Headline RoundupOctober 24th, 2020

Fact Checking the Final 2020 Presidential Debate

2020 Election, 2020 Election Fact Checking, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Facts And Fact Checking

Summary from AllSides News Team

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden debated Thursday night in their final faceoff before the presidential election on Nov. 3. Each candidate made several statements that were portrayed as false by fact-checkers throughout the media. Coverage from right-rated sources concentrated more on Biden's purported lies in regards to environmental policy and the New York Post's story about his son's foreign business involvements. Reports from left-rated media focused mostly on Trump's alleged falsehoods about coronavirus and Biden. Media on all sides also focused on the more respectful nature of Thursday's debate compared to the last one; moderator Kristen Welker's ability to maintain order; and the fact that Biden and Trump mostly followed the rules.

Featured Coverage of this Story

From the Right

Biden Lies Again and Again

National Review (News)

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National Review (News)

Opinion

Joe Biden is a career liar and he lied some more in the debate, for instance when he dismissed the now well-supported New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s business dealing as “a Russian plant.” There is zero evidence for this. He offered this line:

There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plant. Five former heads of the CIA — both parties — say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage. Nobody believes it except him and his good...

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From the Left

Toned-down Trump continues his onslaught of falsehoods

CNN (Online News)

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CNN (Online News)

Fact Check

Donald Trump's more sedate debate performance on Thursday night was a departure in tone from his chaotic performance weeks ago, but the President continued to cast his warped view of the world as truth.

In reality, Trump's performance was riddled with false claims, on topics ranging from the coronavirus to foreign policy to immigration. And while former Vice President Joe Biden made some missteps and stretched the truth at times, his comments essentially hewed to the truth.

Trump came into the debate needing to clean up from his first performance...

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From the Left

FactChecking the Final 2020 Presidential Debate

FactCheck.org

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News

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in the final presidential debate of the campaign. We found:

Trump accused Biden of receiving “$3.5 million from Russia.” There’s no evidence of that.
Biden said there’s “no evidence” that raising the minimum wage causes business bankruptcies. There is, a little.
Trump erred when he said it’s “proven” that a minimum-wage boost would lead to many firings. There’s a chance that the effect could be “about zero,” according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Trump falsely...

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