PunditFact, a sister site of PolitiFact dedicated to fact-checking pundits and talking heads, last looked at its network scorecards in September.
The scorecards measure statements made by a pundit or a host or paid contributor on a particular network. They don't include statements made by elected leaders, declared candidates or party officials.
About 61% of Fox and Fox News reports were rated Mostly False or worse; MSNBC/NBC 44 percent; and CNN 21 percent. PunditFact doesn't rate NPR or PBS.
The State of the Union
There were multiple official and unofficial Republican responses to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, but only a few instances of the president's critics stretching the facts: Sen. Ted Cruz falsely claimed that "not a word was said about radical Islamic terrorism." In fact, Obama vowed to combat "violent extremism" and asked for congressional authority to use force against the Islamic State. Cruz also said Obama "could not bring himself even to bring" up the president's executive action on immigration. But he did. Obama said he would veto legislation that attempts to undo it. Sen. Rand Paul said "liberal elites" wanted to regulate "what light bulbs we can use." Actually, GOP President George W. Bush signed a bill that phased out traditional incandescent bulbs, in favor of more energy efficient ones.
Two potential Republican candidates for president distorted the facts about climate change and dismissed established threats and potential solutions: Rick Santorum falsely claimed that U.S. policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions "will have zero impact" on climate change. The U.S. is the world's second-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, and a reduction in its emissions could slow global warming. Santorum claimed that even those who accept the science agree that U.S. action will accomplish nothing, which is inaccurate. Santorum also questioned whether "man (is) having a significant impact" on climate change. The answer from the scientific community is "yes." In its latest report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that human influence on climate is clear. "It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century," according to the report. "Extremely likely" means the issue has a probable outcome of between 95 percent and 100 percent.
Mike Huckabee said Islamic extremism poses a greater threat than climate change. That's his opinion, but he understated the potential impact of climate change by saying it threatens to give Americans "a sunburn" - an issue almost unrelated to climate change. In 2007, the center for Naval Analyses released a report led by 11 retired three- and four-star admirals and generals; among its findings was that "projected climate change poses a serious threat to America's national security." The report highlighted the issue as a threat multiplier, and added that "projected climate change will add to tensions even in stable regions of the world."
Chip Tuthill lives in Mancos. Websites used: www.factcheck.org www.politifact.com.