Summary Many of the factual disputes centered on disagreements among the candidates: Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said the stop-and-frisk policy that was “in place” when he became mayor “got out of control” and so “we cut 95% of
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Lead Stories→ Fake News: Latest Research Published By Chinese Scientists Did NOT Say Coronavirus Will Render Most Male Patients Infertile
Did the latest research published by Chinese scientists say that the coronavirus will render most patients infertile? No, that's not true: The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, does not go as far as the headline of the article suggests.
Truth or Fiction?→ Jeff Bezos Bought a $165M House, the Equivalent of a $75 House if You Make $60,000 a Year?
In February 2020, tweets and screenshots appeared, claiming that Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos had recently purchased a $165 million house — typically with the caveat that the acquisition was about the same as someone who made $60,00
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Can We Brainstorm Ways to Make This Sound Less Racist’ Michael Bloomberg Subreddit Post
Amid ongoing controversy involving Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg and his attitude toward New York City’s stop-and-frisk policies, blogger and reporter Zaid Jilani tweeted a screenshot from Reddit’s r/PresidentBloomberg — in whi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: PepsiCo NOT Discontinuing Production of Mtn Dew
Did PepsiCo decide to discontinue the production of Mountain Dew (which it stylizes as Mtn Dew) products because they have been shown to adversely affect people's health? No, that's not true: The post is a hoax. PepsiCo has denied it plans to
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Former FBI Director James Comey NOT Implicated In Spy Ring
Did a website point to evidence implicating former FBI Director James Comey in a spy ring? No, that's not true: The story is "clickbait" and offers no documentary evidence to back up its claims. The site links to another website that has knowi
FactCheck.org→ Baseless Conspiracy Theories Claim New Coronavirus Was Bioengineered
Quick Take Several online stories inaccurately claim that the new coronavirus contains HIV “insertions” and shows signs of being created in a lab. But there is no evidence that the new virus was bioengineered, and every indication it came from an a
FactCheck.org→ Trump Repeats Falsehoods in Celebrating Acquittal
A day after his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, President Donald Trump made celebratory remarks in the White House on Feb. 6, thanking many Republican politicians and repeating several false and misleading claims, many of which we’ve c
Lead Stories→ Fake News: DNC NOT Caught Flipping Votes From Bernie To Buttigieg
Did the Democratic National Committee get caught flipping votes from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders to former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg during the 2020 Iowa caucus? No, that does not appear to be true: The reporting out of Iowa sugge
Truth or Fiction?→ Chinese Media Walks Back Reports Linking Doctor’s Death to Coronavirus
A January 2020 story about a 62-year-old doctor who reputedly died “at the front lines” of fighting a coronavirus outbreak in China was walked back by state media within the country after the report spread internationally. Both the China G
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Pete Buttigieg’s Campaign Donate $42,500 to Iowa Caucus App Developer Shadow, Inc.?
On February 4 2020, Twitter user Ariän El-Tahry tweeted a claim that Shadow, Inc., the company that built an app used to tally votes in the chaotic Iowa caucus the day before, had received donations from groups associated with only two candidate
FactCheck.org→ Coronavirus Wasn’t Sent by ‘Spy’ From Canada
Quick Take Social media posts falsely claim that a “Chinese spy team” working in a Canadian government lab sent “pathogens to the Wuhan facility” prior to the coronavirus outbreak in China. Two Canadian agencies have told us tho
Lead Stories→ Fake News: ‘High-Level Exercise’ Conducted 3 Months Ago Did NOT Show That A Coronavirus Pandemic Could Kill 65 Million People
Did a "high-level exercise" conducted three months ago show that a coronavirus pandemic could kill 65 million people? No, that's not true: The organizers of the event, which was held in October 2019, have issued a statement saying that they ma
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Patent For Coronavirus That Expired Is NOT For New Strain Killing People In China
Did a patent expire on January 22, 2020, for the "new" coronavirus, and does that prove the virus was "invented"? No, that's not true: The patent is about the SARS coronavirus, which broke out in China in 2002, not the current Wuhan City strai
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Numbers January 2020 Update
Summary Now that Donald Trump has been president for three years, what has changed? Here are some things that can be measured: The economy added 6.7 million jobs, and unemployment fell to the lowest rate in half a century. The economy grew more slowly
Truth or Fiction?→ Donald Trump Says He ‘Saved Pre-Existing Conditions in Your Healthcare’
On January 13 2020, United States President Donald Trump tried to attack a Democratic Party presidential candidate for “false advertising” by repeating a lie of his own. In a tweet attacking former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, Tr
Truth or Fiction?→ Iranians, Iranian-Americans Stopped at U.S. Border with Canada
United States Customs and Border Patrol subjected both Iranians and Iranian-Americans to more scrutiny in January 2020 in the wake of new orders from the Department of Homeland Security, although CBP quibbled over accounts of people stopped for hours
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Virginia Governor Does NOT Plan To Use Roadblocks And U.N. Troops To Seize Guns
Is the Virginia governor planning to use roadblocks and U.N. troops to seize guns? No, that's not true: Gov. Ralph Northam has not requested United Nations assistance to confiscate guns, and he has not suggested using roadblocks for weapons se
FactCheck.org→ The Whoppers of 2019
Summary As he has done since entering the political scene in 2015, Donald Trump dominates our list of whoppers of the year. We identified a top 10 of falsehoods and factual distortions from the president, beginning with several impeachment-related topi
FactCheck.org→ Dubious Quote Attributed to Trump’s Mother
Quick Take There’s no evidence for a meme that quotes President Donald Trump’s late mother as once making a disparaging remark about her son and predicting he would not do well in politics. Full Story A meme posted repeatedly on Facebook in rec
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Dr. Phil Did NOT Say ‘Women Who Support Trump Are Damaged.’
