Did a running "DOGE Clock" on a website that monitors the national debt say efforts to reduce government waste, fraud and abuse had already saved over $8 billion by January 22, 2025? No, that's not true: The privately run website includes
The Dispatch→ AI on the Cheap vs. Stargate’s Big Splash
AI technologies and the companies behind them are taking divergent paths in 2025.
The Dispatch→ Vladimir the Weak
Is Trump getting tough with Russia?
PolitiFact→ X posts – Posts falsely claim Elon Musk said MAGA will ‘succeed’ where Nazi Germany ‘failed’
Elon Musk posted on X that the MAGA movement will “succeed in all the ways Nazi Germany failed to.”
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – No, Joe Biden didn’t pardon the Capitol police officer who fatally shot Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt
Former President Joe Biden “pardoned Michael Byrd.”
PolitiFact→ Does getting pardoned equal a confession of guilt, as Dinesh D'Souza claimed?
Conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza argued that accepting a presidential pardon means admitting guilt. But legal experts say it’s not that simple.
PolitiFact→ Lisa Murkowski – US’ highest mountain called Denali for thousands of years, and Mount McKinley for nearly a century
"Our nation’s tallest mountain … has been called Denali for thousands of years."
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ALTERED Image Shows Taylor Swift Giving Right-Handed Salute — Image From 2014 Performance Is Flipped
Does an authentic image show Taylor Swift giving a right-handed salute similar to the gesture used by Nazis? No, that's not true: The image has been horizontally flipped to make it look like Swift had performed a right-handed salute, a de
PolitiFact→ Viral image – No, this isn’t an authentic video of RFK Jr. promoting a diabetes treatment
Video shows Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promoting an alternative diabetes treatment.
The Dispatch→ Does the L.A. Fire Department Have a Fleet of Electric Fire Trucks?
No, the LAFD has one electric fire truck that is equipped with a backup fuel tank.
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – No, US immigration officials are not paying $750 for turning in immigrants in the U.S. illegally
“ICE has released the tip hotline to turn in illegal immigrants. They paying $750 for each illegal immigrant.”
PolitiFact→ Trump’s early health moves signal intent to erase Biden’s legacy. What’s next is unclear.
With his early actions on health care policy, President Donald Trump’s signaled he will likely wipe away some Biden-era programs to lower drug costs and expand coverage under public insurance programs.
Full Fact→ What we do (and don’t) know about ‘illegal migrant’ numbers
A Telegraph article claiming up to one in 12 people in London are “illegal migrants” has grabbed headlines. But estimating how many people are in the UK illegally is inherently difficult
Full Fact→ No, Donald Trump did not say Republicans were the ‘dumbest group of voters’
The fake quote, which has been online since at least 2015, has been recirculating as Mr Trump begins his second term as president.
The Dispatch→ No, Trump Did Not Win by the ‘Biggest Margin of Any Republican Presidential Candidate’
A claim by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is false.
PolitiFact→ Robin Vos – Wisconsin Republicans say voter ID laws are supported by 70% to 80% of the public
Voter ID "is supported, if you look at any poll, by 70 to 80% of the public."
Health Feedback→ Nature Biotechnology study misrepresented in social media posts claiming “all mRNA jabs cause heart damage”
REVIEW In January 2025, Facebook posts appeared claiming that a study published in January 2025 showed “all mRNA jabs cause heart damage” and that COVID-19 vaccines “should never have been allowed to be injected into humans”. Examples of suc
Full Fact→ Image of blue-roofed house which survived LA fires is almost certainly AI
The picture has been shared widely on social media in recent days, as part of a wider conspiracy that blue items weren’t affected by the fires in Los Angeles.
Full Fact→ Sun article about 550% ‘surge’ in grooming cases based on non-comparable data
A reported steep rise in cases may have been affected by a broader classification of grooming since 2017—as well as by changing rates of reporting.
