The Bonkers Meter
Satire and opinion. Scores are our opinion, based on the public statements linked.
New York first, then the country. Same ruler for both parties, including ours. We’re Democrats, and a bad claim is still a bad claim. Bonkers describes the claim or the stunt, never anyone’s mind. Every score shows its receipts, so you can click through and judge for yourself.
Polls are open 6 AM to 9 PM. Whatever the meter says, find your polling place and vote.
How the meter works
Three questions, added up. One rubric, no party points, no quota. Disagreeing on policy scores 0 and doesn’t get a card.
Is it false? 0 to 4
1 is spin a fact-checker marked mostly false. 2 is flatly false. 3 is false on something big, like who voted or what science shows. 4 is a sustained conspiracy claim.
Did they keep saying it? 0 to 3
0 is a one-off or a quick walk-back. 1 is repeated or defended. 2 is standing by it after being corrected. 3 is years of that.
How far from reality? 0 to 3
0 is numbers off. 1 is wrong, but you can see the neighborhood. 2 is no evidence at all. 3 is flatly contradicted by officials, courts or the record.
The levels
Scores rest only on a person’s own public statements or actions, quoted briefly with a date and a link. Public officeholders and candidates only.
The readings
New York
National
Nobody’s been measured yet: everyone else on the ballot. No solid receipts, no score. We don’t guess.
Corrections
Wrong quote, wrong date, dead link, missing context? Write to corrections@jelia.nyc. We fix it, or pull the card, and say so here. No corrections so far.