Summary We found several false and misleading claims in the October Democratic presidential debate: Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro claimed that the most recent jobs data show that “Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania &
Publication: 2020 election
FactCheck.org→ A Discussion of Digital Campaign Ads and 2020
FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely appeared Oct. 11 on “Politics with Amy Walter,” a podcast produced by Public Radio International and WNYC. Walter, a veteran political journalist, and Kiely discuss fact-checking campaign ads in the 2020
FactCheck.org→ Fact: Trump TV Ad Misleads on Biden and Ukraine
With its candidate the subject of an impeachment inquiry, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has gone on the offensive with a TV ad that claims to present the “facts” about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Ukr
Snopes→ Senators Warn of Foreign Social Media Meddling in US Vote
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators urged President Donald Trump to warn the public about efforts by foreign governments to interfere in U.S. elections, a subject he has largely avoided.
FactCheck.org→ The Whistleblower Complaint Timeline
President Donald Trump has been accused in a whistleblower complaint of “using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.” “In the course of my official duties, I have received inform
FactCheck.org→ Q&A on Intelligence Community Whistleblower
A whistleblower on Aug. 12 filed a complaint with the inspector general of the intelligence community, who found the information credible and determined that under the law it should be forwarded to the congressional intelligence committees. But the act
FactCheck.org→ Posts Distort O’Rourke’s Criminal Record
Quick Take Viral posts falsely claim Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke can’t own a gun due to a felony. O’Rourke has not been convicted of a felony. Full Story Social media users have spread viral posts that falsely ca
FactCheck.org→ Trump Twists Facts on Biden and Ukraine
President Donald Trump once again twisted the facts to claim that Joe Biden, as vice president, threatened to withhold “billions of dollars to Ukraine” unless it removed the prosecutor general who “was prosecuting” Biden’s
FactCheck.org→ O’Rourke Not Alone in Support of Mandatory Buyback
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has faced backlash from Republicans, and some Democrats, for his debate-night advocacy of a mandatory buyback program for so-called assault weapons. But Sen. Chuck Schumer went too far when he said,
FactCheck.org→ Yang’s Top-Gun Tale
Making a point about Defense Department waste, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang related a secondhand story about a Navy fighter pilot who said that airmen routinely dumped fuel into the Pacific Ocean at the end of the fiscal year as a way
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the September Democratic Debate
Summary The false and exaggerated claims in the third Democratic debate included: Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro accused former Vice President Joe Biden of “forgetting what you said two minutes ago” on Biden’s hea
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Record on Iraq War
Twice in the last five weeks, Joe Biden has claimed that despite voting to authorize military force against Iraq in 2002, he opposed the Iraq war from “the moment” it began. That’s not accurate, and Biden now says he misspoke. The pub
FactCheck.org→ Buttigieg Wrong About Climate Change’s Effect on Oceans
In making his case for taking swift action on climate change, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg inaccurately said that “we could lose half the world’s oxygen because of what’s going on in the oceans.” Scientists say that
FactCheck.org→ Baseless Claim of Odessa Shooter’s ‘Beto Sticker’
Quick Take Viral posts on social media make the baseless claim that the shooter in Odessa, Texas, had a sticker on his car for Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. The Texas Department of Public Safety said there was no sticker on the
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Steel Industry Claims
Summary To hear President Donald Trump tell the story of the U.S. steel industry, it went from “dead” or “going out of business” to “thriving” all because of the 25% tariffs on imported steel he instituted in March 2
Snopes→ Bernie Sanders Calls on Mitch McConnell to End Obstructionism
Sanders lashed out at the Senate Majority Leader in his home state of Kentucky.
FactCheck.org→ Social Media Posts Treat Fictional Harris ‘Quote’ as Fact
Quick Take Facebook users expressed outrage over a statement that is falsely attributed to Sen. Kamala Harris. The quote — about seeking “vengeance” against supporters of President Donald Trump — originated on a website that cal
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Dubious Michigan ‘Man of the Year’ Boast
President Donald Trump has claimed no fewer than seven times over the past three years — including at a recent rally in New Hampshire — that he won Michigan’s “man of the year” award. But there’s no evidence that he
FactCheck.org→ O’Rourke on Jobs ‘No One Else Will Do’
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke said workers living in the U.S. illegally who were swept up in immigration raids at chicken processing plants in Mississippi are “doing a job that no one else will do.” The jobs are hard and don’t
FactCheck.org→ Williamson Misleads on Children’s Health, Vaccines
In a July 31 television interview, Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson inaccurately implied there might be a connection between vaccines and higher reported rates of childhood chronic diseases. Williamson is correct that reported rate
FactCheck.org→ Biden Misleads on Top 1% Tax Rate
The top 1% of taxpayers, on average, pay a higher effective tax rate than middle-income people, contrary to a claim Joe Biden made on the campaign trail. As a result of a low tax rate for capital gains earned by many wealthy Americans, Democratic presi
FactCheck.org→ Harris Wrong on Autoworker Jobs
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris wrongly claimed that “as many as 300,000 autoworkers may be out of a job before the end of the year.” That’s a high-end estimate for total job losses — not solely among autoworkers
Snopes→ Analysis Shows 12% Could Vote Without Paper Backup in 2020
More than one in 10 voters could cast ballots on paperless voting machines in the 2020 general election, leaving their ballots more vulnerable to hacking.