The Dispatch→ Unpacking Trump’s ‘Energy Emergency’
Trump’s initiatives to boost American fossil fuels could face legal and logistical challenges.
The Dispatch→ Trump’s Executive Orders
Plus: David shocks us. Woah.
The Dispatch→ Guilty, Actually
Not my circus, not my crackpots.
The Dispatch→ ‘Clever’ Trump Executive Order Shrouds DOGE From Public Scrutiny
Situating the new department in an existing agency enables it to avoid Freedom of Information Act requests.
The Dispatch→ Congressional Republicans Giving Trump Time to Make a TikTok Deal
Most think he’s following the ‘spirit of the law’ intended to sever Chinese ownership.
The Dispatch→ The Divine Right of CEOs
You can't run a free society like a business.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show People Fleeing ICE Raid in January 2025 — Footage Predates September 2024
Does a video show people in January 2025 fleeing from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid? No, that's not true: The video shows men running near a construction site in 2024 or earlier. The building seen in the video was finish
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show AOC Giving Nazi Salute
Does an image being spread on social media show Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez performing a Nazi salute? No, that's not true: It's a still from a video captured while Ocasio-Cortez was reaching out to another member of Congress. It shows O
PolitiFact→ Social Media – No, Meta isn’t forcing users to follow Trump. Here’s how the social media power transfer works
After the inauguration, Meta forced users to follow President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
The Dispatch→ The Easy Stuff
Retribution comes early for John Bolton.
The Dispatch→ Fact Checking President Trump’s Inaugural Address
The president made a series of claims that were either false or missing context.
PolitiFact→ Republican leaders want to put conditions on California wildfire aid. Is there precedent for that?
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other congressional Republicans have said they want changes that they haven’t specified in California’s policies tied to federal wildfire disaster aid. Here’s how federal disaster help has historically been
The Dispatch→ It Was Never Really About Trade at All
Did Biden’s international economic policy fail … or did it never really even try?
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Supposedly Of LA Wildfires In January 2025 Is NOT Authentic — Likely AI Creation
Does a video that shows an entire city engulfed in flames as a dozen helicopters hover overhead authentically capture a scene from the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025? No, that's not true: Multiple online artificial intelligence det
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines not shown to have “negative efficacy”, contrary to claim by Nicolas Hulscher
REVIEW In January 2025, a Facebook post claimed that COVID-19 vaccines had “negative efficacy”, suggesting that the vaccines increased the risk of contracting COVID-19 instead of reducing it. The post cited a Japanese study published in 2024 as
Health Feedback→ Experimental study using mosquitoes to vaccinate against malaria wasn’t funded by Bill Gates
REVIEW Facebook and Instagram posts shared in late December 2024 and early January 2025 claimed that the Gates Foundation funded research for a malaria vaccine that would “turn mosquitos into ‘flying syringes’ (examples here, here, here, and h
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Migrants At Blockade On Southern Border In January 2025 — It Was March 2023
Did a video show "over 1,000" migrants entering the United States through the southern border shortly after President Donald Trump's second inauguration? No, that's not true: This video was posted on X in March 2023, a reverse image searc
The Dispatch→ No, Facebook Is Not Forcing Users to Follow Donald Trump
The official accounts change when a new administration takes over.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Instagram, Meta Did NOT Force Users To Follow Vance, Trump
Did Instagram and its parent company, Meta, force users to follow Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The accounts in question are reserved for the sitting vice president and president, respectively. O
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Map Does NOT Show January 2025 California Wildfires Lined Up With Proposed High-Speed Rail System
Does a viral clip offer proof that the January 2025 California wildfires followed the same path as the planned California high-speed rail system?No, that's not true: The clip repeated a recycled falsehood from 2018. It showed an old 2018
PolitiFact→ Joe Biden – Biden’s False claim that the Equal Rights Amendment is in the Constitution ignores the legal debate
“The Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.”