Fact checker backs up Reid

When U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada was misrepresenting Mitt Romney’s taxes in 2012, he was called on it by Politifact, the fact-checking site. He denounced the site.

What goes around, and all that—Politifact last week mostly upheld one of Reid’s attacks on the Koch brothers. Reid said, “Koch Industries churns out more climate-changing greenhouse gases than oil giants Chevron, Shell and Valero.”

Politifact’s Riley Snyder found: “Reid’s claim accurately calls on facts established in a well-respected study of corporate pollution. Koch Industries does produce more greenhouse gas emissions than the oil companies listed by Reid. But it’s a somewhat misleading, apples-to-oranges comparison, because there are more Koch facilities that cover more industries compared to the oil companies. The statement is accurate but needs additional information. That meets our definition of Mostly True.”

Politifact, established by the St. Augustine Times in 2007, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for its work on the 2008 campaign. Politifact has recently been growing like other corporate entities. To see how Reid has done on Politifact over the years, go to www.politifact.com/personalities/harry-reid.