Did presidential electors in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada cast their electoral college votes for President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: Joe Biden got all of the electoral college votes in those three states, a result of the Bide
Snopes→ Is This Whimsical Cottage in Poland Real?
Architect Sebastian Piton's creations would fit inside a J.R.R. Tolkien novel.
Snopes→ Teacher Fills Hallway with Balloons to Give Students a Lesson on Happiness?
An anonymous teacher’s lesson to students on happiness has made the rounds of Facebook.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Michigan State Police Block ‘Republican Electors’ From Entering the Courthouse?
As the U.S. Electoral College made it official — again — that outgoing United States President Donald Trump had lost his bid for re-election on December 14 2020, footage posted online showed an attempt to overturn the results with a group
Snopes→ Did a Reality TV Show See ’15 Men Compete To Impregnate a Woman’?
Did the idea come from the mind of a dystopian satirist? Or, an American TV executive?
Health Feedback→ The COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech is comprised of ingredients standard in many vaccines, including mRNA, lipids, sucrose, and salts
REVIEW With the initial rollout of the first vaccine against COVID-19 in the U.S., claims regarding the composition of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine began circulating on social media. Vaccine composition has been a subject of anti-vaccine misinformat
Snopes→ Did Alex Jones Say Biden Would Be ‘Removed’ From Office ‘One Way or Another’?
The comment prompted some to state that Jones had issued a veiled threat against Biden.
Snopes→ Will Trump’s Presidency End on the Day of a Comet, Meteor Shower, and Total Eclipse?
It is unlikely that U.S. viewers will be able to capture a glimpse of all three sky events.
Snopes→ Did Trump Tweet That He Was Pardoning Bill Cosby?
One famous person was not among the many people Trump indicated an intention to pardon.
Truth or Fiction?→ Seattle ‘Poverty Defense’ Proposal Sparks Viral Outrage
On December 14 2020, right-wing clickbait site the Daily Wire claimed that the city of Seattle, Washington was mulling over a “poverty defense”: Seattle Considering ‘Poverty Defense’ Exempting Criminals Based On Their Needs https://
Snopes→ Is the Island from the Allstate TV Ad Real?
Perhaps a golf cart might suffice on an island this small.
Snopes→ Cleveland Indians Owner Says Name Won’t Change in 2021
The Cleveland Indians are changing their name — they just don't know to what or when.
Snopes→ Did Trump Retweet This Fake Photo of Amy Coney Barrett?
On multiple occasions, the sitting president has shared manipulated content.
Snopes→ Did an Abortion Clinic Put Forceps Atop Their Christmas Tree?
Conservative media attacks pro-abortion rights activist for a Christmas decoration choice.
AllSides→ Explaining the Six Deaths Recorded During Pfizer/BioNTech’s Phase III Trial
https://factcheck.thedispatch.com/p/fact-check-explaining-the-six-deaths A recent briefing from the FDA
Logically→ 46 percent of people in West Bengal admitted to paying bribes.
West Bengal reported low instances of corruption, at 46 percent when the national average was 51 percent.
Snopes→ Did Biden Post Pictures of His Dogs Biting a Trump Chew Toy?
Right-leaning observers responded with outrage at photographs of Champ and Major.
Logically→ Mamata Banerjee has barred the implementation of PM-Kisan scheme for farmers.
Mamata Banerjee's condition for implementing PM-Kisan scheme is that the funds should be routed through the state government.
Logically→ Besides having the highest cases of human trafficking, Bengal’s 42% of such cases are of minors.
Maharashtra registered the highest number of human trafficking cases. A 2019 study found 42 percent victims of sex trafficking in Bengal were minors.
Snopes→ US Blames Iran in Abduction, Death of Ex-FBI Agent Levinson
Robert Levinson disappeared in Iran under mysterious circumstances more than a decade ago.
Snopes→ Did Authorities Show Up after a Girl Found a 700-Year-Old Coin?
The coin discovery was made in the United Kingdom.
Snopes→ Has Prince Harry ‘Changed His Mind About Meghan Markle’?
We don't recommend looking for news about Meghan Markle and the royal family on a website that cites tabloids.
Logically→ Farmers protesting are demanding the release of people booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) had organized the event demanding people's released booked under UAPA. 32 farmer unions passed a resolution distancing from it.
