Loeffler can't tell wrong from Wright Remember the Rev. Jeremiah Wright? The former pastor for Barack Obama was a lightning rod during the 2008 campaign when ABC's "Good Morning America" broadcast a two-minute segment on Wright's sermons, including this declaration: "God damn America." Obama condemned the remarks while initially stopping short of totally disowning his association with Wright. Fast-forward 12 years. Wright and his controversial comments are featured in attack ads from Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R), who is competing in one of two Georgia runoff races for the Senate on Jan. 5. The ads accuse her opponent, the Rev. Raphael Warnock (D), of having "defended Jeremiah Wright's hatred, then gave him an award for truth-telling. … Warnock celebrated anti-American hatred." Her case relies largely on a 2008 Fox News interview, clipped selectively. We found that in his appearances, Warnock certainly tried to put Wright's comments in context and suggested people read the whole sermon, not just watch the controversial snippet that appeared in a loop on cable television. However, it's a stretch to say that he defended hatred or "celebrated anti-American hatred." He also had nothing to do with the decision to give Wright an award. Loeffler earned Three Pinocchios. Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here. Did you hear something fact-checkable? Send it here; we'll check it out. Trump also wrong about mail voting in Europe Why should President Trump limit himself to falsehoods about one country's mail voting system? Well, no longer. His misinformation has crossed the pond. "No other advanced country conducts elections this way," Trump said in a 46-minute speech chock full of falsehoods about the election he lost. "Many European countries have instituted major restrictions on mail-in voting specifically because they recognize the nearly unlimited potential for fraud. Out of 42 European nations, all but two prohibit absentee ballots entirely for people who reside inside the country, or else they require those who need absentee ballots to show a very, very powerful ID." Got that? Only two European nations have mail-in voting. Now forget it. It's wrong. Researchers have found that many European countries at this point do not yet allow mail-in ballots, although the ban is not nearly as sweeping as Trump claimed. "Currently, 14 countries in Europe provide in-country postal voting opportunities to voters," said Anika Heinmaa, a research assistant who wrote a report about this issue for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), a nongovernmental organization in Sweden. "In eight of these countries, all voters are eligible, and in six only voters in certain outlined categories may vote." In the end, it's clear that some of the largest countries in Europe, such as Britain, Germany, Poland and Spain, allow voters to cast ballots by mail. We gave Three Pinocchios to Trump. We're always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP, @rizzoTK, @mmkelly22) or Facebook. Read about our process and rating scale here, and sign up for the newsletter here. Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup. | 
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