As United States President Donald Trump and his supporters continued to try to normalize xenophobic rhetoric surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa came under criticism online for his own effort. “I don’t unders
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Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Evidence Does NOT Show The WHO Director-General Overstated COVID-19 Fatality Rate
Did the World Health Organization's director-general overstate the COVID-19 fatality rate when he said that it was many times that of the seasonal flu? No, that's false: Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accurately stated that the de
Truth or Fiction?→ Imperial College London’s COVID-19 Report, Explained
On March 17 2020, an Imperial College London paper about coronavirus and COVID-19 trajectory models was referenced widely in the news and on social media, causing a considerable amount of concern and drawing global attention. Discourse about the Imper
FactCheck.org→ Q&A on the Coronavirus Pandemic
Editor’s Note: This is an updated version of a Q&A we published Jan. 30. Much has changed since then. An outbreak of viral pneumonia that began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 has sickened more than 200,000 people and
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Coronavirus Put Dogs at Risk Because Hand Sanitizer Has the Same Ingredients as Antifreeze?
On March 14 2020, a Facebook status update (archived here) claiming that pet owners should be aware that hand sanitizer “has the same ingredients as antifreeze” went viral after an uptick in hand sanitizer use due to an ongoing COVID-19 o
FactCheck.org→ Trump Misrepresents Google Coronavirus Website
President Donald Trump and other officials misleadingly suggested that tech behemoth Google was working on a screening website that large numbers of Americans could soon use to see if they should be tested for the new coronavirus. The website, however,
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ilhan Omar Did NOT Give $50,000 Of Taxpayer Money To Al Qaida
Did Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota give $50,000 of taxpayer money to al-Qaida? No, that's not true: The article is a dated work of satire that other websites have, even now, stolen without noting the satirical nature of the story. The
FactCheck.org→ Infographic on Facebook Distorts Comparative Facts on Viruses
Quick Take A misleading chart being spread on Facebook, erroneously dubbing the new coronavirus the “least deadly virus,” contains outdated information about the coronavirus and erroneous information about the death rate of the 2009 pandemi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Novel Coronavirus Is NOT The Least Deadly Virus
Does a chart that people are sharing online comparing major viruses accurately represent how the novel coronavirus is the "least deadly virus"? No, it does not: The table exaggerates the death rate for H1N1. The source for the chart, a Busines
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the March Democratic Debate
Summary The first head-to-head debate of the Democratic presidential primary between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders focused on the government’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. We sorted through competing claims th
Truth or Fiction?→ Did 12,000 Americans Die of H1N1/Swine Flu, and Were 275,000 Hospitalized?
As concerns over novel coronavirus strain COVID-19 crested in mid-March 2020, comparisons between the effects of the strain versus that of H1N1 (or “swine flu”) more than a decade before triggered a flurry of fact checks, a Facebook flag o
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Supermarkets Are NOT Recalling Coronavirus-Infected Toilet Paper
Are toilet paper rolls imported from China infected with the coronavirus and being recalled in stores? No, that is not true. No recalls have been issued, and many experts agree that there is no evidence the novel virus could survive being tran
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Trump’s Coronavirus Address
In a short primetime address, President Donald Trump provided false, misleading and incomplete information about the new coronavirus and actions his administration has taken or will take to staunch its spread: In announcing new restrictions on travel
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Joe Biden Say He Would Veto a ‘Medicare for All’ Bill?
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was criticized in March 2020 following an interview with MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell as he faced accusations of intending to veto a bill expanding Medicare services for all Americans. The exchange fr
Truth or Fiction?→ Was ‘World of Warcraft’ Once Hit by a Virus That Was Subsequently Studied by Researchers?
As the COVID-19 (aka Coronavirus disease) continued to spread in March 2020, social media users flashed back to a “pandemic” that unfolded nearly 20 years earlier — but this one took place entirely in the virtual world. According to
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biopsies Do NOT Necessarily Spread Cancer
Do biopsies cause cancer to spread? No, that's not necessarily true: They are not a significant cause of metastasis (the spread of cancer from one area of the body to another). For one, doctors take care to ensure that cancer cells are not spr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biopsies Do NOT Cause Cancers To Spread
Do biopsies cause cancer to spread? No, that's not true: For one, doctors take care to ensure that cancer cells are not spread via biopsies. Further, a study has found that patients who undergo biopsies tend to live longer. The claim was made
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Quarantined Kids in in Wuhan Defeat a Homework App by Spamming it With One-Star Reviews?
