False Arguments Against Evidence of Vote Fraud

Facts as a “conservative think tank,” and PolitiFact calls Just Facts “conservative/libertarian” twice. These statements are untrue. Just Facts is a non-ideological, independent organization that has published hundreds of facts… Continue reading →

Media Bias Fact Check: Incompetent or Dishonest?

evidence of its untrustworthiness, Media Bias Fact Check has declared that PolitiFact “is the gold standard for political fact checking.” To the contrary, Just Facts has documented that PolitiFact has… Continue reading →

Substantial Numbers of Non-Citizens Vote Illegally in U.S. Elections

…in the Post, and the Fact Checker linked to their article. PolitiFact, another popular fact checking organization, also published a misleading analysis of this issue. This pertains to the number… Continue reading →

FactCheck.org Misrepresents the Dangers of Carbon Dioxide

ppm just to cause occasional, mild headaches. FactCheck.org: “Plants do, in fact, absorb CO2. But even plants might not like too much of it. A 2008 study conducted at the… Continue reading →

FactCheck.org’s Double Standards on the Stimulus

FactCheck consider the loss of 2.8 million jobs to be evidence that the stimulus destroyed jobs? As for FactCheck’s second piece of evidence that the payroll tax holiday created jobs… Continue reading →

Rape Facts and Falsehoods

…these facts, Snopes, an organization that claims to be “engaged in the battle against misinformation,” states that “the most recent and credible research on this topic suggests that around 5%… Continue reading →

The Washington Post Grossly Understates the Crime Rate of Illegal Immigrants

…comparisons.” It’s possible this is just an innocent mistake by the Post, but Just Facts alerted the paper’s head “fact checker” and its corrections editor to this falsehood on February… Continue reading →

PolitiFact’s Deceptive Report on Illegal Voting by Non-Citizens

ISIS to come to power. In all of these cases, PolitiFact’s misinformation served a left-leaning narrative. In most of these cases, Just Facts notified PolitiFact of the errors, but PolitiFact… Continue reading →

Does the Affordable Care Act Ration Medicare?

its powers. Furthermore, FactCheck.org, an organization with a mission to “reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics,” recently declared it is “far from accurate” to claim that… Continue reading →

Media Promotes Junk Science on Fetal Pain

…experts, and we conclude … that definitive claims regarding pain perception at 20 weeks are unfounded.” – Dave Levitan of FactCheck.org Just Facts has previously detailed facts from numerous medical… Continue reading →

Illegal Immigrants Are Far More Likely to Commit Serious Crimes Than the U.S. Public

…York Times, Yahoo!, and a number of NBC affiliates published this article. The Washington Post ran a similar story, and other media outlets and so-called fact checkers have made similar… Continue reading →

Wash Post Repeatedly Botches Fact Check of Trump’s State of the Union Address

…country to settle permanently in another.” In summary, Trump’s statements about lawlessness at the border are consistent with the facts. Yet, the Post’s fact checkers have turned reality on its… Continue reading →

FactCheck Abets False Obama Claim About Romney’s Taxes

…been backed by FactCheck.org. In reality, when one accounts for all federal taxes and all sources of income, Romney—like the vast majority of financially successful individuals—pays a markedly higher federal… Continue reading →

Hurricanes, Rainfall, and Climate Change

…this situation with Hurricane Harvey.” In the same vein, FactCheck.org science writer Vanessa Schipani asserted that global warming “makes intense storms like Harvey more likely to occur.” In support of… Continue reading →

Fetal Pain Facts and Falsehoods

…it rests upon factually solid ground. Like many media outlets, some prominent “fact checkers” have also misled the public about this issue, including FactCheck.org and the Washington Post’s Fact Checker…. Continue reading →

Clinton and Obama’s Brazen Lie About the Iraq Withdrawal

…has made the same claim, and many media outlets have published stories saying he is correct, such as the Washington Post, Salon, FactCheck.org, and PolitiFact, the last two of which… Continue reading →

Donald Trump and the Media Agree on Middle-Class Income, and They are Both Wrong

…2000.” Many “fact checkers” of Trump’s speech declared this statement to be true, including those of the New York Times, PolitiFact, Vox, and NPR. In reality, the data cited by… Continue reading →

2017: The Year in Facts and Falsehoods

decisions, Just Facts has summarized five facts and five falsehoods that: relate to events that captured the public’s attention in 2017. have substantial impacts on masses of people, in contrast… Continue reading →

