Last week, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren decided to up their presidential chances by dishonestly framing Michael Brown’s death as murder:
Michael Brown’s murder forever changed Ferguson and America. His tragic death sparked a desperately needed conversation and a nationwide movement. We must fight for stronger accountability and racial equity in our justice system.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 9, 2019
5 years ago Michael Brown was murdered by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Michael was unarmed yet he was shot 6 times. I stand with activists and organizers who continue the fight for justice for Michael. We must confront systemic racism and police violence head on.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 9, 2019
Not even the Washington Post could ignore their dishonesty, so surely PolitiFact would put them through the ringer, right?
Well, not quite:
NEW: Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren called Michael Brown's killing in Ferguson a "murder." Legally, it wasn't. How much should this word choice matter? https://t.co/Gnv0ZBFCZs pic.twitter.com/H3usKiPyCy
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) August 14, 2019
Apparently it doesn’t matter enough for PolitiFact to call Harris and Warren out:
Because the significance of Harris’ and Warrens’ use of the word is open to some dispute, we won’t be rating their tweets on the Truth-O-Meter.
Neither campaign responded to inquiries for this article.
Welp, guess that’s that, then!
Much Fact-Checking
"Because the significance of Harris’ and Warrens’ use of the word is open to some dispute, we won’t be rating their tweets on the Truth-O-Meter."https://t.co/VfBJhIKN5S— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) August 14, 2019
Same article: "In discussing the case with legal experts, however, we found broad consensus that "murder" was the wrong word to use — a legal point likely familiar to Harris, a longtime prosecutor, and Warren, a law professor."
— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) August 14, 2019
"Legally it wasn't" is the whole point.
— Paul D (@Paulmd199) August 14, 2019
This has nothing to do with whether it’s *factual* to say Michael Brown was murdered, and everything to do with whether it furthers a social cause to call out people who say so. Why the hell is this in a fact check? pic.twitter.com/1j4f2E3lQs
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) August 14, 2019
Because PolitiFact isn’t about checking facts so much as it’s about allowing Dems like Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren to further a social cause. And their careers, of course.
A reminder that Politifact dinged a GOP Rep because he referred to abortion as a form of death, and they ruled that it isn’t, because the CDC says so. That settles it! https://t.co/60ApRrTu91
but “murder” is now a question of semantics? Even though it’s clearly defined in law?
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) August 14, 2019
I guess they didn't want to break up Warren's record pace https://t.co/8gq50sjN0o
— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) August 14, 2019
That must’ve been it.
Murder is a clearly defined legal term. Declining to give either a false rating here (for obvious partisan reasons) undermines the credibility of your stated mission.
— Andrew (@andyndelaney) August 14, 2019
What a load of BS. But it’s what we’ve come to expect from those hacks
— Mike Orso (@MikeOrso2) August 14, 2019
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