Glenn Kessler

Washington, D.C.

The Fact Checker

Education: Brown University, B.A. in history; Columbia University, M.A. in international affairs

Glenn Kessler has been editor and chief writer of The Fact Checker since 2011, making him one of the pioneers of political fact-checking. In a journalism career spanning more than four decades, Kessler has covered foreign policy, economic policy, the White House, Congress, politics, airline safety and Wall Street. He was The Washington Post’s chief State Department reporter for nine years, traveling around the world with three secretaries of state. Before that, he covered tax and budget policy for The Washington Post and also served as the newspaper’s national business editor. He joined the Po
Latest from Glenn Kessler

Pro-Trump anti-immigrant ad makes it seem as if Haley coddles ‘criminals’

This ad snips a couple of lines from a long answer about the tone of the immigration debate, creating a false impression.

January 17, 2024

Trump falsely claims ‘no terrorist attacks’ and ‘no wars’ during his presidency

There were terrorist attacks during Trump’s presidency -- and Jimmy Carter wins the ‘no wars’ prize.

January 13, 2024

White House spins GOP ‘cuts’ of 2,000 Border Patrol agents

House Republicans never cast a vote to cut 2,000 agents but instead have passed a bill that would boost the number of agents by nearly 2,000.

January 12, 2024

Fact-checking the fifth Republican presidential debate

Here’s our roundup of fishy claims in the fifth GOP debate of the 2024 election cycle.

January 11, 2024

House GOP lawmakers keep hyping the numbers on Hunter Biden’s foreign deals

Even the House Oversight Committee’s own math shows that many lawmakers overreach when they comment publicly.

January 9, 2024

Pro-Haley ad puts words in DeSantis’s mouth as rivals trade China barbs

A pro-Haley super PAC earns Four Pinocchios for a misleading ad designed to undercut Ron DeSantis’s claims about Nikki Haley’s recruitment of Chinese companies.

January 4, 2024

Trump says Liz Cheney deleted evidence of Jan. 6 troops. There isn’t any.

The former president repeats the debunked claim he offered troops -- and fasely says former Rep. Liz Cheney destroyed evidence that would show this was true.

January 3, 2024

The most popular fact checks of 2023

Three of the top 10 were fact checks of Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), while facts checks on President Biden or his son Hunter were also popular.

December 18, 2023

The biggest Pinocchios of 2023

Our annual roundup of the most outlandish claims of 2023 features claims by and about Biden, along with many other lowlights.

December 15, 2023

Trump on Hannity’s show: 24 false or misleading claims in 5 minutes

The former president falsely claimed he could save Social Security with oil and gas revenue, among many bogus claims — an average of one every 12 seconds.

December 12, 2023