The post led commenters to believe that a large gathering of Christians in St. Louis was ignored by the news media in 2021.
Health Feedback→ Vaccine boosters help maintain protection provided by initial vaccination; boosters have been used for routine vaccinations like tetanus and polio for decades
REVIEW As the number of COVID-19 cases rises again, countries fortunate enough to have vaccinated a large proportion of their adult population against COVID-19 are now debating whether an additional vaccine dose (booster) might be needed for those w
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The NIH Does NOT Conduct All Testing Of New Drugs And Dr. Fauci’s Wife Does NOT Control Drug Approval
Does the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) hand over all its testing of new drugs to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and does that put Dr. Anthony Fauci's wife, NIH chief of bioethics Christine Grady, in a position to somehow
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Flags Were NOT Left At Top Of Federal Flagpoles In Wake Of Kabul Airport Attack
Did the U.S. government fail to lower flags to half-mast in honor of the Marines who lost their lives in the August 2021 bombing at Kabul airport? No, that's not true: The claim was made without supporting evidence and President Joe Biden
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Of Emergency Care To Indian Soldiers Does NOT Show Any Connection To COVID-19 Vaccinations
Does a video of Indian soldiers rendering aid to other soldiers who have collapsed show a strong connection to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: This video appears to show the first aid care rendered during a mass heat stroke inc
FactCheck.org→ Biden Issued Proclamation to Fly Flags at Half-Staff
Quick Take President Joe Biden issued a proclamation honoring those who died in the attack at the Kabul airport Aug. 26 and calling for flags to be flown at half-staff. But a meme has been circulating on Facebook with the false claim that no such order
Snopes→ US Intelligence Still Divided on Origins of Coronavirus
U.S. intelligence agencies remain divided on the origins of the coronavirus but believe China's leaders did not know about the virus before the start of the global pandemic, according to results released Friday of a review ordered by President Joe Biden.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Twitter Video Does NOT Show Footage Of August 26, 2021 Bombing Outside Of Kabul Airport
Does a video posted on Twitter show footage of a suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan that killed more than 170 people including 13 U.S. service members? No, that's not true: The footage is from an Israeli airstrike th
FactCheck.org→ Video: Idaho Doctor Makes Baseless Claims About Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines
In this video, FactCheck.org and Univision Noticias teamed up to debunk false claims made by a doctor in Idaho about COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and treatments. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have been found to be safe and effecti
Snopes→ Did a Newspaper in 1918 Warn Readers ‘Wear Your Masks, Take No Chances’?
"If there were complete public co-operation, a combined offensive of the whole community would soon stamp out the evil," the San Francisco Chronicle wrote of the 1918 flu pandemic.
Snopes→ RFK Assassin Sirhan Wins Parole with Support of 2 Kennedys
U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's assassin was granted parole Friday after two of RFK's sons spoke in favor of Sirhan Sirhan’s release and prosecutors declined to argue he should be kept behind bars.
FactCheck.org→ Trump and Boebert’s Oil Spin
The United States continues to import a smaller amount of its petroleum from the Middle East, part of a decadeslong trend that has continued under President Joe Biden. The U.S. gets most of its imported oil from Canada. About 9.8% of U.S. petroleum imp
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Werner Herzog Did NOT Say America Is ‘Waking Up, As Germany Once Did’
Did German film director Werner Herzog say, "Dear America: You are waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that 1/3 of your people would kill another 1/3, while 1/3 watches"? No, that's not true: The quote originated on a parody
Snopes→ Bulgarian Facebook Pages Post Altered Fox News Videos, Earning Tens of Millions of Views
It's not everyday that a Facebook network pushing disinformation involves a Spanish-language telenovela.
Snopes→ Facebook Page with Russian Name Posted Altered Fox News Videos, Earning Tens of Millions of Views
It's not everyday that a Facebook page pushing disinformation involves three foreign countries and a Spanish-language telenovela.
Snopes→ Yes, a Texas Dad Stripped Down to His Swimsuit To Make Point About Mask Safety
The incident went viral.
Truth or Fiction?→ Sea Urchins Wearing Hats
An August 25 2021 Facebook post about sea urchins wearing hats (shared to the group “Heck this is super wholesome”) featured a screenshot of a November 22 2020 tweet by @valfrogkamen: sea urchins protect themselves by putting rocks and sh
FactCheck.org→ Health Sensors Misconstrued as Government Tracking ‘Microchips’
SciCheck Digest A digital device company is developing gel sensors that would monitor the wearer’s health and could potentially help to detect future outbreaks of disease. But conspiracy theorists are falsely claiming that the sensors are actuall
Snopes→ Spike Lee Re-Edits Documentary Series on 9/11 After ‘Truther’ Conspiracies Controversy
An episode in the series featured interviews with members of a conspiracy theorist group.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Justin Trudeau’s Brother Was NOT Arrested On Charges Of Sexual Conduct With A Minor
Was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's younger brother arrested on charges of sexual conduct with a minor? No, that's not true: The Montreal Police Department told Lead Stories they had "no file" on Alexandre Trudeau. The website th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Politicians HAVE Died From COVID-19
Have no politicians died from COVID-19? No, that's not true: Various politicians have died from the disease, both in the United States and around the world. They are not immune. Among the politicians who have died are Herman Cain, a forme
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Show FEMA Coffins Delivered To Georgia Roadside Because ‘Something Is Brewing’
Does a photo show hundreds of coffins delivered by FEMA stacked on a Georgia roadside because "something is brewing"? No, that's not true: The photo shows plastic burial vaults produced by a Covington, Georgia, manufacturer. The location
Snopes→ Ida Aims To Hit New Orleans on Hurricane Katrina Anniversary
Tropical Storm Ida swirled toward a strike on Cuba on Friday as a rapidly intensifying storm that could speed across warm Gulf waters and slam into Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday, the National Hurricane Center warned.
