If you were watching the Presidential debate Tuesday night, you might have wondered, who’s lying? Who’s stretching the truth? Who’s making claims that aren’t true? WRAL viewers watching on their mobile or digital device received the fact checks in real-time.
If you were watching the Presidential debate Tuesday night, you might have wondered, who’s lying? Who’s stretching the truth? Who’s making claims that aren’t true?
Like President Trump’s claim that he’s getting insulin so cheap it’s like water. True or false?
Or Joe Biden’s claim that the U.S. has a higher deficit with China now than we did before. True or false?
Or Trump’s claim he paid millions of dollars in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. True or false?
Well, if you were watching the debate via the live stream provided by WRAL, Capitol Broadcasting’s NBC affiliate in Raleigh, N.C., you would have been able to see, in real-time, which candidates were telling the truth and which made falsehoods. Which claims were exaggerated and which were disputed.
That’s because WRAL and PolitiFact collaborated to bring viewers a ground-breaking first with real time, onscreen fact-checking.
WRAL viewers received the real-time fact checks live on their mobile or digital device.
“In this time of political hyperbole, WRAL News is dedicated to bringing viewers facts,” said Rick Gall, WRAL’s news director.
“This unprecedented presentation of on-screen fact-checking in real time allowed voters to hear the candidates’ statements and educate themselves on the facts behind the claims.”
Throughout the election season, PolitiFact reporters have been fact-checking claims made by President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. A spokesperson for PolitiFact said they did 15 fact checks over the 90 minute debate.
“PolitiFact is able to live fact-check debates not because we know everything or are faster than computers,” said Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact’s executive director.
“It’s because we have been fact-checking the candidates each and every day for years, in Joe Biden’s case since 2007. So, what might look ‘live’ to you is, in fact, a credit to the hard work and investment made by journalists for over 13 years now.”
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