MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is tackling fact-checking site PolitiFact’s analysis of job creation statistics President Barack Obama shared during his State of the Union address this week.
In the last 22 months, the President said, businesses have created more than three million jobs, last year creating the highest number of jobs since 2005. The folks at Maddow’s show looked into the numbers as well, finding a January 6th report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics saying that the private section has created 3.2 million jobs since February 2010. PolitiFact also checked off the statement as true. So far, so good.
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PolitiFact then did some research on the second part of Obama’s statement. “He’s right,” the site reported, “if you’re counting private-sector jobs.”
So, why, Maddow asked, did PolitiFact rate his statement as “Half True”?
“Obama is correct on both counts,” the site said, “when using private-sector job numbers. But he went too far when he implicitly credited his administration’s policies. So we rate the statement Half True.”
The thing is, Maddow pointed out, the President had specifically credited businesses for creating jobs, not his administration. And PolitiFact has since updated their post on the matter, adding that it has “concluded that [Obama] was not making that linkage as strongly as we initially believed.” Their new rating? “Mostly True.”
“PolitiFact,” Maddow announced Trumpingly, “you are fired.”
You are a mess! You are fired! You are undermining the definition of the word “fact” in the English language by pretending to it in your name. The English language wants its word back. You are an embarrassment. You sully the reputation of anyone who cites you as an authority on “factishness,” let alone fact. You are fired.
That a fact? Have a look, via MSNBC:
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