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Blog Post #1: NPR's Fact-Checking Analysis of the State of the Union Address

Kassia Doukhnai
NPR’s fact-checking analysis of SOTU Address
Rhetoric: Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in America, and hire another 20,000 workers.
NPR commentary: Meanwhile, in a March 2017 announcement, Apple says it has created and supported 4.8 million jobs in China. That’s about 2.5 times the number of jobs the company says it has created and supported in the United States. The company announced last March on its Chinese website that it is going to build two new R&D centers, in Shanghai and Suzhou. This is going to be a significant investment as Apple plans to spend 3.5 billion yuan (about $500 million). The company already announced research centers in Beijing and Shenzhen, so there will be four centers in China in total. Last summer, Apple announced that it would be partnering with Guizhou-Cloud Big Data, a state-owned company with Communist Party connections, to build Apple’s first data-storage center in China. Beginning Feb. 28, the iCloud content of Apple ID users registered in China will be sent to and managed by Guizhou-Cloud Big Data.
NPR Shanghai Correspondent
Although President Trump’s statement about Apple’s investment in its United States businesses may not be false, Schmitz’s comments showcase previously known facts that offset the optimistic tone with which this statement was delivered. According to Apple's January 17th Press Release, the company is indeed planning on investing a “$350 Billion contribution to US economy over [the] next five years”. Though this may seem true, it is a promise regarding future goals. Without proof of action on Apple’s part, President Trump’s statement is empty.
The compelling feature of this statement and its commentary is that Trump is infamous for blaming China for taking the jobs of American workers. Another NPR article, called "Trump Can't Bring Back All Those Jobs From China. Here's What He Can Do", states that “Donald Trump's rhetoric on China and trade has been blunt, to say the least.” Not only is it blunt, but the facts prove it untrustworthy. “Throughout his campaign, Trump railed against China allegedly stealing American jobs.” It is a well-known fact that Apple’s main operation is located in China. NPR Shanghai Correspondent, Rob Schmitz, states in his commentary that Apple “has created and supported 4.8 million jobs in China” which is “about 2.5 times the number of jobs the company says it has created and supported in the United States”. Schmitz goes on to explain that Apple is planning on spending “3.5 billion yuan (about $500 million)” on “two new R&D centers, in Shanghai and Suzhou” and that the company also is planning on building “research centers in Beijing and Shenzhen, so there will be four centers in China in total.”
Although these statistics may not be surprising in terms of Apple’s investments, it does surprise me to read about them in correlation with a baseless statement made by the President of the United States. It is typical of a Presidential speech to emphasize a piece of slightly beneficial or positive news when in reality, the benefits are being reaped across the world. It is baffling how speaking in the absence of a teleprompter can reveal how one truly feels about a subject.



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