Did Bernie Sanders tell an audience that he thinks "black people smell"? No, that's not true: A video of Sanders on a local cable access show when he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in the 1980s includes the future senator and presidential c
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Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The One Video Bernie Sanders Doesn’t Want You to See’
On February 24 2020, the Facebook page “The Hodgetwins” shared the following video purportedly showing presidential candidate Bernie Sanders praising breadlines, framed with text about it being “the one video that Bernie Sanders doe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bernie Sanders Did NOT Say Undocumented ‘Entitled’ to Same Government Benefits As U.S. Citizens
Did Bernie Sanders say undocumented immigrants are "entitled" to government benefits during a campaign rally in Texas? No, that's not true: The candidate for the Democratic nomination for president said that his administration will be about "u
FactCheck.org→ Sanders Didn’t Call for 52% Tax on $29,000 Incomes
Quick Take A viral post claims, falsely, that Sen. Bernie Sanders at a recent debate called for a tax rate of 52% on incomes of $29,000 or more to pay for his Medicare for All plan. He didn’t. That figure was floated as a potential marginal tax r
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Bernie Sanders Did NOT Say He Wants To Raise Taxes To 52% On Anybody Making Over $29,000
Did Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders say he wants to raise taxes to 52 percent on anybody making over $29,000 a year during this week's fiery Democratic debate in Nevada? No, that's not true: it is fake news being spread over soc
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the Las Vegas Democratic Debate
Summary Many of the factual disputes centered on disagreements among the candidates: Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said the stop-and-frisk policy that was “in place” when he became mayor “got out of control” and so “we cut 95% of
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Member of "USA Parliament" NOT Matching The Holy Quran
Did a member of the U.S. government burn the Quran? No, that's not true: a viral image on Instagram by @thekenyans claims a member of "USA parliament" desecrated the Islamic holy book, but there are several dubious claims - one being that U.S.
FactCheck.org→ Senate Majority PAC
Political leanings: Democratic 2018 total spending: $165.6 million The Senate Majority PAC is a super PAC that describes itself as “solely dedicated to building a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate.” In the 2018 election cycle, the Senate Maj
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Dearborn Did NOT Join California In Canceling President’s Day
Did the city of Dearborn, Michigan, decide to join California in cancelng President's Day? No, that's not true: This story was a piece of satire published on a liberal website that intentionally sets out to mislead conservative supporters. The
FactCheck.org→ Competing Claims on Trump’s Budget and Seniors
In what has become an annual Washington exercise, Democrats and Republicans are waging a war of words over the president’s proposed budget and how it would affect programs for seniors. President Donald Trump tweeted that he “will not be touchin
FactCheck.org→ Posts Misidentify Site of Used Needle Pile in Homeless Camp
Quick Take Posts circulating on social media show a pile of hypodermic needles and falsely identify the site as a homeless encampment in Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco. The photo was actually taken at a homeless camp cleanup in Washingt
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘If You Make $50,000/Year, $36 of Your Taxes Goes to Food Stamps, $4,000 Goes to Corporate Subsidies’
A February 14 2020 tweet about “socialism” and a putative $50,000 wage earner paying $36 in tax towards food stamps and $4,000 towards corporate subsidies went wildly viral, appearing in screenshots on Facebook and discussion forums in the
Truth or Fiction?→ Jeff Bezos Bought a $165M House, the Equivalent of a $75 House if You Make $60,000 a Year?
In February 2020, tweets and screenshots appeared, claiming that Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos had recently purchased a $165 million house — typically with the caveat that the acquisition was about the same as someone who made $60,00
FactCheck.org→ Bloomberg Misleads on Stop-And-Frisk
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg misleadingly stated that he “cut” the police practice of stop-and-frisk — a policy that he “inherited” — by “95%” by the time he left office as mayor of New York. There were nearl
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Can We Brainstorm Ways to Make This Sound Less Racist’ Michael Bloomberg Subreddit Post
Amid ongoing controversy involving Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg and his attitude toward New York City’s stop-and-frisk policies, blogger and reporter Zaid Jilani tweeted a screenshot from Reddit’s r/PresidentBloomberg — in whi
Truth or Fiction?→ Did North Dakota Republicans ‘Block Native Americans From Voting’?
Stories continue to circulate online about a federal judge’s October 2018 ruling around a North Dakota voter identification law, but readers on social media may not be aware that as of February 2020, the legal fight against the law has not concl
FactCheck.org→ Fact-Checking Trump’s Defense for Removing Vindman
President Donald Trump defended removing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from the White House’s National Security Council by claiming that Vindman’s “superior … publicly stated that Vindman had problems with judgement, adhering to th
New York Times→ Responding to Critics, Bloomberg Omits Role in Expanding Stop-and-Frisk
The former New York City mayor claimed to have “inherited” the policing policy and cherry-picked data to claim a 95 percent reduction.
Truth or Fiction?→ Does an Image Show the Ku Klux Klan Marching with a Trump/Pence Banner?
