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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Elections & voting fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about elections & voting. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

5,415 published reviews in this topic

Cedar Rapids GazetteElections & voting

“As mayor, Cory Booker made Newark schools No. 1 for beating the odds. He passed criminal justice reform in a Republican Senate. ... This Rhodes scholar mayor has what it takes to beat Donald Trump.”

Publisher’s rating: A

The Gazette reviewed a United We Win ad promoting Cory Booker that said he had helped Newark schools outperform expectations, passed criminal justice reform in a Republican-controlled Senate, and was a Rhodes scholar. The review examined those factual claims, but explicitly did not assess the ad’s prediction that Booker could beat Donald Trump: it says, “We are not analyzing whether Booker ‘has what it takes to beat Donald Trump.’” The review confirms Booker was a Rhodes scholar and co-sponsored the First Step Act, which became law in December 2018 while Republicans held a 51–47 Senate majority. It also notes media reports described Booker as central to the bill’s passage. The school claim required more qualification. The review describes “beating the odds” as a measure of how often students in a city attend schools whose proficiency rates exceed those of demographically similar schools elsewhere in the state. It reports that a three-year analysis by the Center on Reinventing Public Education found Newark had the highest rate in the nation. But the review also explains why that finding does not, by itself, establish Booker’s personal responsibility: New Jersey had operated Newark’s schools for 11 years before he became mayor, and the school system was still under state control during his mayoralty. The review nevertheless concludes that the ad fairly credits Booker’s role in the school changes. It cites his support for charter-school expansion and fundraising for a reform plan, while noting that the effectiveness and wisdom of charter schools remain debated. Thus, the review’s conclusion rests on a combination of documented outcomes and Booker’s reported involvement, rather than on the claim that he directly controlled the school system. The ad’s electoral prediction was outside the review’s assessment.