How to get the facts during the presidential debate
Watching debates is now a two-screen affair.
Many people have their smartphone, tablet or laptop with them so they can look things up as the candidates trade talking points. Make PolitiFact one of your resources.
We’ll be live fact-checking all the presidential debates this month and have some special coverage planned. Here are some tips on how to use PolitiFact as you watch them:
* Use our free app, Settle It! PolitiFact’s Argument Ender. Available for iPhone and Android, Settle It! has an easy-to-use search feature that allows you to enter names and keywords and find the Truth-O-Meter articles that answer your question. (Although we don’t have a separate iPad version, the iPhone app works great on the iPad.)
* Follow us on Twitter. We’ll be live-tweeting our coverage from @PolitiFact during the debate. You can follow us on your Twitter feed or on a special Twitter widget on our PolitiFact home page.
* Updated coverage on PolitiFact.com. We’ll be updating our main debate story throughout the night on our PolitiFact home page and we’ll be posting new Truth-O-Meter items throughout the night and the next day.
* Use PolitiFact’s search feature. Using the search box on our home page, you can search for names and keywords of issues that come up during the debate. When you get the results, you can zero in on the articles, promise updates or Truth-O-Meter fact-checks (the search page calls them “statements”) by clicking the options on the upper left.
* Browse our subject pages. We compile our fact-checks by subject, so you can look at our subject list and select the topic you want. Taxes, Medicare, immigration, health care, Afghanistan, federal budget and tons more — we’ve got it covered.
* Check out our report cards. Curious about how the candidates have fared on the Truth-O-Meter? Check out our report card pages for Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. Every person or group we have checked has their own report card, so you can also look up the parties and super PACs.
* Suggest claims for us to fact check. We welcome suggestions on what we should fact-check. Email us, fill out the suggestion form on the Settle It! app or tweet us your ideas with #PolitiFactThis.
