The Message Machine Keep track of the candidates' messaging during the 2012 election season. NPR is partnering with PolitiFact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning project dedicated to "sorting out the truth in politics."

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The Message Machine

Find out what's true and what's not in political messaging during the 2012 election season.

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Last Of The Early Voters In Ohio Make A Scene

Mimes perform at the Franklin County Early Voting Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday. Courtesy Karen Kasler hide caption

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Courtesy Karen Kasler

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Last Of The Early Voters In Ohio Make A Scene

November 5, 2012 • At the polls Sunday, reporter Karen Kasler encountered a carnival-like atmosphere — including dancing people dressed in Sesame Street costumes, a Lincoln impersonator, mimes and food trucks.

Adam Cole/NPR

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A Campaign Map, Morphed By Money

November 1, 2012 • We've reshaped the United States based on where superPACs and other outside groups spent their money to air political ads aimed at influencing the presidential election. The result? One weirdly telling map.

A worker installs carpet into a Jeep Liberty at the Toledo Assembly Complex in Toledo, Ohio, in 2011. J.D. Pooley/Getty Images hide caption

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J.D. Pooley/Getty Images

Obama Campaign Slams Romney's Jeep Ad

October 30, 2012 • Superstorm Sandy has become the main focus of both candidates, but what politicking does remain has Toledo, Ohio, and its Jeep plant at its center. The campaigns are fighting over Mitt Romney's claim that all Jeep jobs are heading to China. Chrysler and the Obama campaign say that's not true.

Obama Campaign Slams Romney's Jeep Ad

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Do Political Ads Actually Work?

October 26, 2012 • Democrats and Republicans are on track to spend about $1 billion each on TV advertising in the presidential race — most of it negative and almost all in battleground states. There's little evidence the ads sway voters, but the campaigns are happy to settle for low odds, given the lingering memories of the close 2000 election.

Do Political Ads Actually Work?

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Ad Watch Rematch: 6 Swing States, 1 Half-Hour, 87 Political Ads

A control room at television station WDBJ 7 in Roanoke, Va., one of the many swing state markets being inundated with campaign ads. AP Video hide caption

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AP Video

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Ad Watch Rematch: 6 Swing States, 1 Half-Hour, 87 Political Ads

October 25, 2012 • Since June, more than 915,000 presidential ads alone have aired on broadcast and cable TV. So what's it like to watch the local news in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia?

Women Seen As Key In N.H, Both As Voters And As Candidates

President Obama pauses for a photo with supporters after arriving for a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., on Thursday. Winslow Townson/AP hide caption

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Winslow Townson/AP

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Women Seen As Key In N.H, Both As Voters And As Candidates

NHPR

October 25, 2012 • The Obama campaign is trying to link Republican Mitt Romney to controversial moves by the New Hampshire state Legislature on women's health. But Romney has a strong advocate in Sen. Kelly Ayotte in a state that could potentially have a female governor and an all-female congressional delegation next year.

Beyond Hot Air: Political Blimps Take To Swing State Skies

A blimp with a message in support of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney flies over Plantation, Fla., on Sunday. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

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Beyond Hot Air: Political Blimps Take To Swing State Skies

October 24, 2012 • How do you reach an audience of more than 200,000 people a day in an important swing state without buying an expensive TV ad? If you're Mitt Romney supporter Sid Overton, you build a blimp and fly it alongside one of Colorado's busiest freeways.

On The Trail In Iowa, The 'Death Tax' Gets New Life

Aides tack up an American flag to a barn at the James Koch farm in Van Meter, Iowa, on Oct. 9, ahead of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's arrival for a rally. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

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On The Trail In Iowa, The 'Death Tax' Gets New Life

October 21, 2012 • Republican candidates — from presidential nominee Mitt Romney on down the ticket — have been attacking the estate tax as harmful to family farmers who want to pass on land to their children. But experts say that concern may be overblown.

Study: Secret Donors Significantly Fueling Pro-Romney TV Ads

Costumed demonstrators on Oct. 3 in Denver, before the first presidential debate. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images hide caption

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Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

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Study: Secret Donors Significantly Fueling Pro-Romney TV Ads

October 15, 2012 • Most of the TV ads supporting Mitt Romney have come from outside groups, not from Romney's own campaign. And those groups raised more than half of their money from secret donors, a much higher proportion than the secret donors backing President Obama, according to a new analysis.

Study: Secret Donors Significantly Fueling Pro-Romney TV Ads

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Should TV Stations Refuse To Air Political Ads That Make False Claims?

October 3, 2012 • The nonpartisan group Free Press is calling on stations to do just that. At the very least, the group says, stations should fact check more. A new study by the group found that stations almost never reject third-party and superPAC ads — and few of them were engaging in serious fact checking.

Campaigns Targeting Hispanics, But With Tight Focus

A volunteer hands out buttons before first lady Michelle Obama speaks at a Hispanic caucus on Sept. 5 in Charlotte, N.C. David Goldman/AP hide caption

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David Goldman/AP

Campaigns Targeting Hispanics, But With Tight Focus

October 2, 2012 • In this year's presidential election, more than 1 out of every 10 eligible voters is Hispanic, and Hispanic political clout is growing. But while Spanish-language ad spending by the campaigns is eight times what was spent in 2008, that spending has been focused mainly on just seven media markets.

