Political leanings: Democratic 2018 total spending: $95.6 million The House Majority PAC was founded in April 2011 by Alixandria Lapp, a former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee official. Her husband, Democratic consultant John Lapp, ha
Publication: 2020 election
FactCheck.org→ Senate Leadership Fund
Political leanings: Conservative/Republican 2018 total spending: $127 million The Senate Leadership Fund is a Republican super PAC that was established in 2015 by allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The group says its purpose is
FactCheck.org→ Bloomberg’s 2016 Remarks on Farmers, in Context
The supporters of President Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders claim Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg insulted farmers in a 2016 video. The Bloomberg campaign says the video has been “taken completely out of context.” Ther
FactCheck.org→ Competing Claims on Trump’s Budget and Seniors
In what has become an annual Washington exercise, Democrats and Republicans are waging a war of words over the president’s proposed budget and how it would affect programs for seniors. President Donald Trump tweeted that he “will not be touchin
FactCheck.org→ Bloomberg Misleads on Stop-And-Frisk
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg misleadingly stated that he “cut” the police practice of stop-and-frisk — a policy that he “inherited” — by “95%” by the time he left office as mayor of New York. There were nearl
FactCheck.org→ Fake Newspaper Clip About Buttigieg Circulates on Social Media
Quick Take A fabricated newspaper clipping is circulating online claiming a teenage Pete Buttigieg was arrested in the late 1990s for killing dogs. The Twitter user who created the bogus story — and the newspaper that allegedly published it ̵
FactCheck.org→ Trump Has Condemned White Supremacists
Former Vice President Joe Biden wrongly claimed President Donald Trump has “yet once to condemn white supremacy, the neo-Nazis.” Trump drew criticism for his condemnation of “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides” after a r
FactCheck.org→ Sanders Spins Young Voter Turnout in Iowa
Sen. Bernie Sanders claimed there was a “huge voter turnout” among young caucusgoers in Iowa this year, saying the turnout was “even higher than Obama’s extraordinary victory in 2008.” In fact, about 10,300 fewer young voters turned out this
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the New Hampshire Democratic Debate
Summary Four days before the New Hampshire primary, seven Democratic presidential candidates debated. We found factual distortions on several issues: Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sen. Bernie Sanders “voted to give the gun manufacturers … a
FactCheck.org→ Biden Miscasts Hot Mic Moment About Trump
Joe Biden falsely claimed that a hot mic at a NATO reception caught “leaders of the free world” privately saying “they didn’t think [President Donald Trump] knew anything, they didn’t trust him, et cetera.” Biden has
FactCheck.org→ Club for Growth Action
Political leanings: Conservative 2018 total spending: $19.6 million Club for Growth Action, the super PAC of the conservative Club for Growth, was launched in August 2010. On its website, the organization declares its mission is to “take on any
FactCheck.org→ Trump Exaggerates China Trade Impact on Farmers
At his rally in Iowa, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the new trade agreement with China “will boost American agriculture by $50 billion every year.” China agreed to increase agricultural purchases by $12.5 billion this year and
FactCheck.org→ Super Bowl Ads from Trump and Bloomberg
The campaigns of President Donald Trump and Democrat Mike Bloomberg have purchased airtime during the preeminent TV ad event of the year: the Super Bowl. Both scheduled spots make claims that require context or further explanation. Trump’s ad sa
FactCheck.org→ Buttigieg Gives Trump Too Much Blame for Debt
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg blamed tax cuts backed by President Donald Trump for creating the nation’s debt problem. But while the Congressional Budget Office says those tax cuts are worsening the nation’s debt, spirali
FactCheck.org→ Biden vs. Sanders on Social Security and Medicare
Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden have been trading barbs over Biden’s record on Social Security and Medicare. Sanders accuses Biden of saying “on many occasions we should cut Social Security,” and Biden accuses
FactCheck.org→ Trump Yanks Steyer Quote Out of Context
President Donald Trump used a truncated quote from Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer to falsely suggest that Steyer thinks “Democrats are going to destroy the economy in 15 minutes if they get in control.” That was Steyer paraphr
FactCheck.org→ Video: The Seventh Democratic Debate
We highlight four claims we fact-checked from the Jan. 14 Democratic debate in this video. Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed that the “wealthy are the only ones doing well, period.” But weekly paychecks for rank-and-file workers have been ri
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the January Democratic Debate
Summary In the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses, there were fewer candidates — only six — but more than a few false, misleading and exaggerated claims: Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed that the “wealthy are the
FactCheck.org→ Bloomberg, Trump Spar on Preexisting Conditions
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg charged in a TV ad that President Donald Trump had “broken” a “promise” to protect those with preexisting health conditions. Trump fired back on Twitter, “I was the person w
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Position on Osama bin Laden Raid
Questioned by a Fox News reporter, former Vice President Joe Biden denied that he told then-President Barack Obama “not to go after [Osama] bin Laden” in what turned out to be a successful mission to kill the 9/11 mastermind. The Republican
FactCheck.org→ Social Media Video Strips Context From Biden Remark
