Dewhurst Campaign Runs 'Fact Checking' Twitter Account Without Disclosing Ownership

The campaign of Republican Senate primary candidate David Dewhurst has created a Twitter account “dedicated to fact-checking the claims in the race for U.S. Senate in Texas, launched to separate fact from fiction.” However, as blogger Kemberlee Kaye noticed, the “@TxSenFactCheck” account does not disclose its connection to Dewhurt’s campaign. 

This Twitter profile links to a Tumblr website with the same name. Both give the impression that they are objective and neutral accounts. The website says that it is “a microsite dedicated to fact-checking the claims in the race for U.S. Senate in Texas, launched to separate fact from fiction in the constant information flow concerning the July 31st run-off.” 

But, as Kaye points out, every single post is either pro-Dewhurst or against Ted Cruz, the conservative Tea Party candidate who faces Dewhurst in the July 31 runoff. 

Only by scrolling to the very bottom of the website does one see that these two accounts are run by the Dewhurst campaign. There is no indication whatsoever on the Twitter page that the account is owned by the campaign.

“Paid for by Dewhurst for Texas” only appears at the very bottom of the Tumblr page in small print.

For a social media account “dedicated” to separating fact from fiction, such a dishonest lack of self-disclosure does not bode well for the image of the Dewhurst campaign.