President Trump's confidant Roger Stone is the sixth Trump aide or adviser charged by Mueller and the 34th person overall.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Taxpayers Foot the Bill for the Trump Family’s Dinner at His Property While Furloughed Workers Went Unpaid?
On January 24 2019, a Facebook user shared the following shutdown related meme to Facebook: Beneath a photograph of Donald Trump, his children, and their spouses, text stated: So get this … Last Night, Taxpayers Paid Donald Trump To Feed Donald
Snopes→ Trump Announces Deal to End Record-Long Shutdown
President Donald Trump says he'll sign legislation shortly to reopen shuttered government departments for three weeks — until Feb. 15.
Snopes→ Police Release Video of Officers’ Fatal Struggle with Teen
"The autopsy raises serious questions about why such a high degree of force was used on an unarmed teenager on his own property who posed no threat to law enforcement or the public," one of the family lawyers wrote in an email.
PolitiFact→ Donald Trump – Trump said 1 in 3 migrant women is sexually assaulted in journey to the United States. Is that true?
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Trump said 1 in 3 migrant women is sexually assaulted in journey to the United States. Is that true? In an attempt to get Democrats to approve funding for a border wall with Mexico, President Donald Trump said th
FactCheck.org→ Meme Misleads on Bush’s Border Fence
Quick Take A claim that the Bush administration approved $50 billion for construction of a border wall is false. Full Story In 2006, former President George W. Bush signed into law the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which called for about 700 miles of fenc
Snopes→ Police: Woman Drove Drunk on Vanilla Extract
They say they detected an odor of vanilla on her breath, her speech was slurred and she was unable to answer basic questions.
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Mother Arrested After Leaving Kids in the Car for Nine Hours at a Buffet?
A September 2018 World News Daily Report item titled “Mother arrested for leaving children in the car for 9 hours while at all-you-can-eat buffet” circulates regularly on Facebook. The story has a mugshot that purports to show the mother in
Snopes→ Airport Disruptions Bring New Urgency to End Gov’t Shutdown
Pressure is building among both parties to reopen agencies immediately and pay hundreds of thousands of beleaguered federal workers while bargainers hunt for a deal.
PolitiFact→ Maria Cantwell – Have 7 million Americans become uninsured since 2016?
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Have 7 million Americans become uninsured since 2016? Concern over health insurance helped Democrats take back the House of Representatives in the 2018 elections. And the issue remains a potent one for the party.
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Pointless Job Boast
President Donald Trump lamented that the “media barely covers” the fact there are “More people working in U.S.A. today than at any time in our HISTORY.” It’s probably because, with the U.S. population increasing every day,
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Donald Trump Say He Would ‘Gladly Take… Slings and Arrows’ of Criticism for His Supporters?
On January 21 2019, the Facebook page “We Love President Donald J. Trump” shared the following quotation meme: Beneath an image of Donald Trump, the text said: They knew they would throw every lie they could at me and my family and my love
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Preacher Say Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Was ‘Summoning Demons’ by Dancing?
On January 25 2019, the Facebook page “Pass The 28th Amendment (Complete Removal Of The Church From The State)” shared a news article about a preacher who purportedly claimed that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) was “summo
Snopes→ Trump Responds to Stone Arrest, Denies Collusion
President Donald Trump is responding to the arrest in Florida of longtime associate Roger Stone, tweeting that the special counsel's Russia probe is the "Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! NO COLLUSION!"
Snopes→ Bloomberg Says Trump, At This Point, ‘Cannot Be Helped’
The former New York City mayor also described the partial government shutdown, now at a record 35th day, as "a complete failure of presidential leadership."
Snopes→ Sanders Says White House Wants Shutdown Deal
President Trump has suggested he would support a deal with a "down payment" on a wall along the border. Sanders would not detail how much Trump is looking for.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: CIA Did NOT Issue Posthumous Apology, New Evidence Did NOT Clear Osama Bin Laden Of Involvement In 9/11 Attacks
Did new evidence clear Osama Bin Laden of involvement in the 9/11 terrirust attacks and did the CIA posthumously issue him a formal apology? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a satirical website that often gets mistaken for real n
Snopes→ Trump Associate Roger Stone Arrested, Faces Obstruction Charge
Roger Stone, a confidant of President Donald Trump, was arrested in the special counsel's Russia investigation in a pre-dawn raid at his Florida home and was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing the probe.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Man Did NOT Undergo $200,000 of Plastic Surgery to Look Like Jesus Christ
Did 30-year-old Mark Emery from Lexington, Kentucky undergo $200,000 worth of plastic surgery to resemble Jesus Christ? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Canadian entertainment website that makes a living by publishing fictional
Washington Post→ Sen. Warren says she doesn’t ‘take PAC money of any kind.’ What does that mean?
