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.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Cigarettes Are NOT ‘FDA Approved’
Are cigarettes approved by the FDA? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration does not "approve" tobacco products, but it does regulate the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of tobacco products. There is a difference b
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Fluoride Does NOT ‘Sterilise Humans’ — And Was NOT Used In Nazi Germany
Did Nazi Germany concentration camps sterilize prisoners with fluoridated water? No, that's not true: This is a recycled conspiracy theory, and an expert in this field told Lead Stories it didn't happen. In addition, water fluoridation ha
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: An Online Certificate May NOT Qualify A Person For A Permit To Carry A Concealed Firearm
Does an online course completion certificate qualify a person to obtain a concealed carry permit in a specific state mentioned in a targeted ad campaign? That's frequently not true: Individual state laws on carrying concealed weapons vary
Snopes→ Kabul Airport Attack Kills 60 Afghans, 13 US Troops
Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul's airport, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover.
Snopes→ PAWS Act Will Help Veterans with PTSD Get Service Dogs
Biden signed the legislation with bipartisan support.
Snopes→ Can You Die of COVID-19 if You Are Vaccinated?
In short, no vaccine is 100% effective.
The Dispatch→ Is It True That Military Members Have to Be Vaccinated but White House Employees Don’t?
A viral Instagram post, based on a video from Charlie Kirk, claims: “The White House doesn’t mandate the vaccine for its employees but is making active military get the vaccine.” a.image2.image-link.image2-609-671 {
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
Health Feedback→ The development of mRNA vaccines was a collaborative effort; Robert Malone contributed to their development, but he is not their inventor
REVIEW As of 23 August 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized two and approved one COVID-19 vaccines: the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen vaccines. The Janssen vaccine is an adenovirus-based vaccine, where the instruct
Snopes→ Japan Suspends 1.63M Doses of Moderna over Contamination
Japan suspended use of about 1.63 million doses of Moderna vaccine Thursday after contamination was found in unused vials, raising concern of a supply shortage as the country tries to accelerate vaccinations amid a COVID-19 surge.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Study Does NOT Say Fully Vaccinated Health Care Workers Carrying 251 Times Viral Load of Unvaccinated Workers Pose Threat To Unvaccinated Patients, Co-Workers
Does a study say fully vaccinated health care workers carry 251 times the viral load of unvaccinated and pose a threat to unvaccinated patients and co-workers? No, that's not true: This is a distortion of what the published paper actually
Health Feedback→ Study in Vietnam showed that Delta infection results in a higher viral load compared to earlier strains, not that vaccinated people are more infectious than unvaccinated people
REVIEW An article published on 24 August 2021 by Children’s Health Defense, an organization that opposes vaccination, claimed that research showed “vaccinated individuals carry 251 times the load of COVID-19 viruses in their nostrils compared to
Snopes→ Were Body Bags Transported in Gov. Abbott’s Campaign Truck?
Texas did request additional mortuary trailers in August 2021, but they weren't adorned with Gov. Abbott's campaign logo.
Truth or Fiction?→ 9/11 Stair Climb Treadmill Post
In late August 2021, a September 2018 Facebook post recirculated — purportedly a candid image captured at a gym, depicting a firefighter “on the stair climber in full equipment” ascending 110 floors in memory of the firefighters kille
Snopes→ Does This Pic Show What Jupiter’s Southern Pole Looks Like?
The images prompted comparisons to dosa, an Indian crepe.
Snopes→ 2 Suicide Attacks Outside Kabul Airport; Russia Says 13 Dead
Several Marines were killed and a number of other American military were wounded, a U.S. official said.
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
Snopes→ Capitol Police Officers Sue Trump, Allies over Insurrection
The suit in federal court in Washington alleges Trump “worked with white supremacists, violent extremist groups, and campaign supporters to violate the Ku Klux Klan Act, and commit acts of domestic terrorism in an unlawful effort to stay in power.”
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
Snopes→ Did a Bug That Lives on Soda Cans Infect This Person’s Lip?
This video is disturbingly real. But the caption...?