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.
The Truth-O-Meter last week checked yet another claim about the pay gap between men and women — this time from state senator and gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter.
We also checked out a claim on tax hikes proposed by President Barack Obama and about English being required of commercial pilots across the world.
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).
Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below.
Full versions can be found at www.politifact.com/georgia/.
State Sen. Don Balfour on April 11 in a flier: “When you get a commercial pilot’s license, you learn to communicate in English no matter where you are in the world.”
State Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, tried unsuccessfully this year to pass legislation requiring all official state business to be conducted in English. He explained his rationale in a glossy, four-page newsletter to constituents.
“When you get a commercial pilot’s license, you learn to communicate in English no matter where you are in the world — because it is a practical necessity for everyone in the air to be able to communicate in a common language,” he said.
We decided that statement was worth a fact check.
In the United States, the federal government requires commercial pilots to read, speak, write and understand English.
In response to some fatal accidents where the lack of proficiency of English appeared to be a factor, one major international organization of air traffic controllers and pilots created guidelines for them to speak English to communicate in the sky.
In 2008, the International Civil Aviation Organization determined that pilots, air traffic controllers and aeronautical station operators involved in international operations should be able to speak and understand English at a specific proficiency.
The ICAO, which works with the United Nations through a special agreement, serves 191 countries. But North Korea and a handful of newer nations are not on the list.
We rated Balfour’s statement Mostly True.
State Sen. Jason Carter, D-Atlanta, on April 8 in social media posts: Women are paid 77 cents for every $1 men get for the same work.
Many Democrats have complained about a gender pay gap in what some analysts say is an effort to increase support among women as the congressional elections take place this fall.
On April 8, Jason Carter’s Twitter account had a message: “Women are paid 77¢ for every $1 men get for the same work. (Retweet) if you agree women should get equal pay for equal work,” it said.
The claims by Jason Carter and others stem from a U.S. Census Bureau survey released in 2011. The study found women’s total wages were about 23 percent lower than the total amount of men’s wages. But that large discrepancy was due in part to the fact that men generally work more hours.
We rated Carter’s statement as Mostly False.
Americans for Tax Reform on April 14 in a press release: “Obama has proposed 442 tax hikes since taking office.”
President Barack Obama is no stranger to the charge that he likes to raise taxes. But a new report from an anti-tax group says he’s actually proposed raising taxes more than 400 times.
The group released a list of 442 measures the group considered a tax increase, divided into sections for each fiscal year’s budget from 2010 to 2015. The report is based on an analysis of the budgets the Obama administration has proposed since taking the White House.
The list contains some proposals that would have increased taxes, but it overstates the total number by a significant amount. Our analysis suggests about 200 items should be knocked off this list, because it includes the same items Obama proposed in multiple budgets and some proposals that cannot be considered tax increases.
We rated the statement by Americans for Tax Reform as Mostly False.
Former President Jimmy Carter during an April 6 radio interview: “Atlanta is the No. 1 trading point for sexual slavery in America. Between 100 and 200 girls are sold into slavery in Atlanta every month.”
Former President Jimmy Carter weighs in on the subjects of sex slavery and human trafficking in his 28th and newest book, “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power.”
On radio recently to promote the book, the former president said, “Atlanta is the No. 1 trading point for sexual slavery in America.”
“Between 100 and 200 girls are sold into slavery in Atlanta every month,” Carter told Scott Slade on News 95.5/AM 750 WSB on April 6.
The former president obtained the estimates he used in his book from a presenter at the Carter Center’s Human Rights Defenders’ Forum, spokesman Steven Hochman said. The presenter drew from studies released by the Schapiro Group in Atlanta from 2007 to 2011. Those studies estimated that 200 to 400 girls were being sexually exploited each month in Georgia.
More studies are expected on the issue, including one by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The results of the GBI study should be out in May and will include numbers lower than those reported in the Schapiro Group study, GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said.
Carter’s estimate on the number of girls aligns with — and is on the conservative side of — other estimates that are out there.
His statement about Atlanta’s ranking is based on a study that looked at only eight cities. Although some reports about the study were misleading, its authors couldn’t say — and didn’t say — Atlanta was No. 1 in the sex trade in America.
We rated the former president’s statement as Half True.
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