Vladimir Putin’s U.S. admirers are full of it.
The Dispatch→ Politics Wasn’t Meant to be Loved
On Valentine’s Day, consider how curiosity, friendship, and beauty can curb an obsession with politics.
The Dispatch→ How Much Immigration Power Does Joe Biden Have?
A complex landscape of authorities and constraints limits what presidents can do without Congress.
The Dispatch→ Video: A Shake-Up in Ukraine, and Tucker Goes to Moscow
Watch the video of our weekly livestreamed conversation.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Mosque Destroyed In China — Earthquake-Damaged Minaret In Turkey Required Demolition
Does a video posted on X show a work crew in China destroying a mosque? No, that's not true: This scene has nothing to do with China because the video shows a mishap that occurred in Adana, Turkey where the minaret of the Gökoğlu Mosque
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Prohibition Was NOT Intended To Stop People From Fueling Cars And Homes With Alcohol
Was the purpose of Prohibition to stop people from fueling their cars and homes with alcohol? No, that's not true: Professors in history and sociology told Lead Stories that there's no truth to the claim. Prohibition in the United States,
The Dispatch→ The Price of Cowardice
Three years later.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Document Released In Response To A Freedom Of Information Request Is NOT Evidence Of CIA Censoring The Press
Was a 1970s "news clipping on Israel" censored by the CIA and released in 2004 only through a Freedom of Information Act request, proving the CIA censors the press? No, that's not true: The "news clip" shown in the video was published in
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – No, Biden’s press secretary didn’t refuse to answer questions. The video is edited.
Karine Jean-Pierre ended a White House press conference to avoid answering a question.
PolitiFact→ X posts – Tucker Carlson y Vladimir Putin no hablaron sobre la frontera sur de EE.UU.
En una entrevista con Tucker Carlson, el presidente ruso Vladimir Putin dijo que el tema de la frontera sur de Estados Unidos le parece "irónicamente divertido".
PolitiFact→ TikTok posts – No evidence Moscow fire linked to direct energy weapons or Putin interview
Video shows Russia was attacked with direct energy weapons after Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin was released.
ABC News / AP Fact Check→ The Texas megachurch shooter has not been identified as transgender, despite claims online
Amid the aftermath of Sunday’s shooting at Lakewood Church, which is led by televangelist pastor Joel Osteen, social media users spread false claims about Moreno’s gender identity.
PolitiFact→ Donald Trump – Donald Trump exaggerates food inflation under Joe Biden; prices are not 40% to 60% higher
Food “costs 40%, 50%, 60% more than it did just a few years ago.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Amelia Bassano Did NOT Write Shakespeare’s Plays, Was Not Black, And Her Poetry Was Published
Did a 16th-century woman named Amelia Bassano write all of William Shakespeare's plays -- for which she "never received a dime" -- as she could not publish her own work because she was Black? No, that's not true: Bassano, who became Ameli
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show An Authentic 1985 Memo From IRS Chief Stating That All Taxes Since 1913 Should Be Refunded
Does a viral social media post show an authentic memo confirming that then-IRS Commissioner Roscoe Egger instructed his subordinates in 1985 that "every tax paid into the Treasury since 1913, is due and refundable to every citizen and bus
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show US Military Preparing For Social Unrest Ahead Of 2024 Presidential Election
Does a video of U.S. troops stationed in front of the U.S. Capitol show that the American government is preparing for social unrest ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election? No, that's not true: The video is from late January 2021. Th
The Dispatch→ Dispatch Live: A Shake-Up in Ukraine, and Tucker Goes to Moscow
Join us for our weekly livestreamed conversation.
PolitiFact→ Fact-checking Sunday show spin on the special counsel’s findings on Joe Biden’s classified documents
On the Sunday political talk shows, the special counsel’s report on President Joe Biden’s classified document handling was a major discussion topic. But in several cases, guests and hosts offered incomplete or inaccurate descriptions of what the re
AllSides→ Did members of the Oklahoma Republican Party condemn a Republican senator for working with Democrats on border security?
https://oklahomawatch.org/2024/02/09/did-members-of-the-oklahoma-republican-party-condemn-a-republican-senator-for-working-with-democrats-on-border-security/?utm_source=Gigafact&utm_id=112
AllSides→ Did Joe Biden call Abraham Lincoln one of the most racist presidents in history?
https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/02/biden-abraham-lincoln-trump-president-racist-fact-brief/?utm_source=gigafact&utm_id=112
Full Fact→ Photos do not show Imran Khan voting from prison in Pakistan’s 2024 general election
The photos have been shared widely on social media in recent days.
