Archive: History
The Tuskegee Experiment, Part II
The myth that refuses to die: Rosie O'Donnell joins the Rev. Wright in accusing the U.S. government of deliberately infecting African-Americans with syphilis.
Posted on May 9, 2008 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (111)
How Unpopular Is George Bush?
Karl Rove is contesting claims that George W. Bush is the "most unpopular president" in history. The Fact Checker looks at the polls.
Posted on May 8, 2008 at 11:55 AM ET | Comments (190)
Citizen McCain
The Senate has declared that John McCain is a "natural-born citizen," eligible to be president of the United States. But the non-binding Senate resolution does not resolve an arcane constitutional debate about the meaning of "natural-born."
Posted on May 2, 2008 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (41)
Hillary's 'two percent' college loan
Hillary Clinton says she received a two percent student loan that permitted her to attend Yale Law School. She has a rosier-than-warranted picture of the good old days.
Posted on April 23, 2008 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (42)
Paying for the Iraq War
Hillary Clinton says that George Bush is the first American president to fail to pay for a war launched on his watch. She is partly correct.
Posted on April 18, 2008 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (32)
Bill Shoots from the Hip
Just as the Bosnia sniper controversy is dying down, Bill Clinton steps in to fan the flames. We count at least six factual errors in his defense of his wife's Tuzla tales.
Posted on April 11, 2008 at 05:38 PM ET | Comments (64)
Suffragettes for Hillary
Hillary Clinton is a little mixed up over the history of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She may need a fact checker.
Posted on April 8, 2008 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (85)
Name, Rank, and Service Number
A new television ad paints a picture of a defiant John McCain resisting his North Vietnamese captors. But it omits some important context. The Fact Checker investigates.
Posted on April 3, 2008 at 02:03 PM ET | Comments (95)
Obama's 'Camelot connection'
Barack Obama has suggested that he is the mythical offspring of the Kennedys and the American civil rights movement. There are some problems with his version of history.
Posted on March 31, 2008 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (216)
Clinton stumbles on Ohio history
In a swipe at Obama, Clinton claimed last night that nobody has ever won the presidency without carrying the Ohio primary. That is false.
Posted on March 5, 2008 at 11:52 AM ET | Comments (113)
Readers Fact Check Dem Debate
Readers submitted dozens of tips on items to truth squad in Tuesday night's Democratic debate. The Fact Checker follows up.
Posted on February 28, 2008 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (55)
Bill the Attack Dog
We adjudicate the dispute between Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Has the former president been twisting the facts?
Posted on January 22, 2008 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (90)
Poetry versus Prose
The Fact Checker shares his impressions from four days on the road in New Hampshire. The Poetry party is beating the Prose party.
Posted on January 8, 2008 at 10:53 AM ET | Comments (25)
Off-base on NAFTA and "Hillary Care"
UPDATED Monday 11:30 a.m. I am at Manchester airport, on my way back to Baltimore, after a fascinating four days in the Granite State. I will file a wrapup report tomorrow. There have been lots of statements to fact check, several of which will take a little more time. Here...
Posted on January 7, 2008 at 06:37 PM ET | Comments (13)
Hillary and Martin Luther King Jr.
Hillary Clinton says she went to hear Martin Luther King speak on "a cold January day" in 1963. She is almost certainly wrong.
Posted on December 31, 2007 at 05:06 PM ET | Comments (58)
The 2007 Pinocchio Awards
The Fact Checker announces the 2007 Pinocchio Awards and a special Geppetto prize for truth-telling.
Posted on December 31, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (55)
The Fibs of 2007
Nominations are now open for the "Top Ten Fibs of 2007" and the "2007 Geppetto Award."
Posted on December 24, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (22)
Four Pinocchios for Romney on MLK
Eyewitness accounts of Mitt Romney's father marching "hand in hand' with Martin Luther King have been contradicted by contemporaneous newspaper accounts.
Posted on December 23, 2007 at 12:45 PM ET | Comments (29)
Marching with King
Contrary to his claims on the campaign trail, Mitt Romney did not "see" his father marching with Martin Luther King. It is unclear whether Romney Sr and King marched together.
Posted on December 22, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (19)
Hillary Bakes Some Stats
Clinton says that health care costs have spiraled under Bush, but were stable under her husband. The Fact Checker examines the data.
Posted on December 21, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (17)
Most Revealing Fibs: Fred Thompson
As part of the "Front Runners" series, the Fact Checker examines the records of each of the leading candidates. Today: Fred Thompson.
Posted on December 12, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
Obama Tells a Fib
Obama claims that George Bush never left the country prior to his election as president. That is false.
Posted on November 28, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (92)
Aliens Support Clinton, Richardson
Bill Richardson says the government "hasn't come clean" about UFOs. Archives officials say the governor of New Mexico is living on another planet. The Fact Checker adjudicates.
Posted on November 6, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (20)
Biden Talks Tough to Brezhnev?
Presidential candidates often inflate their foreign policy resumes. But did Joe Biden really negotiate an important Cold War arms control treaty with Leonid Brezhnev?
Posted on November 5, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (15)
Is Hillary Responsible for the 'Library Lockdown'?
The Clintons and the Republican National Committee have been arguing over who is responsible for delays in releasing the former president's papers. The Fact Checker sorts through the spin.
Posted on November 1, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (28)
One Up, One Down for John McCain
The Fact Checker awards his first Geppetto checkmark, along with three Pinocchios, to the inventor of the Straight Talk Express.
Posted on October 31, 2007 at 08:45 AM ET | Comments (9)
Barbers for Dodd, Gorbie Endorses Rudy
Which of the following is true? Barbers support Dodd. Rudy's Gorbachev quote. Huckabee on the Founding Fathers. 15 million Americans have seen monsters in their closets.
Posted on October 26, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (29)
Newspaper Cures Skin Rash
In a Wiki-world, you can't always believe what you read.
Posted on September 25, 2007 at 09:00 AM ET | Comments (11)
Thompson's Wars
Is Fred Thompson right that America has "shed more blood for other people's liberty" than any one else in history?
Posted on September 19, 2007 at 06:30 AM ET | Comments (95)
Bin Laden: Rumsfeld Responsible For Vietnam War
Osama Bin Laden gets a history lesson.
Posted on September 19, 2007 at 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
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