Did a study find men growing beards or long hair have smaller testicles? No, that's not true: several tabloid newspapers misinterpreted the results of a joint study by the University of Western Australia and the University of Zurich about the
Search Results (1653) for: judge
FactCheck.org→ More Family Separation Spin
Last year, the Trump administration announced a “zero tolerance” border policy that resulted in children being separated from their parents who were detained for entering the U.S. illegally. Yet President Donald Trump recently claimed that “P
FactCheck.org→ Vote for Us
Voting for the 23rd annual Webby Awards is already underway, and we need your help to win another trophy. FactCheck.org again is among the five finalists competing in the category for Websites: News & Politics. The other nominees, which were first
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ocasio-Cortez Did NOT Propose Nationwide Motorcycle Ban
Did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez propose a nationwide motorcycle ban? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Republicans about the need to actually click and rea
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Courts Did NOT Quietly Confirm MMR Vaccine Causes Autism
Did courts "quietly confirm" that the MMR vaccine, which protects children against measles, mumps, and rubella, causes autism? No, that's not true: Court cases cited in articles falsely making the claim concluded with damage awards for encepha
Snopes→ US Wants 2 Years to ID Migrant Kids Separated from Families
The Trump administration wants up to two years to find potentially thousands of children who were separated from their families at the border before a judge halted the practice.
FactCheck.org→ Old Decision in Tax Lawsuit Gets New Spin
Quick Take A website known for spreading misinformation writes that a man who cited religious reasons for not paying his income taxes “has won an historic lawsuit against the IRS.” That’s misleading. One charge was dropped, but four o
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO Unnamed Source Said Jussie Smollett Phone Records Showed Over 200 Calls And Texts From Kamala Harris and DNC operatives
Did an "unnamed source" say Jussie Smollett's phone records showed over 200 calls and texts from Kamala Harris and DNC operatives? No, that's not true: the source of this rumor appears to be a Reddit post by someone speculatively making a joke
Snopes→ Kraft’s Attorneys Challenge Video Taken at Massage Parlor
Even if the defense gets the video recordings thrown out, the judge might still allow police to testify about what they saw on the video and the other evidence collected.
Truth or Fiction?→ Charles Kinsey Shooting
On March 20 2019, the following screenshot and text (archived here) was publicly shared on Facebook, accruing a six-figure share count in under a week: Charles Kinsey is his FUCKING NAME. Edit: the officer who shot him is Jonathon Aledda In the screen
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Nancy Pelosi NOT Escorted Out of White House, Did NOT Show Up ‘Too Drunk to Speak’
Was Nancy Pelosi escorted out of the White House after showing up too drunk to speak? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Republicans about the need to ac
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Denzel Washington Did NOT Leave Democrat Party, Did NOT Say: ‘I’ve Had it With the Lies’
Did actor Denzel Washington break with the Democrat party? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Republicans about the need to actually click and read links
Snopes→ Gerrymandering Lawsuits are Pending in a Dozen States
Gerrymandering is on trial as the U.S. Supreme Court and judges in a dozen states consider whether mapmakers — typically state lawmakers — have gone too far in manipulating the boundaries of legislative districts for their own advantage.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO Whistleblower: Obama Was NOT Indonesian Citizen & NOT Given Financial Aid As Foreign Student At Occidental College
Did a whistleblower reveal that former U.S. President Barack Obama was an Indonesian citizen and was given financial support as a foreign student while attending Occidental College in Los Angeles? No, that's not true: It is one of a series of
PolitiFact→ Kevin Downing – The Pants on Fire claim that two courts backed Trump's claim of no collusion with Russia
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | The Pants on Fire claim that two courts backed Trump's claim of no collusion with Russia Sometimes people don’t wait for the fact-checkers to ask. Sometimes they just shout their corrections in real ti
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Passage of HR1 Allow Undocumented Immigrants to Vote?
On March 8 2019, a text-based status update began circulating on Facebook (archived here), asserting that the passage of legislation called HR1 granted “illegal immigrants” the right to vote. The white text across a purple background read
PolitiFact→ Elizabeth Warren – Comparing Manafort's sentence to life sentence for man who sold pot
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Comparing Manafort's sentence to life sentence for man who sold pot As far back as 2010, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was hiding a lot of money from the IRS. Prosecutors
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Brooke Shields Photographed for ‘Playboy’ at Age 10?
In March 2019, the following meme appeared (archived here), containing a claim that Brooke Shields had been photographed suggestively for Playboy magazine when she was just ten years old: The image featured a heavily made-up small girl who looked q
Washington Post→ President Trump stretches others’ comments to claim ‘no collusion’
Trump is miscasting various comments by Richard Burr, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort's attorney and the judge who sentenced Manafort.