Illegal Immigrants and Federal Income Taxes

…pay federal income tax.” PolitiFact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning fact check organization, investigated Clinton’s claim and reported: “While there is no official figure, experts estimate that about half of all undocumented… Continue reading →

The Tax Rates of Wall Streeters and Steelworkers

…of those who have done this includes the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, Newsmax, the Providence Journal, the New York Times, FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, CBS, and Agence France-Presse. As a result… Continue reading →

The Impact of Obamacare and Ryancare on Medicare

…Medicare is highly dependent upon general revenues not financed by Medicare taxes. In 2010, for example, 39% of Medicare funding came from general revenues. Conversely, PolitiFact and FactCheck.org are claiming… Continue reading →

Tax Fairness Question at GOP Debate Rooted in Falsehood Spread by Media

…the New York Times, CBS News, Agence France-Presse, PolitiFact, and FactCheck.org. Newspapers have also given the platform of their op-ed pages for others to spread these untruths, including Warren Buffett,… Continue reading →

Visa Overstays Don’t Negate the Benefits of Border Barriers

…when their visas expire. No matter how strong or tall a wall may be, it cannot stop this activity. Those who make that claim—including many media outlets and “fact checkers”—are… Continue reading →

Do Large National Debts Harm Economies?

…1946-2009, but Just Facts requested additional results from them, some of which they published in a New York Times op-ed and appendix. These results are incorporated above. Just Facts also… Continue reading →

Did Bush Lie About Weapons of Mass Destruction?

By James D. Agresti February 16, 2016 During Saturday night’s GOP presidential debate in North Carolina, Donald Trump asserted that former president George W. Bush and his administration deliberately misled… Continue reading →

Warren Buffett’s Fraudulent Tax Claims

…Buffett’s rhetoric remotely plausible. Buffett is not the only person to use these deceptive accounting methods. The Obama campaign, FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, and former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich have all… Continue reading →

The Term “Carbon Pollution” Is Unscientific and Misleading

…pollutants and greenhouse gases. Moreover, media outlets that consciously engage in this practice blur a critical distinction between journalism and activism. Additional reading: FactCheck.org misrepresents the dangers of carbon dioxide… Continue reading →

Think Progress Exaggerates Child Hunger by 8,000%

…misinformed public Pyke is not the only purveyor of inflated hunger statistics. PolitiFact, the Pulitzer-Prize winning fact check organization, has alleged that 24.3% of children in Texas were “in hunger”… Continue reading →

Will Global Warming Flood the Coasts of the United States?

…Major media outlets—and in some ways the studies themselves—have painted a distorted picture of past, current, and future sea levels. In fact, the studies actually conflict with each other, a… Continue reading →

Quantitative Easing: Who Wins and Who Loses?

…spite of the fact that the recession ended more than five years ago and government has been inordinately active in redistributing wealth from prosperous Americans to others. The what, why,… Continue reading →

EPA’s Lack of Transparency Is a Breeding Ground for Junk Science

…write a statement at odds with this core scientific fact and many others demonstrates the need for transparency and accountability in government. And the fact that the New York Times… Continue reading →

Smearing the South With False Charges of Racism

…limited to) George Wallace, Bull Connor, Lester Maddox, and Orval Faubus. In the case of all of these individuals, certain politicians and media outlets have buried the fact that they… Continue reading →

Four Fabrications About Firearms

…for the effects of all such factors. In fact, the authors of the study in question make this point three times, writing, “we could not determine causation,” “we could not… Continue reading →

Embed the Fact App on Your Website

– The Fact App is a quick and effective way to expand your knowledge of important issues and to share this knowledge with others. It is a powerful tool to… Continue reading →

Obamacare’s Effects on Wages

…wages: • Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post‘s “Fact Checker”: “Fewer workers initially would lead to higher wages as employers competed to hire people.” • Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist, Princeton… Continue reading →

Support for “Soaking the Rich” Is Rooted in Media Misinformation

…includes the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, Newsmax, the Providence Journal, FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, CBS News, and Agence France-Presse. Comprehensive, accurate tax rates must account for all… Continue reading →

Media and Politicians Twist Trump’s Words About Charlottesville

…that he called white supremacists “very fine people.” Also, Trump is correct that the event’s organizers “didn’t put themselves down as neo-Nazis.” On the day before the protest, the local… Continue reading →

The U.S. is a Democratic Constitutional Republic, and Yes, It Matters

…a Change.org petition signed by more than 75,000 people claims that the standards “would eliminate references to climate change.” In fact, the older standards contain only one reference to climate… Continue reading →

