PINOCCHIO CHECK

Another of Slotkin’s potential Republican challengers, Paul Junge, of Brighton, appears to have a little problem with fact-checking. Junge apparently is a fan of fracking, and took on presumed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s position on banning fracking, and the impact it could have on Michigan’s economy. According to the Detroit Free Press, “The Junge campaign said that a ban on fracking would eliminate 516,000 Michigan jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that only 1,577 workers in Michigan were employed in natural-gas extraction, oil and gas drilling, and related support activities in 2019.” Even over the course of five years, a ban would be unlikely to cost Michigan 500,000 jobs or billions of dollars. The Freep determined that the statement was “mostly false.” In another Pinocchio moment, Junge held a campaign event in May where we hear a speaker spread multiple falsehoods about coronavirus, including stating the virus was no more serious than the seasonal flu and that hospitals were inflating the number of COVID-19 deaths in order to “get a higher payment.” As cases rise astronomically all over the country, we give that four long noses.