The anecdote of someone outside the media industry using Facticity AI to uncover overlooked political claims.
Major news outlets have long played a vital role in holding public figures accountable, especially during high-stakes events like presidential debates and campaign rallies.
However, these fact-checking efforts often face inherent limitations. Politicians often speak for over an hour, making dozens of claims—from policies to personal anecdotes—at a pace that challenges real-time fact-checking. These selected claims are then widely replicated across multiple platforms, leaving many other statements unexamined.
Initially, it seemed this was simply the nature of fact-checking: a necessary but selective process due to time and resource constraints. But this raised a compelling question—could artificial intelligence help bridge the gap?
6 Claims from 6 Different Rallies But The Fact Checks Came Later
Full-length political speeches and interviews—each spanning over an hour and featuring figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Joe Biden, and Donald Trump, were processed through Facticity AI to evaluate its ability to handle long-form content.
Joe Biden – Campaign Event in Scranton, PA
Source: Joe Biden Campaign on YouTube | Timestamp: 29:37 | April 16, 2024
"My Uncle Ambrose Finnegan Bosie Finnegan from North Washington. He served and died in World War II right after D-day on Sunday all four of my mother's brothers signed up to go fight in the military."
Facticity AI Fact Check:
False. Ambrose Finnegan did serve and die in World War II. He did not die right after D-Day on a Sunday. The records state he died on May 14, 1944, when his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of New Guinea. D-Day was over 3 weeks later on June 6, 1944.
RFK Jr. – Libertarian National Convention Speech
Source: The Hill on YouTube | Timestamp: 17:02 | May 24, 2024
"The only amendment that they did not that did not come under attack during the Covid pandemic was the Second Amendment"
Facticity AI Fact Check:
False. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some states imposed restrictions on gun sales, ownership, and operations of firearms businesses, which were criticized by gun rights advocates as violating the Second Amendment's protection of the right to bear arms.
Donald Trump – Rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Source: Magno News on YouTube | Timestamp: 6:00 | April 2, 2024
“Crime is down in Venezuela by 67% because they're taking their gangs and their criminals and depositing them very nicely into the United States.”
Facticity AI Fact Check:
Misleading. Politifact cited data from Venezuelan sources showing only a 32% drop in crime in Venezuela in 2024 over the prior year, and a 25% drop in violent deaths from 2022 to 2023. There is no evidence that Venezuela is deliberately sending criminals to the US in a way that is significantly impacting crime rates in either country.
Joe Biden – CNN Exclusive Interview
Source: CNN on YouTube | Timestamp: 7:47 | May 8, 2024
"in terms of creating jobs and bringing down inflation was 9% when I came to office 9%"
Facticity AI Fact Check:
False. Biden took office in January 2021, at the time inflation was around 1.4%, not 9%. It did not reach 9% until June 2022, around 17 months into his presidency.
RFK Jr. – Interview on Real Time with Bill Maher
Source: Real Time with Bill Maher on YouTube | Timestamp: 1:03 | April 26, 2024
"People who got the vaccine had a 23% higher death rate from all causes"
Facticity AI Fact Check:
False. Several studies showed that vaccinated individuals had a lower risk of dying compared to unvaccinated people. This is likely because the vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe COVID-19 illness and death.
Donald Trump – Campaign Stop in Conway, SC
Source: ABC News on YouTube | Timestamp: 51:58 | February 10, 2024
"Biden's thugs are still trying to put me in jail on fake charges for crimes that they openly admit that Crooked Joe did he he actually did these crimes."
Facticity AI Fact Check:
Unverifiable. Trump denies the charges and accuses Biden of orchestrating a political persecution, without providing proof that Biden is orchestrating "fake charges" against him. The charges appear to be the result of legitimate law enforcement investigations, not an improper partisan effort as alleged.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t a failure of journalism, it reflects the trade-offs journalists make daily. Limited time and resources mean only a few claims can be thoroughly vetted. AI doesn’t replace that human process, but it expands it. Tools like Facticity AI can scan the full scope of a speech, flag questionable content, and surface hidden misinformation that might otherwise go unnoticed.
AI shouldn’t replace human fact-checkers, but it can expand our ability to verify more, faster. As the next election cycle ramps up, tools like this may be key to cutting through the noise and keeping the facts in focus.
"I’m not a journalist or a policy expert, but with Facticity AI, I was able to analyze full-length political speeches and surface claims that might have gone unchecked."