Quick Take Ukrainian prosecutors said they have expanded their investigation involving Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma, a gas company in Ukraine. But no “indictment” has been announced, as false headlines circulating on social media
Search Results (522) for: pundit
FactCheck.org→ Did Obama Fire All Bush-Appointed Ambassadors?
Q: Did President Barack Obama immediately fire all Bush-appointed ambassadors “the day he was elected office”? A: No. As is the custom, Obama immediately replaced most — not all — of Bush’s politically appointed ambassadors. Obama did
Truth or Fiction?→ Are These Really Donald Trump’s Notes?
On November 20 2019, as United States’ ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland’s testimony sent shockwaves through political and punditry circles, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a hasty press conference on his way to a flight to
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Barack Obama Did NOT Free Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi From GitMo And Return Him To The Middle East
Did President Barack Obama free ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi from GitMo, return him to the middle east, and allow the ISIS leader into Syria? No, that's not true: Al-Baghdadi was freed from an Iraqi prison after several months in U.S. mili
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Hollywood Actor Bruce Willis Did NOT Say Trump Is The Best US President Ever
Did Bruce Willis say Donald Trump is the best US President ever? No, that's not true: and old fake quote often accompanied by a screenshot from a comedy bit with Willis wearing a MAGA had on Jimmy Fallon's show keeps making the rounds online b
FactCheck.org→ Misleading Narrative About a Supposed ‘Ukrainian Arms Dealer’
Quick Take An online story says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff “are both connected to a Ukrainian arms dealer” through a 2013 fundraiser. But the supposed “Ukrainian arms dealer” owns a California company tha
Truth or Fiction?→ Disinformation Peddlers Push ‘October 16th’ Conspiracy Theory
A gaggle of specious blogs and social media accounts set about inflaming tensions for their followers in a set of posts reminiscent of other fake controversies. The posts center on vaguely-worded “threats” and wide-ranging military deploym
Truth or Fiction?→ Recurring Disinformation Around Remembrance Day, Poppies, and ‘Upset Minorities’
An enduring piece of misinformation surrounding the Remembrance Day holiday and the Royal British Legion charity group resurfaced again in September 2019, despite the best efforts of fact-checkers the last few times the same exact disinformation appea
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Ulysses S. Grant Say a Second Civil War Could be Waged Over Intelligence Vs. Superstition?
On September 30 2019, pundit Malcolm Nance shared the following quote meme to Facebook, purportedly involving remarks made by former United States President Ulysses S. Grant on the prospect of a second Civil War: One day prior, U.S. Presiden
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the FBI Say Knives are Used in Five Times More Murders than Rifles?
On October 1 2019 , the website AmericanMilitaryNews.com shared a post headlined, “FBI stats show 5 times more murders by knives than rifles in 2018”: That was shared thousands of times in less than 24 hours. An additional item claim
FactCheck.org→ Doctored Photo Places Thunberg, Soros Together
Quick Take A photo was manipulated to show young climate activist Greta Thunberg with philanthropist George Soros, who is known for funding progressive causes. The original image was of Thunberg and former vice president Al Gore. Full Story Young c
Truth or Fiction?→ Causes of Death Per Day and Rifles Meme
In September 2019, a number of memes about “causes of death” per day or per year in the United States circulated, largely as discourse surrounding purported retailer “bans” (but really, discontinuation of sales) of rifles. One
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Democratic Lawmaker Introduce a Bill to ‘Euthanize Seniors’?
Known satire site the Last Line of Defense, or LLOD, continued pushing its content in September 2019, as they opened another affiliate site publishing the same kind of posts. Daily World Update, billing itself as “satire for flat earthers, Trum
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Kamala Harris Did NOT Say Criminals and Illegals are Better Than US Servicemen
Did Kamala Harris say criminals and illegals are better than U.S. servicemen? No, that's not true: one website drew that conclusion based just on the order she mentioned people in these groups in a Father's Day tweet. That website later remove
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Dictator Joseph Stalin Once a Hip, Young Democratic Socialist?
A meme claiming that Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was once a hip, young atheist and a Democratic Socialist appeared on Facebook (archived here) in August 2019. Beneath a black-and-white photograph of an arguably handsome young man, text read: Josef
PolitiFact→ Fact-checking claims about the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton
In the days since the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, we’ve seen a flood of theories, facts and figures to explain the attacks and why they happen in the United States so frequently. If you’ve been reading our site this wee
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Mixed Record on Gun Control
When asked what he was going to do about the “gun problem,” President Donald Trump responded that “we have done much more than most administrations.” Trump has taken some action to strengthen federal gun control, but his administration
Lead Stories→ Fake News: FBI Did NOT Reveal Murdered Arkansas Senator Planned To Expose Child Pornography, Child Sex Trafficking Syndicate
Did the FBI reveal that murdered former Arkansas Senator Linda Collins-Smith planned to expose a child pornography and child sex trafficking syndicate? No, that's not true: It is a false claim made up by a fake news site that is notorious for
Truth or Fiction?→ Was the U.S. Women’s National Team Defeated by Teenaged Boys in a 2017 Soccer Match?
