Quick Take An unfounded conspiracy theory of widespread election fraud claims that an election technology company called Smartmatic switched votes in the 2020 election. But Smartmatic provided ballot-marking machines to only one U.S. county in the elec
Search Results (2180) for: supposed
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Parler Was Hacked, NO Sensitive Information Found Online
Was the Parler social network hacked? No, there is no evidence for that. The original news came from a now deleted tweet by a conceptual artist known for high-tech art projects. A configuration file that was supposedly part of the hack ha
FactCheck.org→ Website Concocts False Story of Soros Arrest
Quick Take A bogus social media story uses a doctored image of an indictment to falsely claim George Soros has been arrested in the U.S. “for election interference.” The actual charges are against six Russian nationals for cyberattacks. Fu
Snopes→ Did a Belgian Town Accidentally Decorate for Christmas with Phallic Light Display?
The light display was supposed to be candles, but when they lit up, they put a small town in the spotlight.
Full Fact→ The Daily Mail’s chart of Covid-19 death figures doesn’t use the real numbers
“Fatalities are barely any higher” Daily Mail, 20 November 2020. In an article titled “What they DON’T tell you about Covid”, the Daily Mail published a chart that claimed the number of weekly deaths is currently “b
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: George Soros NOT Arrested For Election Interference, NOT In Federal Custody
Was George Soros arrested by the FBI and is he currently in federal custody in Philadelphia under accusation of election interference? No, that's not true: the Canadian website that ran the story has a track record of publishing hoaxes an
FactCheck.org→ The Facts on Trump’s Post-Election Legal Challenges
On Nov. 19, President Donald Trump’s legal team spouted a gusher of false and unfounded allegations of voter fraud at a 90-minute press conference. We could fact check it, but we’re not going to. We’re not going to fact check Rudy Giu
FactCheck.org→ U.S. Army Didn’t Seize Election Servers in Germany
Quick Take A congressman and conservative news outlets are spreading the baseless claim that the U.S. Army seized an election software company’s server in Frankfurt, Germany, that could supposedly prove there was fraud in the 2020 election. There
FactCheck.org→ Twisting the Facts on ‘Dirty Money’ in the Georgia Race
Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff’s production company received payments from a Hong Kong media company and Al Jazeera for the rights to air investigative pieces, but a Republican TV ad misleadingly claims Ossoff got cash from “
FactCheck.org→ Opening Ads in the Perdue-Ossoff Runoff
In the first TV ads of the runoff campaign that could help decide the balance of the Senate, Republican Sen. David Perdue warned his opponent would “radically change America,” while Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff accused his opponent of d
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Electoral Votes (410 for Trump and 128 for Biden) Found on a Dominion Server Seized in Germany?
On November 16 2020, increasingly desperate claims that Donald Trump had actually defeated Joe Biden in the presidential election despite the reality of his decisive defeat continued to circulate; one such rumor included the assertion that Trump won 4
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Electoral Votes (410 for Trump and 128 for Biden) Found on a Dominion Server Seized in Germany?
On November 16 2020, increasingly desperate claims that Donald Trump had actually defeated Joe Biden in the presidential election despite the reality of his decisive defeat continued to circulate; one such rumor included the assertion that Trump won 4
FactCheck.org→ Fabricated Claim of Biden Campaign Official’s Arrest
Quick Take A viral tale on social media falsely claims that a campaign official for President-elect Joe Biden was arrested in an illegal ballot-harvesting scheme in Texas. He has not been charged or arrested. The false claim stems from unverified alle
FactCheck.org→ Bogus Theory Claims Supercomputer Switched Votes in Election
Quick Take A baseless conspiracy theory claims that a secret supercomputer was used to switch votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Experts — and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — have said the theory is a hoax
FactCheck.org→ Pennsylvania Postal Worker Waffles on Election Fraud Claim
Quick Take A postal worker in Erie, Pennsylvania, claimed that his superiors were backdating postmarks on ballots, then told federal investigators that he didn’t actually know that — and then went back to his original position. Despite the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 10,000 Dead People Did NOT Vote In The Presidential Election In Michigan, Officials Say
Did 10,000 dead people vote in Michigan in the November 3, 2020, presidential election? No, that's not true: Election officials in Michigan call it a baseless claim and say it is impossible for dead people to vote in their state. The clai
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Social Media Site Parler Has NOT Been Sold, Two Co-owners Say
Has social media site Parler been sold? No, that's not true: Co-owner Dan Bongino said on his verified Twitter account that rumors of the sale are false, and another co-owner is reported to have said the same in a Parler post. The claim a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Is NOT Owner Of Key Voting Machine And Software Company
Is it true that the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi owns a company whose software "glitched" during the election and switched votes from President Donald Trump to Joe Biden? No, this is not true. Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi,
FactCheck.org→ Viral Video Doesn’t Show Fraud by Election Workers in PA
Quick Take A video from a livestream of the vote-counting process in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, shows election workers transcribing votes from damaged ballots so they could be scanned and recorded, according to the county. Social media users are sh
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Wild, Baseless Claims of Illegal Voting
In remarks resembling an attack on democratic elections, rather than a presidential speech, President Donald Trump doubled down on his campaign pledge: “The only way we can lose, in my opinion, is massive fraud.” In his Nov. 5 comments, he offe
FactCheck.org→ Bogus QAnon Claim that Mail-In Ballots Are Illegitimate
