Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow Attack Politifact For Its 'Lean Forward' Ad Rating (VIDEO)

MSNBC hosts Lawrence O'Donnell and Rachel Maddow reacted to a recent rating by fact-checking organization Politifact during their MSNBC shows Monday night.

On Friday, Politifact rated a claim O'Donnell made in an MSNBC "Lean Forward" ad as "mostly false." In the ad, O'Donnell discussed the 1944 passing of the GI Bill and said that critics of the bill "called it welfare."

Politifact rated the claim as mostly false. "There were concerns aired as Congress debated the matter that the unemployment benefits would lead some beneficiaries to laze around. But we ultimately found no evidence of critics referring to the GI Bill as welfare. O’Donnell’s claim rates Mostly False," Politifact stated.

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow responded to the Politifact rating before O'Donnell. At the end of her show, Maddow, who is a harsh critic of the fact-checking site, raged against the organization for its rating. "This is why Politifact needs to go away," Maddow said. "Or at least they need to stop using the word 'fact' as part of their name."

O'Donnell thanked Maddow and offered his own criticism during his show. O'Donnell said, "I was going to fill this space tonight with a detailed defense of my use of the word 'welfare'...I was going to explain that other words were used at that time such as 'the Dole' and 'relief,' and those words morphed over the decades into what we now call welfare. And that if I used one of those words in the ad, no one under 70 would know what I was talking about."

Maddow also referred to the British Dole system during her scathing review of Politifact. "What do you think the British Dole system is? Do you think it's pineapple program of some kind!? Maybe something having to do with bananas? Everybody gets a little sticker? Did you seriously print this piece without googling 'the Dole?' You don't even have to use quotes!" Maddow said.

Watch O'Donnell's response to the Politifact rating above, and Maddow's epic rant about it below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Also on HuffPost:

View a slideshow of MSNBC's "Lean Forward" ads below:

• Chris Matthews

• Rachel Maddow

• Lawrence O'Donnell

• Ed Schultz

• Al Sharpton

• Rachel Maddow

• Chris Matthews

• Lawrence O'Donnell

• Ed Schultz

• Rachel Maddow

• Chris Matthews

• Original 'Lean Forward' Ad

Comments

[dilessa]

04:03 PM on 03/27/2012

Now, I love Rachel Maddow, and I agree that the Truth-O-Meter is rather worthless. But I have to disagree about rejecting PolitiFact completely. As with any tool, PolitiFact can be useful, if it's properly used. What PolitiFact does is provide context, in a world often dominated by sound bites and deceptive naming, though perhaps they dropped the ball a little in this case. The reason I hate the Truth-O-Meter is it's a step in the opposite direction, an oversimplification of complex subjects -- much like, say, a 30-second spot discussing political matters.

[NagoyaNick]

10:13 AM on 05/11/2012

I agree 100 percent. I, too love Rachel, but she can get a tad too rabid and self-righteous in her attacks on the Truth-O-Meter which, let's face it, is basically gimmicky eye candy. PolitiFact's analysis is often spot on which Rachel herself admits. She should save her wrath for more deserving targets such as Michigan's infamous democracy usurping Emergency Managers.

[NagoyaNick]

10:29 AM on 05/11/2012

I am a Maddow fan, too, but think she gets a bit carried away when it comes to the Truth-O-Meter. PolitiFact's analysis is truthful and reliable, which Rachel herself points out. It would be better to advise her viewers to skip the misleading eye candy and focus on PolitiFact's enlightening and nuanced explanations.

[Jay Lewis]

09:27 AM on 02/23/2012

While the press and imitators of the press are covered under the First Amendment, it is hardly the intent of the First to exonerate purposeful dysinformation by a questional, agenda-ridden press entity.

Maddow accepts the responsibility of a serious journalist, and expects no outside legal body to enforce her agenda--she instead works within the spirit of the free press and exerts her best talents to out those whose agenda lies beyond providing factual news to the public.

It stays open, got it?

It is an in-house responsibility, and does not need the interference of the federal or local government, the legal system, and certainly not the radically rigid condemnations of American religions (who are famous for their endless, mind-boggling censorshiping).

Maddow is spot on.

And the spirit of the free press rejoices.

[Sirlarek]

01:05 AM on 02/23/2012

Well played folks. I really like the idea of a professional fact sieve that is reliable. Politifact is certainly not behaving like a professional outfit.

[chiles1129]

12:35 AM on 02/23/2012

Politi"FOX"

[arthrbaum]

08:17 PM on 02/22/2012

Maddow and O'Donnell!! President and Vice President or visa versa! 2016! they will clean house of all the garbage! that's going on now!

[shankapotomus]

07:46 PM on 02/22/2012

They are the fact checkers not them.