Snopes→ Judge Blocks Florida Governor’s Order Banning Mask Mandates
School districts in Florida may impose mask mandates, a judge said Friday, ruling that Gov. Ron DeSantis overstepped his authority by issuing an executive order banning the mandates.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CNN Did NOT Publish An Article Describing A Healthy 40-Year-Old COVID-19 Victim’s Sentiments Toward Unvaccinated People — It’s Satirical
Did CNN publish an article describing a 40-year-old COVID-19 victim's sentiments toward unvaccinated people? No, that's not true: The satirical story about a severely obese woman who was vaccinated and is now dying from COVID-19 was not p
Health Feedback→ Multiple scientific studies suggest that masking can help limit transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools, contrary to claim in Federalist article
REVIEW It’s back to school season in the U.S. and with rising COVID-19 case numbers, including among children too young to receive the COVID-19 vaccines, American schools have become battlegrounds over disagreements about preventative measures. Ma
Snopes→ Was Navy Seaman Elgin Staples Saved by a Life Belt Made by His Mom?
The story of Elgin Staples and his mother, Vera Mueller-Staples, has wowed audiences since the 1940s.
AllSides→ Fact-Checking Donald Trump’s Claim About Afghan Refugees
https://factcheck.thedispatch.com/p/fact-checking-donald-trumps-claim In a statement on Tuesday, form
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Kabul Airport Photograph Is NOT From August 26, 2021 — It Was Taken August 16, 2021
Does this picture, with dust rising and a jet's wing in the foreground, capture the August 26, 2021, explosion at the Kabul airport? No, that's not true: The picture in the screenshot below was taken on August 16, 2021, by a photographer
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Independence From Britain Celebrated Somewhere Every Seven Days on Average?
On March 4 2019, the Twitter account @qikipedia tweeted: Independence from Britain is celebrated somewhere in the world, on average, one in every seven days. No citation was included alongside the tweet, which was also shared to Facebook and RedditR
Logically→ Afghan evacuees and asylum seekers are arriving at airports with no documentation and false papers.
The Home Office stated that anyone entering the U.K. must undergo security checks but they are not always required to carry valid documents.
Snopes→ Biden Vows to Finish Kabul Evacuation, Avenge US Deaths
The U.S.-led airlift continued even as commanders and officials were recovering from Thursday’s devastation.
The Dispatch→ Does a Photograph Depict the Suicide Bombing in Kabul on Thursday?
On August 26, two suicide bombers and gunmen killed 13 U.S. servicemembers and more than 90 Afghans at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. In light of these attacks, images alleging to show the scene have been circulating on social media. One
Logically→ A viral video shows Taliban militants auctioning women for $1.34.
An old video from a London street play to raise concerns about crimes against women has been falsely claimed as the Taliban auctioning Afghan women.
Logically→ A CNN reporter covered her head while reporting after the Taliban took control over Afghanistan.
Clarissa Ward clarified that she always wore a headscarf while reporting in Kabul, but she wore an abaya for the first time while reporting lately.
Poynter→ How are Afghan refugees being vetted? Here’s what we know.
U.S. officials are working on one of the largest airlifts in U.S. history ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline to leave Afghanistan. The evacuation effort includes American citizens as well as thousands of refugees and Afghans who helped the U.S. military over
Logically→ Natural COVID immunity is stronger than protection induced through vaccines.
A COVID-19 infection can severely harm a person. It is not clear that "natural" immunity is stronger than the protection induced through vaccines.
Snopes→ Supreme Court Allows Evictions to Resume During Pandemic
The Supreme Court's conservative majority is allowing evictions to resume across the United States, blocking the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Snopes→ Virus Surge Breaks Hospital Records Amid Rising Toll on Kids
Kentucky and Texas joined a growing list of states that are seeing record numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a surge that is overwhelming doctors and nurses and afflicting more children.
Snopes→ 100,000 More COVID Deaths Seen Unless US Changes Its Ways
The U.S. is projected to see nearly 100,000 more COVID-19 deaths between late August and Dec. 1, 2021, according to the nation's most closely watched forecasting model.