Did a fire that broke out in La Spezia, Italy, destroy 5G wireless towers? No, that's not true: Local media reports say the fifth-generation cellular network is not available in the city. "5G has nothing to do with it," a newspaper headline re
Search Results (297) for: denies
FactCheck.org→ False Claim of Congressional Pay Raises in Stimulus Bill
Quick Take Facebook posts falsely claim that House Democrats included $25 million to boost their own salaries in their proposal for the coronavirus-related stimulus package. That funding is not for legislators’ pay increases; it’s also in t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Helicopters Are NOT Spraying Disinfectants To Try To Eradicate Coronavirus
Are helicopters being used to spray disinfectants into the air to eradicate the coronavirus? No, that's not true: This is a false rumor spreading around the world on social media, as well as through popular messaging services. The hoax has pro
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Homeland Security Is NOT Preparing To Mobilize The National Guard To Combat Coronavirus
Is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security preparing to mobilize the National Guard to enforce a nationwide quarantine? No, that's not true: The National Guard has issued a tweet refuting those claims. The item has been copied-and-pasted from
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
FactCheck.org→ Roger Stone’s Crimes
President Donald Trump has criticized the Justice Department for prosecuting the president’s longtime associate Roger Stone and recommending that Stone serve up to nine years in prison. That’s his opinion, but he falsely supports it by clai
Truth or Fiction?→ Did John Kerry Tweet and Delete a ‘F***ing’ Denial That He Intended to Run for President?
On February 3 2020, Twitter briefly lit up with delight over apparent swears from the normally sanguine John Kerry, who had purportedly taken to Twitter to state that any rumors that he planned a 2020 presidential run were “fucking (or categor
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Bernie Sanders Tell Elizabeth Warren a Woman Couldn’t Win a Presidential Election?
On January 13 2020, CNN published an article with the headline, “Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in private 2018 meeting that a woman can’t win, sources say.” It began: The stakes were high when Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warr
FactCheck.org→ Trump Administration’s Shifting Statements on Soleimani’s Death
Since announcing on Jan. 2 that a U.S. operation had killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Trump administration has offered various accounts of the intelligence assessments that President Donald Trump relied on to make his decision. Initially, Trum
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Virginia Governor NOT Preparing To Order Up To 10,000 Body Bags In Anticipation Of Civil War
Is the Virginia governor preparing to order up to 10,000 body bags in anticipation of civil war breaking out? No, that's not true: The Democratic governor denies he has ordered body bags. This is an unsupported claim - a hoax played on people
Truth or Fiction?→ Teen Vogue Publishes, Unpublishes Mysterious Sponsored ‘Facebook Election Integrity’ Piece
Youth-oriented news and politics site Teen Vogue is frequently lauded for its post-2016 foray into political news, a nearly-unequivocal level of approval that suddenly faltered after sponsored Facebook public relations material was published and then
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Position on Osama bin Laden Raid
Questioned by a Fox News reporter, former Vice President Joe Biden denied that he told then-President Barack Obama “not to go after [Osama] bin Laden” in what turned out to be a successful mission to kill the 9/11 mastermind. The Republican
Truth or Fiction?→ Iranians, Iranian-Americans Stopped at U.S. Border with Canada
United States Customs and Border Patrol subjected both Iranians and Iranian-Americans to more scrutiny in January 2020 in the wake of new orders from the Department of Homeland Security, although CBP quibbled over accounts of people stopped for hours
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Swedish Child NOT Beaten By Muslim Immigrant For Having Blue Eyes
Did a Swedish child get beaten by a Muslim immigrant for having blue eyes? No, that's not true: the photo is actually of a four-year-old girl from Cardiff, Wales who was attacked by a rottweiler. It was not a 12-year-old Swedish boy from Helsi
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Blue Eyes Are Haram’ Disinformation
On January 1 2020, disinformation purveyors all across the internet suddenly pivoted in unison to pushing the same disinformation that has muddied English-speaking social media since at least 2015, down to the same claims, the same recycled stories, a
FactCheck.org→ Republicans Cherry-Pick Facts on Impeachment
As the House Judiciary Committee began public hearings on whether to draft and approve articles of impeachment, Republicans presented a set of facts that they claimed cleared President Donald Trump of any wrongdoing. The Republican National Committee o
Truth or Fiction?→ Did BBC Edit a Clip of Boris Johnson Getting Laughed at in a Televised Forum?
The British Broadcasting Corporation faced accusations of political bias in November 2019 after social media users spotted the difference between a television audience’s live reaction to a question directed at UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and
FactCheck.org→ Interview Prompts Erroneous Claim of Vindman Firing
Quick Take Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a Ukraine expert working in the White House, was not fired by President Donald Trump — as posts circulating online continue to perpetuate. The confusion was born out of a recent television interview with Tru
Truth or Fiction?→ Mitch McConnell: ‘Completely and Utterly Perplexed’ by Those Who Argue Perjury, Obstruction of Justice Aren’t High Crimes?
In November 2019, a screenshot from Reddit circulated on social media, quoting Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) as saying he was baffled by people who argued “perjury and obstruction of justice are not high crimes and misdemeanors” when r
FactCheck.org→ Day One of the Public Impeachment Hearings
During the first day of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry into the president’s conduct regarding Ukraine, the ranking members of the House intelligence committee made several statements that lacked context and required more information.
