Facts Are Not Up For Debate

We're in full blown debate season now, with three down, one to go in the presidential election and even more for state and local elections. This week, we're sending a reminder that political debates should be over ideas, and not over facts. The facts are not up for debate. And it's up to the media to establish what the facts are. Too often this season media are missing the mark. John Whitehouse Twitter: @existentialfish Fox Erases Libya Event From Its Timeline During the debate, Candy Crowley dared to actually fact-check Mitt Romney's claim about President Obama's statement about Benghazi being an "act of terror" on September 12. And while she's stood by her fact-check, Fox has pushed relentlessly to erase it. The most galling of these attempts is Fox erasing from its timeline President Obama's statements on September 13 - when Obama made the exact same point. Another example of the right-wing media bubble creating its own reality: http://action.mediamatters.org/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmm4a.org%2FTwjHIU&utm_campaign=weekly_1018_2&n=7&e=281829f68d739d1ebda7df39736cad5a6c6efbfa&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email Where's The Media On Romney's Bogus Jobs Math? Did you know that independent fact checkers found that Mitt Romney's "12 million jobs" plan "doesn't add up"? If you're only reading the news coverage in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, you may have missed that. Somehow, these papers covering the presidential debate repeated the myth - without stating the facts. http://action.mediamatters.org/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmm4a.org%2FPBCsiN&utm_campaign=weekly_1018_2&n=10&e=281829f68d739d1ebda7df39736cad5a6c6efbfa&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email Fox News Lies: Early Voting In Ohio Edition Fox News is not pleased that the Supreme Court approved early voting in Ohio. During the 2004 election, tens of thousands of Ohioans were disenfranchised due to long lines, a problem alleviated by early voting in 2008 and 2010 (and, now 2012 as well). But Fox has consistently tried to dishonestly frame this around military voting. Todd Gregory explains the lies: http://action.mediamatters.org/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmm4a.org%2FWvaTrQ&utm_campaign=weekly_1018_2&n=13&e=281829f68d739d1ebda7df39736cad5a6c6efbfa&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email The Natural Consequence Of Horse-Race Journalism The focus of cable news on presidential style during the debates buries any mention of substance. Eric Boehlert examines Mark Halperin's role in allowing Mitt Romney to reinvent himself. Mitt Romney campaigned as a severe conservative in the primaries and his campaign even famously bragged about being able to "etch-a-sketch" and create a new reality in the general election. But when Romney tried to do that in the first debate, Halperin only praised Romney's style - and ignored any discussion of the substance. http://action.mediamatters.org/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmm4a.org%2FQP840z&utm_campaign=weekly_1018_2&n=16&e=281829f68d739d1ebda7df39736cad5a6c6efbfa&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email Important Things, Like Joe Biden's Smile You probably noticed the media talking nonstop about Joe Biden's smile following the Vice Presidential debate. Pundits on all the cable news channels couldn't stop talking about it. But as they were complaining about Biden smiling, fact-checkers were noting numerous falsehoods from Rep. Paul Ryan during the debate.   http://action.mediamatters.org/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmm4a.org%2FRfHrRN&utm_campaign=weekly_1018_2&n=19&e=281829f68d739d1ebda7df39736cad5a6c6efbfa&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email FEATURED VIDEO As we approach the election, the right-wing media have dedicated their energy to changing the grounds of the debate by avoiding reality and living in a fantasy. Watch Rachel Maddow burst that fantasy bubble: http://action.mediamatters.org/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmm4a.org%2FQuk1JP&utm_campaign=weekly_1018_2&n=22&e=281829f68d739d1ebda7df39736cad5a6c6efbfa&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email OBSTRUCTED VIEW Everyone knows that from the start of the Obama administration, Republicans vowed to not work with the President. But perhaps David Brooks just missed it. How else can you explain Brooks accusing President Obama of being hyper-partisan and driving Republicans away from the table? Kevin Zieber explains how Brooks got it wrong: http://action.mediamatters.org/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmm4a.org%2FTZ4fLa&utm_campaign=weekly_1018_2&n=25&e=281829f68d739d1ebda7df39736cad5a6c6efbfa&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email THE WITHHOLDING WSJ Rupert Murdoch's prized paper stepped in it again this week. The Wall Street Journal published an editorial blasting Sec. Hillary Clinton for being "mute" on Benghazi. Of the many problems with this, the biggest is that the WSJ itself had talked to Clinton about Benghazi five days earlier - and withheld publishing her comments. Oliver Willis explains: http://action.mediamatters.org/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmm4a.org%2FXjzWgR&utm_campaign=weekly_1018_2&n=28&e=281829f68d739d1ebda7df39736cad5a6c6efbfa&utm_source=mediamatters&utm_medium=email IMAGES OF THE WEEK The Transcript Truthers Get A Seat At The Table Smile Over Substance