PolitiFact landed itself in hot water with Twitter users after seeking to clarify a claim made by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Over the weekend, PolitiFact published a fact check on DeSantis’ claim that Bragg “has downgraded over 50% of the felonies to misdemeanors.”
The outlet felt the need to clarify, saying, “Are more than half of felony charges in Manhattan downgraded? Yes, but its common elsewhere, too.”
Yes, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has downgraded felonies as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, but it’s a common practice among peer counties. https://t.co/To8hRQb0iV
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) April 11, 2023
One user replied to the tweet, writing, “Look at them coping over being wrong yet again. All politifact cares about is carrying water for their party.”
Look at them coping over being wrong yet again. All politifact cares about is carrying water for their party. https://t.co/UQ9iP9eabq
— Dronetek Media (@TheDronetek) April 12, 2023
Radio host Joe Cunningham added, “‘We regret to inform you that Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is correct.'”
"We regret to inform you that Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is correct." https://t.co/jXx3ekBiop
— Joe Cunningham (@JoePCunningham) April 11, 2023
One tweet argued, “These are propagandists not fact checkers. They just can’t help themselves. Meantime, Bragg ‘upgraded’ a misdemeanor to a felony in going after Trump. The ‘but’ should be an ‘and.'”
Note the “but.”
— Don’t Be Ignorant (@dontbei) April 12, 2023
These are propagandists not fact checkers. They just can’t help themselves.
Meantime, Bragg “upgraded” a misdemeanor to a felony in going after Trump. The “but” should be an “and.” https://t.co/ulB5V9rLvR
Another user stated, “‘He’s right, as confirmed by our ‘fact check,’ but it’s inconvenient to the narrative so we must add our own personal commentary to distract from the point.'”
'He's right, as confirmed by our '"fact check," but it's inconvenient to the narrative so we must add our own personal commentary to distract from the point.' https://t.co/Tou59PspBg
— Kyle Lamb (@kylamb8) April 11, 2023
Read more replies below:
Gov DeSantis is factually correct, but my emotions compel me to tell you how he's wrong. https://t.co/1YTKHbwwVK
— Trey Radel (@treyradel) April 11, 2023
That’s a lot of words just to say “DeSantis is right.” https://t.co/Eu6DOApC1V
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) April 11, 2023
https://twitter.com/PoliticalAbhor/status/1645823947391500288
https://twitter.com/wavechaser2024/status/1645813777055580160
— Benjamin Weingarten (@bhweingarten) April 11, 2023
PolitiFact's rulings start to make sense when you realize it is a political disinformation organization for Democrats. https://t.co/ItU94c5mBK
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) April 11, 2023
That's sort of the problem right? New York and those "peer" cities have rampant crime problems. https://t.co/lxCJlyhd2Q
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 11, 2023
PolitiFact explained in the article Bragg’s website “confirms that 52% of felonies that were screened by prosecutors were downgraded to misdemeanors in 2022, the first year Bragg was in office. Data from 2023 show that so far, 54% of felonies have been downgraded to misdemeanors.”
It continues, “Experts said that downgrading charges is a common practice, and that it was done more often in three of New York’s other boroughs, according to state data from 2021.”
Bragg was thrust into the spotlight for his role in the investigation into hush money paid to Stormy Daniels by the Trump campaign in 2016.
Last year, Bragg became Manhattan’s first Black district attorney.