FactChecking Debate No. 2
McCain and Obama debated for the second time, in Nashville. We noted some misleading statements and mangled facts: Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar CampwalaMcCain and Obama debated for the second time, in Nashville. We noted some misleading statements and mangled facts: Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar CampwalaThe checking process here captures some of the major lies in the debate. Some of the highlighted topics suggest a bias in choice of topics and their importance. Lack of evidence that a number is right is not evidence that it is wrong. Changing to "favor" nuclear power is not a lie, it is a change, though undoubtedly an unfortunate change. I would much prefer a more complicated compilation that included a "degree of mendacity" similar to the degree of difficulty in diving competitions. If a fact is widely known and previously debunked, it should have a higher mendacity score. If it is on a topic of importance such as nuclear war or global climate change, it should merit a higher score. If it is an ad hominem attack that is a lie, that should also get a higher score. An overall measure would include the sums of the scores over however many lies each candidate launched. Weighting fibs and dangerous lies equally lends itself to bias.