How to Become a ‘Spin Detector’
Welcome to Spin Detectors! The 2012 campaign season is well under way, and we could use your help monitoring the candidates and potential candidates running for president, Congress and governor. We are asking you to consider becoming a “Spin Detector” for FactCheck.org. We want you to send us campaign materials …
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A Botched Attack on IRS Budget
An ad calling for the abolishment of the IRS incorrectly claimed that the federal agency’s budget increased by $2 billion. In fact, it’s down by nearly $1 billion during President Barack Obama’s first term. To its credit, though, Americans for Fair Taxation, the group behind the ad, removed the $2 …
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IRS Probe So Far Yields Partial, Partisan ‘Facts’
The House Oversight Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat are overreaching in recent statements about the committee’s investigation of the IRS. Chairman Darrell Issa has yet to produce evidence of his theory that the Obama administration in Washington “directly … ordered” the agency to target conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. …
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A Puffed-up Appeal to Job Fears
A TV ad opposing the Senate immigration bill uses inflated numbers in an oversimplified, one-sided appeal to fears about job security. The ad claims that Congress is considering “adding 33 million foreign job seekers” when 20 million Americans can’t find a job. Both those numbers are inflated and misleading. Furthermore, …
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Outside Attacks in Massachusetts
New ads from outside Democratic groups attacking Massachusetts Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez distort his positions on Social Security and taxes. An ad from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee claims Gomez “supports protecting special tax breaks for corporations and multimillionaires – like himself.” But Gomez has supported the elimination of special …
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June 7: Judicial Nominees, Immigration

Obama’s Judicial Juggling
President Obama incorrectly claims that the Senate has taken three times longer to confirm his court nominees than those of his predecessor, George W. Bush. The president made the claim recently as he announced that he would nominate three judges to fill vacancies on the federal Circuit Court of Appeals …
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The Immigration Bill’s ‘$6.3 Trillion Price Tag’
Critics of a bipartisan Senate bill to overhaul the nation’s immigration system falsely claim that it will cost an additional $6.3 trillion, citing a study by a conservative group that opposes the bill. However, the report is not an analysis of the bill, and it says the cost of keeping the status quo ...
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Distortions in the Medicaid Battle
Conservative critics of the Affordable Care Act are misrepresenting a study examining the health benefits of expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income people. In Arizona, a group calling itself American Commitment has launched a series of 30-second Web ads claiming that “a recent study shows that Medicaid doesn’t even improve …
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May 31: Bachmann, Medicaid, Background Checks