In November 2019, a constellation of Facebook posts appeared, collectively making one claim: that United States President Donald Trump was fined $2 million after a judge ruled that funds he had raised were improperly diverted to finance his campaign.
Search Results (635) for: 9/11
FactCheck.org→ Old Meme Misinforms on CHIP Funding
Quick Take A 2017 meme has resurfaced on Facebook, spreading outdated speculation that the Republicans would not fund the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program. In fact, President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation in January 2018 t
FactCheck.org→ The Data on DACA and Crime
Hours before the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over whether the Trump administration could end a deferred deportation program for so-called “Dreamers,” the president tweeted that “some” of those receiving that protection &#
Truth or Fiction?→ Lawmaker Brings World War II Discharge Letter to Light Online
A New Jersey congressman attracted some attention online with a historical post apropos of Veterans Day in November 2019 — and some skepticism. “I’d like to share a letter that a constituent of mine recently found in the papers of her fa
FactCheck.org→ Posts Falsely Claim Trump ‘Stole’ From Vets
Quick Take Viral Facebook posts falsely claim that President Donald Trump “stole” charitable donations meant for veterans. A court ruled Trump illegally used his foundation for political purposes when it held a fundraiser for veterans, but
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Old Farmer’s Almanac Predict an Alarming Number of Snowstorms This Winter?
A November 1 2019 ReturnToNow.net post headlined “Old Farmer’s Almanac Predicts An Alarming Number of Snowstorms This Winter” was shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook. and was likely to continue spreading. ReturnToNow.net is cl
FactCheck.org→ Trump Muddies Impeachment Timeline
President Donald Trump continues to muddle the timeline of events to falsely suggest that the White House release of a memo summarizing his July phone call with the president of Ukraine silenced whistleblowers and contradicted Democratic leaders. Contr
FactCheck.org→ Blowing the Whistle on a Misinforming Meme
Quick Take Memes circulating widely on social media misidentify a former White House staffer as the whistleblower who touched off the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Full Story Pictures of White House staffers from 2016 flooded social media
FactCheck.org→ Misleading Meme on First Three Bills by Democrats
Quick Take An old Facebook meme from April recently went viral again, wrongly identifying the first three bills introduced by House Democrats in January. The first three Democratic bills did not seek to impeach the president, end the Electoral College
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Bill Gates Did NOT Admit Vaccinations Are Intended To Reduce Population
Did Bill Gates admit in a CNN interview that vaccinations are intended to reduce the world's population? No, that's not true: The Microsoft founder was talking to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta in 2013 about his investment in delivering child vaccinat
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Hotel Cleaner Did NOT Steal Sperm From Used Condom, Did NOT Win Child Support Battle
Did a 40-year-old hotel cleaner in Las Vegas win a child support battle against a 28-year-old millionaire after stealing his sperm from a discarded condom? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a South African humor website masqueradin
Truth or Fiction?→ Congress ‘Rejects’ Social Security Increase: Facebook Users Regurgitate Bogus Claim
In a prime example of easily digestible disinformation finding ready distribution on Facebook, a citation-free, years-old claim ginning up outrage against lawmakers was resurrected as a text-based graphic in September 2019, and has been shared thousa
FactCheck.org→ Trump Spins Court Ruling on Trump Foundation
President Donald Trump downplayed the findings in a case against his namesake charitable foundation, claiming the judge had found only “some small technical violations.” Actually, in a settlement announced this week, the judge ruled that Trump R
FactCheck.org→ Video: Fact-Checking Trump’s Louisiana Rally
In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper examines six claims President Donald Trump made during a campaign rally in Monroe, Louisiana, on Nov. 6. We’ve written about all of these topics before: Trump wrongly claimed tha
FactCheck.org→ Trump Again Misunderstands California’s Wildfires
For the second year in a row, President Donald Trump inaccurately attributed California’s rash of wildfires to poor forest management. He also falsely said other states don’t have “close to the level of burn” as California. Most of
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook Claims We’re ‘Clickbait.’ And It Won’t Explain Why.
Even as Facebook hides behind “free speech” concerns to justify a lack of action against the spread of far-right content, it does reserve the right to determine what constitutes “clickbait” with no explanation as to how that de
Truth or Fiction?→ Canadian School Falsely Accused of Suspending Student Over ‘Rainbow Poppy’
A recent political candidate in Canada accused her teenage cousin’s school of suspending the girl over an item that may not even be available in their country. Cyara Bird said in a November 7 2019 Twitter post that the 17-year-old Stonewall Coll
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Lucy Liu an Acclaimed Artist Known for Her Lesbian Paintings Under the Pseudonym Yu Ling?
