How do we tell fact from fiction?  I suggest we start with how we tell right from wrong.  With common sense.  Yet the way some statements are phrased, this can be quite a winding road to get to our goal.  So, at times, we need some other sources.  One I use quite often is Politifact.  https://www.politifact.com.

This internet site will let you know if a statement or comment is found to be false, mostly false, half true, mostly true or true.  It will also explain how they came to this determination either by supplying short statements for you to read if your time is short, or by explaining their reasoning in full.  If the statement or comment is blatantly not true, it is found to be “pants on fire.”  Get the buckets out.

Take, for instance, a recent statement made on a Facebook post.  Politifact has it listed as “stated on Dec. 17, 2023 in a Facebook post” and the statement was “Elon Musk invented an energy-saving device that could “cut electricity bills by 80%.”  If we think about this, common sense tells us we would be seeing this on every site on the internet and channel on television.  Since we are not, we would expect Politico to say this one is “pants on fire.”  They did.

Former President Donald Trump made a statement recently at one of his rallies.  Politifact has it listed as “stated on Dec. 16, 2023 in a rally in New Hampshire” and the statement “They want to make our Army tanks all electric.”  In this statement, first thing I look for is who is “they.”  In context, he may have meant the government but in a statement this controversial, it should be made explicit.  In any event, Politifact lists this as false.  My common sense told me this also.

As for President Joe Biden, he made a statement in remarks at the White House.  Politifact has it listed as “stated on Nov. 27, 2023 in remarks at the White House:” and the statement was “Republicans’ “plan would cut Social Security benefits. … Average benefit cut would be 13%.”  I really did not know whether this statement was true or not since I do know that the Republican Party wants to cut Social Security.  Politifact has this statement as speculative but plausible.  So, they have this one listed as mostly false.

Senator Ron Johnson (R – Wisconsin) recently made a statement on “X.”  Politifact has it listed as “stated on Nov. 10, 2023, in X, formerly “Twitter:” and the statement was “In order to be a poll worker on the conservative side, you have to register through the Republican Party of Wisconsin."  Since I am also a poll worker, although not in Wisconsin, I knew this was true but should have been elaborated on to make it clearer.  This is also true on the liberal side.  Politifact has this one listed as mostly true.

Senator Johnson also made a recent statement in a TV interview.  It is listed as “stated on Dec. 11, 2023, in TV interview” and the statement was “Democrats have also used alternate slates of electors "repeatedly in all kinds of different states."  Since this has never been true, Politifact has this one listed as false.

Nikki Haley, Republican candidate for the presidency, recently held an event in Derry, New Hampshire.  You may have watched this or were able to see some of it through snippets on TV or the internet.  On Politifact, it is listed as “stated on Nov. 28, 2023 in an event in Derry, New Hampshire:” and the statement was “China had the largest naval fleet in the world. They had 370 ships. They'll have 400 ships in two years. We won't even have 350 ships in two decades."  The ship counts are accurate.  However, there are different military capabilities of each ship which still gives the United States an edge over China.  This one is listed on Politifact as half true.

I could go on and on with listings on the Politifact site, but you could also look these up if you have a smart phone or computer.  Suffice it to say that there is help when you are determining whom you may want to vote for and whether what they are saying is true or false.  Without this type of help, we are floundering in a very dangerous sea.  Regular waves will pull you back and then may fling you forward but you end up not knowing if you are truly getting anywhere.  Then you must watch closely for those rogue waves.  Those will bury you.

We all feel that we are gifted with common sense.  Yet this is a learned wisdom.  I feel it is something I learned in school when I was young and with the interaction with my peers growing up.  This is not saying that as children we lie, but we might fib just a bit.  So, in our dealings with others of our age, we had to learn this commonsense thing to be able to prevent being made fun of.  This is why it’s so important to have communication with others.  To have friends to play with when growing up.  This gives us our base of believability towards future development.

Can we ever overcome this bombardment of falsehoods and lies?  With a little help, you bet!