Did Dr. Phil say on his show that women who support President Trump are damaged? 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
FactCheck.org→ How Old Claims Compare to IG Report
On Dec. 9, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General released its report on the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into whether individuals associated with the Trump campaign were coordinating with Russia’s inte
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Whole Foods Holiday Food Drive’ Post
A December 2 2019 Facebook status update excoriating Amazon and Whole Foods over a purported holiday food drive (and advising customers to move unpurchased items to the “donations” section) struck a chord and racked up tens of thousands of
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Trump’s NATO Remarks
President Donald Trump repeated a slew of false claims to an international audience at the annual NATO summit: The overwhelming majority of captured Islamic State fighters are from Iraq and Syria. They are not, as Trump claimed, “mostly from Europe.
FactCheck.org→ Viral Headlines Wrongly Report Indictment in Ukraine
Quick Take Ukrainian prosecutors said they have expanded their investigation involving Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma, a gas company in Ukraine. But no “indictment” has been announced, as false headlines circulating on social media
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO Ukrainian Indictment Claims $7.4 Billion Obama-Linked Laundering, Does NOT Put Biden Group Take At $16.5 Million
Does a Ukrainian indictment claim there is a $7.4 billion Obama-linked money laundering scheme, and does the indictment put a Biden group's take at $16.5 million? No, that's not true: There was no such indictment as of November 21, 2019. The f
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 &#
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
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
PolitiFact→ Bloggers – No, Lindsey Graham does not support the Green New Deal
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | No, Lindsey Graham does not support the Green New Deal A tiny progressive advocacy PAC with less than $500 on hand bought an ad on Facebook as a media stunt. The Really Online Lefty League’s ad falsely
PolitiFact→ Bernie Sanders – Bernie Sanders overstates recession aid to Wall Street banks
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Bernie Sanders overstates recession aid to Wall Street banks Sen. Bernie Sanders marked his return to the campaign trail after a heart attack with a huge outdoor rally in New York City. Sanders stayed focused on
Lead Stories→ Fake News: It’s NOT Official, Michelle Obama NOT Running For President
Is Michelle Obama running for president and is it official now? 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 marke
Climate Feedback→ Telegraph article on climate change mixes accurate and unsupported, inaccurate claims, misleads with false balance
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This article in The Telegraph attempts to discuss the science of observed global warming and the factors responsible. However, mixed in with some accurate factual statements are claims that give readers the impress
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the October Democratic Debate
Summary We found several false and misleading claims in the October Democratic presidential debate: Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro claimed that the most recent jobs data show that “Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania &
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Numbers October 2019 Update
Summary Since President Donald Trump took office: The economy added 6 million jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level in nearly 50 years. Economic growth fell far short of the annual 4% to 6% Trump promised. The most recent rate is
FactCheck.org→ Outburst at AOC Town Hall Was Staged
Quick Take A political group took credit for planting a woman who espoused “eating babies” to address climate change at a recent town hall event hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But some have still misrepresented the woman as “
Truth or Fiction?→ If You Made $5,000 a Day Starting in 1492, Would You Still Have Less Money Than Jeff Bezos?
On October 7 2019, a screenshot of a tweet began circulating across the internet. It read: If you worked every single day, making $5000/day, from the time Columbus sailed to America, to the time you are reading this tweet, you would still not be a bi
Truth or Fiction?→ Elizabeth Warren Accused of Claiming to be Cherokee and Plagiarizing Recipes in ‘Pow Wow Chow’
On September 26 2019, a social media user tweeted out screenshots and text accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) of claiming Cherokee heritage and plagiarizing recipes from the New York Times: Elizabeth Warren not only claimed to be &qu
PolitiFact→ How would an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump work?
Democrats are weighing impeachment after news reports suggested that President Donald Trump withheld U.S. military aid from Ukraine to pressure the country into investigating his political rival Joe Biden. Biden’s son Hunter was a director at a U
PolitiFact→ Trump’s Ukraine call, a whistleblower and the Bidens: What we know, what we don’t
President Donald Trump for months has tried to draw attention to the connection between former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter over the younger Biden's ties to a Ukrainian energy company when he was vice president. But a compl