| "As the influence of political fact-checking has grown, the temptation to crunch the numbers on fact-checker performance has proven irresistible. Early into the fray was the Smart Politics blog at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs, which analyzed the Pulitzer Prize--winning PolitiFact's work during the period from January 2010 through January 2011, surveying more than 500 stories. Sure enough, it found that while the site fact-checked roughly as many statements by current or former Democratic elected officials as current or former Republican officeholders during this period (179 versus 191, respectively), Republicans were overwhelmingly more likely to draw a "false" or even "pants on fire" rating (the worst of all). Out of the ninety-eight politicians' statements that received these dismal ratings, seventy-four were made by Republicans--or 76 percent." |
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At www.thenation.com
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