Advertisement
Louis Jacobson - PolitiFact Senior Correspondent
Louis Jacobson

PolitiFact Senior Correspondent

Louis Jacobson is the senior correspondent for PolitiFact and a staff writer for the Tampa Bay Times. He has served as deputy editor of Roll Call and as founding editor of its legislative wire service, CongressNow. Earlier, he spent more than a decade covering politics, policy and lobbying for National Journal magazine.

  1. Biden says US inflation rate is lowest among leading economies. Is that true?
    Sept. 3• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    President Joe Biden speaks about the August jobs report in the Rose Garden of the White House, Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, in Washington.
  2. Why are millions of Americans who are not working excluded from the ‘unemployed’ rate?
    Aug. 26• Business
    A "now hiring" sign is posted in Garnet Valley, Pa., on May 10, 2021. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has used the same definition for "unemployed" since 1940, regardless of who is president.
  3. President Biden said he declared a national climate emergency, but did he?
    Aug. 19• Environment
    President Joe Biden speaks during an event on extreme heat on July 27 in Washington, D.C. During the event, Biden announced additional actions to protect communities from the effects of extreme heat. At right is Rick Spinrad, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  5. Prosecutors say Trump knowingly repeated election falsehoods. How can they prove it?
    Aug. 3• Elections
    Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Washington, the day Trump was due in federal court to answer to charges that he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
  6. Why some immigration promises by Trump and DeSantis are a long shot
    July 22• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    This combination of photos shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, speaking on April 21, 2023, in Oxon Hill, Md., and former President Donald Trump speaking on March 4, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md.
  7. Pro-DeSantis ad used AI to create Trump’s voice in latest use of the technology
    July 19• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Yard signs promoting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024, financed by the super PAC promoting DeSantis for president, line the street leading up to a Republican congressional fundraiser on May 13 in Sioux Center, Iowa.
  8. How, and if, DeSantis could put an end to birthright citizenship
    July 4• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waits to speak at a news conference along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, June 26, 2023.
  9. 2024 promises fewer competitive congressional races in Florida, at least for now
    June 27• Elections
    The American flag flies in front of the U.S. Capitol dome on September 10, 2021, in Washington, DC.
  10. How state abortion laws changed since the Dobbs decision reversed Roe v. Wade
    June 24• Health
    Abortion rights activists and anti-abortion activists hold opposing signs at a February rally at the Georgia Capitol.
  11. How Pence compares gender-affirming care for minors to rules on getting tattoos
    June 17• Health
    Republican presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Westside Conservative Club Breakfast, March 29, 2023, in Urbandale, Iowa.
  12. How do Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s classified documents cases compare?
    June 13• News
    The indictment against former President Donald Trump is photographed on Friday, June 9, 2023. Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents according to the unsealed indictment that also alleges that he improperly shared a Pentagon "plan of attack" and a classified map related to a military operation.
  13. Where DeSantis, other Republican presidential candidates stand on Ukraine
    June 11• Elections
    Ukrainian soldiers during a combat operation on the front line near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, on June 8.
  14. The Trump documents indictment: Which charges are most serious? Can he still run in 2024?
    June 10• News
    This image, contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records in a storage room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach that were photographed on Nov. 12, 2021. Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents according to an indictment unsealed Friday.
  15. How has Florida fared economically under DeSantis’ watch?
    May 25• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during convocation at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Va., Friday, April 14, 2023.
  16. Yes, Biden was older on his first day as president than Reagan was on his last day.
    May 6• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    President Ronald Reagan smiles in front of an outline of the state of West Virginia while addressing a rally at Parkersburg High School in Parkersburg, W.Va., on Oct. 29, 1984.
  17. Prez hopeful Ramaswamy questions Disney carve-out that DeSantis signed
    May 6• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy spotlighted an exception written into a 2021 Florida law targeted at social media companies and that protected Walt Disney, a major Florida employer. Ramaswamy said that signing the law with an exception tailored to Disney made Gov. Ron DeSantis beholden to corporate interests.
  18. What’s changed with public opinion on abortion since Roe was overturned?
    April 28• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Abortion-rights protesters gather at Joe Chillura Courthouse Square in Tampa on Jan. 22, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision protecting the right to abortion.
  19. Kamala Harris said 1 in 5 Americans have lost family to gun violence. A poll backs that.
    April 23• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Demonstrators carry caskets to the entrance of the state Capitol to protest gun violence as part of the Tennessee Moral Monday rally in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, April 17, 2023.
  20. What to know about DeSantis’ theory that the US wants to control people’s purchases
    April 16• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suggested the federal government wants to create a digital currency enabling it to block certain transactions. “You go and use too much gas, they’re gonna stop it. They’re not going to honor the transaction because you’ve already bought more than what they think," he said. "You wanna go buy a rifle, they’re gonna say no, you have too many of those, you can’t do it.”
  21. Q&A: Can Trump run for president if indicted? What happens if he’s arrested?
    March 21• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Former President Donald Trump speaks at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference on March 4, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md.
  22. Has Ron DeSantis changed his stance on Ukraine?
    March 15• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers his State of the State address at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee in March.
  23. Silicon Valley Bank failure: Who’s to blame?
    March 14• Business
    A pedestrian passes a Silicon Valley Bank branch in San Francisco on Monday.
  24. New reports show backing for lab leak theory, but government agencies remain divided
    March 3• Nation & World
    This 2020 electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, which cause COVID-19. A crucial question has eluded governments and health agencies since the COVID-19 pandemic began: Did the virus originate in animals or leak from a Chinese lab? Now, the U.S. Department of Energy has assessed with “low confidence” that it began with a lab leak although some others in the U.S. intelligence community disagree.