On February 9 2020, a Facebook page called “The Truth Fairy” shared the following image, which purportedly showed the Ku Klux Klan marching with a Trump/Pence banner in support of the election (or re-election) of United States President D
FactCheck.org→ Sanders Spins Young Voter Turnout in Iowa
Sen. Bernie Sanders claimed there was a “huge voter turnout” among young caucusgoers in Iowa this year, saying the turnout was “even higher than Obama’s extraordinary victory in 2008.” In fact, about 10,300 fewer young voters turned out this
Lead Stories→ Fake News: FBI Intelligence Bulletin Was NOT Falsified
Did members of the media falsify an FBI intelligence bulletin that warned conspiracy theories are a new domestic terrorism threat? No, that's not true: The FBI has commented to Lead Stories about the document, and multiple members of the media
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the New Hampshire Democratic Debate
Summary Four days before the New Hampshire primary, seven Democratic presidential candidates debated. We found factual distortions on several issues: Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sen. Bernie Sanders “voted to give the gun manufacturers … a
Truth or Fiction?→ Angelika Greg-Delany #WalkAway Campaign: ‘I Came From the Soviet Socialist Part of the Ukraine, I Barely Survived’
Late on February 6 or early February 7 2020, Facebook user “Angelika Greg-Delany” shared a purportedly true account to the group #WalkAway Campaign — purportedly first about her encounter with a Russia-bashing “Bernie Sanders s
FactCheck.org→ Report Prompts False Claims of ‘Voter Fraud’ in Iowa
Quick Take A report by a conservative legal organization about voter registration rates in eight Iowa counties has been cited to promote baseless suggestions of voter fraud. Full Story Amid the Iowa caucuses, the founder of a conservative group and
Truth or Fiction?→ What is a ‘Recanvass’?
Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez’s demand on February 6 2020 not only prolonged ongoing controversy surrounding the Iowa Democratic Party Caucuses — it also ignited interest in the process of a recanvass. “Enough is enou
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Vitamin C Does NOT Slow Or Stop Coronavirus
Do high doses of Vitamin C dramatically slow or stop the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus? No, that's not true: There is no known cure for the virus that to date has infected more than 24,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Pete Buttigieg’s Campaign Donate $42,500 to Iowa Caucus App Developer Shadow, Inc.?
On February 4 2020, Twitter user Ariän El-Tahry tweeted a claim that Shadow, Inc., the company that built an app used to tally votes in the chaotic Iowa caucus the day before, had received donations from groups associated with only two candidate
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the State of the Union
Summary In his 2020 address to Congress, President Donald Trump stretched and distorted the facts: Trump claimed the economy is “the best it has ever been.” But GDP growth fell to 2.3% last year and economists predict further slowing this year. He
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Bernie Sanders’ Campaign ‘Have Five Lawyers’ Contact Democratic Officials in Iowa?
Amid heavy criticism of breakdowns in the February 3 2020 Iowa Democratic Party caucus, a progressive congressional candidate attracted attention to himself with a claim involving a meeting between members of the Democratic National Committee and staf
Truth or Fiction?→ Who Broke the Iowa Caucuses and Why Were Results Delayed?
One day after the February 3 2020 Iowa caucuses — the first primary voting of all fifty American states — the hashtag #IowaCaucusDisaster remained at the top of Twitter’s “trending” charts after a confusing night with no
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Bill Gates Did NOT Help Fund Patent For Coronavirus
Did billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates help fund a patent for the Wuhan coronavirus? No, that's not true: The Pirbright Institute addressed the conspiracy theories and said the patents involve infectious bronchitis
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘A Quick Peek at Which States are Googling Bernie Sanders the Most Over the Last 30 Days’
On January 28 2020, Twitter user Wes Holing (@wesholing) shared the following screenshot of a map graph, a purported “quick peek at which states are Googling Bernie Sanders the most over the last 30 days”: Time to take a quick peek at wh
FactCheck.org→ Super Bowl Ads from Trump and Bloomberg
The campaigns of President Donald Trump and Democrat Mike Bloomberg have purchased airtime during the preeminent TV ad event of the year: the Super Bowl. Both scheduled spots make claims that require context or further explanation. Trump’s ad sa
Truth or Fiction?→ The Simple Mathematical Property Making Social Media Users ‘Feel Stupid’
In January 2020, some users on Reddit and Facebook found themselves stunned to discover an application for the commutative property of multiplication for determining percentages. The post appears to have originated on Reddit, as part of a discussion s
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Trump Administration’s 2020 Budget Propose $25 Billion in Cuts to Social Security?
On January 31 2020, the page “Labor 311” shared the following screenshot of tweets from anchor Soledad O’Brien and United States President Donald Trump, in which he vows to “protect Social Security,” while she claims that
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Only Three Companies Make All the World’s Insulin (Charging $20 Outside the United States and $300+ in the United States)?
On January 28 2020, the Facebook page “Drug Prices are Too High” shared the following Twitter screenshot, about the purported price of insulin outside the United States (USD$20) versus its cost in the U.S. (USD$300+) per vial: Th
FactCheck.org→ Buttigieg Gives Trump Too Much Blame for Debt
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg blamed tax cuts backed by President Donald Trump for creating the nation’s debt problem. But while the Congressional Budget Office says those tax cuts are worsening the nation’s debt, spirali
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘My Team and I Are Doing a $100 Cash Giveaway’ Facebook Multi-Level Marketing Meme
In January 2020, a number of Facebook posts promoting a “$100 cash giveaway” appeared on Facebook, almost all with nearly identical wording. The $100 cash giveaway posts seemed to have one thing in common — those promising $100 to pa
Truth or Fiction?→ Can You Get Coronavirus from Wish.com Products?
As concern over coronavirus spread in late January 2020, Facebook users began to share memes claiming that all products from ubiquitous seller Wish.com shipped from Wuhan, China — thought to be the region from which a massive outbreak of what
PolitiFact→ Andrew Yang – How many Americans actually donate to political candidates?
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | How many Americans actually donate to political candidates? MUSCATINE, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants more Americans donating to political campaigns. The business entrepreneur