Campaign 2012: The Facts

Charter School Amendment Battle Attracts Big Money

Voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve the proposed constitutional amendment, which would expand state influence over charter schools.

Fact-Checking Claims in the Macon DA's Race

Challenger David Cooke is running advertisements that claim Winters dismissed all eight of the rape cases he's handled as prosecutor. But is that true?

THE FACTS | Has the Navy Declined in Recent Years?

Has America's Navy declined in recent years? This was a point of contention during the presidential debate about foreign policy. 

THE FACTS | Governor Romney's Scholarship Program

Did Mitt Romney launch a scholarship program during his time as governor that gave top-performing high school students a "tuition-free ride" at any Massachusetts public institution of higher learning?

Why Does Romney's Name Appear First on the Ballot?

In particular, people have wondered why Mitt Romney's name appears first on this year's Georgia ballot. Many people insist that President Obama's name should appear first, since he is the incumbent candidate for president.

Fact Check | Claims about Defense Spending, Syria, Libya, Iraq

During the third and final presidential debate Monday night, President Obama and Mitt Romney disputed an array of statements on foreign policy. Here are a few worth a deeper look.

WHY IT MATTERS: Race

The nation's complexion is rapidly changing. A more racially and ethnically diverse population is rising so that, perhaps within three decades, whites will no longer be the majority. That means shifts in political power, the risk of intensified racial tensions and also the opportunity to forge a multiracial society unlike anything in America's past.

The Facts | Romney's Binders Full of Women

Question: Mitt Romney says he initiated an effort to find qualified women for his cabinet after he was elected governor of Massachusetts. True?

WHY IT MATTERS: Civil Rights

What, exactly, is discrimination, and what should be done to fight it? This election offers choices on the answers.

WHY IT MATTERS: Israel

As concern intensifies over Iran's nuclear program and the rise of Islamist governments in the Middle East, America's top ally in the region, Israel, has become increasingly wary.

Debate Fact Check: Claims on Jobs, Education, Deficit, Libya

In their second debate, President Obama and Mitt Romney took questions from an audience of undecided Long Island voters. Some of their responses deserve a deeper look.

The Facts | Do People Die Because They Don't Have Insurance?

From Words to Deeds: Why Election Matters

When you vote for Democrat Barack Obama or Republican Mitt Romney in November, you'll be voting for more than a president. You'll be casting a ballot for and against a checklist of policies that touch your life and shape the country you live in.

The Facts | How Many Americans Are Unemployed?

Question: How many Americans are unemployed?

Fact Checking Claims in the VP Debate

Vice President Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan disputed a range of facts during their debate Thursday in Danville, Ky. Here are a few foreign policy claims worth examining...

The Facts | Does Obama's Cabinet Have Private Sector Experience

Question: Does less than 10 percent of President Barack Obama's Cabinet have private-sector experience?

The Facts | Checking Romney's Claims that Clean Energy Stimulus Failed

Question: Did the federal government loan $90 billion to clean energy companies, half of which have gone out of business?

WHY IT MATTERS: Europe's Economic Crisis

Europe is struggling to control a debt crisis, save the euro currency and stop a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis that sent the world spinning into recession. The continent's troubles are the No. 1 threat to the fragile U.S. economy. If the crisis spreads to the U.S., Americans could find it harder to get loans and the country could slip back into recession.

WHY IT MATTERS: Gay Marriage

On one aspect of whether same-sex couples should have the right to marry, both sides agree: The issue defines what kind of nation we are. Half a dozen states and the District of Columbia have made history by legalizing it, but it's prohibited elsewhere, and 30 states have placed bans in their constitutions.

The Facts | How Much Taxpayer Money Goes to PBS?

Question: How much taxpayer money goes to subsidize public broadcasting in America?

WHY IT MATTERS: Labor

The Associated Press takes a look at why labor matters and is important to the 2012 campaign platform.

WHY IT MATTERS: Infrastructure

From bridges to broadband, America's infrastructure is supposed to be speeding along commerce, delivering us to work and piping energy and water into our homes and businesses. But just repairing all the breakdowns and potholes would cost tens of billions more than we're currently spending each year.

WHY IT MATTERS: Missile Defense

Missile technology is proliferating. It remains unclear how quickly foes such as Iran and North Korea could develop a capability to strike the United States with missiles, but the U.S. says Iran is already capable of hitting Europe.

Fact-Checking the Presidential Debates

In the first presidential debate Wednesday night, President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney packed their responses with accusations about each other's policies and defenses of their own.

The Facts | Has the Number of People on Food Stamps Doubled?

Question:@ Has the number of people using food stamps doubled since 2009?

5 Things to Watch in Obama vs. Romney Debate

The stakes are high: Up to 60 million people could be tuning in for answers that will help them decide whether to continue the nation's course under Obama or move in a different direction with Romney at the helm.

The Facts | Presidential Candidates' Stump Speeches

In these special report videos from USA Today, Eugene Kiely, deputy director of FactCheck.org, examines claims made by President Barack Obama, and Rob Farley, deputy managing editor of FactCheck.org, checks statements by the challenger, Governor Mitt Romney.

The Facts | General Motors and Government Sales

Question: Did the federal government purchase 79 percent of the vehicles sold by General Motors in June?

The Facts | Did God Vanish from Our Coins

Question: Did God disappear from our coins?

THE FACTS: Operation Fast and Furious

The Facts: Stimulus and the Unemployment Rate

Question: Did the president promise that unemployment would be 5.4 percent by now if the stimulus bill passed?

The Facts | Obama and Renewable Energy

QUESTION: Has the nation's use of renewable energy doubled since 2008 as President Obama has stated?

The Facts | The Birth Certificate

Question: An email that has been circulating lists "four simple questions" why President Barack Obama's birth certificate is a fake. Is it true?

The Facts: Does Obamacare involve 'Death Panels'?

Question: Does the Affordable Care Act (i.e., "Obamacare"), include "death panels"?

The Facts | Romney and Redistribution

Question: Mitt Romney says that redistribution has "never been a characteristic of America." Is that true?

Campaign 2012: The Facts - "You Didn't Build That"

Question: Did Barack Obama tell small-business owners "you didn't build that"?