PolitiFact: Does Romney really like to fire people?

By LOUIS JACOBSON PolitiFact Staff | Thursday, January 12, 2012

Republican primary frontrunner Mitt Romney set off a firestorm on Jan. 9, 2012, when he said, “I like being able to fire people.” Or, at …

Romney’s figures OK, ‘bureaucrats’ off base

By JON GREENBERG NHPR | Wednesday, January 11, 2012

“You can hire lots of bureaucrats. That’s what the president’s done. He’s added 135,000 people to the government workforce.” – Mitt Romney on Wednesday, January …

PolitiFact has checked nearly 700 statements by candidates

Sunday, January 8, 2012

In the Republican debates and the avalanche of TV ads in New Hampshire and Iowa, the presidential candidates have made lots of claims about the …

PolitiFact 2012: Romney doesn’t quite get the gold medal for saving the Olympics, but he was close

By MATT CLARY Valley News Staff | Saturday, January 7, 2012

The statement: Mitt Romney says he "helped save" the Olympic Games. Campaign video, "Leader," Dec. 16 Our ruling While it may be stretch to suggest …

‘Lie of the Year’

By BILL ADAIR and ANGIE DROBNIC HOLAN PolitiFact Staff | Sunday, December 25, 2011

For the third year in a row a health care claim has won PolitiFact’s dubious honor of the “Lie of the year”. In 2009, the …

Lie of the year pick comes under fire from some

By BILL ADAIR PolitiFact Staff | Sunday, December 25, 2011

At a Republican campaign rally a few years ago, I asked one of the attendees how he got his news. “I listen to Rush and …

Gingrich’s pants on fire on blanket government-sponsored enterprises claim

By JON GREENBERG New Hampshire Public Radio | Friday, December 23, 2011

Says Freddie Mac, electric co-ops and credit unions are all “government sponsored” enterprises. Newt Gingrich on Thursday, December 15th, 2011 in a Republican presidential debate …

PolitiFact 2012: DNC taikes aim, misses Romney

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Says it cost Massachusetts taxpayers $100,000 when Mitt Romney and his staff purchased computer hard drives. -- Democratic National Committee advertisement, “What IS Mitt Romney …

PolitiFact 2012: Gingrich statement insensitive to the facts about terrorism training

By JOHN P. GREGG Valley News | Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Statement: “The Obama administration just issued instructions that terrorism training should not involve any reference to Islam.” -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, in …

PolitiFact 2012: U.S. spends lots on defense, but not more than everyone else

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 14, 2011

“You look at defense … we’re spending more than the rest of the world combined.” -- Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, December 12, 2011, in …

PolitiFact 2012: Romney was right; nothing illegal about erasing computer records in Mass.

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Sunday, December 4, 2011

Mitt Romney says he followed state law and the precedent of other Massachusetts governors when he erased electronic communications as he left office. – Romney …

NTU stands by Medicare mailer

Sunday, December 4, 2011

NTU stands behindits Medicare mailer In a Dec. 1 letter to the editor by Deidre Reynolds (“Medicare tax flier not what it seems“), a National …

Medicare tax flier not what it seems

Thursday, December 1, 2011

I received a mailing the other day with a picture of U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte on it. …

Politifact 2012: Gingrich wrong when he claims Dodd-Frank law is ‘destroying’ community banks

By JON GREENBERG New Hampshire Public Radio | Tuesday, November 29, 2011

“Community banks ...are being destroyed by Dodd-Frank.” - Newt Gingrich on Friday, November 11th, 2011 in remarks at Mandester, N.H. campaign headquarters ------ Our Ruling: …

Perry has facts wrong on Shaheen plan

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Friday, November 25, 2011

Under energy efficiency legislation sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, “federal bureaucrats could take over the local building code enforcement in your city if so-called …

PolitiFact 2012: Biden’s middle-class income numbers right on

By MARYALICE GILL Staff Writer | Sunday, November 20, 2011

The statement The median income of a middle-class family went down $2,100 from 2001-07. – Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday, Oct. 20, speaking at …

Politifact mostly true: Obama adviser says GOP wants deep education cuts

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Says Republicans want to cut education by 25 percent. Obama Adviser David Axelrod on Tuesday, September 27, 2011 in a speech to the New Hampshire …

Politifact: Huntsman exaggerated discredited numbers

By MARYALICE GILL Staff Writer | Sunday, October 16, 2011

“The IRS is already planning on 19,500 new employees to administer” Obama’s health care mandate – Jon Huntsman, during the Republican debate at Dartmouth College …

Eight candidates span Politifact truthful range

By MARYALICE GILL Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 12, 2011

HANOVER – The eight familiar faces of the top Republican contenders for the 2012 presidential primary nomination were in the debate spotlight Tuesday night at …

PolitiFact 2012: The costs of the death penalty aren’t always more expensive than life in prison

By JON GREENBERG New Hampshire Public Radio | Sunday, October 2, 2011

“It costs more money to put a person on death row than it does to lock them up for the rest of their lives because …

Buckley’s tea party claim a big stretch

By JOHN P. GREGG The Valley News | Sunday, September 18, 2011

The statement “Two-thirds of Granite Staters oppose the Tea Party” and its agenda on labor unions. – New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley in …

Buckley gets number affected right when it comes to Medicare

By JON GREENBERG New Hampshire Public Radio | Sunday, September 11, 2011

Says Jon Huntsman supports changes in Medicare that would deny guaranteed benefits to 980,000 New Hampshire residents. NH Democratic Party statement by Raymond Buckley released …

