together by governors and by states."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on October 3, 2014 in a news release:

Says Thom Tillis "refuses to say what we should do to combat ISIS."

mostly-true

mostly-true

Protect Oregon Driver Licenses

stated on April 21, 2013 in a campaign website statement:

Gov. Kitzhaber oversaw creation of the Oregon driver card law "behind closed doors without allowing any input from citizens who represent the public interest."

barely-true

barely-true

stated on July 18, 2014 in a campaign debate:

Oregon "is the most trade-dependent state in the nation"

false

false

stated on February 26, 2016 in a test of the fact-checking widget:

"This is a test of the fact-checking widget."

false

false

Donald Rumsfeld

stated on February 17, 2013 in an op-ed in the "Washington Post":

Says wrestling was a favorite sport of Abraham Lincoln.

true

true

18% of the American public

stated on September 6, 2012 in a test:

true

true

18% of the American public

stated on August 22, 2012 in a statement:

true

true

stated on June 26, 2012 in a message forwarded to many people:

Says "a lip-reading instructor at the River School, a Washington, D.C., school for the deaf" has determined that during 9/11 ceremonies, Michelle Obama said, "All this for a damn flag."

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on January 8, 2012 in a Republican debate in New Hampshire.:

Says President Barack Obama "is a socialist."

pants-fire

pants-fire

Michele Bachmann

stated on November 22, 2011 in a Republican debate in Washington:

Says Apple CEO Steve Jobs told President Obama that the company moved factories to China because it needed 30,000 engineers.

true

true

18% of the American public

stated on November 3, 2016 in a test conducted on an obscure PolitiFact site.:

"This is a test of the Share the Facts widget."

true

true

Republican Party of Florida

stated on March 19, 2010 in a news release:

The Democratic health care plan is a "government takeover of nearly 20 percent of our economy."

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on March 2, 2010 in the State of the State address:

Cover Florida "is available to any Floridian, offering basic coverage for about $150 a month, instead of the typical $600 a month."

barely-true

barely-true

C.W. Bill Young

stated on February 20, 2010 in a speech to Pinellas County Republicans.:

The Democratic health care plan is a "government takeover of our health programs."

pants-fire

pants-fire

Facebook posts
stated on May 2, 2025 in an Instagram post:

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By Tyler Adkisson • May 2, 2025
Instagram posts
stated on August 27, 2024 in an Instagram post:

California S.B. 1174 eliminates the requirement for voter ID at polling places.

By Sofia Ahmed • August 30, 2024
X posts
stated on August 29, 2024 in X posts:

President Joe Biden “did a campaign ad at the graves in Arlington in 2020.”

By Loreben Tuquero • August 30, 2024
X posts
stated on August 16, 2024 in a video:

Video shows “Kamala Harris describing how she can ruin lives with the 'swipe of a pen.’"

By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • August 30, 2024
Facebook posts
stated on August 25, 2024 in a post:

Kamala Harris’ “plan to tax unrecognized Capital Gains mean(s) if your house goes up in value you will have to pay that Tax Even if you don’t sell your House!”

By Sara Swann • August 30, 2024
Facebook posts
stated on August 25, 2024 in a Facebook post:

“There’s no such thing as menopause.”

By Madison Czopek • August 30, 2024
Instagram posts
stated on August 27, 2024 in an Instagram post:

“Hollywood actor Kurt Russell just said: ‘It is now proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden CHEATED in the 2020 election with mail-in ballots.’”

By Caleb McCullough • August 30, 2024
Kamala Harris
stated on August 22, 2024 in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention:

Former President Donald Trump "intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales tax ... that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year."

By Louis Jacobson • August 30, 2024
Viral image
stated on August 27, 2024 in a Facebook post:

“Kurt Russell forms a new non-woke actors alliance with Roseanne Barr and Tim Allen.”

By Ciara O'Rourke • August 30, 2024
Viral image
stated on August 23, 2024 in an X post:

Photo of former President Donald Trump after an assassination attempt was generated by artificial intelligence.

By Ciara O'Rourke • August 30, 2024