AP Botches Fact Check Of Hillary Clinton's Accurate Statement About Gun Deaths
This should be a lesson for all concerned with gun violence.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/11/17/ap-botches-fact-check-of-hillary-clintons-accur/206912
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AP cites the wrong database in botched fact check of Hillary Clinton's accurate statement about gun deaths: http://mm4a.org/1QK6gXB
AP Botches Fact Check Of Hillary Clinton's Accurate Statement About Gun Deaths
Blog ››› November 17, 2015 11:42 AM EST ››› TIMOTHY JOHNSON
The Associated Press purported to fact-check Hillary Clinton's statement that "nearly 3,000 people have been killed by guns" over the past month but did so by erroneously citing a source that only counts about one-third of total gun deaths. According to the federal government, around 33,000 Americans die in gun-related incidents each year, meaning Clinton's statement aligns with the available data.
During the November 14 Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa, Clinton said, "Since we last debated in Las Vegas, nearly 3,000 people have been killed by guns. Two hundred children have been killed. This is an emergency." The Las Vegas debate took place on October 13.
In a November 15 article, the AP falsely wrote that Clinton's "claim appears to be unsupported on all counts," and claimed Clinton's statistic was "highly exaggerated." To support its conclusion, the AP cited the Gun Violence Archive, which counted "an average of just under 1,000" gun deaths "per month" in 2015:
THE FACTS: The claim appears to be unsupported on all counts............................
The AP erred by citing the Gun Violence Archive as a source for the total number of gun deaths. .....................................
Researchers on the issue of gun violence have known that for years the gold standard for a total count of gun deaths in the United States comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS).
...............................
Again, this criticism of Clinton is erroneous because it treats the Gun Violence Archive as a comprehensive source.
The botched AP fact check was subsequently touted by the National Rifle Association.
Chart by Oliver Willis.
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