BCT Editorial – 10/10/08

This page was last updated on October 10, 2008.

Fact check; Editorial; Beaver County Times; October 10, 2008.

The editorial subtitle is “Turnout means little if people aren’t informed voters.”

This editorial is mostly a rehash of “Caveat emptor,” but there is one major difference.

In addition to the websites mentioned in this editorial, “Caveat emptor” told us we could check facts by referencing “newspapers and news magazines in the old media” and watching “‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ and ‘The Colbert Report’ on Comedy Central.” These “reliable sources” were not mentioned in this editorial.

Progress, or an editor’s boo-boo?

Finally, we got another example of hyperbole. The editorial said, the “at least 8.6 million people eligible to vote in the 2008 presidential election … dwarfs the previous record of 8.36 million set in 2004.” 8.6 million is only 3% greater than 8.36 million. Does 3% count as “dwarfing?” Does a man 6’ tall “dwarf” a 5’ 10” man?