On August 15 2019 the following meme (archived here) was shared to social media platforms: White text across a purple background read: Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO: We lost $150M in sales since we stopped selling guns. We still don’t regre
Search Results (6047) for: change
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Obama And HR4310 Did NOT Make It Legal For The Media To Lie To The American People (It Always Was…)
Did Barack Obama quietly sign into law HR 4310 in 2012 that made it legal for the media to purposely lie to the American people? No, that's not true: HR 4310 was the authorization act for Pentagon funding in 2013 and included many provisions t
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO New Jersey Brother And Sister Allowed To Marry After 10-year-long Court Battle
Did a court allow New Jersey siblings James and Victoria Banes to marry after a ten year court battle?No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Canadian entertainment website that makes a living by publishing fictional stories often invo
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Facebook Ending Group Chats?
Around mid-August 2019, Facebook group posts about a purported end to Messenger group chat on August 22 began circulating: In the above post, the first paragraph stated: 💥 Attention Facebook Group owners:💥 the ability for you and/or your Grou
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Posting A Facebook Status With Legal Gibberish DOES NOT Modify Your Agreement With Facebook In Any Way
Do you need to post a status update with some legal gibberish on your Facebook wall to prevent the company from using your pictures, information, messages or posts? No, that's not true: what Facebook can do with your information is stipulated
Lead Stories→ Fake News: D.A.R.E. Has NOT Finally Ended Its Anti-Weed Campaign, Has Not Quietly Removed Cannabis From ‘Gateway Drugs’ List
Has D.A.R.E. -- the nonprofit group that presents anti-drug education to American students -- ended its opposition to marijuana and quietly removed cannabis from the "gateway drugs" list on its website? No, that's not true: The claim that D.A.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO New York City Petition to Rename Landfill After Donald Trump With Over 3 Million Signatures
Did a New York City petition to rename a landfill after President Donald Trump get over three million signatures? No, that's not true: the story was put out by a satirical website and after it went viral many on social media believed or wished
FactCheck.org→ Meme Inflates Rise in Congressional Salaries
Quick Take A viral meme on Facebook falsely claims that members of Congress have received a “231%” increase in pay in the last 30 years. Automatic cost-of-living adjustments have resulted in an increase of 94.4% from 1989 to 2009. Full St
FactCheck.org→ Video: Harris, Warren on Michael Brown Shooting
In this fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper explains the Obama-era Department of Justice’s finding that Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in “self-defense,” not “
FactCheck.org→ U.S.-Japan Trade Deficit Not ‘Changing Rapidly’
In Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the trade deficit with Japan is “changing rapidly.” In fact, the U.S. deficit in goods and services with Japan is up slightly under Trump. The president made his remarks at a Shel
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Protesters of American Immigration Policies Hit by a Truck and Injured in Rhode Island?
On August 15 2019, Facebook posts (sometimes covered for graphic violence) appeared about an incident during which protesters at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in (Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island) were reported
Snopes→ Scientists Confirm July Set New Global Heat Record
It is the latest in a long line of peaks that scientists say backs up predictions for man-made climate change.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Woman Post an Ad Offering to Babysit ‘White Kids Only’?
An apparent attempt at harassment against a woman in Cottage Grove, Oregon in August 2019 was amplified through social media on several platforms, and at least one blog post took the false claim at face value. A photograph of 31-year-old Amber Lee Hug
FactCheck.org→ Biden Misleads on Top 1% Tax Rate
The top 1% of taxpayers, on average, pay a higher effective tax rate than middle-income people, contrary to a claim Joe Biden made on the campaign trail. As a result of a low tax rate for capital gains earned by many wealthy Americans, Democratic presi
FactCheck.org→ Harris Wrong on Autoworker Jobs
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris wrongly claimed that “as many as 300,000 autoworkers may be out of a job before the end of the year.” That’s a high-end estimate for total job losses — not solely among autoworkers
PolitiFact→ The death of Michael Brown, legal facts and Democratic messaging
Two Democratic presidential candidates recently observed the fifth anniversary of Michael Brown’s death by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. — a case that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement as well as days of unrest locally
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Cancer Is NOT Caused By Acidity In The Body And You CANNOT Prevent It By Alkalizing Your Body
Is cancer caused by acidity in the body and can you prevent cancer by alkalizing your body? No, that's not true: The claim is a medical myth that has been repeatedly shot down by cancer experts. While it is true that cancer cells cannot surviv
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Public Assistance Programs Exist in the United States Before Social Security?
In August 2019, disinformation and misinformation about the history of immigration to the United States flourished online following the announcement that United States President Donald Trump’s administration would pursue the so-called “pub
Washington Post→ Trump’s and Biden’s dueling claims on criminal justice reform
President Trump gave no credit to Barack Obama for a significant change in sentencing, and former vice president Joe Biden, in turn, minimized what Trump accomplished in 2018.
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the Trump Administration Rewriting the Statue of Liberty’s Poem?
