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 general election isn’t until November, but the candidates and their opponents are already at work after Tuesday’s runoff.
The runoff ended 22-year U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston’s bid for promotion to the U.S. Senate. It also dashed the comeback hopes of former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr and former DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones.
PolitiFact Georgia fact-checked a new attack ad on U.S. Senate candidate Michelle Nunn this week. Fact-checkers also looked at Hillary Clinton’s claim that husband Bill did more than Ronald Reagan to create jobs and lift people out of poverty, as well a claim on black voter turnout.
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Full versions can be found at www.politifact.com/georgia/.
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Hillary Clinton: The number of jobs created and people lifted out of poverty during Bill Clinton’s presidency was “a hundred times” what it was under President Ronald Reagan.
With the nation mired in a long, slow recovery from the Great Recession, the past tends to have a rosy glow. Republicans like to tout the halcyon days of President Ronald Reagan, while Democrats fondly remember the era of President Bill Clinton.
The comparison is actually pretty fair. Both presidents entered office during a weak economic time and exited before the economy went into a downturn.
During the eight years under Reagan, the number of employed people went up by 16.1 million, or an increase of 18 percent. And in the eight years under Clinton, the number of employed people went up by 22.9 million, or an increase of 21 percent.
During the eight years under Reagan, the number of Americans in poverty declined by 294,000, or a drop in raw numbers of about 1 percent. The number declined by 6.5 million, or a drop in raw numbers of about 17 percent, in Clinton’s tenure. Similarly, we found the poverty rate fell from 14 percent to 12.8 percent, or a decline of 1.2 percentage points, under Reagan, and it dropped from 15.1 percent to 11.7 percent, or a decline of 3.4 percentage points, under Clinton.
Hillary Clinton, during an appearance on PBS’ “The Charlie Rose Show,” said the number of jobs created and people lifted out of poverty during Bill Clinton’s presidency was “a hundred times” what it was under Reagan.
Bill Clinton’s record does outpace Reagan’s on the four statistical measures we looked at. But the differences are not like night and day, as Hillary Clinton’s phrasing claims. Both presidents saw improvements, with Bill Clinton’s being incrementally better — not 100 times better.
We rated Hillary Clinton’s claim False.
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Ending Spending Action Fund: Michelle Nunn “earned as much as $300,000 running a nonprofit that had laid off 90 workers.”
The well-funded political action committee Ending Spending Action Fund is out with a television ad attacking Nunn, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.
One part of the ad takes a slap at Nunn’s nonprofit work, specifically when HandsOn Network merged with the Points of Light Foundation. About 90 jobs were lost, and Nunn’s salary was increased from $120,000 to $250,000 by her board of directors as she took charge at Points of Light. Her total compensation exceeded $300,000 three years later.
PolitiFact Georgia found the super PAC’s numbers were correct.
To sum up our findings: The Ending Spending Action Fund said Nunn got a huge raise while some employees were getting pink slips.
But a bit of context is needed. Layoffs following mergers are common. And a nonprofit’s success can hinge on whether the public believes that it’s operating as efficiently as possible.
We rated the statement by End Spending Action Fund as Mostly True.
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Jason Riley: “Black voter turnout in 2012 exceeded the rate of white voter turnout, even in the states with the strictest voter ID laws.”
Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent suggestion of a “racial animus” fueling President Barack Obama’s critics is no more than political posturing, said Riley, a Wall Street Journal columnist.
Riley, dubbed by Salon magazine as “the right’s favorite new race guru,” dismissed Holder’s claims as fear-mongering on Fox News’ “The Kelly File.”
“This is about Democrats concerned about minority turnout in November, and they have nothing to offer these constituents,” Riley said.
Riley said he got the statistic from the U.S. Census Bureau, which indicated in a 2013 report that the black voting rate (66.2 percent) indeed surpassed the white voting rate (64.1 percent) in the 2012 elections.
While there is debate about the reasons why — and whether the phenomenon will last — Riley’s statistic checks out. Census data show that indeed, for the first time ever, the voter turnout rate was higher nationally for blacks than whites, and at least just as high in the states with strict voter ID laws.
We rate Riley’s statement as True.
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