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 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 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 focused on our local politicians this week, checking four claims by our elected officials at all three levels of government.
We revised our ruling on a claim by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed about the amount of money the state could pay for property wanted for a new football stadium. We ran the numbers of fundraising dollars raised by a former state senator and candidate to lead the state’s Democratic Party. We also researched tax filing rules for a claim by U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston about tax credits being claimed by illegal immigrants. And we ended the week by hitting the books to research a claim by U.S. Rep. Paul Broun comparing Georgia teacher salaries to federal Education Department employees.
Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below. Full versions can be found at: www.politifact.com/georgia/.
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Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed: “State law says that once the state appraises a piece of property, they can only pay it a certain amount above appraisal.”
We previously reviewed this claim made by Reed during a radio interview. After the initial ruling, we received additional information from the state attorney general that shed more light on the issue. When new, substantive information is presented, it is PolitiFact’s policy to reconsider a claim.
Reed was discussing ongoing negotiations with a historic church that sits on the preferred site for a new Falcons football stadium. His claim was based on an attorney general’s interpretation of a portion of the state constitution that prevents the state from providing an unearned benefit.
Because the land buyer, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, is a state agency, it is subject to state attorney general rulings and cannot pay above the appraised $6.2 million for the church property.
But that does not prevent third-party donors, not subject to the state law, from contributing money toward the deal.
Given the updated information, we reversed our earlier ruling.
We rated Reed’s statement True.
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U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston: Says an illegal immigrant fraudulently claimed 19 children who actually lived in Mexico on income tax forms to collect more than $29,000.
Kingston, one of several Georgia GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate, made this claim in an interview this month to garner support for his bill to stop illegal immigrants from receiving child tax credit refunds.
His claim was based on a 2012 investigative report by Indianapolis television station WTHR on illegal immigrants in that area receiving child tax credits. The reporter interviewed a man who said four illegal immigrants were using his address to file tax returns.
Kingston said one illegal immigrant admitted claiming 20 children for child tax credits, although 19 of them lived in Mexico. Our findings showed that the congressman’s claim, made on his congressional website and in a television interview, was not entirely correct.
His dollar figure was accurate. But four illegal immigrants — not one — used someone’s address to collect money for the tax credits.
We rated Kingston’s claim Mostly True.
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Doug Stoner: “I fought hard for that (state Senate) seat. I only lost by four points. I raised over $700,000.”
Stoner, a former state senator and candidate for chairman of the state Democratic Party, made this claim in a speech during a candidate forum earlier this month. Stoner was touting his fundraising prowess as an asset for the organization, which is currently struggling financially.
But a reader questioned the figure and asked us to check it out.
Our review of campaign finance paperwork filed with the former state Ethics Commission showed that Stoner had raised almost $300,000 for the 2012 election he mentioned, not the $700,000 he claimed. A look at the campaign contribution aggregation website Influence Exporter showed Stoner’s total raised for all his campaigns at almost $709,000.
Stoner admitted his mistake and told us the larger amount was the cumulative amount raised for all his races. He said he would change the information on his website, and at press time for this story, the website had been updated.
We rated Stoner’s claim as Mostly False.
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U.S. Rep. Paul Broun: “While fat-cat bureaucrats at the Department of Education are getting paid an average salary of $102,000 a year, teachers in Georgia are getting paid half that.”
Broun, a Republican congressman and U.S. Senate candidate, has frequently made this claim, recently as part of his push for less intrusion by the federal government into education policy. As part of that advocacy, he has criticized the U.S. Department of Education for its size, salaries and spending, saying the money could be better spent locally on teachers and students.
Our research found that on the numbers, Broun was very close to accurate. Last school year the average Georgia teacher salary was just shy of $53,000. The average, non-executive DOE salary for the same time was about $103,000.
But Broun failed to take into account the high education and experience levels that federal employees at this level typically possess, as well as the high cost of living in the Washington area vs. residing in Georgia.
His statement was accurate but needed some clarification.
We rated Broun’s claim Mostly True.
