Facts and context are important. BenitoLink encourages public dialogue to foster an engaged community, and we are dedicated to providing news that helps residents make informed decisions on key local issues.
During election season, candidates and political groups advocate their positions on local and national issues. They do this in part through social media, fliers, door hangers and signs.
In the United States, there is nothing to stop anyone from stretching the truth to make a political point. Making false claims in political advertisements is legal because political ads are protected under the First Amendment.
Lata Nott, an attorney with the Freedom Forum, wrote in an article for the American Bar Association: “The government has more leeway to penalize or censor commercial speech, but it has very little authority to regulate political ads. The rationale behind this is that voters have a right to uncensored information from candidates, which they can then evaluate themselves before making their decisions at the ballot box.”
It takes significant time and effort to verify all the statements that are made by candidates or political organizations. For this reason, BenitoLink, as part of its commitment to service the San Benito County community, is launching Fact Check, a new section devoted to identifying false and misleading claims, and providing context to statements made in local political fliers and other media ahead of the 2024 elections. We’ll examine which statements are correct, false, misleading or taken out of context.
