Fact-checks should be, as the name suggests, about checking facts, but a Friday piece from Alex Kasprak at Snopes showed aspiring fact-checkers how not to do their jobs as he defended Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on the accusation he banned Christians, Jews, and Muslims from teaching in the state.
Kasprak writes, “In late August 2024, several far-right media outlets rehashed an old talking point about Democratic vice-presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz: That he passed a law that “bans Christians, Jews, Muslims from teaching.”
Underneath three screenshots of headlines, Kasprak proceeds to violate the central fact-checking commandment: thou shall not torch strawmen, “Given such bold headline claims, one might be led to believe that Tim Walz passed a law that bans Christians, Jews, or Muslims from teaching at Minnesota public schools. He did not. These headlines are an aggressive and inflammatory reading of teaching licensure guidelines set to take effect in July 2025.”
Kasprak then cites the updated regulations, “[Foster] an environment that ensures student identities such as race/ethnicity, national origin, language, sex and gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical/developmental/emotional ability, socioeconomic class, and religious beliefs are historically and socially contextualized, affirmed, and incorporated into a learning environment where students are empowered to learn and contribute as their whole selves.” […]
— Read More: www.newsbusters.org