In a tweet which became a Facebook post, @zenalbatross reported that Wuhan’s clever schoolchildren “defeated the app assigning them homework” by spamming it with one-star reviews to trigger its deletion from an app store: good morn
FactCheck.org→ The Facts on Trump’s Travel Restrictions
President Donald Trump has made a number of misleading statements about his decision on Jan. 31 to impose travel restrictions related to the novel coronavirus epidemic. Trump has referred to the travel restrictions as a “travel ban.” There
FactCheck.org→ Trump and the Coronavirus Death Rate
The World Health Organization says that 3.4% of reported COVID-19 patients worldwide have died – a global fatality figure that President Donald Trump dismissed as “a false number.” It’s not a false number, although experts say Trump has a point
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The Coronavirus Test Does NOT Cost $3,200
Does the Coronavirus test really cost $3,200? No, that's not true: A claim that the coronavirus test is $3,200 - and that if a person is unable to afford the test or the treatment, they could die - is misleading. The claim has been debunked by
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: DNC Group Did NOT Teach Illegals To Vote
Was a DNC group caught on video teaching illegal immigrants how to vote illegally? No, that's not true: A video purporting to catch someone with a voter registration group linked to the Democratic National Committee was edited to inaccurately
FactCheck.org→ Pence Moved Slowly in Combating HIV Outbreak
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, newly crowned coronavirus point man Mike Pence spun the facts in claiming he moved decisively when confronted with a disturbing HIV outbreak in a rural Indiana county when he was governor of the state.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Mike Bloomberg Say Bernie Sanders Would Have Beaten Trump in 2016?
After the February 26 2020 Democratic debate, memes and Twitter screenshots circulated on Facebook which suggested that presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg said that Bernie Sanders — also running for president — would have beaten Unit
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the South Carolina Debate
Summary In the last Democratic debate before Super Tuesday, the candidates often talked over and past one another. We sort out some of the misinformation. In criticizing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ sympathetic remarks about authoritarian regimes, former Vi
Truth or Fiction?→ Rush Limbaugh Claims Coronavirus is No More Dangerous than the Common Cold. Is it?
In a transcript dated February 24 2020, radio personality Rush Limbaugh claimed that novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is no more dangerous than “the common cold,” adding that he believed that concern over the new strain of disease was simply p
Snopes→ Why Do People Believe Con Artists?
The study of business history reveals that people everywhere have always had a sweet tooth for the unreal, enthralled by what should be taken as too good to be true.
Truth or Fiction?→ Do 78 Percent of Women Considering Abortion ‘Choose Life’ After Seeing an Ultrasound?
A September 2019 claim by the anti-abortion group “March For Life” was exposed to online scrutiny in February 2020. The group claimed at the time that “78 percent of women considering abortion choose life after seeing an ultrasound o
Truth or Fiction?→ Are American Women ’50 Percent More Likely’ to Die From Pregnancy or Childbirth Than Their Mothers?
Hidden in the middle of a story about the effects of social media disinformation on a pregnant woman is a statistic that might give readers pause, but it is chilling — and accurate. The information was part of a February 20 2020 NBC News story o
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Vitamin D Is NOT Better Than Any Vaccine Against H4N1 (Bird Flu) Virus
Is Vitamin D better than any vaccine at warding off the bird flu virus, or does it make the immune system three to five times stronger? No, that's not true: research and experts agree that vitamin D is not the cure-all for preventing various t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Priest Did Give Congregation Rat Poison To Prove They’re Above Death; Fortunately Nobody Died
Did a priest in South Africa kill members of his congregation when he fed them rat poison? No, that's not true: A man known as Prophet (not Priest) Light Monyeki of Grace Living Hope Ministries insists that, yes, in 2017 he mixed rat poison wi
FactCheck.org→ Survey Says: Trump Misleads on Debate Performances
Railing against a Fox News guest who said Donald Trump won the presidency despite poor debate performances, Trump held up a series of opt-in online surveys to misleadingly claim that “polls” showed he “won every single debate.”
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→ Fact Check: Government Did NOT Finally Admit Chemical Geoengineering Via Chemtrail Operations
Did the U.S. government finally admit to conducting chemical geoengineering using chemtrail operations? No, that's not true: An article claimed that a study on the possible health impacts of proposed geoengineering strategies is an admission t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Illegal Immigrants Do NOT Always Get More Welfare Than American Families
Does a study confirm that illegal immigrants collect more welfare benefits than American families? No, that's not always true: A 2016 study that is still being shared online has already been shown to exaggerate the cost of immigrant welfare us
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO Evidence That Instant Noodles Are Linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Are instant noodles linked to chronic inflammation, weight gain, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's? No, that's partly false: While ramen noodle consumption has been linked to heart diseases and diabetes in women in at least one study, there is no ev
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Man Who Works On 5G Towers Does NOT Offer Sources To Back Up Claims On The Dangers To Come
Did a man who works on 5G towers expose the dangers the new wireless technology will bring? No, that's not true: The self-described tower climber is not an expert on the technology. He admitted he was currently undergoing 5G training when he r
Truth or Fiction?→ Fish Mox: ‘Same Antibiotic, Same Pill, Same Manufacturer, Same Drug’ as Amoxicillin?
On February 17 2020 a Facebook user shared the following post, claiming that a product called “Fish Mox” is the “same antibiotic, same pill,” and “same drug” as the common antibiotic amoxicillin: Alongside three
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Latest Research Published By Chinese Scientists Did NOT Say Coronavirus Will Render Most Male Patients Infertile
Did the latest research published by Chinese scientists say that the coronavirus will render most patients infertile? No, that's not true: The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, does not go as far as the headline of the article suggests.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Antifa Has NOT Killed 16 People
Is the left-wing, anti-fascist protest movement known as "Antifa" responsible for the deaths of at least 16 people? No, that's not true: Despite the claims being made by Gavin McInnes, the far-right founder of the Proud Boys, a hate crime trac