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Fact-checking to ‘reach deeper’ into communities
As the Nov. 6 U.S. midterm elections approach, AP has stepped up efforts to fact-check political misinformation circulating at the local, state and national levels.
“Over the past year, AP has worked to reach deeper into communities, taking advantage of the expertise of our journalists in all 50 states to produce AP Fact Checks and debunk misinformation on the state and local levels,” said AP Fact Check Editor Karen Mahabir. “These local fact checks are of huge value to our members and customers across the U.S., and to a public hungry for objective, factual information, especially as we approach Election Day.”
She added: “This work builds on AP’s long and rich history of fact-checking, something that’s deeply engrained in our entire global newsgathering operation.”
A sampling of recent state and local fact checks includes:
An #APFactCheck on the Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke Senate debate in Texas examines claims on oil taxes, impeachment and immigration. https://t.co/ht0METeoWF
— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) October 17, 2018
Our latest #APFactCheck looks at a Democratic claim that it is “implausible” North Dakota Republican Senate candidate Kevin Cramer drove 2,300 miles campaigning in the first three months of 2018. https://t.co/JUKSGWAEAZ
— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) July 3, 2018
#APFactCheck looks at a new Republican ad that says Montana US Sen. Jon Tester was the biggest recipient of lobbyist contributions to Congress. https://t.co/qnsoXXWFuc
— AP West Region (@APWestRegion) September 10, 2018
#APFactCheck takes a look at claims made about the Affordable Care Act and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during Indiana’s first U.S. Senate debate. https://t.co/bhola4Ogmh
— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) October 9, 2018
#APFactCheck looks at an attack ad that claims Colorado Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis had a restraining order placed against him by a former employee. https://t.co/wlY1gpAXqE
— AP West Region (@APWestRegion) October 16, 2018
AP FACT CHECK: Kansas gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach didn’t directly call schools ‘overfunded’ #APFactCheck https://t.co/55RZRfgHAX
— Amanda Seitz (@AmandaSeitz1) October 2, 2018
An #APFactCheck shows Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester did attempt to meet with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh despite his GOP opponent’s claim otherwise. https://t.co/HYlt2TiGgp
— AP West Region (@APWestRegion) October 4, 2018
First time Kansas Democratic candidate for Congress Sharice Davids stumbles in trying to explain her views on immigration. #APFACTCHECK examines her recent ad. https://t.co/Yz3IX10K14
— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) September 6, 2018
#APFactCheck: U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers inaccurately claims Democrat Lisa Brown voted to raise college tuition in Washington by over 80 percent. https://t.co/VsIWXnObeH
— AP West Region (@APWestRegion) September 26, 2018
We continue to fact-check statements from politicians and other public figures at the national level in both individual AP Fact Checks and Not Real News roundups.
#APFactCheck: Trump spins tall tale on ‘record’ judicial confirmations and median income, spreads falsehoods on Medicare and overstates the ferocity of Hurricane Michael. https://t.co/tE9PoCoafj
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) October 15, 2018
@APFactCheck: President Trump distorts Democrats’ “Medicare for All” ideas. https://t.co/FKjhbzUOpP
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) October 9, 2018
NOT REAL NEWS: Here’s a look at what didn’t happen this week, even if you saw stories saying it did. #APFactCheck https://t.co/7kJ9mSUS2c
— AP Fact Check (@APFactCheck) October 5, 2018
For decades AP has offered its customers and member news organizations nonpartisan fact-checks that objectively examine the claims of politicians and other public officials.
The news agency has worked with Facebook since 2016 to debunk misinformation circulating on the platform, and announced in March it would begin working with Facebook to identify and debunk false and misleading stories on the platform related to the midterm elections.
Find all AP Fact Checks here.