Fact-checking Trump on U.S. oil investment in Venezuela
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Blonde’s Selfie Is AI-Generated Image NOT A Real Photo With Nicolás Maduro Handcuffed In Back Seat Of Car
Did a blonde woman take a selfie showing a handcuffed Nicolás Maduro in the back seat of a car? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo. Google's Gemini detected a SynthID watermark embedded in the image indicating that all or part
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Of U.K. Member Of Parliament Calling For Netanyahu To Be Captured Like Maduro Is NOT Real
Does a video show real footage of a U.K. member of Parliament asking why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not been captured the same way the United States captured Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela? No, that's not true: The clip w
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Inconsistent Details in Ventura Village Daycare Child Actors Wanted Craigslist Ad From Minneapolis, Minnesota
Does a viral Craigslist post prove that owners of a Minnesota daycare accused of fraud attempted to hire child actors to imitate legitimate operations? No, that's lacking enough evidence to prove it's true: Anyone could have published an
The Dispatch→ Founders Town Hall: What’s Next For Venezuela?
Tune in to our special livestreamed conversation.
Full Fact→ A video shared with claims about US military strikes on Venezuela actually dates from 2024
An old video showing explosions is being shared alongside claims about the recent US strikes on Venezuela. But the footage is unrelated and was filmed in Israel in October 2024.
The Dispatch→ Revenge Against the Nerds
The unsustainable nature of the Affordable Care Act was all too predictable.
The Dispatch→ The Venezuela Raid
Trump says Washington will temporarily oversee Venezuela while deciding who will govern next.
The Dispatch→ John Adams Was Not an Originalist | Interview: Lindsay Chervinsky
‘What has two thumbs and loves the Federalist Papers?’
The Dispatch→ A Reason to Celebrate, and Causes for Concern
What comes next for Venezuela?
The Dispatch→ The Bonfire of the Implicit
What we lose when we’re scared of subtlety.
The Dispatch→ Why We Toppled Maduro
The administration’s domestic, legal, and foreign policy justifications for capturing the Venezuelan president are in tension.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show Real CBS News Report That Gabbard Thwarted A Rep. Jeffries Attempt To Tip Off Maduro — It’s Rage Bait
Does a viral image show a real news report saying that U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' office "tried to tip off" Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro before his capture? No, that's not true: No such report could be found. Neither CBS N
Lead Stories→ Lead Stories’ Top Debunks Of 2025: Charlie Kirk, Jeffrey Epstein, And What Trump Did NOT Say
False claims about the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Jeffrey Epstein files, and purported verbal gaffes by President Trump topped the list of most-read Lead Stories fact checks in 2025. Here are our most read fact checks of the past yea
The Dispatch→ Zohran Mamdani May Be a Socialist, but Islam Is Not
Plus: Ben Sasse’s greatest lesson.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Satirical California ‘Rep. Jack Kimble’ Post About Other Countries Considering Invading U.S. Over Corrupt President Is NOT Real
Did Republican representative Jack Kimble make a post about other countries potentially invading the U.S. "if we ever had" a "highly corrupt leader" as President? No, that's not true: The post was satire from an account on X that pretends
The Dispatch→ Ben Sasse’s Greatest Lesson
In facing death, Sasse points the way to the life to come.
PolitiFact→ Fact-checking Donald Trump following U.S. attacks on Venezuela and capture of Nicolás Maduro
Fact-checking Trump comments on Venezuela attacks, Maduro
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Viral Image of ‘Captured Maduro’ Is NOT Real — Maduro’s Head Was Digitally Attached To Body Of Ukrainian Businessman Known For Ties With Putin
Does a viral image show Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro captured? No, that's not true: An authentic photo was digitally altered to swap Maduro's head onto the body of a captive. The image originally showed Ukrainian-born pro-Russian businessm
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Viral Video Does NOT Show Caracas, Venezuela Under Missile Bombardment — 2025 Israel Footage
Does a viral video show missiles raining down from the clouds on Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026? No, that's not true: A viral video making the rounds does not show the actual attacks that took place on that date. It is an old video
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: California And Colorado Are NOT ‘Top Outbound States’ With People Leaving — Trump Cites Questionable Source
Are California and Colorado at the top of the list of states losing population as more people leave than move there? No, that's not true: The latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that California lost population in 2020 and
The Dispatch→ Bidding Farewell to 2025
A selection of our best longform pieces from a long, long year.