On November 5 2019, a Facebook user shared the following post about actor Lucy Liu, indicating they were “today years old” when they discovered Liu was an accomplished artist under a pseudonym (“Yu Ling”) in addition to her act
FactCheck.org→ Bogus Warren Quote Ignites Immigration Anger
Quick Take Immigration comments by Sen. Elizabeth Warren have been selectively edited in a misleading way and are circulating widely online. Full Story A meme that misleadingly rephrased the words of Sen. Elizabeth Warren — one of 17 candidates
Lead Stories→ Fake News: AOC Did NOT Push For Killing More People to Save the Planet
Did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez push for killing more people to save the planet? No, that's not true: an article about AOC backing a report that calls for various measures to tackle climate change misrepresented the "population control measures"
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Malia Obama Did NOT Have 24 Classmates Expelled For Praying On Campus
Did Malia Obama have 24 classmates expelled for praying on campus? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up stories that are clearly ma
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Photo Does NOT Show Woman Who Had 11 Babies
Does the photo below show a woman who had 11 babies? No, that's not true: a viral image combined two unrelated photographs, one showing a woman from Mexico who was operated for a huge tumor and the other showing eleven babies born in India on
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘No Escape From Telephones’: Pacific Bell Chief’s 1953 Prediction Sees New Life Online
A telecommunications president’s remarkably far-flung vision for his industry not only gained attention online in 2019, it is actually legitimate. It is likely that Mark R. Sullivan’s remarks at an unidentified April 1953 event were first
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Shaky $5,000 Boast
President Donald Trump is on shaky ground when he claims that annual income for the typical household is up by an inflation-adjusted $5,000 since he took office. That turns out to be based on an erratic series of estimates drawn from a government surve
Lead Stories→ Fake News: President Trump Did NOT Reveal He Is In Fact Q
Did President Trump reveal that he is Q, the anonymous leaker of purported "deep state" secrets to followers? No, that's not true: The claim is based on a video clip of a Trump rally in Kentucky on November 4, 2019 in which the president says
Truth or Fiction?→ Lyft’s Unclear Terms of Service for Sexual Assault Survivors
Ride-sharing company Lyft came under increased scrutiny online in November 2019 as social media users spotted an apparent discrepancy in its policies regarding its treatment of sexual assault victims. “I think what we saw happen in the last 24,
Truth or Fiction?→ David Bowie Meeting an Child With Autism at ‘Labyrinth’ Premiere
On October 27 2019, Facebook user Micah Daigle shared what appeared on first glance to be a secondhand anecdote about a friend’s touching introduction to David Bowie at a premiere of the film Labyrinth in 1986. A photograph of David Bowie holdi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Campus Young Republican Club Did NOT Topple Obama Statue
Did the Campus Young Republican Club at Bartlett College in Oregon topple an Obama statue? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up sto
FactCheck.org→ Trump Twists Impeachment Polls
A number of national polls show more Americans want President Donald Trump impeached and removed from office than those who don’t. In swing states, however, a majority opposes removing Trump from office via impeachment, even as a majority support
Truth or Fiction?→ Bogus ‘Energy Saver’ Boxes Continue Targeting Online Shoppers
Even for the dodgy nature of online sales, a dubious “product” appears to have rebranded itself in a particularly brazen manner. A reader alerted us in November 2019 about Ökowatt, which claims on its website that to be “used for ec
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Tyrese Gibson NOT Hospitalized In Critical Condition
Was actor/singer Tyrese Gibson hospitalized in "critical condition" after his movie was banned in theatres? No, that's not true: a sensation-seeking YouTube channel took an article about Gibson being in hospital and recovering after an exhaust
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Former Speaker Paul Ryan Is NOT Photographed With ISIS Leader Al-Baghdadi
Was former House Speaker Paul Ryan photographed with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi? No, that's not true: A photo purportedly of the former Republican house leader with the now-dead ISIS leader is actually a photo of Ryan with Syrian activis
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Mitt Romney Did NOT Form Alliance With Top Dem To Go After Trump
Did Mitt Romney just form an "alliance" with a "top dem" to go after President Trump? No, that's not true: a Daily Beast interview with former Senate majority leader Harry Reid published early in August 2019 in which he praised Romney for stan
Lead Stories→ Fake News: UN Did NOT Award Obama "Leader of the Century Award"
Did the United Nations award Barack Obama the "Leader of the Century Award" for the 4th time straight? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing
FactCheck.org→ Viral Posts Distort Impeachment Inquiry Rules
Quick Take Facebook posts purport to outline “the rules” of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, but they distort the facts in doing so. Full Story The House voted Oct. 31 to approve a resolution further advancing
FactCheck.org→ Trump Ad Misleads on Illegal Immigration
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign makes the misleading claim in a TV ad that he is “cutting illegal immigration in half.” In fact, apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2019 were more than double the total
FactCheck.org→ What Does Science Say About the Need for Nuclear?
While Sen. Bernie Sanders has said “scientists tell us” that it’s possible to go carbon neutral without relying on nuclear power, fellow Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker, who backs the use of some nuclear energy, has said the da
Truth or Fiction?→ Seattle November 3 2019 False Flag Attack Rumor
Rumors of a “false flag” terror attack in Seattle on November 3 2019 spiked in popularity in specific shadowy corners of social media in late October 2019, although by that point, the highly specious claims were several weeks old. A Septem
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pelosi Did NOT "Say Americans Are The Stupidest People On Earth"
Did Nancy Pelosi say "Americans are the stupidest people on Earth" while caught on a hot mic? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to manipulate Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pope Francis Did NOT Say God Will Abandon America If Trump Is Re-elected
Did Pope Francis Say God will abandon America if President Donald Trump is re-elected? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up stories