How does PolitiFact Georgia’s Truth-O-Meter work?
Our goal is to help you find the truth in American politics. Reporters from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution fact-check statements by local, state and national political leaders, including lobbyists and interest groups. We then rate them on the AJC Truth-O-Meter.
To fact-check the claim, reporters first contact the speaker to verify the statement. Next, the research begins. Reporters consult a variety of sources, including industry and academic experts. This research can take a few hours or a few days, depending on the claim. Reporters then compile the research into story form and include a recommended Truth-O-Meter ruling.
The fact check then moves on to a three-member panel of editors who debate the statement and the reporter’s recommended Truth-O-Meter ruling. The panel votes on a final ruling; majority prevails.
PolitiFact Georgia and the AJC Truth-O-Meter waded into a nest of controversy last week with four fact checks of issues currently making headlines.
With our national PolitiFact colleagues we examined controversial comments made by CNN anchor Don Lemon about what he sees as the problems plaguing the black community. We also ran an item by our PolitiFact Florida team examining Jesse Jackson’s claims about homicides in Florida since the state instituted its “stand your ground” law. Locally, we researched the U.S. Senate immigration bill. And we sought answers to a claim about the government subsidies received by various sectors of the energy industry.
Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below. Full versions can be found at: www.politifact.com/georgia/.
To comment on our rulings or suggest one of your own, go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia). You can also find us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/politifactga).
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Charles Kuck: A provision of the Senate immigration bill would require you to have government permission to get a second job.
This claim arose during a forum at a northwest Georgia college about the U.S. Senate immigration bill. Kuck is a prominent Atlanta immigration attorney and frequent national news commentator on the subject.
Our research found that the Senate bill includes a mandate for all employers to begin using the electronic employment verification system E-Verify within four years. That system flags workers whose employee data do not match federal documents. But program and independent data show that most workers are automatically confirmed in the E-Verify system.
It is possible that an employee whose Social Security number, for example, being used for one job could be flagged when that same number is used to secure another job. But it would most likely occur with multiple uses of the same information.
Kuck’s statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details.
We rated his claim Half True.
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Southern Co. CEO Tom Fanning: Government subsidies for renewable energies such as wind and solar are 100 times greater than those given to gas and coal, and 50 times greater than what the nuclear industry enjoys.
Fanning, the head of Georgia’s largest public utility, made this claim in June during a state Public Service Commission hearing. The Georgia Sierra Club disputed Fanning’s account and asked us to determine whether he was correct.
The debate took on added importance when the PSC voted in July to require Georgia Power, owned by the Southern Co., to commit to a certain amount of solar power in its long-term plan.
Our research found one chart that backs up Fanning’s claim on solar and wind power, but not nuclear power. Another report came up with numbers that differed greatly from Fanning’s. Also, coal and natural gas have received subsidies for far longer than solar, wind and nuclear energy, which is an important point.
Fanning’s general point is on target. But the specific numbers he used aren’t entirely correct, and his claim needs some context to be fully understood.
We rated Fanning’s claim Half True.
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The Rev. Jesse Jackson: “Homicides against blacks have tripled” since Florida’s “stand your ground” law has been in existence.
During an interview on CNN, Jackson called for a boycott of Florida after George Zimmerman was acquitted last month in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. With the “stand your ground” law in place there, more homicides and more guns made it less secure for blacks, he said.
At the request of readers, our colleagues at PolitiFact Florida investigated this claim. They found that the “stand your ground” law was enacted partway through 2005. The number of homicides in which black people were the victims fluctuated from year to year between 2006 and 2012. It rose from 524 to 532, nowhere close to tripling.
It’s possible Jackson confused homicides with justifiable homicides, but that’s a key qualifier that he omitted in part of his comments.
We checked his statement that homicides — not justifiable homicides — against blacks have tripled, which is not accurate.
We rated Jackson’s claim False.
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CNN anchor Don Lemon: “A high school dropout makes on average $19,000 a year, a high school graduate makes $28,000 a year, a college graduate makes $51,000 a year.”
Lemon made this claim during an on-air rant about what he sees as problems plaguing the black community.
Our national PolitiFact colleagues checked a part of his recommendation for blacks to stop having children out of wedlock. And we checked this part of Lemon’s recommendation for blacks to get an education.
Our research found that depending on what data is collected, how that data is collected and what data set you consider, Lemon’s education claim could be correct or at least within a few thousand dollars for each educational level.
But use other data, and his claim could be off by several thousand dollars. Also of note, several factors — including gender, occupation, age and the economy — can influence annual and lifetime earnings for workers at all education levels.
His overall theme that higher educational attainment leads to higher wages is correct no matter which data set is considered.
We rated Lemon’s claim Mostly True.
