--- title: Fact Checking Group Slams Democratic Ad for “Deception” description: Factcheck.org comes down on the DCCC but the Democratic group stands by the ad canonical: https://time.com/3111824/fact-checking-group-slams-new-democratic-ad-for-deception/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-14T17:48:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:40:38.059Z article:section: Politics og:title: Fact Checking Group Slams Democratic Ad for “Deception” og:description: Factcheck.org comes down on the DCCC but the Democratic group stands by the ad og:url: https://time.com/3111824/fact-checking-group-slams-new-democratic-ad-for-deception/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b427fa3c20d67d/69869f8bcd684806790960ea/ap20520942548.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1519 og:image:height: 854 og:image:alt: Tom MacArthur og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Fact Checking Group Slams Democratic Ad for “Deception” twitter:description: Factcheck.org comes down on the DCCC but the Democratic group stands by the ad twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b427fa3c20d67d/69869f8bcd684806790960ea/ap20520942548.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Fact Checking Group Slams New Democratic Ad for 'Deception'  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Aug 14, 2014 5:48 PM UTC  In this Thursday, April 24, 2014 photograph, candidate in New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District, Tom MacArthur answers a question in Brick Township, N.J. In this Thursday, April 24, 2014 photograph, candidate in New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District, Tom MacArthur answers a question in Brick Township, N.J.Mel Evans—ASSOCIATED PRESS  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Aug 14, 2014 5:48 PM UTC The political fact checking site FactCheck.org slammed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Thursday over an ad the group described as deceptive, a characterization the DCCC disputes. The ad was released by the DCCC in the New Jersey race between Republican Tom MacArthur and Aimee Belgard. It accuses MacArthur of “cheating disaster victims” while a CEO of a risk management company. MacArthur and Belgard are competing to fill the congressional seat being left open by GOP Rep. Jon Runyan, who is not seeking reelection. Factcheck.org’s primary objection to the ad is that MacArthur was never personally cited for wrongdoing, but rather that his company was sued—twice—for mishandling insurance claims of Hurricane Ike and the 2008 Syre Fire in California, while MacArthur was chairman and CEO. Factcheck objects chiefly to a visual that placed MacArthur’s name above the quote “accused of cheating disaster victims.” The audio of the ad does say that MacArthur ran the insurance company, not that he was personally accused. In a statement to TIME, the DCCC stood by the ad and criticized FactCheck.org for not contacting the group for comment before running it’s critique. “If [factcheck.org](http://factcheck.org/) had called us before running their item, we would have happily shared the reality: that this ad clearly and accurately communicates to voters that under Tom MacArthur’s leadership, his company was accused of cheating disaster victims and he profited,” said DCCC spokesperson Emily Bittner. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3111824/fact-checking-group-slams-new-democratic-ad-for-deception/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3111824/fact-checking-group-slams-new-democratic-ad-for-deception/"},"headline":"Fact Checking Group Slams New Democratic Ad for 'Deception'","datePublished":"2014-08-14T17:48:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:40:38.059Z","description":"Factcheck.org comes down on the DCCC but the Democratic group stands by the ad","url":"https://time.com/3111824/fact-checking-group-slams-new-democratic-ad-for-deception/","keywords":["2014 Election","New Jersey","Congress","Midterms"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b427fa3c20d67d/69869f8bcd684806790960ea/ap20520942548.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b427fa3c20d67d/69869f8bcd684806790960ea/ap20520942548.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tom MacArthur","caption":"Tom MacArthur","creditText":"Mel Evans—ASSOCIATED PRESS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2014-election/","name":"2014 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3111824/fact-checking-group-slams-new-democratic-ad-for-deception/","name":"Fact Checking Group Slams New Democratic Ad for 'Deception'"}}]}] ```