[inLA]

05:28 PM on 02/22/2012

Politifact has been pretty much discredited. It's about as nonpartisan as Politico.

Factcheck dotorg is much better.

As is FAIR dotorg.

[BraveCajun-LA]

01:46 PM on 02/22/2012

"This is why Politifact needs to go away," Maddow said.

That's a mighy progressive stance, Ms Maddow. The first amendment applies to all forms of media/press. I understand that you like to stifle opposing views but it's unbecoming for American and especially an American that belongs to the press!

[nefertari05]

06:44 PM on 02/22/2012

This has nothing to do with the first amenment and everything to do with Politifact passing itself off as an arbiter of fact. They have the right to express their OPINIONS as they choose. They need to stop doing so while passing off their OPINIONS as FACT. Those are two separate things. Opinion and fact are not the same thing. Politifact cannot claim to do one while they are, in fact, doing the other.

[BraveCajun-LA]

11:47 AM on 02/23/2012

People will always contrued what they want to believe as fact or opinion. Such as this case, Maddow wants to believe that their statment is false because it does not fit her agenda.

[Margaret Saffron]

07:20 PM on 02/22/2012

why don't you refrain from commenting until you actually understand the First Amendment because at the moment you are so do not get it. you are not as smart as you think you are.

[BraveCajun-LA]

11:45 AM on 02/23/2012

Here you go again spouting off nonsense. First you claim to know the level of education that I have obtained in the past, which is impossible unless you know me. Secondly, the first amendment is pretty specific in it's assertion that all forms of speech is protected even though you do not agree with it's meaning. no run off little one.

[ndtovent]

12:24 PM on 02/22/2012

Politifact was good at one time, but they've been skewing the facts toward right-leaning issues for quite awhile, and because of it, they have lost all credibility with me.

[Conservative PitBull]

09:58 AM on 02/22/2012

They need to get out more. And they need more friends. Their viewership is very low. Politifact can check it out. I guarantee it will be TRUE.

[not so sure]

10:24 AM on 02/22/2012

but then your guarantee is worth even less than a BiBi Netanyheu "trust me"

[JackDeath]

12:42 AM on 02/23/2012

Am I suppose to believe anything a conservative thinks? Give Me a Break!!!

[Nightangle]

09:02 AM on 02/22/2012

Ranting . . . . . skewed lip to the right, then to the left, then back to the right. . . . . yikes !

[Slash14]

08:48 AM on 02/22/2012

Larry lied and maddow swears to it

[not so sure]

10:25 AM on 02/22/2012

projecting your conservative credo for all to see...nice!

[Greenberry]

12:13 PM on 02/22/2012

Rudy Baylor in The Rainmaker:

"Sworn in by a fool and vouched for by a scoundrel. I'm a lawyer at last."

[TheuintheUSofA]

08:10 AM on 02/22/2012

Politifact should be on Fox were it would fit right in with its Fair and Balanced approach.

[BraveCajun-LA]

01:38 PM on 02/22/2012

MediaMatters should be on MSNBC since they recieve all of their talking points from them.

[Margaret Saffron]

07:30 PM on 02/22/2012

your fake victimhood doesn't compensate for your lack of education.

[El 84]

06:49 AM on 02/23/2012

As a matter of fact, they don't. You have your facts wrong. Do you know what a "fact" is ?

[GatorGrrrl]

08:05 AM on 02/22/2012

I would grant you that this is debatable, but I'm embarrassed by how overheated Maddow is over this with "Politifact must go" and they are now called right wing tools on this site even though the majority of their False rulings are for Republicans and Fox news. They found two historians who have done lengthy studies on the history of the GI Bill who said O'Donnell is wrong, that congress debated unemployment provisions and cost, but it was pretty unanimous that something should be done for veterans. So they make a debatable call, and they must go? It seems like a total over-reaction

[BraveCajun-LA]

01:41 PM on 02/22/2012

Stifling opposing media is a mighty progressive idea of Ms maddow. The first amendment is only useful when it fit's their particular agenda.

[bigdaddyvike]

06:51 PM on 02/22/2012

Just like faux does. Only difference is that Maddow has facts to back her assertions.

[Margaret Saffron]

07:31 PM on 02/22/2012

fox news isn't media - it's propaganda for the least intelligent in this country.

[Sirlarek]

01:21 AM on 02/23/2012

Hold on....you are missing the point. They agreed with his point. They didn't connect the dots to the fact that being "on the dole" is an expression or euphemism for what is now known as welfare.

They faulted him for their own ignorance and or laziness.

[Dan Slander]

04:28 AM on 02/22/2012

Wow, who would have thought they'd both go into attack mode on this? ZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Tune back in in a month same old same old.

[Sirlarek]

01:27 AM on 02/23/2012

Only when the self appointed judges get it wrong. Truth will out!