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.
Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and their running mates.
They all took a recent ride on the AJC Truth-O-Meter, courtesy of PolitiFact and PolitiFact Georgia.
Want to see how they fared? Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below.
Full versions can be found at www.politifact.com/georgia/
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Hillary Clinton on Monday, October 10th, 2016 in a tweet:
Says Paul Ryan “is still endorsing Trump.”
At the time when Clinton made the claim, Ryan’s endorsement of Trump for president remained in place.
Ryan criticized Trump, but did not rescind his endorsement.
We rated Clinton’s statement True.
Donald Trump on Sunday, October 9th, 2016 in the second presidential debate:
“We have an increase in murder within our cities, the biggest in 45 years.”
The number of murders nationally did rise by the biggest amount in 45 years, and criminologists agree that this is a development worth paying attention to.
But they add that it comes after a steep, quarter-century decline, which suggests that it is not yet a cause for panic.
The statement is accurate but needs clarification and additional information.
We rated Trump’s statement Mostly True.
Hillary Clinton on Sunday, October 9th, 2016 in the second presidential debate:
“We are now, for the first time ever, energy independent.”
The United States imports more energy than it exports, and it consumes more energy than it produces domestically. So the United States still relies on foreign energy sources for about 11 percent of its energy consumption needs.
However, this import-export gap is trending down. The EIA predicts the United States’ energy exports and imports will balance in the not-so-distant future. That said, imports and exports have been balanced in previous decades.
The United States is on track to energy independence, but it’s not there yet.
We rated Clinton’s statement False.
Donald Trump on Monday, October 10th, 2016 in a rally in Ambridge, Pa.:
Says “I’ve been proven right” about “Hillary Clinton’s radical call for open borders, meaning anyone in the world can enter the United States without any limit at all.”
Trump is referring to a leaked speech excerpt in which Clinton purportedly says, “My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere.”
We don’t have more context about what Clinton meant by “open borders” because she has not released the full speech. Her campaign has said she was talking about clean energy across the hemisphere.
Trump argues that it directly applies to her current immigration policy. She has not called for open borders in this campaign. Clinton has proposed making it easier for the current undocumented population to gain a path to citizenship with conditions, but she has also supported beefed-up border security.
The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.
We rated Trump’s statement Mostly False.
Tim Kaine on Tuesday, October 4th, 2016 in a debate:
Donald Trump says “that NATO is obsolete and that we need to get rid of NATO…”
The record is full of instances when Trump called the alliance “obsolete,” but that doesn’t means he’s called for its end.
To the contrary, Trump has spoken of a future for NATO as long as other nations shoulder more of NATO’s costs and make other changes. If they won’t do so, then Trump has voiced ambivalence about the alliance’s future.
But Kaine’s statement leaves the misleading impression that Trump is advocating for NATO’s demise.
We rated Kaine’s claim Mostly False.
Mike Pence on Tuesday, October 4th, 2016 in the vice presidential debate
Says Donald Trump “hasn’t broken his promise” to release his tax returns.
Trump said he would “absolutely” release his tax returns in January 2016 and that it’ll happen “probably over the next few months” in February without the stipulation of an IRS audit. He also made the promise in 2011, 2014 and 2015 without conditions.
There’s still time before Election Day, so Trump still has time to honor this pledge.
But, as of Oct. 4, 2016, when Pence made his claim, Trump has yet to show the public the money.
We rated Pence’s claim False.
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