Rachel Maddow took another shot at PolitiFact during the final segment of her show this Tuesday evening for ruining the term "fact-checking."
May 7, 2013

During what was otherwise a week of really good news when it comes to the LGBT community gaining acceptance and equal rights in states across the country, Rachel Maddow took another shot at PolitiFact during the final segment of her show this Tuesday evening -- for once again ruining the term "fact-checking."

Tennis star Martina Navratilova appeared on Face the Nation this Sunday and discussed the fact that twenty nine states still allow someone to be fired just for being gay, or if their employer believes they are gay, which is true, but PolitiFact decided to rate her claim as only half-true due to other protections or some "exceptions to the rule" as they called them.

As Rachel pointed out in her rant, that doesn't make what Navratilova said "half-true."

MADDOW: And this is why the very important concept of fact-checking has become pointless at a time in our country when we really need it to mean something. Because PolitiFact exists and has branded themselves the generic arbiter of facts and the paragon of fact-checking, and they are terrible at it.

They are terrible. They fact-checked about state law, found it to be true and decided it didn't seem seem seemly or whatever to actually just call it true. Then they researched other unrelated information about how there are other kinds of things besides states, like some companies decide they don't want to discriminate... and doesn't that count for something? No. Because that is not the statement you were fact-checking.

The statement you were supposed to be fact-checking is true, and until somebody figures out how to sue you in order to retrieve the meaning of the word fact from the dark and airless hole you have stuffed it into, Politifact, then no, it is not okay to just make this stuff up. You are truly terrible. Fact-checking has to count for something, and Politifact, you are ruining it for everyone.

As we've already noted here, some of Rachel's beefs with the outlet are by no means the worst we've seen from PolitiFact.

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