With Democrats choosing Barack Obama as their presidential candidate last week and John McCain set to be chosen as the Republican nominee this week, ads endorsing one candidate or another are about to become a staple of television. In some states, they already have.
Each candidate has made accusations about the other, and third-party groups who answer to neither candidate already have begun making claims, some valid, some outrageous. Then there are the conspiracy theories and wild rumors that populate the Internet.
How do we cut through the factual clutter and discover what's true and what's stretched, or even made up?
There is one Web site that stands above others in checking the factual information of candidates' statements: FactCheck.org. The site is ready to put the barrage of ads and information about both candidates up to the test.
As a voter with a big decision to make in November, it's important to keep tabs on what the candidates are saying, or what others are saying about them.
Then there's the Internet, where anyone with a computer can post anything they want about any of the candidates. Sometimes it can be the misinformation highway, and anything one finds there should be questioned.
That's where FactCheck.org comes in. It's run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
A look at the site today reveals seven fact checks on Obama's acceptance speech he gave last Thursday at the Democratic National Convention.
For example, Obama said McCain, far from being a maverick who's "broken with his party," has voted to support Bush policies 90 percent of the time. True enough, but by the same measure Obama has voted with fellow Democrats in the Senate 97 percent of the time.
Politicians sometimes tend to only give one part of the picture, the part that favors their campaign. FactCheck.org is a great resource to make sure you see the whole picture.
FactCheck.org also covers court issues and congressional races.
Check out the site often. It's going to be an interesting few months before the election.
Each candidate has made accusations about the other, and third-party groups who answer to neither candidate already have begun making claims, some valid, some outrageous. Then there are the conspiracy theories and wild rumors that populate the Internet.
How do we cut through the factual clutter and discover what's true and what's stretched, or even made up?
There is one Web site that stands above others in checking the factual information of candidates' statements: FactCheck.org. The site is ready to put the barrage of ads and information about both candidates up to the test.
As a voter with a big decision to make in November, it's important to keep tabs on what the candidates are saying, or what others are saying about them.
Then there's the Internet, where anyone with a computer can post anything they want about any of the candidates. Sometimes it can be the misinformation highway, and anything one finds there should be questioned.
That's where FactCheck.org comes in. It's run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
A look at the site today reveals seven fact checks on Obama's acceptance speech he gave last Thursday at the Democratic National Convention.
For example, Obama said McCain, far from being a maverick who's "broken with his party," has voted to support Bush policies 90 percent of the time. True enough, but by the same measure Obama has voted with fellow Democrats in the Senate 97 percent of the time.
Politicians sometimes tend to only give one part of the picture, the part that favors their campaign. FactCheck.org is a great resource to make sure you see the whole picture.
FactCheck.org also covers court issues and congressional races.
Check out the site often. It's going to be an interesting few months before the election.
