What makes McClatchy’s Washington reporting so remarkable is their willingness to fact-check misleading claims without any false balance or punch-pulling. It’s completely different than the Times and the Post.

Here’s the latest example, which debunks the widely promoted myth that lending by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to low-income homebuyers and minorities caused the financial crisis:

Private sector loans, not Fannie or Freddie, triggered crisis
David Goldstein and Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — As the economy worsens and Election Day approaches, a conservative campaign that blames the global financial crisis on a government push to make housing more affordable to lower-class Americans has taken off on talk radio and e-mail.

Commentators say that’s what triggered the stock market meltdown and the freeze on credit. They’ve specifically targeted the mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the federal government seized on Sept. 6, contending that lending to poor and minority Americans caused Fannie’s and Freddie’s financial problems.

Federal housing data reveal that the charges aren’t true, and that the private sector, not the government or government-backed companies, was behind the soaring subprime lending at the core of the crisis.

Note how there’s no hedging whatsoever in the headline or the lede — it’s just not true. Full stop.