WaPo Fact-Checker Responds After GOP Rep. Slams the Paper’s ‘Fake News’

Josh FeldmanFeb 7th, 2017, 5:33 pm
 

A fact-checker for The Washington Post fired back today after a Republican congressman repeatedly slammed them on the House floor today for “fake news.”

Alabama’s Mo Brooks was responding to a WaPo fact-check that gave him four Pinocchios for alleging that when he ran for office in 1982, Democrats “rigged” 11 voting machines against him.

Brooks said on the House floor today he wears the Pinocchios like “a red badge of honor” and again recounted what happened in 1982, saying the odds of so many machines malfunctioning on his name were astronomically high. He claims “the evidence is overwhelming,” especially given how the people who were in relevant positions were all Democrats.

And then Brooks said this about the Post:

It is fake news for the Washington Post to cover up Democrats’ sins by suggesting otherwise… The Post fake news hit piece begs a broader question. Why would the Washington Post even bother to write about an election they know nothing about that happened over 34 years ago? The answer: partisan paranoia. The Democrats and their media allies like the Washington Post are so paranoid and angry about President Trump’s election that they are surely lying and lashing out against anybody any time regardless of truth. The Washington Post. Fake news. Sad.

Michelle Ye Hee Lee, who conducted the fact-check, responded on Twitter:

You can watch Brooks’ remarks above, via C-SPAN.

[image via screengrab]

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Josh Feldman - Senior Editor

Josh Feldman is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Email him here: josh@mediaite.com Follow him on Twitter: @feldmaniac