Truth or Fiction?→ The Sad Backstory of the ‘Woman Yelling at a Cat’ Meme
On October 26 2019, a Facebook user shared a PSA involving the popular meme often called “woman yelling at a cat,” stating that the image’s ubiquity led them to research the origins of the image: After seeing this image on many diffe
FactCheck.org→ Mulvaney’s Spin on Ukraine Aid
White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney engaged in some serious political spin when he tried to deny what he said in a televised press conference: that the White House withheld security aid to Ukraine, in part, because the administration wanted
FactCheck.org→ Posts Resurface Made-up ‘Congressional Reform’ Bill
Quick Take Viral Facebook posts claim President Donald Trump has endorsed a supposed “Congressional Reform Act of 2017.” But no such bill exists. The text in the posts has circulated for years without references to Trump, and it is riddled
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Inaccurate Claims About His ‘Perfect’ Call
President Donald Trump’s request that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, has triggered an impeachment inquiry. Since then, the president has made a series of inaccur
FactCheck.org→ Q&A on Intelligence Community Whistleblower
A whistleblower on Aug. 12 filed a complaint with the inspector general of the intelligence community, who found the information credible and determined that under the law it should be forwarded to the congressional intelligence committees. But the act
FactCheck.org→ Yang’s Top-Gun Tale
Making a point about Defense Department waste, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang related a secondhand story about a Navy fighter pilot who said that airmen routinely dumped fuel into the Pacific Ocean at the end of the fiscal year as a way
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Share a Logo Identical to One Used by a White Nationalist Group?
While it denies any links to white nationalists, President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign spread a logo first used by a white supremacist group on August 28, 2019. The logo — a red and white lion’s head inside a blue band adorned wi
FactCheck.org→ Meme Inflates Rise in Congressional Salaries
Quick Take A viral meme on Facebook falsely claims that members of Congress have received a “231%” increase in pay in the last 30 years. Automatic cost-of-living adjustments have resulted in an increase of 94.4% from 1989 to 2009. Full St
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the Trump Administration Rewriting the Statue of Liberty’s Poem?
On August 13 2019, a number of news outlets ran headlines such as “Trump official revises Statue of Liberty poem to defend migrant rule change” and “Cuccinelli edits Statue of Liberty poem to defend new rule,” leading some read
Truth or Fiction?→ Are El Paso Mass Shooting Victims or Their Families Avoiding Hospitals for Fear of Immigration Enforcement?
After at least 22 people were murdered in an August 3 2019 mass shooting at an El Paso, Texas mall, rumors flew as the country tried to get a handle on the violence and anticipated what could happen next. Chief among the rumors were claims that Immigr
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Migrants NOT Quarantined with UNKNOWN Disease, 10-Year Old Girl NOT Found With 20 Types of Semen In Her
Are migrants at the U.S. southern border quarantined with an unknown disease and was a 10-year-old girl found with 20 types of semen in her? No, neither is true: An ICE official denies there is such a quarantine and he said the claim about a y
FactCheck.org→ Trump Accuser Targeted With TV Clip
Quick Take A clip from an old episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is being used to discredit a woman who recently accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. The clip doesn’t prove that she is a “fraud,”
FactCheck.org→ Post Misleads on Congressional Salaries, Social Security
Q: Did members of Congress approve a salary increase for themselves and deny an increase in Social Security benefits? A: No. Congress is still contemplating whether to allow an automatic pay increase for its members, and it does not determine cost-
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ripon College Did NOT Ban 9/11 Never Forget Poster Calling It Culturally Insensitive
Did Ripon College in Wisconsin ban a 9/11 "Never Forget" poster, caalling it culturally insensitive? No, that's not true: There was debate on the campus when a conservative student group placed the posters on campus and some administrators ask
Truth or Fiction?→ Does a ‘Leaked’ British Intelligence Document Prove Trump Wiretapping Claims?
In April 2019, in the days and weeks following the release of a heavily anticipated (and heavily redacted) Special Counsel’s report on interference into the 2016 United States presidential elections, rumors and speculation reinvigorated a March
FactCheck.org→ Debunking Mueller’s ‘Conflicts’
The Russia report released April 18 contradicts President Donald Trump’s claims that special counsel Robert Mueller had two conflicts of interest that prevented him from conducting an impartial investigation: Former White House Chief Strategist
FactCheck.org→ Trump Misstates Nadler’s Position on Starr Report
President Donald Trump got his facts wrong when he said Rep. Jerrold Nadler “thought the concept of giving the Starr report” about President Bill Clinton “was absolutely something you could never do” in 1998. Nadler wasn’t against releasing a
Snopes→ R. Kelly Cries, Calls Accusers Liars in Sex Abuse Case
R. Kelly, out on bail following his arrest in Chicago, said he has done "lots of things wrong" when it comes to women, but said he has apologized. He denies doing anything against their will.
FactCheck.org→ Video: Cohen vs. Trump
Our latest collaboration with CNN’s Jake Tapper is on Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony and instances where he contradicted past statements made by President Donald Trump. Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, said he
FactCheck.org→ Cohen, Trump at Odds
Michael Cohen gave public testimony under oath that contradicted past statements by President Donald Trump on WikiLeaks, Stormy Daniels and a proposed Moscow real estate deal, as well as Trump’s Vietnam War deferrals and his net worth. Here we la