Quick Take A bogus QAnon-related claim that many of the mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election were illegitimate has spread widely on social media. But the claim is based on the faulty assumption that ballots are produced by the federal government. F
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: It Does NOT Take Days To Months To Rid Body Of Gluten In Alcohol, Coffee, Sugar, Meat, Dairy Or Oils; Most Contain No Gluten
Is it true that it can take up to eight days or even six months for gluten in alcohol, coffee, sugar, meat, dairy and oils to leave one's body? No, that's not true. These drinks, foods and oils do not contain any gluten in their pure form
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Apparent Pro-Trump Ballots Burned In Viral Video Were NOT Official; They Were Sample Ballots
Is it true that about 80 official election ballots cast for President Trump in Virginia Beach, Virginia, were torched to undermine the president's chances of winning there? No, that's not true. The burning papers shown in a viral video, a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Person Who Claimed He Threw Away 100 Pro-Trump Ballots In Erie, Pennsylvania, Was NOT A Poll Worker
Did a poll worker in Erie, Pennsylvania, throw away more than 100 pro-Trump ballots on Election Day? No, that's not true: Erie County Board of Elections Chair Carl J. Anderson III says the "poll worker" who purportedly admitted the allege
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Time Magazine Did Not Publish Cover Showing Donald Trump And The Text ‘Time To Go’
Did Time magazine publish a cover showing Donald Trump and the text "Time to go"? No, that's not true: This cover is not shown on the Time magazine website. It is a fake. The claim began circulating online around Election Day. Among the p
FactCheck.org→ Antifa ‘False Flag’ Flyer Is an Old Hoax
Quick Take A viral blog post falsely claims that an “Antifa flyer” shows that left-wing activists are planning to masquerade as supporters of President Donald Trump and riot following the election. The purported flyer cited as evidence has
Truth or Fiction?→ Mysterious ‘Piles of Bricks’ in Chicago on Election Day
Retreads of previously debunked rumors were part of the disinformation attacks that swarmed Election Day 2020 in the United States, and one particular tweet about a mysterious pile of bricks placed in Chicago (archived) inspired significant chatter a
FactCheck.org→ The 2020 FactCheck Awards
Summary It’s Election Day, which our longtime readers know means it’s time for our just-for-fun awards. Here we recognize some of the campaign ads that made an impression on us — good, bad or otherwise — during the 2020 election
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NOT Enough Science Backing Claims That Drinking Water From Copper Cup Yields Host Of Health Benefits
Does drinking water from a copper cup provide such health benefits as regulating the thyroid gland, slowing aging, getting rid of anemia and lowering risks of heart disease and cancer? No, that is not true. Not only can high doses of copp
FactCheck.org→ False Claim About ‘Pre-Filled Out Ballots’ in Queens
Quick Take A false claim circulating on social media alleges that mail-in ballots already filled out with votes for Democrats, including Joe Biden, were sent to voters in a New York City borough. A spokesperson for the New York City Board of Elections
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Dave Ramsey Warn Facebook Users About Biden’s Tax Plan?
In late October 2020, a number of Facebook users attributed a post about Joe Biden’s tax plan to money guru Dave Ramsey, instantly imparting far more weight and authority to its claims (archived): In the screenshot, an October 21 2020 post by
The Dispatch→ Does a Photograph Show That Joe Biden Met the CEO of Burisma?
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Hoax-Slayer→ Beware of Fake SMS Promising Cash and Prizes from Celebrities
A favourite scammer ruse is to pose as a high profile celebrity who is supposedly giving away cash and prizes to selected fans. The post Beware of Fake SMS Promising Cash and Prizes from Celebrities appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Voting Machine Message Voters Received Did NOT Keep Them From Voting
Were a handful of early voters in Utah who went to cast ballots told they had already voted? Yes, that's true: But it happened to only a few people and was due to a technical error by a poll worker. Once the problem was fixed, they able t
FactCheck.org→ Trump Baselessly Suggests COVID-19 Deaths Inflated for Profit
During a campaign rally in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump questioned the reported numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S. by describing a purported “incentive” to report cases and deaths, because “doctors get more money an
Lead Stories→ Student’s Chart Explaining Wild Conspiracies Trolled To Spread More Conspiracies
Abbie Richards, a climate science student in the Netherlands, was looking with bewilderment at the state of her home country of the United States. So many conspiracy theories echoing, particularly ahead of the election. Struggling to wran
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Show Nancy Pelosi’s Son Abusing A Little Girl — And Is NOT from Purported Hunter Biden Laptop
Does a photo posted to social media show Nancy Pelosi's son abusing a little girl? And is the image one of those purported to have been on Hunter Biden's laptop? No, that's not true: The photo is not new. It was published last year as par
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Joe Biden Call Trump ‘George’ During a Live Video?
A tweet from an official for United States President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign highlighted a widespread disinformation campaign that hinged on attempting to manufacture a “gaffe” to pin on Democratic Party presidential nomi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Belgian Mayor Did NOT Refuse To Entertain Demands From Muslim Parents To Remove Pork From School Lunch Menu
Did a Mayor in Ath, Belgium (or Dorval, Quebec, Canada; the London, England, borough of Harrow; Maryborough, Victoria, Australia; the Perth suburb of Joondalup; or a number of cities in France) write a lengthy letter in response to Muslim
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence That Hunter Biden Is Dead
Did Hunter Biden die of a crack overdose? No, that's not true: There is absolutely zero evidence to support the claim that the son of the Democratic presidential nominee is dead. Reporters closely watching the movements of his father Joe