Latest Stories By Bill Adair

Check out Emily Yahr's analysis of PolitiFact in the new issue of the American Journalism Review. Also, take a look at Clark Hoyt's column Fact and Fiction on the Campaign Trail in Sunday's New York Times, which urges the paper to come up with something similar to our Truth-O- Meter. He says the NYT, "with its own rich Web offerings on the presidential campaign, would do well to showcase a similar fact-checking feature. Maybe the YouTube community could come up with the title, the music video and a truthfulness scale."

[Hey NYT editors! Save your money and just put our Truth-O-Meter widget on your page!]

In an essay, PolitiFact editor Bill Adair explains why facts are important — and why we nitpick.

At the CNN/YouTube debate, the candidates argued about immigration, crime and Iraq. We found they generally got their facts right, although Huckabee distorted the facts on an education program for immigrants and Romney missed an easy one about the Red Sox.

The Truth-O-Meter will be busy tonight. Check back late tonight or early tomorrow for our full coverage of the CNN/YouTube debate in St. Petersburg.

PolitiFact will be taking a break for Thanksgiving, so we can fact-check whether the L-tryptophan in turkey really makes you sleepy. (We think some naps will help our research.) We'll be back with new items on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney tussled over "sanctuary cities" for illegal immigrants at the CNN/YouTube debate. But their attacks exaggerate the effects of municipal policies on immigration.

The Democrats slugged it out in a Las Vegas debate. We found several claims were true, but Obama was wrong about the probability of lightning strikes vs. undocumented worker prosecutions and Richardson was way off about the popularity of Vice President Cheney and HMOs.

A chain e-mail says Barack Obama is unpatriotic because he "refused" to say the Pledge of Allegiance and did not put his hand over his heart. But it relies on a photo taken during the national anthem, not the pledge.

To see a chart comparing the government and private-sector experience of the candidates, click here.

The barbers in the TV ads aren't real, but they're correct that Dodd was the prime sponsor of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Coming soon: a twice-weekly e-mail highlighting our newest Truth-O-Meter items! Get the truth in your inbox! Watch this space for the sign-up in the next few days!

Obama and Clinton argue about Iran, but they agree on most aspects of U.S. policy.