Holiday Bunk

No, this isn't about a bunk bed; this is about debunking all the end-of-year bogus claims circulating through the Internet and elsewhere. Go to factcheck.org for more details; they're also adding to the list daily in a spot they're calling "Ask Factcheck". Here are a few "urban myths" they've reported:

• It's not true that unionized auto workers at Detroit's Big Three make more than $70 an hour, as claimed by some opponents of federal aid.
  
  
• And no, 3 million workers won't be tossed out of work if aid is not forthcoming, as claimed by those favoring a taxpayer bailout.
  
  
• President-elect Obama never promised to seek a ban on all semi-automatic weapons, as claimed by some fearful gun owners.
  
  
• And no, Obama did not propose a Gestapo-like civilian security force as claimed by a Republican member of Congress from Georgia and any number of overwrought bloggers.
  
  
• Democrats in Congress are not discussing any plan to confiscate the assets in 401(k) retirement accounts, another falsehood spread about by chain e-mails and Internet postings.
  
  
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not demand a 757-size personal jet, a false claim resurrected when Democrats criticized Big Three executives for flying to D.C. on their own private jets to beg for aid.
  
  
• And Pelosi's husband doesn't own a $17 million stake in a food company that she may (or may not) have tried to help with an exemption from a new minimum wage law.

As the folks at Annenberg note, what is sad is the number of Americans who believe this misinformation. They have an interesting post-election poll that includes percentages on how many of the electorate believed the falsehoods they were hearing. The authors of this article (Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Brooks Jackson) point out the reasons why voters believe these lies:

1. political ads run many times on the air (if you hear it enough you start to believe it)
2. we have a basic need to "embrace our side's arguments and reject or ignore those offered by an opponent"
3. Partisan preconceptions (Democrats raise taxes; Republicans cut Social Security)
4. Voters aren't knowledgeable about government
5. People find it hard to change once they've formed an opinion

Keep checking back. I'm sure the new year will bring many more tidbits of misinformation.