How a political convention speech inspired PolitiFact

We’re celebrating PolitiFact’s 17th birthday while covering the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this year.

And so I can’t help but think back to how the Truth-O-Meter all started.

The year: 2004.

The place: New York.

That year founding PolitiFact editor Bill Adair was covering the Republican National Convention for the then-St. Petersburg Times when he heard a speech that sparked the idea for PolitiFact.

Sen. Zell Miller, a Georgia Democrat who made the rare decision to endorse a Republican presidential nominee, George W. Bush, used his convention moment to attack Democratic nominee John Kerry’s military credentials, accusing Kerry of opposing military aircraft and weapons systems used in the Iraq war. 

Adair knew Miller was exaggerating, but a Florida political reporter wasn’t going to write about a Georgia politician. 

The next day, Adair saw the coverage and it left him upset. Miller made his claims. Kerry’s campaign said it was all wrong. Miller and the GOP dug in. Who was right?

Well …. no one would say.

And with that, the idea for PolitiFact started to grow. Our website launched on Aug. 22, 2007. The team’s fact-checking of the 2008 election earned the newspaper the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. 

Today, PolitiFact employs 22 journalists dedicated to the mission of helping voters sort out fact from fiction. 

On our 17th birthday, it’s fitting that we are pulling together to cover the closing night of another convention. Our reporters work tirelessly to produce journalism that you can count on, all year long, in whichever format you prefer to receive it.

This is essential work, and it wouldn’t be possible without the support of generous readers.

Support PolitiFact. Donate $17 for our 17th birthday!