FactCheck.org→ Harris, Warren Wrong About Brown Shooting
On Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in what the Obama administration’s Department of Justice determined was an act of “self-defense.” B
FactCheck.org→ Biden Takes Trump Quote Out of Context
In a speech that assailed President Donald Trump for a lack of “moral leadership,” Joe Biden falsely claimed that Trump “asserted that immigrants would, quote, ‘carve you up with a knife.’” Trump said that about MS-13 gang membe
FactCheck.org→ Video: FactChecking Round Two of July Debate
This video covers some of the claims the candidates made on July 31 during round two of the second Democratic debate in Detroit. Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed that Sen. Kamala Harris’ health insurance plan would raise “middle-class taxe
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking July’s Round Two Debate
Summary Another debate, and another crop of false and misleading claims. Sen. Kamala Harris of California and former Vice President Joe Biden disagreed on whether his health care plan would “cover everyone.” Biden’s website says it w
FactCheck.org→ Video: FactChecking the Democratic Debate
In this video, we examine some of the false and misleading claims from the July 30 Democratic debate. Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas falsely said that “no other country comes even close to” the 40,000 gun-violence deaths in the United State
Snopes→ Sanders, Warren Fight with Moderates over ‘Medicare for All’
The signature domestic proposal by the leading progressive candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination came under withering attack from moderates in a debate that laid bare the struggle between a call for revolutionary policies and a desperat
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the Second Democratic Debate
Summary We flagged false and misleading claims from several candidates: Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke got it wrong in claiming “no other country comes even close to” the number of gun-violence deaths in the United States. Brazil ha
FactCheck.org→ Pinning Down Prescription Drug Prices
One aim the president and Democratic 2020 challengers share is the desire to bring down the price of prescription drugs. But is that already happening, or are prices still climbing? The two parties disagree, and it depends on how they’re measurin
Snopes→ Suburban Women Recoil as Trump Dives into Racial Politics
Many professional, suburban women recoil at the abrasive, divisive rhetoric, exposing the president to a potential wave of opposition in key battlegrounds across the country.
FactCheck.org→ Unpacking Biden’s and Trump’s Big Cancer Promises
On the campaign trail, former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump have both claimed that a cure to cancer would soon become a reality — if they were elected in 2020. Experts, however, don’t share that degree of optimism. Despi
Snopes→ Harris Blasts, and Takes Money from, Epstein’s Law Firm
The decision to move ahead with the fundraiser underscores the tension that can arise when a politician's rhetoric collides with their need to raise money to sustain a campaign.
FactCheck.org→ Biden on the 1994 Crime Bill
Former Vice President Joe Biden defended his support decades ago for a controversial crime bill, saying in a speech in South Carolina, “There’s another part of my long record that’s being grossly misrepresented: the 1994 crime bill.” W
FactCheck.org→ Gillibrand Attacks Trump on Manufacturing Jobs
A TV ad from Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand accuses President Donald Trump of breaking his promise to protect and create manufacturing jobs. Despite some plant closures, there has been a net increase of nearly 500,000 manufacturin
Snopes→ Who’s Behind Voting-Machine Makers? Money of Unclear Origins
Private-equity backers of the three voting systems vendors seeking approval to sell to county elections boards in North Carolina said they're controlled by U.S. citizens. But they didn't provide information about the sources of the money they invest.
Snopes→ Desegregation Remains an Issue in Many US schools
Two rival high schools in Cleveland, one historically black and the other historically white, had to be merged just two years ago after a judge determined that all-black student bodies in the 3,400-student district were illegal vestiges of segregation.
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Stretch on Intellectual Property Theft
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says the Trump administration has not been fighting China on “stealing intellectual secrets,” claiming that instead it has been “fighting in trade.” But intellectual property issues ha
Snopes→ Amy McGrath Announces Bid for Mitch McConnell’s Senate Seat
She is a decided underdog in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992.