Interesting: The Fargo Forum Has Never “Fact Checked” A Pro-Heitkamp PAC Ad

The advertising Crossroads GPS has been running in North Dakota’s Senate race criticizing Heidi Heitkamp has gotten a lot of scrutiny from the Fargo Forum, specifically reporter Kristen Daum. When Crossroads releases a new ad, Daum can be expected to release an article “fact checking” the ad. I wrote about her latest “fact check” of a Crossroads ad earlier today.

Often Daum’s “fact checking” seems to have less to do with facts than her (and no doubt the paper’s editorial board’s) distaste for anyone criticizing their preferred candidate, but I digress. There’s nothing wrong with scrutinizing the claims made in political advertising.

What’s interesting is that according to a search of the paper’s archives the Forum, and Daum, seem to have a double standard for their fact checking. While the Crossroads ads are getting a lot of scrutiny (as have pro-Berg, anti-Heitkamp ads from other groups like the US Chamber of Commerce), pro-Heitkamp ads from the liberal Majority PAC (founded by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid) haven’t received the same amount of scrutiny.

That despite Majority PAC having spent $686,706 in the Senate race so far according to OpenSecrets.org. That’s on-par with the $717,000 in advertising Crossroads has spent so far, yet it’s the conservative advertising that gets the “fact check” scrutiny from the Forum, not the liberal advertising. As near as I can tell, the only time Majority PAC (who are responsible for that ad accusing Berg of “using” his mother) has been mentioned in reporting on North Dakota’s Senate campaign was a brief mention in an article about Crossroads re-releasing one of their ads after the Heitkamp campaign complained, and an article from back in June merely tabulating the amount of outside spending in the race.

To be fair, ads from Heitkamp’s campaign and the national Democrat party have gotten the “fact check” treatment from the Forum, but still the double standard for outside advertising is readily apparent.

But should we be surprised that the newspaper which will crack fat jokes in editorials about Heitkamp’s critics isn’t covering the state’s Senate race evenly?