Latest Fact-Checks By W. Gardner Selby

Clear
Steve Adler
Steve Adler
stated on June 14, 2016 in an interview with Bob Cole on Austin's KOKE-FM:
Austin was the "site of the first mass shooting in the country."
False
By W. Gardner Selby • June 23, 2016
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
stated on March 11, 2016 in keynoting South by Southwest Interactive:
"We’re the only advanced democracy in the world that makes it harder for people to vote."
Half-True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 20, 2016
Louie Gohmert
Louie Gohmert
stated on May 10, 2016 in House floor remarks:
"Of all the people in federal prison for possession of illegal substances, 77 percent of them are not citizens of the United States."
Half-True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 17, 2016
Austin Independent School District
Austin Independent School District
stated on June 2, 2016 in an advertisement spotted at the site of high school graduation ceremonies:
"Austin ISD has the highest graduation rate of every major city in Texas."
Mostly False
By W. Gardner Selby • June 10, 2016
Greg Abbott
Greg Abbott
stated on May 12, 2016 in a speech to the Republican Party of Texas convention in Dallas:
The 2015 Legislature "passed the fewest laws in 20 years."
True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 3, 2016
John Cornyn
John Cornyn
stated on May 23, 2016 in Senate floor remarks:
"Vietnamese is the third most commonly spoken language in Texas."
True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 26, 2016
Celia Israel
Celia Israel
stated on May 13, 2016 in a press release:
"When adjusted for inflation, (Texas) per-student spending has remained relatively flat over the past 16 years. Despite that trend, Texas schools in 2017 will receive $381 less per student than they did in 2003."
Half-True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 23, 2016
NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia
NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia
stated on May 16, 2016 in a website post.:
"One in three American women will have had an abortion by the time she reaches the age of 45."
Half-True
By Sean Gorman, W. Gardner Selby • May 23, 2016
Steve Adler
Steve Adler
stated on May 17, 2016 in a panel discussion in Austin:
"The first tweet was sent from Austin."
Pants on Fire!
By W. Gardner Selby • May 20, 2016
Don Willett
Don Willett
stated on May 13, 2016 in the majority Texas Supreme Court opinion in Texas school finance case:
Before 2005, "the percentage of" Texas high school "students meeting the college readiness standards of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board stood at 28% in English and 42% in math. Those figures stood at 65% and 66% in 2013."
True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 20, 2016
Steve Adler
Steve Adler
stated on April 25, 2016 in speaking against Proposition 1 on Austin's May 7, 2016 ballot:
"Austin is number one in Texas in startups, venture capital and patents."
True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 13, 2016
Bill McRaven
Bill McRaven
stated on January 21, 2016 in addressing the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board:
University of Texas undergraduate student debt "is less than $21,000… probably one of the lowest debts across the nation."
Mostly True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 12, 2016
Ridesharing Works for Austin
Ridesharing Works for Austin
stated on April 26, 2016 in a voter mailer noted by a reader:
If Austin voters reject Proposition 1, a "completely new City-run" criminal background check "process will cost millions in processing fees, additional staff, and bureaucracy" with taxpayers getting "the bill."
False
By W. Gardner Selby • April 30, 2016
Tom
Tom "Smitty" Smith
stated on April 14, 2016 in a commentary published in the Austin American-Statesman:
"Texas has 600,000 registered voters who don’t have the kind of photo ID needed to vote."
Mostly True
By W. Gardner Selby • April 22, 2016
Jerry Jones
Jerry Jones
stated on March 22, 2016 in remarks to reporters at NFL annual meeting:
Says it’s "absurd" to say there’s enough data to establish a link between playing football and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Pants on Fire!
By W. Gardner Selby • April 22, 2016
Our City, Our Safety, Our Choice
Our City, Our Safety, Our Choice
stated on April 8, 2016 in a fund-raising letter from female supporters:
Austin’s Stop Abuse for Everyone has seen in its offices "sexual assault survivors that report being attacked by their ridesharing drivers, at a rate of one per month."
Half-True
By W. Gardner Selby • April 15, 2016
Ellen Troxclair
Ellen Troxclair
stated on April 10, 2016 in a voter forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Austin Area:
Statistics show "you are about nine times more likely to be assaulted by a taxi driver" in Austin than a driver for a ride-hailing service.
Pants on Fire!
By W. Gardner Selby • April 15, 2016
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
stated on March 12, 2016 in remarks in Dallas at a Democratic National Committee reception:
"Right now, here in Texas, wind power is already cheaper than dirty fossil fuels."
True
By W. Gardner Selby • April 12, 2016
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
stated on April 6, 2016 in as a candidate in 2016 and as a possible hopeful in 2000:
On banning assault weapons.
Full Flop
By W. Gardner Selby • April 12, 2016
Committee to Restore America's Greatness
Committee to Restore America's Greatness
stated on April 6, 2016 in a web post:
Says there were over 600 reports of Texas votes for Donald Trump in the state’s 2016 Republican primary virtually all getting tallied for Marco Rubio.  
Pants on Fire!
By W. Gardner Selby • April 11, 2016
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