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
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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→ 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
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
FactCheck.org→ Exposing the Holes in a California Recall Election Conspiracy Theory
Quick Take Videos on social media suggest that holes in the return envelopes being used for mail-in ballots in California were designed to allow election officials to peek inside and toss out ballots in favor of recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom. Officials s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Unlabelled Satire Meme’s Math Used To Lay Claim To Bezos’ Bucks For Every Earthling Is Laughably NOT Right
Could Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' fortune be divided amongst all earthlings, netting each of us $1 billion and leaving Bezos still wealthy? No, that's not true: Assuming it could all be reduced to cash, Bezos' net worth distributed equally
FactCheck.org→ Chiropractor Again Peddles False, Misleading COVID-19 Claims
SciCheck Digest The delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is more transmissible than previous forms of the virus, and has helped spur an increase in cases, including in children. But a chiropractor in a Facebook video wrongly claims th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Pulse’ Column Does NOT Accurately Describe COVID Risk And Misleads With VAERS Data And Claims The Unvaccinated Are No Threat
Does an opinion column in The Pulse accurately characterize the fatality risk COVID poses and does it correctly describe what is shown by data in the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)? No, that's not true: Without noting that
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine IS Approved By The FDA
Is the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine not approved by the FDA? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on August 23, 2021. The agency made the announcement publicly, sharing the approva
Truth or Fiction?→ Leviticus 13:45-46
On August 21 2021, a Facebook account shared a Twitter screenshot which purportedly quoted Leviticus 13:45-46 in reference to ongoing debates regarding masks and social distancing: The Bible doesn't mention anything about masks, so quit referenc
Full Fact→ Facebook post and MP wrong to claim BBC lost £50 million in licence fees
A Facebook post claims the BBC has lost £50 million “this year” from non-payment of licence fees. It also states that 260,000 over-75s had “refused to pay” for the TV licence. Neither of these points are right.
Full Fact→ Facebook post makes incorrect claims about TV licence fee non-payment
A Facebook post claims the BBC has lost £50 million “this year” from non-payment of the TV licence fee. It also states that 260,000 over-75s have “refused to pay” for the TV licence. Neither of these points are right. 
Full Fact→ Too early to say whether unvaccinated doctors or nurses will lose jobs
A Facebook post suggests thousands of unvaccinated doctors and nurses will lose their jobs for refusing a Covid-19 vaccine. The context of the post seems to be an upcoming public consultation which will inform the government’s decision on w
Full Fact→ Kabul plane was not inflatable decoy
This article links to footage that is potentially distressing. A post on Facebook claims that a US aircraft photographed leaving Afghanistan was an inflatable decoy. As multiple other fact checking services such as Check Your Fact and Reuters hav
Full Fact→ Cadbury World ‘promotion’ is fake
A Facebook post claims to offer a chocolate hamper courtesy of Cadbury World to every user who reshares and comments on the post. At the time of writing there were 13,000 comments on the post. This is a fake scam offer and the Facebook page is not an o
Full Fact→ Did Sajid Javid open a ‘new hospital’ in Carlisle?
A post on Facebook shows a screenshot of a tweet from Health Secretary Sajid Javid, saying “Looking forward to opening one of new 48 [sic] hospitals later today.” The accompanying text on Facebook says: “More lies from the Conservativ
Poynter→ Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was vaccinated against COVID-19 in March
A clip from an interview with Pfizer CEO and Chairman Albert Bourla has been circulating on social media. In it, he was asked why he hasn’t yet received his COVID-19 vaccine. He responded that as soon as he can he will, but he doesn’t want to cut t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FDA Approval Of COVID-19 Vaccine Is NOT Illegal; ‘Doctor’ Does NOT Prove ‘Criminal’ FDA Regulation Violations
Is the FDA approval of the COVID-19 vaccine illegal, and does a "doctor" prove the Pfizer informational insert with its vaccine shows criminal regulation violations? No, that's not true: The claims made on the Stew Peters show by a guest
Snopes→ Oklahoma Man Charged in Assault on AP Photographer on Jan. 6
Authorities say Burlew was among several people who attacked Minchillo, who was wearing a helmet-style gas mask and was dragged by another person down the exterior stairs by his lanyard with Associated Press lettering.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO Mandatory Oil Dump Order In Place From The ‘Department of Hydrocarbons’ — It’s A Joke
Is there a mandatory oil dump order in place per the "Department of Hydrocarbons"? No, that's not true: neither a mandatory oil dumping order nor the "Department of Hydrocarbons" exist, and the creator of the video admitted it was a joke.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Eating One Hot Dog Takes 35 Minutes Off Your Life’
On August 23 2021, the New York Post tweeted that eating one hot dog “takes 35 minutes off your life,” citing a “new study”: Eating 1 hot dog takes 35 minutes off life, study suggests https://t.co/9a9kHICofd pic.twitter.com/AX
AllSides→ Was the State Department Charging Americans $2K for Flights out of Afghanistan?