Lead Stories→ False Comparison: Consequences NOT So Different For Roseanne Barr And Jussie Smollett
Were the consequences for Roseanne Barr and Jussie Smollett radically different when it came to their respective shows and does this prove "liberal privilege"? A viral meme is making that claim but it is not really true. Even though their situ
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Woman Did NOT Admit She Was Paid to Frame Cosby With Rape
Did an unnamed woman admit she was paid to frame Bill Cosby with rape? No, that's not true: a South African website copied an old conspiracy article from NewsPunch/YourNewsWire but the theory it comes up with does not make sense from a timing
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Family Separation Genocide?
In February 2019, a mid-2018 tweet about family separations and the permanent and widespread transfer of children from their families to other people qualifying as genocide began recirculating. The tweet was initially published in June 2018, and it sai
FactCheck.org→ Spinning Trump’s National Emergency Declaration
Both sides are spinning the facts in response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the Southwest border: As justification for the border wall, White House adviser Stephen Miller cited an increase in border crosser
Truth or Fiction?→ Underground Railroad to Mexico?
On February 13 2019, a Facebook user shared a screenshot of a tweet, originally tweeted a day earlier by @HISTORY about a purported version of the Underground Railroad running south to Mexico: Text for the tweet read: Slaveholders knew that enslaved p
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Trump’s National Emergency Remarks
In declaring a national emergency at the Southwest border, President Donald Trump strung together a long list of false, misleading and unsupported claims on illegal immigration, drug smuggling, human trafficking, trade deficits and other issues. We br
Truth or Fiction?→ Was the Original ‘Lone Ranger’ a Black Man?
In January 2019, a meme that appeared to be a screenshot of an older post asserting that the real Lone Ranger was a black man named Bass Reeves spread on social media: Above what appeared to be an archival photograph of a black man and the television
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Alabama Declare Fetuses Are People?
On January 22 2019, New York State’s Reproductive Health Act was signed into law, inflaming people across the United States. Arguments raged on social networks, largely due to misinterpretations of the law and a mistaken belief that it enabled el
Lead Stories→ Fake News: George Soros NOT Arrested; Obama NOT Charged with Treason
Was billionaire and philantropist George Soros arrested in Saint Margrethenberg, Switzerland at 13:23 GMT on Feb. 3 2019 because of evidence supplied by Barack Obama who has been incarcerated at Gitmo because he was charged with treason? No, a
FactCheck.org→ Bogus Claim About ‘Impeaching’ Pelosi
Quick Take A claim that the White House may impeach House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is false, but it is still circulating widely online. It stems from a petition created by a conservative commentator and posted on the White House’s web page, “We
Snopes→ Did Rep. Ilhan Omar Call for Lighter Sentences for Would-Be ISIS Recruits?
The Minnesota Democrat sent a letter to a U.S. District Court judge in 2016. What exactly did she write?
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Martin Luther King, Jr. Say ‘the Dream’ Cannot Survive if Women Have Abortions?
In January 2019, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the passage of a new abortion law in New York state occurred in close proximity, facilitating the circulation of the following quote meme: The above-reproduced quote meme included a photograph of King a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Cousins NOT Arrested After Refusing to Stop Having Sex During Funeral Ceremony
Were cousins Tiffany Bates and Clifton Bridges from Taladega, Alabama arrested for having sex during a funeral ceremony and refusing to stop? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Canadian entertainment website that makes a living by
Snopes→ Sarah Palin’s Son Released from Alaska Halfway House
Track Palin reported to the halfway house in December to serve a year for a 2017 attack on his father. But he was released after a judge granted a motion for credit for time spent on electronic monitoring.
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
Climate Feedback→ BBC article on IPCC report is mostly accurate, but could use some clarification
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This CNN story covered the October release of the IPCC’s “Global Warming of 1.5 °C” report. The report, which was requested by governments during the 2015 Paris Agreement negotiations, details th
Snopes→ Blown Call Lawsuit Seeks Do-Over of Rams-Saints Game
Two New Orleans Saints season ticket holders asked a judge to order the NFL commissioner to reverse the results of the NFC championship game that sent the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl, or schedule a do-over.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Court Did NOT Order Tiger Woods To Take 137 Paternity Tests
Did a court order Tiger Woods to take 137 paternity tests? No, that's not true: the story was made up years aog by a Canadian entertainment website that makes a living by publishing fictional stories often involving weird crimes, bizarre sex
FactCheck.org→ Examining Shutdown Claims from Democrats
The weekslong partial government shutdown has led to around 800,000 federal employees not working or working without pay. It also has led to some false or questionable claims from Democrats about the shutdown’s impact on a host of federal service
Snopes→ Officer Who Killed Teen Used Racial Slurs, Excessive Force
Prosecutors are highlighting the accusations now to persuade a judge that Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer who fatally shot Laquan McDonald in 2014, deserves a stiffer prison sentence.
Lead Stories→ The Kumanovo-connection: Macedonian Spam Clans Still Make Money With Fake News About Muslims and Migrants
A Macedonian military man appears to be one of the driving forces behind a network of fake news websites that reached millions of people with articles often inciting hatred against muslims and migrants. Together with friends and family he has