Quick Take A viral video clip takes former Vice President Joe Biden’s recent remarks about sexual and domestic violence out of context, leaving a false impression that he made a racist comment about the role of African and Asian nations in U.S. c
FactCheck.org→ Video: December Democratic Debate Claims
In this video, we explore several claims made by Democratic presidential candidates in the Dec. 19 debate: South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg talked about his “capacity to win,” citing his 80% mayoral reelection victory. But Sen. Amy Klobuch
FactCheck.org→ Facebook Posts Mislead on Bloomberg Donation
Quick Take Misleading Facebook posts accuse former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg of “bribing” House Democrats by offering a donation “if they vote to impeach” President Donald Trump. In fact, Bloomberg is a major Democratic donor who ha
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the December Democratic Debate
Summary We found several misleading and exaggerated claims in the last debate of 2019: Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg for holding a glitzy “closed-door” fundraiser at a California wine cave. A pool reporter was pe
FactCheck.org→ Biden Exaggerates Science on Burn Pits and Brain Cancer
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden claimed without evidence that “more people are coming home from Iraq with brain cancer” than “any other war.” He also suggested that burn pits — open air waste incinera
FactCheck.org→ Trump Renews Unfounded Claim on Debate Mic
President Donald Trump wrongly claimed the Commission on Presidential Debates was “forced to publicly apologize for modulating” his microphone in the first 2016 general election debate. The bipartisan commission did not apologize for any wi
FactCheck.org→ Trump Mocks Global Warming, Lowballs Sea Level Rise
At a campaign rally, President Donald Trump mocked concerns about global warming, saying that oceans would rise just “[o]ne-eighth of an inch within the next 250 years.” Although Trump’s comment may have been a joke — and not intend
FactCheck.org→ Trump Misleads Rallygoers on IG Report, Impeachment
During his first campaign rally after Democrats announced two articles of impeachment and the Justice Department inspector general released a report on the FBI’s Russia investigation, President Donald Trump distorted the facts on both topics. Th
FactCheck.org→ Zelensky’s Remarks About Trump, In Context
President Donald Trump said the impeachment inquiry should be “case over” because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters “very strongly that President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong.” But that’s not what
FactCheck.org→ Warren Misleads on Her Kids’ Schooling
Sen. Elizabeth Warren misleadingly told a group of school-choice activists that her children “went to public schools,” not private ones. Warren’s campaign later clarified that her daughter attended public school, while her son mostly attended
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the November Democratic Debate
Summary We spotted several false claims and factual flubs: South Bend Mayor Peter Buttigieg falsely claimed that President Donald Trump “had to confess in writing, in court, to illegally diverting charitable contributions that were supposed to g
FactCheck.org→ FactCheck.org Partners with Hearst TV
FactCheck.org’s work during the 2020 election cycle will be featured on Hearst Television Inc. outlets as part of a recent agreement. Our work and interviews with our staff will air on Hearst TV and radio stations — which include 34 TV and
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Biden’s CNN Town Hall
In a televised town hall, former Vice President Joe Biden made several false or misleading statements while commenting on climate change, veterans and health care: Before describing the effects of climate change on his home state of Delaware, Biden in
FactCheck.org→ Trump Muddies Impeachment Timeline
President Donald Trump continues to muddle the timeline of events to falsely suggest that the White House release of a memo summarizing his July phone call with the president of Ukraine silenced whistleblowers and contradicted Democratic leaders. Contr
FactCheck.org→ Video: Fact-Checking Trump’s Louisiana Rally
In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper examines six claims President Donald Trump made during a campaign rally in Monroe, Louisiana, on Nov. 6. We’ve written about all of these topics before: Trump wrongly claimed tha
FactCheck.org→ Trump Ad Misleads on Illegal Immigration
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign makes the misleading claim in a TV ad that he is “cutting illegal immigration in half.” In fact, apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2019 were more than double the total
FactCheck.org→ What Does Science Say About the Need for Nuclear?
While Sen. Bernie Sanders has said “scientists tell us” that it’s possible to go carbon neutral without relying on nuclear power, fellow Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker, who backs the use of some nuclear energy, has said the da
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Spin on AIDS Epidemic
In his campaign rally speeches, President Donald Trump often boasts of his administration’s plan to end the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. in 10 years. It’s true he has proposed funding for that initiative, but he’s wrong to say “the previou
FactCheck.org→ Sanders Misleads on Family Health Care Costs
Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to make the misleading claim that “the average family of four spends $28,000 a year on health care.” That’s the projected average cost for employer-sponsored health insurance for “typical” families of
FactCheck.org→ Video: FactChecking October Debate Claims
In this video, we highlight several claims made by some of the candidates in the Oct.15 Democratic presidential debate: Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro wrongly claimed that the “latest jobs data” show that “