Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a Midland County Republican Party event on April 6, 2023, in Midland, Michigan. (Photo by Chris duMond/Getty Images)Is he headed for the same finish?Continue reading DeSantis Stuck in Cruz Control »
The Dispatch→ Our Best Stuff From the Week Trump Got Arraigned
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits with his defense team in a Manhattan court during his arraignment on April 4, 2023. (Photo by Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images)Plus: the Wisconsin Supreme Court race and Republican shenanigans in Tennessee.Continue r
PolitiFact→ Ron DeSantis – Are more than half of felony charges in Manhattan downgraded? Yes, but its common elsewhere, too
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “has downgraded over 50% of the felonies to misdemeanors.”
The Dispatch→ Tales of Loneliness, Stories of Syncretism
A review of Samanta Schweblin’s ‘Seven Empty Houses’ and Scholastique Mukasonga’s ‘Kibogo.’Continue reading Tales of Loneliness, Stories of Syncretism »
The Dispatch→ All the Pieces Fall Into Place
A review of ‘Tetris.’Continue reading All the Pieces Fall Into Place »
The Dispatch→ I See Dumb People
Is the GOP trying to look bad?Continue reading I See Dumb People »
The Dispatch→ DeSantis, Decider
Florida man as the next Commander-In-Chief?Continue reading DeSantis, Decider »
The Dispatch→ A Modest Case for the Case Against Trump
Former President Donald Trump arrives to his hearing in Manhattan on April 4, 2023. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)The indictment might not be strong, exactly, but neither is it as weak as many have argued.Continue reading A Modest Case for the Ca
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Woke’ Did NOT Originally Come From ‘Willingly Overlooking Known Evil’
Did the expression "woke" originate from the phrase "willingly overlooking known evil"? No, that's not true: The term "stay woke" was first used in a 1938 song by blues musician Lead Belly about Black teenagers accused of raping white wom
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pepsi Does NOT Produce Parasites When Poured On Raw Pork
Does pouring the soft drink Pepsi on raw domestic pork cause parasites to appear on the pork's surface? No, that's not true: A parasitologist told Lead Stories that this claim has been "fabricated." Claims about Pepsi's effects on pork pa
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New COVID Variants Did NOT Stop ‘All The Sudden’ After Fauci Retirement At End Of 2022
Did the world suddenly stop having new COVID-19 variants after Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), retired at the end of 2022? No, that's not true: More than a year befo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Vitamin D Is NOT ‘A Rat Poison’
Does getting vitamin D "from anywhere other than the Sun" poison people? No, that's not true: A video on social media misrepresents the properties of vitamin D. The claim appeared in a clip published on Facebook on April 4, 2023, under th
The Dispatch→ Three and Out
Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville speaks during a vote to expel her from the state Legislature on April 6, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Seth Herald/Getty Images)Thoughts on Tennessee.Continue reading Three and Out »
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – US public schools are still teaching about the Declaration of Independence
U.S. public schools don't teach the Declaration of Independence.
FactCheck.org→ Posts Exaggerate Lab Findings About COVID-19’s Impact on Immune System
SciCheck Digest Outside of long COVID or very severe cases, most research suggests COVID-19 doesn’t cause lasting damage to the immune system. A few studies have found evidence of some possible damage, but nothing as severe as an immunodeficiency
PolitiFact→ Stormy Daniels’ order to pay Trump in failed defamation suit is unrelated to NY case
Donald Trump’s April 4 arrest on criminal charges is not likely to be impacted by a failed 2018 defamation case that Stormy Daniels brought against the then-president and a recent financial order that Daniels pay some of his legal fees.
The Dispatch→ The Ties That Blind
Former President Donald Trump arrives at an event at the Mar-a-Lago Club April 4, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)With no other frame of reference, young conservatives are starting to think it’s normal to be jerks.
PolitiFact→ North Carolina state House Democratic Caucus – NC Democrats exaggerate education funding ranking
“North Carolina ranks last in the country in K-12 funding.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Claim That Obama Will ‘Relocate To Kenya In June’ Is NOT News Story — It’s April Fool’s Day Joke
Will former President Barack Obama move to Kenya in June 2023 as a Senate-confirmed special envoy for U.S. diplomacy? No, that's not true: The article that makes this claim has a disclaimer that states it's an April Fool's Day story. Some
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – The FDA didn’t approve Twinkies, just some of its ingredients
"Vitamins aren’t FDA approved, but Twinkies are.”
