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From the "NY Times"
All Politicians Lie. Some Lie More Than Others.
Washington — I’m a political fact-checker, which is usually an automatic conversation starter at parties. These days, I get two questions repeatedly: “Is it worse than it’s ever been?” and “What’s up with Donald Trump?”
I’ve been fact-checking since 2007, when The Tampa Bay Times founded PolitiFact as a new way to cover elections. We don’t check absolutely everything a candidate says, but focus on what catches our eye as significant, newsworthy or potentially influential. Our ratings are also not intended to be statistically representative but to show trends over time.
Donald J. Trump’s record on truth and accuracy is astonishingly poor. So far, we’ve fact-checked more than 70 Trump statements and rated fully three-quarters of them as Mostly False, False or “Pants on Fire” (we reserve this last designation for a claim that is not only inaccurate but also ridiculous). We haven’t checked the former neurosurgeon Ben Carson as often as Mr. Trump, but by the percentages Mr. Carson actually fares worse.
Carly Fiorina, another candidate in the Republican race who’s never held elective office, does slightly better on the Truth-O-Meter (which I sometimes feel the need to remind people is not an actual scientific instrument): Half of the statements we’ve checked have proved Mostly False or worse.
Most of the professional politicians we fact-check ...
EDITORIAL COMMENT:- Of course it's from the NY Times so it all has to be lies - right?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/opinion/campaign-stops/all-politicians-lie-some-lie-more-than-others.html?_r=0
All Politicians Lie. Some Lie More Than Others.
Washington — I’m a political fact-checker, which is usually an automatic conversation starter at parties. These days, I get two questions repeatedly: “Is it worse than it’s ever been?” and “What’s up with Donald Trump?”
I’ve been fact-checking since 2007, when The Tampa Bay Times founded PolitiFact as a new way to cover elections. We don’t check absolutely everything a candidate says, but focus on what catches our eye as significant, newsworthy or potentially influential. Our ratings are also not intended to be statistically representative but to show trends over time.
Donald J. Trump’s record on truth and accuracy is astonishingly poor. So far, we’ve fact-checked more than 70 Trump statements and rated fully three-quarters of them as Mostly False, False or “Pants on Fire” (we reserve this last designation for a claim that is not only inaccurate but also ridiculous). We haven’t checked the former neurosurgeon Ben Carson as often as Mr. Trump, but by the percentages Mr. Carson actually fares worse.
Carly Fiorina, another candidate in the Republican race who’s never held elective office, does slightly better on the Truth-O-Meter (which I sometimes feel the need to remind people is not an actual scientific instrument): Half of the statements we’ve checked have proved Mostly False or worse.
Most of the professional politicians we fact-check ...
EDITORIAL COMMENT:- Of course it's from the NY Times so it all has to be lies - right?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/opinion/campaign-stops/all-politicians-lie-some-lie-more-than-others.html?_r=0
Posted in these groups: 
Politics
Politics
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 24
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COL Ted Mc
PO1 John Miller - PO; I haven't been able to find a "fact checker" who is equally biased in the other direction so that I can post their list showing that all the Republicans are "truthful" and all the Democrats are "liars".
If you know of one, would you please link to it?
If you know of one, would you please link to it?
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PO1 John Miller
COL Ted Mc
I could ask you the same question sir, so we are in agreeance. Democrats swear up and down that Republicans lie, and the same is true for Republicans. That is only partially why I am a "Moderately Conservative Libertarian" (thanks to you for helping me come to that term).
I could ask you the same question sir, so we are in agreeance. Democrats swear up and down that Republicans lie, and the same is true for Republicans. That is only partially why I am a "Moderately Conservative Libertarian" (thanks to you for helping me come to that term).
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"...focus on what catches our eye as significant, newsworthy or potentially influential. Our ratings are also not intended to be statistically representative but to show trends over time."
To everyone that uses fact checks as the end all be all of a debate, even one misrepresentation can be used for purposes of bias. If someone states 100 things and two of those are a misrepresentation, that is 98% and if on person says 50 things with two of those being misrepresented, that's 96%. If a person has only stated 5 things in public, the fact checker can make the object of the validation a total idiot if anything is misrepresented.
Since they fact checkers are not statistically driven by facts and pick and choose what they use in fact checks, then overwhelming spin can and will be used to shape public opinion.
If you want to use fact checker sites, the best thing to do is research their research without your political blinders.
To everyone that uses fact checks as the end all be all of a debate, even one misrepresentation can be used for purposes of bias. If someone states 100 things and two of those are a misrepresentation, that is 98% and if on person says 50 things with two of those being misrepresented, that's 96%. If a person has only stated 5 things in public, the fact checker can make the object of the validation a total idiot if anything is misrepresented.
Since they fact checkers are not statistically driven by facts and pick and choose what they use in fact checks, then overwhelming spin can and will be used to shape public opinion.
If you want to use fact checker sites, the best thing to do is research their research without your political blinders.
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COL Ted Mc
Cpl (Join to see) - Corporal; I often post things which "catch my eye" - sometimes I agree with the article and sometimes I don't.
"Showing trends over time" is one of the most useful ways of using ANY data set and the more data points included (as well as the length of time) the better the data set can represent reality.
PS - It would be nice if the "fact checkers" actually checked the same number of statements for each person - but, sometimes, a candidate simply doesn't say very much and including the same statement over and over is just as likely to cause false positives as only checking each statement once.
"Showing trends over time" is one of the most useful ways of using ANY data set and the more data points included (as well as the length of time) the better the data set can represent reality.
PS - It would be nice if the "fact checkers" actually checked the same number of statements for each person - but, sometimes, a candidate simply doesn't say very much and including the same statement over and over is just as likely to cause false positives as only checking each statement once.
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Capt Walter Miller
Presdent Obama's Administration has essentially been scandal free.
That suggests honesty.
In fact, it has been so scandal free that the GOP is giving the White House to HRC by pushing a non-scandal Benghazi narrative.
Walt
Walt
That suggests honesty.
In fact, it has been so scandal free that the GOP is giving the White House to HRC by pushing a non-scandal Benghazi narrative.
Walt
Walt
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COL Ted Mc
LTC Bink Romanick - Colonel; That's why political speeches are sometimes referred to as "stump speeches".
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