Campaigns Targeting Hispanics, But With Tight Focus

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Presidential Campaigns Rock The Gamer Vote

An advertisement for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama appeared in the Xbox 360 Live version of the video game Need for Speed: Carbon in 2008. Again this year, Obama is advertising in video games. AP/Electronic Arts Inc. via Obama campaign hide caption

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AP/Electronic Arts Inc. via Obama campaign

Presidential Campaigns Rock The Gamer Vote

October 1, 2012 • As political ads ramp up on TV, a newer platform is also seeing a spike in political messages. In 2008, Barack Obama became the first presidential candidate to use political advertising in a video game. This year, the Romney campaign says it is also injecting politics into gaming.

Presidential Campaigns Rock The Gamer Vote

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Pelosi Rival's New Ad Features Two Sacrificial Lambs, Including Himself

October 1, 2012 • Rep. Nancy Pelosi's Republican challenger, John Dennis, attacks her with a weird zombie ad. In 2010, an ad of his portrayed her as the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz. That helped him get 15 percent of the vote.

In Presidential Ads, A Shared Strategy For Connection

President Obama and Mitt Romney campaign in August: Obama in Leesburg, Va.; Romney in Waukesha, Wis. AP hide caption

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In Presidential Ads, A Shared Strategy For Connection

September 28, 2012 • In new ads from President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney, the candidates talk directly to the camera. Obama is also putting out longer television spots. Why the change of style?

In Presidential Ads, A Shared Strategy For Connection

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One Way To Avoid Political Ads: Watch 'Dancing With The Stars'?

Pamela Anderson performs with Tristan MacManus on Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars. Anderson was the first contestant eliminated on the show this season. Adam Taylor/ABC hide caption

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Adam Taylor/ABC

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One Way To Avoid Political Ads: Watch 'Dancing With The Stars'?

September 26, 2012 • After tracking an hour of prime time in six swing states, we turned up just 12 political ads. Why? It turns out you're more likely to see ads during syndicated shows like Wheel of Fortune than on network shows.

Colorado Springs Soaks In Triple The Political Ads

September 24, 2012 • In Colorado Springs, advertising for the presidential race has tripled compared with the same time four years ago. It's enough to drive even the most fervent political partisans over the edge.

Colorado Springs Soaks In Triple The Political Ads

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Ohio Senate Race Gets Nasty Amid Flood Of Ads And Cash

Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel, the Republican challenging incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks at a campaign rally on Sept. 1 in Cincinnati. Al Behrman/AP hide caption

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Al Behrman/AP

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Ohio Senate Race Gets Nasty Amid Flood Of Ads And Cash

September 20, 2012 • Ohio's U.S. Senate race is already the most expensive one in state history. And with accusing ads flying back and forth, and outside money pouring in, it's also on course to be one of the ugliest.

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Obama Backers Battle For Dominance On Denver Airwaves

September 18, 2012 • A total of 21 groups have spent almost $20 million on 18,956 ads in the Denver market airing between July 30 and Nov. 6, an analysis shows. It found that President Obama and his allies are outspending Republican Mitt Romney and conservative groups allied with him, at least for now.

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Where Political Ads Go To Be Mocked

September 14, 2012 • Less than eight weeks before the presidential election, there's really no escaping political ads. In addition to traditional fact-checkers who are weighing in, the sometimes snarky "Media Scrutiny Theater 2012" is continuing to review superPAC ads in its own fashion.

Obama's Post-Charlotte Bounce May Owe More To TV Ads Than Convention

President Obama gives his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

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Obama's Post-Charlotte Bounce May Owe More To TV Ads Than Convention

September 12, 2012 • A group of political scientists counted 40,974 ads on behalf of President Obama versus 17,779 for Mitt Romney during the two weeks of the political conventions.

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Rove's Crossroads GPS Gets Explicit In Anti-Obama Air War

September 12, 2012 • Crossroads GPS, an anti-Obama group co-founded by GOP political strategist Karl Rove, is shifting its ad strategy. It's going from so-called issue ads that purportedly educated voters on why the president was wrong on issues to directly urging for voters to vote against him.

Pro-Romney Advocacy Group: 'Enormous Opportunity' In Western Swing States

Americans for Prosperity brought its "Failing Agenda" bus tour to suburban cities in Colorado's heavily populated Front Range. Kirk Siegler/KUNC hide caption

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Kirk Siegler/KUNC

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Pro-Romney Advocacy Group: 'Enormous Opportunity' In Western Swing States

September 12, 2012 • As conservative advocacy groups ike Americans for Prosperity shuffle their ad dollars, they are focusing on key swing states like Colorado. Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips says states like Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico "haven't seen the results from the president's policies."

With Big Parties Over, It's Back To Small-Population Swing States

President Obama's campaign bus is parked in Missouri Valley, Iowa, on Aug. 13. On Friday, Obama was scheduled to return to the swing state for more campaigning. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

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With Big Parties Over, It's Back To Small-Population Swing States

September 7, 2012 • On the heels of the quadrennial political extravaganzas, it's back to the day-to-day work of winning the election. On Friday, that means the focus returns to a pair of small-population states with relatively few electoral votes: Iowa and New Hampshire.

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It's 60 Days Until The Election, And Ad Rules Change

September 7, 2012 • A tax-exempt group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers on Monday wraps up a monthlong, $26 million series of television ads that explicitly tell viewers to vote against President Obama — raising the question of what happens next with so-called dark money in the fall campaign.