On Twitter, the House Republican Conference posted an image of rising homicide rates in seven cities with this bit of misleading commentary: “Welcome to President Biden’s America.” Homicides are on the rise, but the increase started last year whe
Search Results (911) for: schools
Truth or Fiction?→ The Pledge of Allegiance Was Adopted in 1923, the Star Spangled Banner Was Adopted in 1929 …
A June 2021 Facebook “historical facts” meme included imagery of the United States’ Founding Fathers, alongside other claims about when the country adopted specific acts of public patriotism: The text at the bottom of the meme addres
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The History of Left-Handedness’
A June 30 2021 tweet (part of discourse about transgender youth) referenced a “left-handedness chart,” as a rhetorical response to questions about why there were “suddenly” “so many” gay, transgender, and non-binary
Full Fact→ Why school testing data doesn’t tell the whole story
“Something like 80% of children are not doing these tests.” Kate Green MP, 30 June 2021. On the Today programme last week, shadow schools minister Kate Green claimed that 80% of schoolchildren are not doing coronavirus tests. A similar cla
Full Fact→ Pouring diluted cordial onto a Covid-19 test won’t give an accurate result
A widely shared post on Facebook claims that lateral flow tests are “a big farce” because pouring some diluted cordial onto one appeared to give a positive Covid-19 result. The poster also claims this means they would falsely test positive
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Biden Energy Sec. Suggests Climate Change Could Have Caused Florida Building Collapse’
On June 29 2021, a Bongino Report clip (“Biden Energy Sec. Suggests Climate Change Could Have Caused Florida Building Collapse”) was shared to video hosting site Rumble.com, covering the devastating June 24 2021 collapse of a building in M
Full Fact→ Pandemic school attendance: fact checked
An article published by The Sun on 27 June claims that 100,000 pupils have failed to return to school full-time despite classrooms reopening. This claim is based on a report produced by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), which states that durin
Health Feedback→ The World Health Organization states that COVID-19 vaccination for children is less urgent, but doesn’t recommend against it
REVIEW The development and authorization of COVID-19 vaccines initiated a large worldwide campaign of mass vaccination. As of 25 June 2021, there were 2.79 billion doses administered in the world. In the U.S., 150 million people are already fully va
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Black Soldiers Eligible for the GI Bill?
On June 18 2021, a commenter shared a Twitter screenshot to an education-related Facebook post about one of the provisions of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, popularly known as the GI Bill: Teaching students that WWII vets were give
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hawaii Did NOT Say It Will Stop Recognizing Out-of-State Driver’s Licenses
Did Hawaii issue an announcement saying that it will not recognize out-of-state driver's licenses as of 2023? No, that's not true: This is a satirical piece from an entertainment website. Also, existing Hawaii law directly negates this cl
Snopes→ Supreme Court Sides with Ex-Athletes in NCAA Compensation Case
The ruling will help determine whether schools decide to offer athletes tens of thousands of dollars in those benefits for things including tutoring, study abroad and internships.
Poynter→ How should top-tier sports handle the coronavirus?
As coronavirus vaccination rates rise and the United States opens up after a lengthy pandemic, one of the emerging flashpoints involves elite sports. The questions sports teams and leagues are facing are the same types of questions that are puzzling bu
The Dispatch→ Did a Teenager Die From Myocarditis After Her Second COVID Dose?
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Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Ashleigh Shackelford Teaching Critical Race Theory’ Video
On June 13 2021, Twitter user @ConceptualJames shared a video which purportedly shows artist and activist Hunter Ashleigh Shackelford teaching critical race theory: "All white people are racist…" "No, you're always going to
Truth or Fiction?→ The ‘Critical Race Theory’ Coordinated Disinformation Campaign
An inauthentically organized, corrosive disinformation campaign taking direct aim at social resilience and anti-racism pushes has taken over school boards throughout the United States in what appears to be a highly coordinated national push — whi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: John D. Rockefeller Did NOT Write A ‘Masonic Creed’ Explaining How To Control The Masses
Did industrial tycoon and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller pen a Masonic creed that gave instructions to the world's elite on how to control the masses? No, that's not true: No evidence of such a creed attributed to Rockefeller exists,
Truth or Fiction?→ Biden’s ‘Black Entrepreneurs’ Speech in Tulsa
On June 1 and 2 2021, a number of the usual disinformation purveyors claimed that United States President Joe Biden said Black entrepreneurs “don’t have lawyers and accounts like white business owners” in what appeared to be an inau
FactCheck.org→ Is Unemployment Bonus Keeping Workers on Sideline?
