In Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the trade deficit with Japan is “changing rapidly.” In fact, the U.S. deficit in goods and services with Japan is up slightly under Trump. The president made his remarks at a Shel
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Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Crowd of People Filmed Taunting Philadelphia Police During a Standoff?
A Philadelphia television reporter’s remarks became part of a story in and of itself during a police standoff. During a live report on the standoff on 14 August 2019, journalist Alexandria Hoff was covering the standoff. During her time on the s
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Protesters of American Immigration Policies Hit by a Truck and Injured in Rhode Island?
On August 15 2019, Facebook posts (sometimes covered for graphic violence) appeared about an incident during which protesters at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in (Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island) were reported
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Costco Pharmacy Have the Least Expensive Prices and No Membership Requirement?
A long-circulating Facebook post (archived here) claims that Costco pharmacy prices are always lower than other pharmacies, adding that Costco membership is not required to fill a prescription: In what appears to be Facebook commentary added to a
PolitiFact→ What’s behind the dubious claim that psychiatric drugs fuel mass shootings?
One question hangs over every mass shooting: How could a person plot and execute such horrific violence? In the search for answers, psychiatric drugs have emerged as a culprit. One viral list that gets to the heart of this belief catalogues several doz
Snopes→ Attorney: Officials Force-Feeding Immigrant on Hunger Strike
The text was alarming: "Today medical start force feeding only with me. They put the pipe in my nose 3 time. My nose is bleeding and pain."
FactCheck.org→ The Epstein Connections Fueling Conspiracy Theories
Summary In the absence of information about how sex offender Jeffrey Epstein managed to die in prison by an apparent suicide on Aug. 10, outlandish conspiracy theories have cropped up across the political spectrum. Among the more prominent theories
Snopes→ Did Donald Trump Tweet That He Loves the Chinese People Like He Loves Melania or Ivanka?
Sometimes it's difficult distinguishing which tweets are real and which are fake.
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Video Show Police Spraying Fake Blood on Themselves During a Philadelphia Shooting?
On August 15 2019, the conspiracy-oriented Facebook page “True News 4 U’s” shared a video (archived here) of police officers in Philadelphia purportedly spraying “fake blood” on themselves in the aftermath of a shooting.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did North Carolina Ban Sharia Law Statewide?
On July 29 2019, frequent Facebook disinformation purveyor Joseph Rudy Rullo posted a meme (archived here) claiming that North Carolina had banned sharia law. Above a map highlighting North Carolina, the meme read: NORTH CAROLINA HAS BANNED
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Woman Post an Ad Offering to Babysit ‘White Kids Only’?
An apparent attempt at harassment against a woman in Cottage Grove, Oregon in August 2019 was amplified through social media on several platforms, and at least one blog post took the false claim at face value. A photograph of 31-year-old Amber Lee Hug
FactCheck.org→ Biden Misleads on Top 1% Tax Rate
The top 1% of taxpayers, on average, pay a higher effective tax rate than middle-income people, contrary to a claim Joe Biden made on the campaign trail. As a result of a low tax rate for capital gains earned by many wealthy Americans, Democratic presi
FactCheck.org→ Harris Wrong on Autoworker Jobs
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris wrongly claimed that “as many as 300,000 autoworkers may be out of a job before the end of the year.” That’s a high-end estimate for total job losses — not solely among autoworkers
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Sam Hyde Is NOT The Shooter In Nicetown, Philadelphia
Is the suspect in the ongoing active shooter situation in Nicetown, Philadelphia a right wing extremist named Sam Hyde? No, that's not true: every time a shooting happens certain online trolls start blaming the comedian for it in a weird in-jo
Snopes→ Biographer: Statue Poem Embraces Migrants from ‘All Places’
The words captured America's promise to newcomers at a time when the nation was also seeking to exclude many immigrants from landing on its shores.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pedophile Priest Who Raped 200 Children NOT Forgiven By Pope Francis
Did Pope Francis forgive a priest who raped 200 children and did this enable the priest to abuse more children? No, that's not true: the priest mentioned in the story died in 2005 and Francis only became Pope in 2013. The story offers no proof
Truth or Fiction?→ Was the Mississippi Chicken Plant Raided by American Immigration Authorities Previously Sued for Workplace Abuses?
An early August 2019 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at Mississippi chicken plant made national news due to its size and the number of children left without parents or guardians in its wake; in its aftermath, rumors claimed that the b
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Cancer Is NOT Caused By Acidity In The Body And You CANNOT Prevent It By Alkalizing Your Body
Is cancer caused by acidity in the body and can you prevent cancer by alkalizing your body? No, that's not true: The claim is a medical myth that has been repeatedly shot down by cancer experts. While it is true that cancer cells cannot surviv
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Public Assistance Programs Exist in the United States Before Social Security?
In August 2019, disinformation and misinformation about the history of immigration to the United States flourished online following the announcement that United States President Donald Trump’s administration would pursue the so-called “pub
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Keanu Reeves (or Russell Crowe) Did NOT Say "For Me Trump Is The Symbol Of A Successful Man And A Role Model For Every Young American"
Did actors Russell Crowe or Keanu Reeves say "For me, Trump is the symbol of a successful man and a role model for every young American, something that our nation was looking for for years. I don't think that America will again have a leader l
Snopes→ A$AP Rocky Found Guilty of Assault by Swedish Court
Though the 30-year-old rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, and his two bodyguards were found to have hit and kicked the victim during the brawl, the three defendants did not face the prospect of an immediate prison term and did not have to attend
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the Trump Administration Rewriting the Statue of Liberty’s Poem?
