Samantha Putterman - PolitiFact
Samantha Putterman is a fact-checker for PolitiFact based in Florida reporting on misinformation with a focus on abortion and public health.
Featured image for “PolitiFact FL: Is Byron Donalds right that Florida school districts are to blame for property tax increases?”
Houses seen in a neighborhood in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, on Oct. 30, 2025.
March 20, 2026

PolitiFact FL: Is Byron Donalds right that Florida school districts are to blame for property tax increases?

Florida school districts have control over some property taxes, but all school taxes have some level of state control.…

By Samantha Putterman - PolitiFact

Featured image for “PolitiFact FL: Amendment 4 on abortion is short. Does a lack of definitions mean no rules?”
September 25, 2024

PolitiFact FL: Amendment 4 on abortion is short. Does a lack of definitions mean no rules?

PolitiFact concludes that a TV ad opposing the abortion amendment makes a Mostly False claim.…

By Samantha Putterman - PolitiFact

Featured image for “PolitiFact FL: State parks proposal was further along than DeSantis let on”
Red mangroves line the shore at Oleta River State Park on Aug. 22, 2024, in North Miami Beach. | Marta Lavandier, AP
September 5, 2024

PolitiFact FL: State parks proposal was further along than DeSantis let on

Statements by Gov. Ron DeSantis about developing state parks like Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine ignore critical facts, PolitiFact…

By Samantha Putterman - PolitiFact

Featured image for “PolitiFact FL: DeSantis said Citizens Insurance ‘is not solvent.’ That’s misleading.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, second from right, visits a home whose interior was heavily damaged by storm surge during the passage of Hurricane Idalia on Aug. 31, 2023, in Horseshoe Beach. | Rebecca Blackwell, AP
March 18, 2024

PolitiFact FL: DeSantis said Citizens Insurance ‘is not solvent.’ That’s misleading.

Insolvency means a company cannot pay its bills today. That’s not so with Citizens, which has a $5 billion surplus.…

By Louis Jacobson - PolitiFact and Samantha Putterman - PolitiFact

Featured image for “PolitiFact FL: DeSantis says he removed critical race theory from schools. Districts say it wasn’t taught.”
August 15, 2023

PolitiFact FL: DeSantis says he removed critical race theory from schools. Districts say it wasn’t taught.

DeSantis’ claim contains an element of truth, but it ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate…

By Samantha Putterman - PolitiFact