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 a 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 hours or a few days or even longer, 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 panel of veteran editors who debate the statement and the reporter’s recommended Truth-O-Meter ruling. The panel votes on a final ruling; majority prevails.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are doing battle on stage and in person as voters get ready to cast ballots in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Both Democratic presidential hopefuls spent some time last week on the AJC Truth-O-Meter, courtesy of those fact-checking scribes at PolitiFact and PolitiFact Georgia.
Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below.
Want to comment on our rulings or suggest one of your own? Just go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia). You can also follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/politifactga).
Full versions can be found at www.politifact.com/georgia/.
Hillary Clinton on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in comments during the South Carolina Democratic presidential debate:
Says Bernie Sanders “has reversed his position on immunity” for gun manufacturers and sellers.
Sanders voted for the 2005 measure that provided broad liability exclusions for gun makers and sellers.
Sanders’ position started to evolve in October. His position three months ago — that he would “take another look” at the liability question — is consistent with his Jan. 16 news release saying he supported a proposal to rescind the immunity provisions. But to look back only to October doesn’t tell the full story, ignoring not only the 2003 and 2005 votes, but also several instances in which Sanders or his staff defended those votes in interviews between this past June and early this month.
We rated Clinton’s statement True.
Bernie Sanders on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, during a town hall meeting in Underwood, Iowa:
“I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA.”
He’s accurately referring to the most recent assessment from the gun lobby group in 2012. The National Rifle Association has not issued a more recent evaluation for Sanders for the 2016 primary election.
It’s worth noting that the grade is a few years old, and that his rating has been higher in previous election cycles. Still, a D-minus is far from a full-throated endorsement.
His claim is partially accurate but needs more clarifying information.
We rated it Mostly True.
Hillary Clinton on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in comments during the South Carolina Democratic presidential debate:
“We now have driven (health care) costs down to the lowest they’ve been in 50 years.”
The rate of growth has been at historic lows; the actual per-person cost of health care has increased steadily over the past half century.
Only the rate of increase has slowed, a very different measure. The Clinton campaign acknowledges that the candidate misspoke.
We rated Clinton’s claim as False.
Bernie Sanders on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press”:
Says Hillary Clinton called Barack Obama “naive” for saying during the 2008 Democratic primary that he would “sit down and talk to the Iranians.”
This is a simplified description of the back-and-forth between Clinton and Obama.
Both candidates said they supported more diplomacy between Iran and the United States than what the Bush administration had pursued. Clinton’s position differed from Obama’s in that she supported a slower approach, starting with lower-level talks. Obama, on the other hand, said he would be willing to meet with Iranian leaders in his first year as president, without preconditions.
It was Obama’s approach to diplomacy with Iran that she called naive, not the idea of pursuing diplomatic relations in general.
Sanders’ statement is partially accurate but takes things out of context.
We rate it Half True.
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