On August 13 2019, a number of news outlets ran headlines such as “Trump official revises Statue of Liberty poem to defend migrant rule change” and “Cuccinelli edits Statue of Liberty poem to defend new rule,” leading some read
Snopes→ Were 11 People Killed, Dozens More Wounded Over One Weekend in Chicago?
News, like food, is best consumed at the time it is prepared.
Truth or Fiction?→ A Million Seconds Ago Was July 24th, a Billion Seconds Ago Was 1988?
Around August 5 2019, a text meme began circulating on social media comparing a “million” to a “billion” by pointing out that a million seconds prior was the month before (specifically, July 24) and a billion seconds prior was
FactCheck.org→ Obama Hasn’t Called For ‘All-Out Gun Confiscation’
Quick Take A headline circulating on partisan websites distorts former President Barack Obama’s tweet advocating stricter gun laws in the wake of the most recent mass shootings. Full Story Former President Barack Obama posted a statement on Twi
FactCheck.org→ Baseless Claim About Barr Visit to Epstein Prison
Quick Take A baseless claim that Attorney General William Barr visited the prison where accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was being held has been circulating online. But the sole source of that claim — a former mob associate — told us
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Gallery Worker Mistake an Art Installation for Trash?
An odd story from February 2014 involving a $14,000 art installation and an unwitting maintenance worker that first gained attention online through the use of Tumblr saw new life in August 2019 after being shared widely on Facebook. Italian media firs
Snopes→ Woodstock, Manson and the March to Utopia
Timing alone ensures that the Woodstock music festival and Charles Manson murders will be joined in memory. But the apex of peace and love and the abyss of pitiless violence were born out of similar drives as old as the U.S. itself.
Snopes→ Multiple Women Say Opera Star Domingo Sexually Harassed Them
Regarded as one of the greatest opera singers of all time, Placido Domingo also is a prolific conductor and the director of the Los Angeles Opera.
FactCheck.org→ Bogus Conspiracy Theory Claims Epstein is Alive
Quick Take A Facebook post from a user who appears to subscribe to QAnon conspiracies claims that Jeffrey Epstein is not dead. The theory is based solely on a news photo that shows an unresponsive Epstein being wheeled into a hospital on a gurney. Fu
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Queen Elizabeth Did NOT Say: "Muslim Refugees Are Dividing Nationality, I Fully Agree With Donald Trump We Should Deport Them To Avoid Bloody Terrorist Attacks."
Did Queen Elizabeth II say "Muslim Refugees Are Dividing Nationality, I Fully Agree With Donald Trump We Should Deport Them To Avoid Bloody Terrorist Attacks."? No, that's not true: the quote was made up in 2018 and was later spread by various
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Guard Watching Epstein Has NOT Mysteriously Vanished
Did one of the guards (named Arturus Tubolls) that was supposed to watch Jeffrey Epstein mysteriously vanish? No, that's not true: the story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to fool Trump supporters and Republicans into sha
FactCheck.org→ Harris, Warren Wrong About Brown Shooting
On Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in what the Obama administration’s Department of Justice determined was an act of “self-defense.” B
FactCheck.org→ Unproven Claim of ‘Camera Malfunction’ Before Epstein’s Death
Quick Take Viral posts claim there was a “camera malfunction” at the prison housing accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein before his death. Officials have not confirmed that. Full Story As federal officials probe the circumstances surroundi
Snopes→ Sex Misconduct Complaints Against Calif. Doctors Up Sharply
The dramatic increase coincides with the beginning of the #MeToo movement, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: US Is NOT 3rd In Murders; Removing Chicago, Detroit, Washington, St Louis, New Orleans Would NOT Make It 189 out of 193
Does the United States rank third in murders throughout the world and would removing the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., St. Louis, and New Orleans from the total make the U.S. 189th out of 193 countries in the world in homicides?
Snopes→ Lawyer: Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs Has Mental Breakdown
This is not the first time issues of mental and physical health have emerged regarding Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually assaulting girls he considered brides.
Truth or Fiction?→ Are the ‘Epstein Gurney Photos’ Fake?
Conspiracy theories circulated broadly and relentlessly after the August 10 2019 death of high-profile convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in federal custody, including claims that widely published “gurney photos
PolitiFact→ Bernie Sanders – Did counties hosting a Trump rally in 2016 see a 226% spike in hate crimes?
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Did counties hosting a Trump rally in 2016 see a 226% spike in hate crimes? At a time of increasing tension over President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on undocumented immigrants and people of color, several De
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Doc from ‘Fraggle Rock’ Also Doc from ‘Boondock Saints’?
In August 2019 Facebook page The Secret Nerd Base shared a “today years old” meme claiming that “Doc” from the childrens’ show Fraggle Rock was played by the same actor portraying “Doc” in the bloody vengean