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – COVID-19 did not stop mutating when Fauci stepped down from top role
There have been no new variants since Dr. Anthony Fauci retired.
PolitiFact→ Tweets – Truck driver who defaced a Florida pride crosswalk was not ultimately charged with a hate crime
“Florida man charged with a hate crime” for defacing pride crosswalk
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Does pouring soda on raw pork reveal parasites? Don’t believe this myth
Pouring soda on raw pork will cause parasites to emerge.
Washington Post→ Parsing Clarence Thomas’s statements on the gifts he didn’t disclose
We take a line-by-line look at Thomas's rare public comment.
The Dispatch→ Out of Sorts
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a press conference following the arraignment of former President Donald Trump April 4, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)Our political homogeneity makes primaries more im
PolitiFact→ TikTok posts – Ron DeSantis did not announce his presidential candidacy; this video is a deepfake
A video shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saying, “Now Trump’s been indicted, now the people will have no choice but to accept me as their assigned candidate.”
AllSides→ Don’t fall for these fake Donald Trump mug shots. He didn’t take one
https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/apr/05/dont-fall-these-fake-donald-trump-mug-shots-he-did/ Supp
AllSides→ Does Video Show Russia’s Ministry of Defense on Fire?
https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-does-video-show-russia-ministry-defense-fire-1793073 Russia is stil
The Dispatch→ Lawmakers Revive SCOTUS Ethics Debate
Sens. Richard Durbin Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse during aSenate Judiciary Committee hearing in 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)A report about Justice Clarence Thomas has Democrats pushing for new rules. Continue reading Lawmakers Rev
FactCheck.org→ Posts Distort Possible Sentencing for Trump in Manhattan Indictment
Quick Take Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on April 4 to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records to conceal alleged hush money payments. Social media posts misleadingly claim Trump is “facing up to
The Dispatch→ An Update on Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers are seen on the frontline of Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Photo by Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Fighting continues in Bakhmut as Ukrainian forces prepare for a possible spring counteroffensive.Continue reading
Poynter→ Don’t fall for these fake Donald Trump mug shots. He didn’t take one
Supposed mug shots of former President Donald Trump have circulated on social media for weeks, beginning after his March 18 Truth Social post announcing his impending arrest. In some pictures, he’s wearing […] The post Don’t fall for th
Health Feedback→ Kaposi’s sarcoma is an opportunistic cancer that occurs in advanced AIDS patients; it’s not caused by poppers
REVIEW In 2021, an estimated 650,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses worldwide. When untreated, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infections progress to a chronic condition known as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS. AIDS is potentia
The Dispatch→ The Voters Are Trying to Tell You Something
A difficult week for the GOP. Continue reading The Voters Are Trying to Tell You Something »
The Dispatch→ Texas’ Bad Bet on Gambling
The croupier holds poker cards in his hands at a table in a casino. (Photo from Getty Images.)State-cartel gambling doesn’t provide the path to economic prosperity its backers claim.Continue reading Texas’ Bad Bet on Gambling »
The Dispatch→ The Middle East Braces for a Nuclear Iran
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian meets Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Beijing, China, on Thursday. (Photo by Iranian Foreign Ministry/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Saudi Arabia eyes dip
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Easter’ Does NOT Have Etymological Link To Babylonian Deity And Infant Sacrifices
Did the tradition of Easter and egg-dying originate as a celebration of Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of fertility and sexuality? No, that's not true: Easter is related to the Germanic Ostern, a Christian holiday that celebrates the deat
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CNN Did NOT Cut Off Benjamin Watson Because He Spoke About Jesus During Brooke Baldwin Interview
Did CNN cut Benjamin Watson off in mid-sentence during an interview because the NFL star started talking about Jesus? No, that's not true: Watson, who was at the time a tight end for the New Orleans Saints, was interviewed via satellite f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Appearance Of ’33 COVID Cases’ Phrase In Multiple News Clips Does NOT Prove Pandemic Conspiracy
Does a string of edited-together U.S. news clips with the words "33 COVID cases" in one form or another in each prove that COVID-19 and the pandemic were fabricated or orchestrated? No, that's not true: The cherry-picked soundbites -- all
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Poster Does NOT Show A Real War Recruiting Campaign Launched By Ukraine In The U.S. To Target Low-Income Populations
Does a viral snapshot of a poster portray authentic recruiting efforts of Ukraine to encourage the homeless and welfare recipients in the United States to join the fight against Russia? No, that's not true: The rumor was promoted by Kreml