James B. Nelson

Watchdog reporter

33 Stories Published

194 Fact-Checks Published

James B. Nelson has been a reporter and editor for the Journal Sentinel, and the Milwaukee Sentinel, since 1985. Nelson has covered a range of beats, including city, county and state government. In addition to working for PolitiFact, Nelson is a deputy business editor. Originally from Appleton, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Areas of Expertise

Latest Fact-Checks by James B. Nelson

Debunking claim that Demond Means said Milwaukee Public Schools district ‘needs to be gutted’ May 18, 2016
Chris Larson says Chris Abele spent $42 per vote in spring election April 11, 2016
Chris Larson inaccurately says Chris Abele has “done nothing” about the Estabrook Dam April 1, 2016
Image in a Chris Abele ad shows lake that’s supposedly created by Estabrook Dam March 29, 2016
JoAnne Kloppenburg wrongly claims outside group spent $100 million to aid her Supreme Court opponent March 21, 2016
Chris Abele says Mitchell Park Domes cost taxpayers 1 million a year, have fewer visitors March 18, 2016
No, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele is not a billionaire March 2, 2016
Wisconsin Working Families party claims taxpayers spent $100,000 on SUV for Chris Abele February 24, 2016
Challenger Chris Larson says Chris Abele tried to end county funding for homeless shelters February 9, 2016
Sen. Ron Johnson claims Russ Feingold is a career politician February 4, 2016

Latest Stories by James B. Nelson

Fact-check: Is replacing Joe Biden on the ticket ‘unlawful’? Election law experts say it’s not July 22, 2024
United Facts of America: Experts say facts alone won’t bridge the partisan divide September 27, 2022
Would Tom Hanks have qualified for a coronavirus test in the US? March 12, 2020
Fact-checking Donald Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address February 5, 2020
What we know about Shadow, Acronym and the Iowa caucuses February 4, 2020
A new look for the PolitiFact website February 2, 2020
PolitiFact answers the Senate’s impeachment questions January 31, 2020
Our April High Five includes (surprise!) an election flavor May 9, 2016
March High Five: Our most-clicked items for the month April 6, 2016
Claims we’ve rated in the Milwaukee County executive race April 4, 2016
February High Five: Bringing home our most-clicked items of the month March 4, 2016
A look at recent claims by Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in advance of Milwaukee debate February 10, 2016
High Five: Our most-clicked items for January February 3, 2016
Presidential campaign, election issues dominate November High Five December 3, 2015
Five years, 1,000 factchecks November 30, 2015
Claims that we’ve heard again…and again November 13, 2015
Our October High Five November 3, 2015