Warren did not get much money from corporate PACs but she says she's dropping all PAC money. Here are the details.
Snopes→ Trump Makes Rare Cave on State of the Union Speech
"I would have done it in a different location but I think that would be very disrespectful to the State of the Union," President Trump said.
Snopes→ Was an Elderly Nevada Couple Shot Dead by an Undocumented Immigrant?
Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman is suspected of shooting dead four Nevada residents, including Gerald and Sharon David, in January 2019.
Snopes→ Did 18 Million Illegal Immigrants Receive Government Checks During the Shutdown?
The 2018-19 government shutdown has resulted in fewer people being paid, not more.
Snopes→ Senate Rejects Rival Dem, GOP Plans for Reopening Government
In an embarrassment to Trump that could weaken his position, the Democratic proposal got two more votes than the GOP plan, even though Republicans control the chamber 53-47.
Snopes→ Colorado Senator Rips Cruz’s ‘Crocodile Tears’ Over Shutdown
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado noted that Cruz single-handedly shut down the government in 2013, at a time when Colorado was flooded.
Snopes→ Did the DOJ Change Definition of Domestic Violence on Their Website Without Explanation?
The move, which did not reflect any actual legislative change, was made without any clear reason.
Snopes→ Did Lettuce Kill More People in the U.S. in 2018 Than Undocumented Immigrants Did?
Undocumented immigrants do commit crime at a lower rate than native-born U.S. citizens, but not than leafy vegetables.
Snopes→ Was Sen. Chuck Schumer a Client of ‘Hollywood Madam’ Heidi Fleiss?
8chan and #QAnon trolls worked diligently to push this smear campaign into the mainstream.
FactCheck.org→ Unsupported MLK Claim Circulates Again
Quick Take Facebook posts claim that Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican. That’s a longstanding, unsupported claim that his children have denied. Full Story On the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and days after what would have been his 9
Snopes→ Yahoo! News Republished a Satirical Article from The Onion
An unusual cross-posting briefly blended satire with actual news.
FactCheck.org→ Sanders’ Tweet on Retirement Savings
Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted that “more than half of older workers have no retirement savings.” But that figure includes retirees, not just “older workers,” and does not include workers with pension plans. In all, 73 percent of o
Snopes→ Agency: Deadly California Fire Caused By Homeowner Equipment
The fire was one of more than 170 fires that torched the state in October 2017. It destroyed more than 5,600 structures over more than 57 square miles in Sonoma County.
Snopes→ Florida Elections Chief Resigns After Blackface Photos Emerge
Secretary of State Michael Ertel resigned just hours after he testified about election lawsuits before a state legislative committee.
Snopes→ Senate Subpoena for Michael Cohen; Lawyer Says He’ll Comply
President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen intends to comply with the interview demand related to the Russia investigation.
Snopes→ GOP Plan to End Shutdown Fails in Senate
The GOP plan, supported by President Donald Trump, would have given him the money to build his border wall but did not get the votes required to advance in the Senate.
PolitiFact→ Fact-checking Donald Trump’s false and misleading claims about immigration, the border wall
This story will be updated. President Donald Trump's arguments for a border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border generally center on two themes: the dangers and costs of immigrants. Often the facts behind those claims are either inaccurate or unsubstanti
Truth or Fiction?→ Did House Democrats Vote Against Shutdown Back Pay in January 2019?
On January 22 2019, Rep. Dan Crenshaw tweeted: The depicted tweet said: Big deal that never got reported: Last week, House GOP voted to pay federal employees their 1st paycheck of 2019, despite shutdown. Only 6 Dems voted with us. It failed. Dem prior
Snopes→ Did 23-Year-Old Ava Roberts Become the ‘Youngest Female African-American Doctor’?
Stories that are scant on important details are notoriously difficult to verify.
Climate Feedback→ How credible were 2018’s most popular climate articles?
SUMMARY To investigate whether last year’s most “viral” climate change stories misled the people who read them, we asked scientists to evaluate a list of top articles (as we did last year). In November, we searched Buzzsumo for the
Snopes→ Police Describe Execution-Style Killings Inside Florida Bank
Sebring police Chief Karl Hoglund said there's no indication the gunman intended to rob the bank, and no apparent connection among him, the bank or the victims.