Bans on Plastic Bags Harm the Environment

…conservatories, ski slopes, and airfields. Second, even organic materials in landfills commonly take hundreds of years to decompose. Many people are ill-informed of this fact because of websites like WikiAnswers,… Continue reading →

Raising Payroll Taxes to Save Social Security Will Cost the Average Worker $73,000

…ability to adjust the employee’s wage and pass the employer’s half of the tax on to the employee. In fact, the employee may bear the entire tax. The Congressional Budget… Continue reading →

Media Repeatedly Deceives Public in Hobby Lobby Coverage

…we practice daily must be beyond reproach,” and the organization has “an ethical responsibility to correct all its factual errors, large and small.” Whether or not those are just lofty… Continue reading →

Newt and the Associated Press Distort Obama’s Born-Alive Abortion Record

By James D. Agresti February 24, 2012 CORRECTION: Just Facts has rewritten and retitled this article based upon a more thorough examination of the laws entailed. This revealed that Newt’s… Continue reading →

Krugman and Obama Mislead on Debts and Deficits

…debt. In fact, for the next 10 years, it’s gonna be in a sustainable place.” Those assertions are based on federal budget projections in CBO’s latest “Budget and Economic Outlook,… Continue reading →

The Associated Press Distorts Obama’s Born-Alive Abortion Record

By James D. Agresti February 25, 2012 In a fact check of Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate on CNN, Associated Press reporters Calvin Woodward and Tom Raum take Newt Gingrich to… Continue reading →

Abortion, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution

…commerce, not restrict it. If that’s true of Obamacare, then it’s true of abortion. In fact, the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution—which are both independent… Continue reading →

Is Ocean Life on the Brink of Mass Extinction?

…conduct the type of exploration and documentation that we do in modern times. In fact, scientists have only just begun to thoroughly catalog the world’s living species, thus enabling them… Continue reading →

Hunger Games: Reporters and Pundits Greatly Exaggerate Hunger in America

…World Vision (and a few other organizations) regarding the report and statistics, and they focused their answers less on the numbers and more on efforts to address the problem: http://www.worldvision.org… Continue reading →

Media Misinformation About Arming Teachers

…article entitled “How Do We Prevent School Shootings?” PolitiFact writes: “But two of the deadliest school shootings—Columbine and Virginia Tech—occurred despite the presence of armed police. Columbine had an armed… Continue reading →

The Washington Post’s Slander on Hurricanes and Climate Change

…hasn’t been in office nearly long enough for his policies to alter the earth’s greenhouse gas levels. In fact, his plan to repeal Obama’s “landmark“ climate change regulation has not… Continue reading →

Deceitful Evidence of Job Market Discrimination

…he flagrantly mispresents it. Moreover, the study itself is flawed, because it fails to account for important factors that relate to this wage gap. As detailed below, once these factors… Continue reading →

Myths and Causes of Income Inequality

…and persons shows that rising household income equality has not been driven by “an inadequate job market” as Porter claims—but by the breakdown of families. Other facts relating to household… Continue reading →

Do Those Who Doubt Climate Catastrophism Lack Scientific Credibility?

…doubts that manmade global warming is a grave threat to the future of the planet. That narrative, however, is at odds with the fact that 3,805 scientists with degrees in… Continue reading →

Solar Energy Costs and Impacts

…and biodiesel. In fact, EIA has projected that by 2018, newly built commercial solar capacity will still be more than twice the cost of new natural gas capacity. Furthermore, as… Continue reading →

When Do Humans Begin to Feel Pain?

…cortex as the medium of conscious function. … The tacit consensus concerning the cerebral cortex as the ‘organ of consciousness’ would thus have been reached prematurely, and may in fact… Continue reading →

Bernie Sanders’ Education Plan is Rife With Deceit

…Civil Rights Project. Buried 21 pages deep in that report is the fact that “the share of intensely segregated white schools, that is, schools that enroll 90–100% white students, has… Continue reading →

Fact-Based Poll Reveals Fictions Believed by Voters

By James D. Agresti October 23, 2012 What do voters truly understand about public policy issues? To scientifically determine this, Just Facts, a think tank dedicated to researching and publishing… Continue reading →

Five Vital Facts About Obama’s Contraception Compromise

…house editorial accusing Obama of “relying on magical thinking in the hope of making the political firestorm disappear.” So, what are the facts? First, the Affordable Care Act, which provides… Continue reading →

Poll: Public Broadly Unaware that “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” was Disproved by Obama Administration

…the pattern of blood stains in the street. Despite the import of these facts and the firestorm of media about Brown’s death, a recent poll commissioned by Just Facts has… Continue reading →

How Many Americans Go Hungry?