Snopes→ Electors Meeting to Formally Choose Biden As Next President
Electors meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their ballots on Dec. 14.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The CDC Does NOT Have Funds To Deliver Groceries and Cleaning Products To COVID-19 Patients In Quarantine
Can COVID-19 patients in quarantine call a CDC hotline to get free groceries and cleaning products delivered to their home? No, that's not true: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control does not have a special fund for home grocery deliveries
Snopes→ ‘Relieved’: US Health Workers Start Getting COVID-19 Vaccine
The first shipments of the newly-approved Pfizer vaccine arrived at hospitals around the country on Dec. 14.
Snopes→ Gmail, YouTube Down Briefly as Google Suffers Outage
Tens of thousands of complaints popped up around 7 a.m. Eastern along the East Coast of the U.S.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Joe Biden Did NOT Say ‘My Son Has Not Made Money In China’ In The First Presidential Debate
Did Joe Biden say "My son has not made money in China" in the first presidential debate? No, that's not true: During the September 29, 2020 debate, Biden addressed the controversy over his son landing overseas work at the time that Biden
Health Feedback→ The flu is caused by the influenza virus; stress and lack of vitamin D can make infection more likely, but don’t cause the flu
REVIEW A viral meme published on Facebook in mid-December 2020 claims that “The flu is not a season! It is an inability to adapt due to decreased sun exposure and water intake, combined with increased sugar intake and stress.” This claim predate
Snopes→ US Agencies Hacked in Monthslong Global Cyberspying Campaign
The Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity arm warned of an "unacceptable risk" to the executive branch from a feared large-scale penetration of U.S. government agencies that could date back to mid-2020 or earlier.
Snopes→ Trump Says He’s Nixing Plan for Early Vaccine at White House
The announcement hours after his administration confirmed that senior U.S. officials, including some White House aides who work in close proximity to President Trump and Vice President Pence, would be offered coronavirus vaccines as soon as this week.
Poynter→ Should you trust media bias charts?
Impartial journalism is an impossible ideal. That is, at least, according to Julie Mastrine. “Unbiased news doesn’t exist. Everyone has a bias: everyday people and journalists. And that’s OK,” Mastrine said. But it’s not OK for news organizat
Poynter→ Poynter’s MediaWise training significantly increases people’s ability to detect disinformation, new Stanford study finds
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Dec. 14, 2020) – The Poynter Institute’s digital media literacy program for older adults, MediaWise for Seniors, helps participants identify online disinformation and misinformation, according to a study conducted by the Stanf
AFP Fact Check→ Pakistani social media accounts share misleading claim about Indian call centre fraud scheme exposed in 2020
Footage of a US law enforcement official speaking at a podium has been viewed thousands of times in multiple Twitter and Facebook posts that claim it shows her announcing details of an Indian call centre fraud scheme that was exposed in December 20
AFP Fact Check→ This video shows Sikhs protesting in the US city of San Francisco in 2018
A video of a group of Sikh protesters has been viewed tens of thousands of times in multiple Facebook and Twitter posts alongside a claim that suggests it relates to demonstrations by Indian farmers against new agricultural laws in 2020. The claim is
AFP Fact Check→ False claim circulates on Facebook about British grandmother who received UK’s first Covid-19 vaccine outside clinical trials
Photos of a 90-year-old British grandmother who became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial have been shared repeatedly in multiple misleading Facebook posts in December 2020. The po
AFP Fact Check→ False claim circulates online that formaldehyde in vaccines can cause childhood leukemia
Multiple Facebook and Instagram posts shared hundreds of times claim that formaldehyde in vaccines is linked to leukemia among children. The claim is false; there is no known connection between formaldehyde in vaccines and childhood leukemia, experts s
Snopes→ John Le Carre, Who Probed Murky World of Spies, Dies at 89
John le Carre was the spy-turned-novelist whose elegant and intricate narratives defined the Cold War espionage thriller.
Snopes→ Report: Cleveland Indians Changing Name After 105 Years
The baseball team is moving away from a name considered racist for decades
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Student Project Meme Misleadingly Claims Newsday, Washington Post and New York Times Have Highest Fake News Risk
Do the websites of Newsday, the Washington Post and the New York Times have the highest "fake news risk"? No, that's quite misleading: the claim was made in an image put out by a Facebook page that appears to be a student project about fa