SciCheck Digest COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy benefits both mother and baby. Side effects are generally mild, and studies don’t show negative effects on the baby. A criticized study that gave COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant rats doesn’
PolitiFact→ Joe Biden – President Joe Biden distorts income tax rates for the richest Americans
"There are a thousand billionaires now and you know what their average tax rate is? 8%."
The Dispatch→ Can We Call It Quits?
And: politics vs. football.
PolitiFact→ Arne Burkhardt – The COVID-19 vaccine does not replace male sperm with spike protein
In vaccinated males, the COVID-19 vaccine’s spike protein “has entirely replaced their sperm.”
ABC News / AP Fact Check→ NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Proceedings in former President Donald Trump's New York defamation trial were delayed because a juror was sick and did not interfere with him being in New Hampshire for Tu
PolitiFact→ X posts – Dean Phillips didn’t win the NH primary. He said so himself.
“Rep. Dean Phillips received almost twice as many votes as Biden did in the New Hampshire primary.”
The Dispatch→ Trump Backs Off ‘Presumptive Nominee’ RNC Pressure Campaign
Plus: Kari Lake incident causes shakeup in Arizona GOP leadership.
Full Fact→ Fake Nicola Sturgeon WhatsApp messages shared by satirical account
A post on X claiming former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been “urged to apologise” for “leaked WhatsApp messages” about a number of high profile Conservative MPs has gone viral.
Full Fact→ Social media posts use outdated figures for comparisons between governments
The posts claim to compare what ‘the Tories inherited from Labour’ to ‘now’.
ABC News / AP Fact Check→ The WEF’s chairman did not confess that a ‘political revolution’ is destroying his agenda
Social media users are sharing a screenshot of a baseless article titled: “Klaus Schwab Admits ‘Political Revolution’ Against The ‘Great Reset’ Is Destroying His Agenda.”
Full Fact→ List comparing energy costs in Europe features out-of-date figures
The list features data showing wholesale electricity costs for suppliers which were only correct for a specific hour on one day over a year ago.
Full Fact→ Labour claim of 4,000 drop in GP numbers is not reliable
A claimed cut of 4,000 GPs in a Labour party briefing document seems to rely on a comparison between two different datasets, which the NHS itself says should not be compared.
PolitiFact→ Cindi Duchow – Wisconsin clerks’ guidance to voters on absentee voting was wrong, but claim has caveat
"Unfortunately during COVID, the clerks in Madison and Milwaukee told their constituents that they were actually indefinitely confined and did not have to come and vote, which was incorrect."
PolitiFact→ COVID-19 vaccines’ effect on thyroid conditions requires more study
A claim that COVID-19 vaccines worsens thyroid or autoimmune conditions needs more research
Logically→ Nej, Putin har inte förklarat att köpet av Alaska är olagligt
The Dispatch→ ‘Changing Politics’ Threaten Senate Immigration Deal
A bipartisan border security package in the upper chamber teeters on the brink.
Logically→ Old visuals of cricketer Virat Kohli shared as him attending Ram temple consecration
Full Fact→ Oil does not regenerate faster ‘than it could ever be depleted’
A widely shared Facebook post claiming oil can be regenerated as fast as it’s being used is untrue.
Logically→ News clip of Andhra politician vowing to demolish new Ambedkar statue is fake
Logically→ No, Putin has not declared the purchase of Alaska to be illegal
Logically→ Map highlights areas of red siren activation in Israel, not locations of registered sex offenders
Logically→ Map highlights areas of red siren activation in Israel, not locations of registered sex offenders
The Dispatch→ Israel’s Citizen Soldiers
The large-scale deployment of reservists is felt on the homefront.
The Dispatch→ What Does Nikki Haley Have to Lose?
Her odds are slim, but Donald Trump’s lone GOP rival is sticking it out and having fun.
Full Fact→ Cropped picture does not show the dead body of Israel’s top sniper
The soldier in the picture is resting alongside other members of his unit, not dead.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Sun Image Does NOT Show ‘Black Holes’ — They Are Coronal Holes, With Minor Impact To Radio Signals Predicted
Does an image of the sun posted on X show two black holes pointed directly at Earth? No, that's not true: The dark areas in the image are coronal holes made visible with a Solar Ultraviolet Imager on the GOES-16 satellite, and they are no
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: LED Lights NOT Known To ‘Disrupt The Flow Of Hydrogen’ In Human Body
Does exposure to LED lights "disrupt the flow of hydrogen" in the human body, causing harm, as was suggested in a post on Instagram? No, that's not true: The post cited a 2023 study that examined techniques used for water splitting, a gre
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Is NOT First Person To Win Presidential Primary As Write-In Candidate
Is President Joe Biden the first person to win a presidential primary as a write-in candidate? No, that's not true: Several people have won presidential primaries as write-in candidates, with such victories dating back to at least the ear
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Supplements With Oil-Based Formula Do NOT Reverse Effects Of COVID-19 Vaccines
Can lipid-based supplements reverse the effects of COVID-19 vaccines by "communicating with the gene code"? No, that's not true: Two medical specialists told Lead Stories the claim is not grounded in facts. The Instagram account that made
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 50,000+ Write-In Votes For Biden Were NOT ‘Found’ In New Hampshire
Were 50,000+ write-in votes for President Joe Biden "found" in New Hampshire to give him the win in the presidential primary? No, that's not true: The New Hampshire secretary of state's office told Lead Stories that the write-in votes wer
The Dispatch→ Et Tu, Mitch?
McConnell surrenders to Trump. Or does he?
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – Did judge ‘election interference’ delay Trump defamation trial? We rate that claim False.
Social media post claims judge in Trump’s defamation trial engaged in “election interference” by delaying the trial to New Hampshire’s primary day.
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – Ebola vaccines can’t shed deadly virus
“US hospitals caught injecting experimental Ebola vaccine that sheds!”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Marines Did NOT Arrest Ex-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly — Story Is Made Up
Did U.S. Marines arrest former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that the claim is false. The claim appears in an article on a website that regularly publishes fabricated
The Dispatch→ Assessing Claims That Nikki Haley Is ‘Claiming Victory’ After Primary and Caucus Losses
Haley conceded that Trump won after both Iowa and New Hampshire.
The Dispatch→ RNC Moving to Declare Trump Its Presumptive Nominee
An RNC committeeman has submitted the proposal despite Nikki Haley’s vow to stay in the race.
PolitiFact→ The Gateway Pundit – Did Alex Soros issue a death threat against former President Donald Trump? No, that’s Pants on Fire!
Alex Soros posted a “direct violent threat to Donald Trump!”
Full Fact→ New Piccadilly mosque will not ban alcohol and music from London’s theatre district
The claim has appeared across multiple social media platforms.
Health Feedback→ Vaccines don’t cause childhood cancer, contrary to claim by Candace Owens
REVIEW In January 2024, political commentator and talk show host Candace Owens posted a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that vaccine package inserts state vaccines haven’t been tested for carcinogenic or mutagenic effect, that there has bee
Full Fact→ Bim Afolami overstates NHS in England as a share of ‘everything the government spends’
It seems that the Treasury minister made a common mistake by expressing NHS England as a percentage of all budgeted spending, not public spending as a whole.