The Dispatch→ The Warmth of Collectivism | Solo
Oh boy.
The Dispatch→ What Betty Friedan Got Wrong About Motherhood
Parenting can foster an intellectual life no less inspiring than one outside the home.
The Dispatch→ A Strange Ending for ‘Stranger Things’
Eleven’s ambiguous fate does the show (and its viewers) a disservice.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FBI, ICE Did NOT Raid Yacht Near Miami & Rescue 34 Students Sex-Trafficked By A Harvard Professor
Did the FBI and ICE bust a sex-trafficking ring organized by a Harvard or Georgetown professor who recruited students to perform sex work on a luxury yacht off Miami? No, that's not true: The YouTube channel where the claim originated dis
The Dispatch→ Collectivism, Warmed Over
On Zohran Mamdani and ignorance of the past.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Iran’s Crown Prince-In-Exile Reza Pahlavi Being Cheered In Egypt In January 2026 — It’s The UK in 2023 Amid Protests In Iran
Does a video show Iran's crown prince-in-exile Reza Pahlavi being cheered in Cairo, Egypt, as protests in Iran intensified in January 2026? No, that's not true: The video shows Pahlavi being cheered in Oxford, England in February 2023. A
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Shared By President Trump In ‘Eagles Going Down’ Post Is NOT An Eagle — It’s A European Red Kite
Does an image shared by President Trump in a Truth Social post that reads "Eagles going down!" show an American eagle killed by a wind turbine? No, that's not true: The photograph used to illustrate Trump's post is of a European red kite
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: BMW Did NOT Introduce A ‘One-Wheel Ride’ At The Tech Expo 2026 — The Power Unicycle Video Is AI-Generated
Did BMW launch a motorized unicycle at the 2026 Tech Expo? No, that's not true: The AI-generated video was published by a channel with a disclaimer that they "explore the future of technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics." This
The Dispatch→ Bastard Century
The 21st century’s quarter-life crisis.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Chart Does NOT Show Drug Overdose Deaths ‘Dropped Off A Cliff’ in 2025 Under Trump — It Was Biden in ’24
Does a medical study chart show that drug overdose deaths in the United States sharply declined in 2025 under President Trump? No, that's not true: The chart is based on a medical study published in June 2025 that looked at drug death sta
The Dispatch→ Create a Path for Taiwanese to Flee to America
Doing so could help deter war.
The Dispatch→ What We Got Wrong in December
A list of corrections issued by The Dispatch last month.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Windmills Are NOT Killing ‘All Of Our Beautiful Bald Eagles’ As Claimed By President Trump — Post Shows Israeli Falcon
Are windmills -- also known as wind turbines -- killing all of the bald eagles in the United States, as President Donald Trump claimed in a Truth Social post? No, that's not true: Studies estimate the number of eagles killed by wind turbi
The Dispatch→ Watching the American Right Rip Its Face Off | Interview: Chris Stirewalt
Is Kamala Harris the worst politician of the year?
The Dispatch→ What the Fall of the Whigs Can Teach Republicans—and Democrats
Understanding the historical parallels between Andrew Jackson and Donald Trump.
The Dispatch→ From Ally to Aggressor
What Trump’s designs on Greenland say about America’s changing role in the world.
The Dispatch→ Good Night, Janus
Two views of the New Year.
The Dispatch→ Ben Sasse and the Path Not Taken
What the former senator has given to our politics.