The Dispatch→ Israel’s War Against Hamas Continues
The IDF plans to take the tunnels under Rafah as the country grapples with the tunnel under UNRWA HQ.
Full Fact→ Think tank did not estimate that the average person is ‘over £10,000 a year’ worse off since 2010
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner MP and Janet Daby MP both misquoted a figure from the Centre for Cities think tank in Parliament.
The Dispatch→ Ignore the Gaslighters on the Hur Report
And: addressing some public accommodation controversies.
The Dispatch→ Looking for Signals in the Suburbs
What today’s special election in New York’s 3rd District might tell us about November.
The Dispatch→ Trump Secured the 2024 GOP Nomination Three Years Ago Today
A look back at the failed impeachment vote that paved the way for a Trump redux.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Is NOT Authentic Euronews Report About French Farmers And Ukrainian Embassy
Did the European public broadcaster Euronews publish or air a report about French farmers attacking the Ukrainian embassy in Paris in early February 2024? No, that's not true: The video with the TV channel's logo couldn't be found on the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Claim That Rabies Has ‘Never Been Proven to Exist’ Is NOT True — It’s Been Known About For At Least 2,500 Years
Has rabies "never been proven to exist"? No, that's not true: Rabies is a viral disease that affects mammals, including humans, and is typically transmitted through the saliva of infected animals, often through bites. The existence of rab
PolitiFact→ Ask PolitiFact: Were the pictures in the Jesus ‘washed feet’ Super Bowl ad AI generated?
A Super Bowl ad about Jesus featured more than 10 images of people washing others’ feet. The photos were taken by a fine-arts photographer and were not created with an artificial intelligence assist.
PolitiFact→ Fact-checking claims about what special counsel report said about Biden
Special Counsel Robert Hur, in his report on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, didn’t call Biden a criminal, contrary to social media claims. Nor did he say Biden was incompetent for trial or mentally unfit for office.
The Dispatch→ Social Media Users Claim Boycotts Are Hurting McDonald’s Bottom Line
The company has acknowledged underperforming projections due to lagging sales in the Middle East.
The Dispatch→ Quitting Time
Traditional Republicans are ditching Congress—with one curious exception.
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – Small number of arsons don’t negate climate change’s effect on Canada’s wildfires
Arson, not climate change, caused Canada’s record 2023 wildfire season.
PolitiFact→ X posts – Jason Kelce did not arrive in Las Vegas dressed as Alan from ‘The Hangover’
Jason Kelce “arrived in Vegas, for the Superbowl, dressed as Alan from The Hangover.”
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – No, this photo doesn’t show Taylor Swift wearing an anti-Trump shirt
Photo shows Taylor Swift wearing an anti-Donald Trump T-shirt.
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Distorted NATO ‘Delinquent’ Comments
At a rally in South Carolina, Donald Trump said that when he was president, he told the leader of a large NATO country that if the country was “delinquent” in its payments to NATO and Russia attacked it, “I would not protect you. In
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – No, no hay un estímulo de salud de hasta $6,400 para Latinos en Texas
"Texas dará a los Latinos un estímulo de salud de hasta $6,400" que “cubrirá tus alimentos y el alquiler por un año”.
PolitiFact→ What Florida’s driver’s license policy change means for transgender people
Florida’s highway safety department made it impossible for transgender people to change whether they are identified as “M” or “F” on existing driver’s licenses. Here’s what we know, and don’t know, about this change.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘The Rock’ Was NOT Booed In Las Vegas Over Lack Of Help To Victims Of Maui Wildfires
Was "The Rock" booed in Las Vegas for failing to help the victims of the wildfires in Maui? No, that's not true: The video of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is from a WWE event where he was playing a bad character, and the audience was chantin
PolitiFact→ TikTok posts – An 1871 law did not make the United States government a corporation
An 1871 law made the United States government a for-profit corporation.