Despite a stubbornly high unemployment rate of 6.1% in April — representing 9.8 million people who say they are actively looking for work — many employers are reporting that they can’t find people to hire. Republicans say the $300 a w
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 PCR tests are highly sensitive and specific for the virus SARS-CoV-2; the majority of positive results are true positives; there is no evidence that budesonide or HCQ are useful as COVID-19 treatments
On 16 and 17 April 2021, the Health and Freedom Conference was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, an event organized by entrepreneur Clay Clark that was attended by over 4,000 people. The aim of the conference was to criticize the measures taken in response to t
Full Fact→ The media must stop using misleading headlines
Often the article doesn’t actually say what the headline promised. We call this an ‘edline’. It isn’t easy for journalists to reduce an article to a headline of just a few words. Often something important goes missing, or they e
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: In Most Of The United States It Is NOT Illegal For A Private Business To Ask For Proof Of Vaccination
Is it illegal for businesses to ask for proof of vaccination or to require proof of vaccination as a condition of entry? Furthermore -- if a private business owner or employee were to ask for proof of vaccination would that constitute a v
FactCheck.org→ Cruz Distorts Nominees’ Defund Police Positions
Sen. Ted Cruz has falsely tried to label “every single” Senate Democrat as “supporting abolishing the police,” based on a misleading interpretation of the words of two of President Joe Biden’s nominees. Both nominees said in confirmation
FactCheck.org→ Exploring the Legality of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Q: Can employers, colleges and universities require COVID-19 vaccinations? A: Generally, they may require immunizations. But there is some uncertainty about the legality of mandating vaccines authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Admi
Health Feedback→ Evidence shows that lockdowns implemented to tackle the spread of COVID-19 have saved lives, contrary to claims in the New York Post
REVIEW In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, long before vaccines became available, many countries tried to curb the spread of the virus by imposing lockdowns. Exactly what a lockdown consists of is highly variable depending on the country and
Truth or Fiction?→ Is There a Gas Shortage in 2021?
In May 2021, rumors of a gas shortage throughout the United States — either ongoing or imminent — suddenly appeared, spreading both on social media and by word of mouth: This gas shortage isn’t a big deal!! Just hackers from another co
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Snow White ‘Cancelled’?
On May 3 2021, social media rumors that Snow White was “cancelled” by “woke mobs” began circulating, pushed along by the usual disinformation purveyors: Disneyland Revamps Snow White Ride, Adds Prince Waking Her With A Kiss. F
Health Feedback→ Vaccines do provide immunity and can be used to achieve herd immunity
REVIEW As COVID-19 vaccination campaigns move forward in a number of countries, journalists, healthcare professionals and scientists have raised the questions of when a country can expect to reach herd immunity and if they are close to reaching it.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Parents In Vail School District Did NOT Take Over Board, Remove Mask Mandate
Did protesters at a governing board meeting for the Vail Unified School District in Arizona elect a new school board and legally vote for the district's mask policy to be lifted? No, that's not true: While the protestors did stage what ap
Full Fact→ What are lateral flow tests, and why do the numbers of false positives keep changing?
PCR tests have been the main test used for Covid-19 during the early part of the pandemic. They can detect Covid-19 very well, but need to be processed in a laboratory. Therefore, they have mainly been used in symptomatic people or people who have been
Snopes→ Student’s Snapchat Profanity Leads to Supreme Court Speech Case
At issue is whether public schools can discipline students over something they say off-campus.
FactCheck.org→ Democratic Spin on Bipartisan Support for American Jobs Plan
Several independent studies show strong bipartisan support for many of the main spending components of the $2.7 trillion American Jobs Plan. Still, those polls also show most Republicans oppose the overall plan, particularly its call for infrastructure
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Birth Control Pills 1000 Times More Likely To Cause Blood Clots Than The J&J Vaccine?
An April 13 2021 Facebook screenshot of a tweet was part of disordered discourse surrounding a “pause” by the Biden administration of the Johnson & Johnson shot for COVID-19. As conspiracy theories about and disinformation about the eff
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This Superman Poster From the 1950s Is Pretty Awesome’
On April 6 2020, Imgur user u/Crabsforeveryone shared a “pretty awesome” poster of Superman which was purportedly released in the 1950s: That post was image-only, with no links indicating whether the poster was accurately represented. Text
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Joe Biden Was NOT Rushed To The Hospital
Was Joe Biden rushed to the hospital April 5, 2021? No, that's not true. Joe Biden had not been hospitalized in days leading up to and including April 5, 2021. He spent Easter Sunday at Camp David, as a photo on his daughter Ashley Biden'
The Dispatch→ The Morning Dispatch: Understanding Georgia’s New Elections Law
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Full Fact→ Lateral flow tests are not unsafe
In England, secondary school and college students and staff, and their households, are being asked to regularly take a lateral flow test to check for Covid-19. We’ve seen a large number of posts on social media warning people not to use Covid-19
Snopes→ Does Calif. Ethnic Studies Curriculum Call for Chants to Aztec Gods, ‘Countergenocide’ Against White Christians?
Though adoption by schools is voluntary, the California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum has generated intense controversy in the state.
The Dispatch→ Our Best Stuff From the First Full Week of Spring
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The Dispatch→ American Psycho at 30
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Full Fact→ Oranges don’t test positive for Covid-19
A post shared widely on Facebook claims that an orange has tested positive for Covid-19 using a lateral flow test. It’s unclear whether the post is implying that the tests are inaccurate or unreliable. In reality, the test cannot work properly wi