On August 13 2019, a number of news outlets ran headlines such as “Trump official revises Statue of Liberty poem to defend migrant rule change” and “Cuccinelli edits Statue of Liberty poem to defend new rule,” leading some read
Truth or Fiction?→ A Million Seconds Ago Was July 24th, a Billion Seconds Ago Was 1988?
Around August 5 2019, a text meme began circulating on social media comparing a “million” to a “billion” by pointing out that a million seconds prior was the month before (specifically, July 24) and a billion seconds prior was
FactCheck.org→ Obama Hasn’t Called For ‘All-Out Gun Confiscation’
Quick Take A headline circulating on partisan websites distorts former President Barack Obama’s tweet advocating stricter gun laws in the wake of the most recent mass shootings. Full Story Former President Barack Obama posted a statement on Twi
FactCheck.org→ Harris, Warren Wrong About Brown Shooting
On Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in what the Obama administration’s Department of Justice determined was an act of “self-defense.” B
Lead Stories→ Fake News: US Is NOT 3rd In Murders; Removing Chicago, Detroit, Washington, St Louis, New Orleans Would NOT Make It 189 out of 193
Does the United States rank third in murders throughout the world and would removing the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., St. Louis, and New Orleans from the total make the U.S. 189th out of 193 countries in the world in homicides?
Snopes→ Trump Overhauls Landmark Endangered Species Protections
Administration officials contend the changes improve efficiency of oversight, while protecting rare species.
Snopes→ Walmart Pulls Violent Game Displays But Will Still Sell Guns
Walmart will still sell the violent video games and hasn’t made any changes to its gun sales policy, despite pressure from workers, politicians and activists to do so.
FactCheck.org→ The Response to the Congressional Baseball Shooting
Quick Take A viral Facebook post claims that “not one Democrat called for gun control” after a 2017 shooting involving Republicans in Congress. While demands for legislative action were quieter, there were some. Full Story In the afterm
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Tommy Lee Write a Lengthy Anti-Trump Screed on Twitter?
On August 7 2019, musician Tommy Lee shared a screenshot of a longer post to Twitter, commentary in which he purportedly began “You Trumpsters better pray that liberals never gain control of the WH again”: pic.twitter.com/XLT4DQJo5b &mda
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
FactCheck.org→ President Trump’s Rhetoric
Prior to departing for visits to El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, on Aug. 7, President Donald Trump rejected the premise that his rhetoric has divided the country, as his critics have claimed. He said “my rhetoric … brings people together.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: JFK NOT On Gun Control: ‘We Need A Nation Of Minute Men’
Did President John F. Kennedy say about gun control that "we need a nation of minute men"? No, that's not true: The quote cited by those opposed to gun control is from a written message (not a speech) by Kennedy in which he called for American
PolitiFact→ Why do some people think mass shootings are staged every time?
The mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, weren’t coordinated by a shadowy, leftist branch of the government. The media haven’t "changed the identity" of the shooters, and the Ohio gunman did not actually die in 2014
FactCheck.org→ What Republicans Did on Mental Health, Guns
Quick Take A social media post misleadingly claims that Republicans “voted to allow people with pre-existing mental illness to buy firearms.” The measure blocked the Social Security Administration from reporting to the U.S. background chec
FactCheck.org→ Politics of Gun Violence
In the aftermath of two deadly mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, U.S. political leaders made a series of statements on gun violence that were unsubstantiated, lacked context or were seemingly contradictory. Here we look at some of those statements and
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Donald Trump Deleting Anti-Immigrant Tweets?
As several mass shootings within just days of one another left the United States reeling, the ideologies of the shooters began to come under scrutiny for possible ties to sites that specialize in radicalizing disaffected young men into violent white
Lead Stories→ Fake News: AG William Barr Did NOT Tweet Odds Of Mass Shootings In Hometowns Of 2 Democrat Presidential Candidates Are 250 Billion To 1
Did Attorney General William Barr tweet that the odds of two mass shootings in the same weekend and both in the hometowns of two Democratic presidential candidates are 250 Billion to 1? No, that's not true: It is a made up tweet that did not a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump’s Team Has NOT Appeared To Delete Tweets Where He Used ‘Invaders’ To Describe Immigrants
Did President Trump's team appear to delete tweets where he used "invaders" to describe immigrants in the wake of the El Paso and Dayton attacks? No, that's not true: Tweets using the words "invaders" and "invasion" remained on the president's
Snopes→ Official: Video Shows YouTube ‘King of Random’ Fatal Crash
It appears a change of wind caused the paraglider’s chute to collapse.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Man Does NOT Makes Popcorn With A Pickle And Some Salt
Can you cook popcorn using a pickle, some salt, a small battery, and an iPhone charger? No, that's not true: A video showing a man making popcorn with just those tools is faked by an Australian magician. Popping corn kernels requires far more
FactCheck.org→ Sites Spread ‘Satirical’ Story on Pelosi, Impeachment
Quick Take A story claiming that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered to “drop impeachment in exchange for full immigrant amnesty” is false. It was created by a publication that calls its work satire. Full Story Half of House Democrats ha