…circumstances. So why are these 2% still hungry? Just Facts is unaware of any data that can conclusively answer this question, but the fact that hunger is significantly associated with… Continue reading →

How Many American Children Go Hungry?

…fact 23.2% of children live in households classified as “food-insecure” (page 19), but “food-insecure” does not mean hungry. In fact, prior to 2006, this same category of household was explicitly… Continue reading →

Does the Obama Mandate Force You to Pay for Abortions?

…become evident through a comprehensive look at the scientific facts. When does life begin? Rovner supports her first point simply by quoting Susan F. Wood, an associate professor of health… Continue reading →

Are Today’s Newborns the Luckiest Generation in U.S. History?

…bouncing back from a deep slump.” (Hat tip: Larry Elder) Concurrent with America’s decay in economic growth per person, at least three factors with major effects on it have approached… Continue reading →

Is the Economy to Blame for Our “Runaway National Debt”?

…a matter of fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently estimated the effect of the economic downturn on the federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2012 (which began on October… Continue reading →

Are the Oceans Plagued by Plastic?

…organizations reported on these papers with cataclysmic headlines, such as: “Plastic, plastic everywhere: World’s oceans plagued by waste.” – Traci Watson of USA Today “World’s oceans clogged by millions of… Continue reading →

Leading Progressives Blame the Wrong Culprit for Rising College Costs

…In fact, the full costs of colleges far exceed their sticker prices. The average annual sticker price at 4-year public colleges is $20,050 for in-state students and $25,657 for out-of-state… Continue reading →

The Effects of Regulations on the Economy

…K–12 teacher in the U.S. preventing companies from developing and producing new products. Per a 2003 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, industry productivity “is negatively affected… Continue reading →

The Science of Abortion: When Does Life Begin?

that inorganic objects or organic dead bodies lack; animate existence, characterized by growth, reproduction, metabolism, and response to stimuli.” Rubio’s statement that “human life begins at conception” is consistent with… Continue reading →

Effects of Immigration From Impoverished Nations

…much greater, and average income in the U.S. is three times higher than in Mexico: This disposable income data—which is provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development—is very… Continue reading →

Thomas Jefferson, Racism, and Slavery

…be “good citizens.” This directly refutes the accusation that Jefferson viewed black people as incapable. In fact, he was commenting upon the harmful effects of slavery. “Inferior to Whites” Regarding… Continue reading →

Vital Context on Obama’s Missile Defense Disclosure

…the involved parties and their records on missile defense. Thus, Just Facts is providing a chronological list of facts regarding these matters: * In 2001, Obama told a Chicago television… Continue reading →

Five Fables About Medicare

By James D. Agresti March 5, 2012 The Washington Post has published an op-ed entitled “Five myths about Medicare” by John Rother, the president of an organization that works to… Continue reading →

How Hard and Effectively do Americans Work?

…are consistent with the facts of these matters, and they have exceedingly important implications. First, consider the importance of economic growth and productivity. Per the textbook Microeconomics for Today, countries… Continue reading →

Has Global Warming Turned the North Pole Into a Lake?

By James D. Agresti July 29, 2013 Last week, Forecast the Facts, a self-described “grassroots human rights organization dedicated to ensuring that Americans hear the truth about climate change,” published… Continue reading →

The Costs and Savings of Changing Social Security to a Personal Ownership System

…of the mess it is in. To do this, other measures are necessary. For comprehensive and meticulously documented facts about personal ownership proposals, visit Just Facts’ research on this topic…. Continue reading →

How Biofuel Profiteers Fleece Average Americans

…data from Just Facts about the cost of ethanol. In December 2013, Just Facts commissioned a nationwide scientific poll to determine what voters understand about public policy issues. This poll… Continue reading →

Debt Versus Deficit: Obama’s Bait and Switch

…have an urgent deficit crisis. The only crisis we have is one that’s manufactured in Washington, and it’s ideological.” Continuing, he declared that his political opponents fabricated this crisis so… Continue reading →

Current National Debt Situation is the Worst in U.S. History

…in 2012. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently projected that under current federal policies, publicly held federal debt (a partial measure of the national debt) is on track… Continue reading →

The Birthright Citizenship Debate

…what he said it means. Hollow Analyses Among the multitude of news outlets and websites that have published rebuttals to Anton, all of them ignore the fact that the sponsor… Continue reading →

Does the Social Security Trust Fund Really Exist?

