MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Two Tennessee newspapers have teamed up to launch PolitiFact Tennessee, part of a national organization that works to hold politicians accountable by fact-checking their statements and claims.
The Commercial Appeal of Memphis and the Knoxville News Sentinel will examine claims made by local, state and national officials. PolitiFact Tennessee also will track Gov. Bill Haslam's progress in meeting his campaign promises. Both papers are owned by E.W. Scripps Co.
PolitiFact is a project of the Tampa Bay Times, formerly known as the St. Petersburg Times, and its partners. The papers that participate research statements by elected officials and others and rate their accuracy on PolitiFact's "Truth-O-Meter," ranging from true to false. The most ridiculous claims get the lowest rating of "Pants on Fire."
Commercial Appeal Editor Chris Peck, in a Sunday column announcing the initiative, wrote that the papers will not assume Tennessee politicians are any more or less truthful than their counterparts around the country. "But the political reality today is that exaggeration, innuendo and brash statements designed to play to a certain constituency rule the day in public life."
For more information: http://www.politifact.com/tennessee/
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
