Matt Lewis’ new book explores how elected officials almost always get richer—and why that erodes civic trust.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Internet Personality Lil Tay Has NOT Died, Despite August 9, 2023, Death Notice On Her Instagram Page
Did child rapper and foul-mouthed internet sensation Tay "Lil Tay" Tian die on or about August 9, 2023? No, that's not true: No official records document the death after her Instagram page featured a statement announcing the death of the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show A Giant Barbie Next To Burj Khalifa in Dubai — It’s A Computer-Generated Ad
Does a social media video show a giant Barbie-doll hologram walking out of a Barbie box next to Dubai's Burj Khalifa skyscraper, the world's tallest building? No, that's not true: This footage displays a computer-generated image (CGI) vid
ABC News / AP Fact Check→ Old photos are being misrepresented online to fuel a conspiracy theory about the Maui wildfires
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Prove That Prigozhin Joined Zelenskyy Or That Wagner Mercenaries Agreed To Fight For Ukraine
Did Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin switch his loyalty to Kyiv, reaching an agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that his paramilitary unit would fight alongside Ukrainian soldiers? No, that's not true: A viral vide
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Georgia Has More Than 2 Million ‘Phantom Voters’ On Its Voter Rolls
Does the state of Georgia have 2.2 million "phantom voters" on its voter rolls, a situation that could lead to widespread voter fraud? No, there's no evidence that's true: A woman making this claim in a video on social media provided just
The Dispatch→ Where’d All the Serial Killers Go?
Musings on the decline of lethal degenerates.
FactCheck.org→ Posts Exaggerate Significance of Swiss Study on Heart Risk and COVID-19 Vaccination
SciCheck Digest A Swiss study found that after a COVID-19 booster, less than 3% of people briefly had a slightly elevated blood level of a protein that can be a marker of heart injury. No one in the study had any serious heart damage, and other exp
FactCheck.org→ Post Distorts Florida School Policy on ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Quick Take A Florida school district is allowing students to read only excerpts of “Romeo and Juliet” in class — not passages with sexual content. But a Facebook post incorrectly suggests all Florida high schools are removing the
PolitiFact→ Ron DeSantis – Illinois law expanding police eligibility to some immigrants is narrower than critics say
"Illinois is now letting illegal aliens become police officers."
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Mugshot Is NOT Of A Brawling Alabama Boater — Shows Man Nabbed For Voyeurism In 2020
Did a beat-up and bloodied man in a booking photo distributed on social media take part in the August 5, 2023, brawl on the Montgomery, Alabama, riverfront that was sparked by his refusal to move his pontoon boat and allow a large riverbo
The Dispatch→ In Defense of Onerousness
Do we really have to debate whether it’s good to shield kids from pornography?
PolitiFact→ Hunter Biden investigation: What's a special counsel, and why did Merrick Garland appoint one?
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss as the special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden. Weiss had been investigating Hunter Biden for years, but special counsel status gives him broader authority.
ABC News / AP Fact Check→ A UN expert did not urge Christians to accept pedophilia
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False.
PolitiFact→ Citizens Against Government Waste – TV ad targeting U.S. Sen. Ted Budd misleads North Carolinians about health bill
A bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders would “increase government control” of pharmacy benefit managers and is a “radical health care takeover.”
Truth or Fiction?→ Maui Fires: How to Help
In early August 2023, deadly wildfires swept through the Hawaiian island of Maui; one of the most upvoted posts on Reddit’s r/all featured a circulating image of the devastation: The destruction of Maui fires by u/Jonny_Boy_808 in
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show 2 Russian Tu-160 Bombers ‘Actually Landing In South Africa’ In 2023 — It’s From 2019
Did a viral video capture two Russian Tu-160 military jets arriving in South Africa in 2023? No, that's not true: The footage, initially aired by the Russian state-sponsored TV network RT, showed a 2019 event. The claim appeared in a post
Health Feedback→ Why Alex Jones’ claim on Infowars that COVID-19 vaccines cause meat allergy is baseless
REVIEW In a video from August 2023, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and InfoWars employee Rob Dew claimed that the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines contain a bovine protein called alpha-gal that “creates an autoimmune response in those
Health Feedback→ Video about blank COVID-19 vaccine insert falsely implies there are no safety data for COVID-19 vaccines
REVIEW
Truth or Fiction?→ An Author Told The Washington Post ‘The Pandemic Isn’t Over.’ Then They Deleted Her Words.
Amid reports of a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washington Post altered the headline for an author’s op-ed describing living with the disease in which she said that for her and Americans living in similar situations — and contrary to
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – Photo used to claim ‘direct energy assault’ started Hawaii wildfires has circulated since 2018
Photos are proof that Hawaii fires were caused by a “direct energy weapon assault on the people.”
ABC News / AP Fact Check→ Florida leprosy cases highlighted in recent report aren’t linked to COVID-19 vaccines
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False.
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Altered images of Fox News host Sean Hannity, Elon Musk make a false promise
Fox News reported on “an energy-saving device that can save 90% of electricity” from Elon Musk.
PolitiFact→ Bloggers – Claims about the United Nations shunning Christians for not embracing pedophilia lack evidence
The United Nations has warned Christians that if we do not fully accept the legalization of pedophilia that we will be excluded from participating in society.
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Don’t quit your jobs, Brits. Supposed BBC News video about Elon Musk project was altered
BBC News reported that British residents “no longer need to work” thanks to an investment project from Elon Musk.
ABC News / AP Fact Check→ The World Economic Forum’s chairman didn’t call for AI to replace elections
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False.
Logically→ Japanese rescue robots shared as Chinese ‘cadaver collecting’ machines
Full Fact→ It’s not illegal for shops to refuse cash
Just because cash is legal tender does not mean businesses must accept cash payments.
FactCheck.org→ RFK Jr.’s COVID-19 Deceptions
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s battle against vaccines — and against the institutions that promote them — goes back to at least the mid-2000s, as we explain in the first article of this series. But the arrival of COVID-19 gave the environme
FactCheck.org→ Video Misrepresents Lasting Effects of Nuclear Bombs Dropped on Japan During World War II
Quick Take The United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, killing hundreds of thousands of people to force Japan’s surrender in World War II. A video on social media falsely claims the cities “wer
Logically→ No, there is no lack of scientific proof that carbon dioxide causes global warming
The Dispatch→ The GOP Debate in Milwaukee Approaches
Who has qualified, and should Donald Trump participate?
Logically→ No, sunscreen does not cause cancer
Logically→ No, application of sunscreen will not cause cancer
Logically→ No, this image doesn’t show young Elon Musk with his mother
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: Dominion Voting Systems didn't contribute $2 million to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Logically→ The world is burning less, but in some places, it’s burning more
AllSides→ Trump Makes Unsubstantiated Claim About Fani Willis
https://www.factcheck.org/2023/08/trump-makes-unsubstantiated-claim-about-fani-willis/ There is no evid
Logically→ Staged video shared as altercation between Hindu and Muslim men
Logically→ No, WHO’s pandemic treaty will not remove the existing human rights protection laws