…simple fact: the finances of the Social Security program are separated by law from the rest of the federal government’s finances, as shown in this diagram: As is well known,… Continue reading →

New Data on Hunger in the United States

…relief organization, which cites the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as its source. Thankfully, the true figure is a small fraction of this. The “50 million” figure comes from a… Continue reading →

Are Incandescent Light Bulbs Being Banned?

…falls between these two competing claims. To be precise, on 1/1/12, a provision of federal law will effectively ban the manufacture of standard incandescent bulbs, starting with the 100-watt bulb… Continue reading →

Has Government Turned Us Into a Nation of Makers and Takers?

…half of all households paid no tax at all when, in fact, nearly everyone pays something.” He emphasizes that regardless of whether someone pays federal income taxes, almost all Americans… Continue reading →

Poll Reveals Voters are Uninformed About Major Issues

By James D. Agresti January 8, 2016 What do voters truly understand about policy issues that have major impacts on society? In the final weeks of 2015, Just Facts commissioned… Continue reading →

In America, Women and Men Earn Equal Pay for Equal Work

…exchange for less cash wages. Various studies that have attempted to account for some—but not all—of these factors have found: “Once we control for outside factors the wage gap between… Continue reading →

What the $20 Trillion National Debt Means to You

…these factors and isolate the interplay between them. However, when it comes to government debt, a wide array of facts and data from numerous countries suggest that large national debts… Continue reading →

High-Income Earners Pay a Much Higher Federal Tax Rate Than the Middle Class

…writes: In fact, if you add up all the taxes paid — not just on income and capital gains but also payroll taxes (which don’t apply to income above $110,100)… Continue reading →

Misleading Claims that Fuel Hatred Against Police Officers

…provide a factual basis for their accusations. A prime example are the members of the New York Times editorial board, who wrote that a “grim report” by ProPublica shows “that… Continue reading →

A Factual Look at Obama’s Presidency

…the wake of recessions, and the deeper the recession, the stronger the growth. In fact, renowned liberal economist Paul Krugman once argued that “the economic expansion under President Reagan did… Continue reading →

Widely Touted Study on State and Local Taxes is a Sham

By James D. Agresti January 17, 2015 The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) is a self-described “non-partisan research organization” dedicated to providing “accurate, timely, and straightforward information” about… Continue reading →

Taking Social Security Off-Budget

…the facts above and detailed in my 2001 essay, “The Impact of Social Security on the National Debt.” Stay tuned for further facts about Newt’s plan to save Social Security…. Continue reading →

New York Times Spreads Falsehood That Motivated Murders of Police

…door with a couch” to avoid appearing before the grand jury. After giving scant coverage to the facts above, a slew of media outlets and politicians continued to cite the… Continue reading →

Is the Earth Warming Catastrophically Fast?

…among climate change activists, but they are rooted in feeble, misleading evidence that is deflated by a broad range of facts. Modern Warming Contrary to the views of 24% of… Continue reading →

Media Hypocrisy on Inciting Violence

…Stephens also seems oblivious to the fact that, by his own reasoning, he is painting a target on Trump by declaring that he is complicit in murder. False Innuendo and… Continue reading →

Fetal Pain: Response to the Journal of the American Medical Association

…Sincerely, James D. Agresti President Just Facts Copies of the official letters between Just Facts and JAMA: Request for Retraction – Just Facts to JAMA, May 27, 2016 Additional Documentation… Continue reading →

Ginsburg Sexism Charge Undercut By Scientific Poll

…things that might have been decisive, but that was a major, major factor.” Again, Ginsburg provided no evidence to support this claim. Just Facts’ poll did not measure the intensity… Continue reading →

Education Funding and Results

…linked these disappointing results to inadequate funding, a lack of universal preschool, and socio-economic factors like poverty. These claims are belied by the following facts: Among 32 developed nations, the… Continue reading →

What Portion of the Federal Budget Is Spent on the Military?

…would think that the phrase “total spending” means total spending, but it does not. It means discretionary spending, a fact that can only be deduced by being familiar enough with… Continue reading →

Federal Government’s 2017 Fiscal Shortfall Is 74% Worse Than Reported Budget Deficit

…of this rule explains that “a failure to accrue” implies “that no obligation exists prior to the payment of benefits.” Since an obligation does, in fact, exist, failing to account… Continue reading →

Washington Post Publishes Historian’s False Racism Accusation Against Trump

…E. Lee.” Trump also accurately pointed out that the event’s organizers “didn’t put themselves down as neo-Nazis.” In fact, on the day beforehand, the local NBC news station reported that… Continue reading →