PolitiFact 2012: Romney’s labor stats on the money

By KEVIN LANDRIGAN Staff Writer | Sunday, September 4, 2011

Says that 500,000 federal workers -- one-fourth of the federal workforce -- make more than $100,000 a year. -- Mitt Romney Our Ruling Romney was …

Perry’s numbers doctored

By JON GREENBERG New Hampshire Public Radio | Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The statement: Says Texas gained 21,000 doctors due to tort reform. Gov. Rick Perry, August 17, 2011 in Bedford, in response to a question on …

Huntsman knows facts about China, voices them frequently

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Sunday, August 21, 2011

There are 500 million Internet users “and 80 million bloggers who are driving discussions in China. … So you’ve got a lot of people voicing …

PolitiFact 2012: Huntsman still has a little Chinese to learn

By JOHN P. GREGG Valley News Staff | Sunday, August 21, 2011

The statement: China is or soon will be “the largest English-speaking nation” in the world. -- Jon Huntsman, during a speech at Dartmouth College, July …

PolitiFact: Oft-rated Perry draws mixed reviews from Texas truth-o-meter

By W. GARDNER SELBY PolitiFact Texas | Wednesday, August 17, 2011

No one in Texas politics has faced the Truth-O-Meter more than Rick Perry, who’s gotten more True ratings than anyone else in the state – …

Checking in on GOP politicians’ claims during Iowa debate

By Bill Adair, Louis Jacobson and David G. Taylor PolitiFact Staff | Sunday, August 14, 2011

PolitiFact Nation fact checked the statements made by Republican candidates at Thursday’s debate in Iowa. Here’s what they said and how they rated. For the …

Politifact: Huntsman claim that U.S. has oldest constitution is 'mostly true'

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 9, 2011

"We have the longest surviving constitution." * Jon Huntsman on Tuesday, August 2, 2011 in a campaign appearance in Milford, N.H. ---------- Our ruling: Historians …

Santorum’s claim that tax supported churches in Europe have low attendance rates is mostly false

By JOSH ROGERS New Hampshire Public Radio | Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Claim: In Europe, “church attendance rates (are) in the single digits” because churches are supported by taxes. Rick Santorum on Monday, July 18th, 2011 in …

GOP expanded health care first

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Tuesday, July 26, 2011

“When the Republicans were in charge, they actually expanded government health care with the prescription drug program.” – U.S. Rep. Ron Paul in a July …

Reader Advocate

PolitiFact NH a welcome addition to Telegraph but …

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Late in June, The Telegraph introduced “PolitiFact 2012 New Hampshire,” a cooperative effort among The Telegraph, The Valley News – and more recently NHPR – …

Romney defends health care law

By DAN GORENSTEIN NHPR | Friday, July 22, 2011

The Statement: “Federal law requires that hospitals treat people whether or not they can pay. So someone (who) doesn’t have health insurance -- they can …

PolitiFact deserves ‘pants on fire’ rating

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Please remove articles written by PolitiFact from your paper or put them on the opinion page where they belong. I have written to this organization …

Gingrich wrong about required down payment

By JON GREENBERG NHPR | Thursday, July 21, 2011

The statement: Says the new Dodd-Frank financial law requires a 20 percent down payment to buy a house. -- Newt Gingrich in prepared remarks on …

Claim calls for strong belt

By C. EUGENE EMERY JR. Providence Journal | Thursday, July 14, 2011

“There are 30,000 people that have been killed with seat belts.” – Joseph Trillo on Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 in a Rhode Island House debate …

Politifact: Former U.S. Rep. Richard Swett says Huntsman flip-flopped on stimulus

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Sunday, July 3, 2011

Says that in 2009, Jon Huntsman “said that the Recovery Act wasn’t large enough and as governor he asked for $14.4 billion in federal stimulus …

PolitiFact good fit with our history

Friday, July 1, 2011

The Telegraph’s first-ever mention of PolitiFact – then a fledgling, fact-checking project of the St. Petersburg Times – occurred in an editorial dated Jan. 2, …

Politifact 2012: Obama top missile-firing laureate

By JOHN P. GREGG Valley News Staff Writer | Thursday, June 30, 2011

President Obama “has fired more cruise missiles than all other Peace Prize winners combined.” -- sign along Route 12 near Keene, N.H. Our ruling Based …

Telegraph praised for PolitiFact 2012

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Home run. Goal. Touchdown. …

Politifact 2012: Bachman’s groceries claim inflated

By JAKE BERRY Staff Writer | Tuesday, June 28, 2011

“If you threw a barbecue yesterday for the Memorial weekend, it was 29 percent more expensive than last year because Barack Obama’s policies have led …

How PolitiFact Works

Sunday, June 26, 2011

PolitiFact 2012 New Hampshire is a partnership among The Telegraph, the Valley News and PolitiFact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking Web site. The newspapers are partnering …

Meet the NH PolitiFact Team

Sunday, June 26, 2011

A group of reporters and editors from The Telegraph and the Valley News, led byPolitiFact Editor Bill Adair, make up the PolitiFact 2012 New Hampshire …

Introducing PolitiFact 2012 New Hampshire

Sunday, June 26, 2011

For as long as newspapers have existed, we’ve tried to separate fact from fiction. We still do, every day. Today, we have a handy new …

Carney off base about debate topics

By MARYALICE GILL Staff Writer | Sunday, June 26, 2011

In the Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, none of the candidates mentioned the “middle class” or “education.” White House press secretary Jay Carney: – …

Politifact 2012: Pawlenty exaggerated deficit numbers

By J. GREGORY TROTTER Valley News | Sunday, June 26, 2011

Says President Barack Obama promised he would cut the deficit in half, but instead will at least double it. – Tim Pawlenty Our ruling: There …