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/americans-flights-afghanistan/ Claim: Per an Aug. 14, 2021 notice, th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Yale Professor, Ivermectin Maker Say The Horse Dewormer Is NOT Proven Effective Against COVID-19 — Mississippi Hospitalized Man After Dose
Has ivermectin been proven a safe and life-saving treatment for COVID-19? No, that's not true: The manufacturer of the drug, Merck, says its scientists find no evidence ivermectin works as a COVID-19 treatment and are concerned by the lac
Health Feedback→ Janci Chunn Lindsay’s claims that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe are inaccurate and unsupported by scientific evidence
REVIEW In early August 2021, several posts (see examples here, here, and here) claiming that COVID-19 vaccination will cause fertility problems, blood clotting, and increase the chances that the virus bypasses previous immunity to it (immune escape)
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Soviet Union Did NOT Take All Of Its Military Equipment From Afghanistan After the Soviet-Afghan War
Did the Soviet Union take all of its military equipment from Afghanistan after the Soviet-Afghan War? No, that's not true: Some of the Soviet equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan after the Soviets withdrew from the country. Even further
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Thatcher Effect’
In August 2021, an October 2018 post about the “Thatcher effect” and “thatcherized images” spread on Facebook, from a post originally shared by a New Hampshire-based optometrist’s office. It read: The Thatcher Effect. T
The Dispatch→ Fact-Checking Biden’s Latest Statements on the Afghanistan Withdrawal
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FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Biden’s Statements About Afghanistan
Since the Taliban seized control of the Afghanistan capital Kabul on Aug. 15, President Joe Biden has delivered speeches and given interviews to defend his administration’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal that preceded the swift fall of the Afghan go
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Danny DeVito Lose His ‘Verified’ Status on Twitter?
Actor Danny DeVito’s show of support for Nabisco workers gained attention on Twitter not just for the sentiment, but for the accusations that followed of reprisal from the platform. “Support Nabisco workers striking for humane working hours
Health Feedback→ Video shared by Sebastian Gorka Facebook page shows nurse making false and unsubstantiated claims about ivermectin, COVID-19 PCR tests, and COVID-19 vaccine safety
REVIEW On 13 August 2021, the Facebook page “America First With Dr. Sebastian Gorka” published a video of nurse Nicole Whitley, who made several claims about ivermectin, COVID-19 vaccine safety, and the COVID-19 PCR tests. Sebastian Gork
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Nashville’s Daily Press And Times Really DID Print These Female Statistics In 1869
Did Nashville's Daily Press and Times publish this accounting of the unmarried females in the Tennessee city on July 19, 1869? Yes it's true: This image of a newspaper clipping, from an unknown newspaper and date, cites the Daily Press an
Truth or Fiction?→ Bill Nye ‘There’s Already Enough Plastic in the Ocean’ Response Tweet
On August 16 2021, the Facebook page “Super News Supes” shared a screenshot in which science educator Bill Nye purportedly made a misogynistic comment about Kylie Jenner in a screenshot that was circulating as early as July 9 2019: In th
Full Fact→ Trafalgar Square “Freedom Rally” speech littered with false claims
During an anti-lockdown event on 24 July, dubbed the “The Worldwide Rally For Freedom”, Vernon Coleman (who we have fact checked before, under his online pseudonym “Old Man In A Chair”) made a speech in Trafalgar Square where he
Full Fact→ How media reporting of modelling has shaped our understanding of the pandemic
Over the course of the past 18 months, it’s overwhelmingly likely that you’ve seen a scientific model about Covid-19 reported in traditional media like newspapers and television, or on social media—and they’re informing policies
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Masks Are NOT As Ineffective At Blocking Virus As Chain-Link Fencing Is At Blocking Mosquitoes
Is wearing a face mask to prevent the transmission of an airborne virus as ineffective as building a chain-link fence to keep mosquitos out of a yard? No, that's not true: This is a misleading analogy, but it was made as a joke. The gapin
Snopes→ CNN’s Clarissa Ward Says Kabul Colleague Nearly Pistol-Whipped
“I've covered all sorts of crazy situations,” Ward said in a report that aired on CNN. “This was mayhem. This was nuts.”
Logically→ The U.S. trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong.
There is no consensus on the size of the Afghan military force.On 16 August, President Joe Biden made a speech in the light of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the chaos that Afghanistan has plunged into since. He said, "We spent ov
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CNN Chief Correspondent’s Headscarf Was NOT New, But She Says Taliban Take-Over Forces Precautions
Did CNN's chief international correspondent start wearing a headscarf in Afghanistan due to Taliban control? No, that's not true: veteran war reporter Clarissa Ward clarified she has always worn a headscarf while reporting "on the street
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: French Protests Against Vaccine Mandates Are NOT Accurately Represented With Captions And Photos In Online Posts
Does this collection of photos together with this caption accurately portray protests against COVID-19 vaccine passports and mandates that took place for several weeks in July and August of 2021 in France? No, many of the photos currently