After the United States Women’s National Team beat the Netherlands 2 to 0 to win the World Cup in July 2019, the fans of the nation’s soccer team were delighted. It also lent serious heft to the players’ demand for pay and treatment
Truth or Fiction?→ Disney, Ariel, and the ‘White Mermaids’ Dispute
In early July 2019, Haile Bailey’s casting as main character Ariel in a live-action reboot of Disney’s animated film The Little Mermaid caused controversy on social media, sparking a meme about another person of color having appeared in
Lead Stories→ Fake News: McDonalds NOT Caught Using Human Baby Meat in Their Burgers
Does a video prove McDonalds was caught using human baby meat in their burgers? No, that's not true: the alarmist sounding video featuring a voiceover during a slideshow of several unrelated photos (showing President Trump, President Obama and
Truth or Fiction?→ There Is No Credible Evidence Rep. Ilhan Omar Married Her Brother
On June 23 2019 pundit Dinesh D’Souza tweeted a very old claim: That Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) once married her own brother: I’m trying to keep the @IlhanMN story straight. She marrried her brother to evade immigration laws? Then she div
FactCheck.org→ Meme Distorts Gillibrand’s Immigration Idea
Quick Take Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has not proposed giving Social Security benefits to “illegal aliens,” as a popular meme claims. She wants to overhaul the immigration system to give individuals in the U.S. illegally a way to become citize
FactCheck.org→ What the Mueller Report Says About Russian Contacts
After the 2016 election, Vice President-elect Mike Pence was asked if there was “any contact in any way between [Donald] Trump or his associates and the Kremlin or cutouts they had.” Pence answered, “Of course not. Why would there be
PolitiFact→ Tweets – Democrats push misleading tweet on Donald Trump, asylum seekers
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Democrats push misleading tweet on Donald Trump, asylum seekers Democratic presidential candidates, liberal pundits and other critics of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies amplified a misleading twee
Truth or Fiction?→ Woodland Hills ‘Sharia Law’ Poster
On March 24 2019, a Facebook post in the group “Political Liars” (archived here) attributed a poster that apparently appeared in Woodland Hills, California to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also known as CAIR: A status upda
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Top Prosecutor Has NO Evidence Hillary Colluded With Ukraine
Did a "top prosecutor" reveal that he has evidence that Hillary Clinton colluded with Ukraine during the 2016 U.S. election? No, that's not true: Ukraine's top prosecutor said he has evidence that officials in Ukraine released damaging informa
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Say ‘All the Technology in the World Won’t Let Us Build a Wall in the Mountains’?
On February 22 2019, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) shared the following meme (archived here), purporting to quote Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the feasibility of building walls across mountains in an apparent reference to the United States border: Kin
FactCheck.org→ Meme Pins False Claim On Lou Dobbs
Quick Take Despite claims made in a viral meme, Lou Dobbs of Fox Business Network has not reported that “Mexican drug cartels are paying Pelosi and Schumer millions to keep border open.” Full Story The political debate over building a wal
FactCheck.org→ ‘Green New Deal’ Doesn’t Call for ‘End’ to Air Travel
Quick Take A resolution before Congress outlining actions to address climate change prompted the misleading claim that the deal aims to “end” air travel and “build trains over the oceans.” Full Story The rollout of Rep. Alexan
Truth or Fiction?→ Video of Bernie Sanders Shirtless, Singing ‘This Land Is Your Land’ in Russia in 1988?
On January 28 2019, a video of what appeared to be video of a shirtless Bernie Sanders at a dinner party in Russia in 1988 surfaced on Twitter: BREAKING: @SenSanders like you’ve never seen him!! Bernie and Jane on their honeymoon in Russia singing
FactCheck.org→ Pelosi Didn’t Spend $497 Million on Renovations
Quick Take Nancy Pelosi did not spend $497 million on office renovations during the government shutdown. That claim originated from a self-described satirical website, but it has now spread to other websites and social media posts without a disclaimer.
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Nathan Phillips Lying About His Military Service in Order to Raise Money?
In the wake of the days-long Covington Catholic controversy, rumors spread about its central figures, Native American rights activist Nathan Phillips of the Omaha Nation and student Nick Sandmann. As the story continued to unfold, pushed along by a
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Nancy Pelosi Refusing to Meet with Any U.S. Citizen Who Had a Family Member Murdered by ‘an Illegal’?
In January 2019, a Facebook user posted a status update that has since become virally popular. It said: IMAGINE THAT NANCY PELOSI IS REFUSING TO MEET WITH ANY U.S. CITIZEN WHO HAD A FAMILY MEMBER MURDERED BY AN ILLEGAL. The post appeared on its own
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the United States Give Jordan $500 Million to Build a Wall on its Border with Iraq?
On January 8, 2019, just after President Donald Trump addressed the United States on the matter of his intent to construct another border wall, the Facebook page “The American Dreamer” shared the following meme: Text overlaid on an image
Snopes→ Networks Fact-Check Trump Speech
elevision pundits moved swiftly to correct or challenge President Donald Trump following his Oval Office speech on the proposed border wall.
PolitiFact→ Donald Trump – Donald Trump claims Russia is 'not happy' U.S. troops are leaving Syria. That isn't true
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Donald Trump claims Russia is 'not happy' U.S. troops are leaving Syria. That isn't true President Donald Trump is facing backlash from Democrats and some members of his own political party after saying he will pull
PolitiFact→ Donald Trump – Donald Trump claims Russia is 'not happy' U.S. troops are leaving Syria. That isn't true
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Donald Trump claims Russia is 'not happy' U.S. troops are leaving Syria. That isn't true President Donald Trump is facing backlash from Democrats and some members of his own political party after saying he will pull
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Saudi Arabia Is NOT About To Behead 6 School Girls For Acting Indecently With Their Male Friends
Is Saudi Arabia about to behead six schoolgirls for acting indecently with male friends? No, that's not true: the story recently went viral again via the newest site in a network of Macedonian fake news websites that keeps recycling the same
Truth or Fiction?→ Have More Americans Died in Gun-Related Incidents Than Wars Since the Founding of the United States?
On December 7 2018, the Facebook page Change The Ref shared this meme (text below): FACT: MORE AMERICANS HAVE DIED OF GUN-RELATED INCIDENTS IN THE LAST FIFTY YEARS THAN HAVE DIED IN WAR SINCE THE COUNTRY’S FOUNDING. A caption with the image read