How Media Decision Desks Project Winners Before Official State Tallies
How media decision desks use statistical models to project election winners, and how those calls differ from official state canvassing and certification.
Izabela T.
Edits Reality Check, the section that sets popular political claims against the documented record. Traces each myth to its source, checks it against primary documents and court records, and notes plainly when historians disagree.
36 stories
Izabela T. stories
8 Common Myths About Foreign Aid and the U.S. Budget—Checked Against Treasury and Congressional Data
Voters routinely estimate foreign aid at 25% of the U.S. budget. Official Treasury and congressional records show it accounts for less than…
9 Myths About the Federal Budget Deficit vs. the National Debt—Checked Against September 30 Fiscal Year-End Data
Explore 9 common myths about the U.S. federal budget deficit and national debt, verified against official Treasury and CBO fiscal year-end records.
7 Myths About Political Polls and ‘Margins of Error’—Checked Against Survey Methodology
How sampling math, doubled candidate spread margins, Address-Based Sampling, and the Total Survey Error framework govern political polling.
How the Social Security Act of 1935 Was Designed and How FICA Taxes Work
From the 1935 Social Security Act to modern FICA rules, see the statutes, roll-call votes, and Supreme Court cases behind federal payroll…
7 Myths About How Medicare and Medicaid Work—Checked Against the 1965 Social Security Amendments
How the 1965 Social Security Amendments separated Title XVIII Medicare from Title XIX Medicaid, checking seven common myths against the statutory record.
9 Myths About the Federal Minimum Wage—Checked Against Labor Department Data
Nine common myths about the $7.25 federal minimum wage, checked against the Fair Labor Standards Act, Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and…
How Title IX Reshaped Federal Education Funding Beyond College Athletics
How the 37-word Title IX statute conditioned federal education dollars across admissions, vocational classes, faculty hiring, STEM research, and financial aid.
How the Immigration Act of 1924 Reshaped U.S. Border Law and Quotas
See how the Immigration Act of 1924 established national origins quotas, overseas consular visa screening, Asian exclusion, and modern border enforcement.
6 Myths About Diplomatic Immunity and How U.S. Embassies Actually Operate Under Federal Law
Federal statutes and treaties limit diplomatic immunity, require vehicle insurance, and affirm that embassies remain host-nation territory.