Francis widened divisions in the Catholic Church even as he strove to broaden its reach.
PolitiFact→ TikTok posts – No, ‘The Simpsons’ didn’t predict Pope Francis would die in 2025
“The Simpsons” predicted Pope Francis’ 2025 death.
The Dispatch→ Sobriety Test
Is Pete Hegseth too incompetent for Trump’s government?
PolitiFact→ RFK Jr. exaggerates share of autistic population with severe limitations
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said people with autism “will never pay taxes, they'll never hold a job, they'll never play baseball, they'll never write a poem, they'll never go out on a date.” This is a skewed view of the autistic population, data and expe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Body Cam Video Of Cop Demanding ID From Black Lawyer Shopping Is Not Authentic — Actors Acting!
Does a police body cam video show an authentic incident in which an officer is demanding that a Black man in a business suit hand over his identification while shopping in a boutique store? No, that's not true: The video first appeared on
The Dispatch→ How Democracies Fall and Rise
‘Freedom is at existential risk right now.’
The Dispatch→ The Legacy of Pope Francis
A 'Maverick' Pope?
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: AOC Does NOT Have A Sister Who Vandalized Tesla Dealership In April 2025
Was U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's sister charged in the city of Yonkers in New York in April 2025 in connection with a supposed attack on a Tesla dealership? No, that's not true: She has no sister. The claim originated fr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Video Shows UK PM Keir Starmer ‘Kissing’ Labour Donor Waheed Alli
Did authentic security camera footage show U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer kissing Waheed Alli, a television entrepreneur and prominent supporter of the governing Labour Party? No, that's not true: The video, which was shared widely in A
PolitiFact→ PolitiFact readers’ feedback in the first 100 days of Trump presidency
Reader response in Trump’s first 100 days
The Dispatch→ A Terrible Solution to a Nonexistent Problem
On the inanity of Trump’s trade war.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Donald Trump DID Post an Easter Message to ‘Radical Left Lunatics’, Judges, Biden in 2025
Did President Donald Trump post a "Happy Easter" message to social media in which he attacked "Radical Left Lunatics," "WEAK and INEFFECTIVE judges", and former president Joe Biden? Yes, that's true: Widely shared screenshots of the post
The Dispatch→ Wishing You a Happy Easter
Catching you up on the weekend’s news.
Lead Stories→ Pope Francis Has Died At Age 88 After A Stroke, Coma And ‘Irreversible Cardiovascular Collapse’ — What Happens Next
By Raffaella Menichini, Lead Stories Deputy International Teams Manager (Rome) and Lead Stories staff A nine-day mourning period has begun with the death of Pope Francis, who died on Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88, according to
The Dispatch→ The Cases That Could Stop Trump’s Tariffs
Will the courts do what Congress won’t?
The Dispatch→ Short Video Isn’t Just Rotting Our Brains. It’s Rewiring Them.
Short-form video is the logical outgrowth of an increasingly oral culture.
The Dispatch→ Water From Stone
Christianity’s proposition to humanity is most clearly seen in a puzzling image.
The Dispatch→ Our Best Stuff on Trump’s Executive Overreach
Plus, tiki bars are back.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: AI Video Falsely Claims Whoopi Goldberg Fled The Country After An $800M Lawsuit From Karoline Leavitt — Made Up Story
Did Whoopi Goldberg flee the country after an $800 million lawsuit from Karoline Leavitt had a "speed up"? No, that's not true: A viral video making that claim was largely AI generated. No actual news outlet has reported on such a lawsuit
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘MS13’ Letters And Numbers Added To Photo Of Kilmar Abrego Garcia Knuckle Tattoos Held Up By Trump
Does a printout of a photo held up by President Trump in a picture on social media authentically show the characters "MS13" on the hand of Kilmar Abrego Garcia? No, that's not true: The letters and numbers appear to have been added to the
The Dispatch→ Conditional Logic for Dummies
The rant heard ‘round the world.
The Dispatch→ The Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case, Explained
A deportation has sparked a battle over immigration enforcement, court authority, and compliance with judicial orders.
The Dispatch→ What A Novel-Writing Organization’s Demise Teaches Us About AI
AI can be used for ill. But it can also help people express themselves.
The Dispatch→ The Wrong Kind of Abundance
Caution (and stupidity) in spades did us no favors during COVID.
The Dispatch→ The Eternal Badness of Bad Ideas
Misguided theories exist, but our liberal system gives voters the means to reject them.
The Dispatch→ The Gramsci Turn
Responding to Chris Rufo.
Health Feedback→ Influencer Gary Brecka spreads misinformation about water fluoridation in Instagram post
REVIEW In April 2025, U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he would tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cease recommending water fluoridation. This followed another announcement by the U.S. Environmental Prot
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Jimmy Kimmel Did NOT Kick Clint Eastwood Off His Show In April 2025
Did Jimmy Kimmel kick Clint Eastwood off his show in April 2025? No, that's not true: Searches across the website of ABC, which airs the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show, demonstrated that Eastwood was not a guest between January 1, and April 18,
The Dispatch→ Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Claims About Fluoride and IQ Are Unfounded
The HHS secretary made misleading claims in a Cabinet meeting and a press conference in Utah.
PolitiFact→ X posts – No, Arizona election officials aren’t removing ‘50,000 noncitizens from voter rolls’
Arizona Democrats “needed a lawsuit to force them to remove 50,000 noncitizens from voter rolls.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Satire Story Claimed Dr. Anthony Fauci Petitioned For Emergency Visa To Take Up Position At Wuhan Institute Of Virology In China
Did Dr. Anthony Fauci petition the State Department for an emergency travel visa to China so he can take up a position at the Wuhan Institute of Virology? No, that's not true: A Facebook post making that claim originated on a Facebook pag
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Liz Cheney didn’t pen a viral open letter to Democrats. It started in a Facebook group.
Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney wrote a viral letter to Democrats suggesting steps to take against the Trump administration.
PolitiFact→ Byron Donalds – Can voters use Real ID to satisfy SAVE Act voting rules, as Byron Daniels said? Not in 44 states.
Under the SAVE Act, “as long as you have a Real ID … it should be easy for you to register to vote.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The Obamas Did NOT Get $30 Million From the Government Under Biden
Did the federal government pay Barack and Michelle Obama $30 million over the course of the Biden administration, from 2021 to 2025? No, that's not true: That claim originated in an April 2025 post by a Facebook account that labels its co
The Dispatch→ From Tariffs to Tehran
Team Trump is seeking (some sort of) a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Show Phoenix Ikner Marching Behind Anti-Trump Banner During Demonstration — Different Person
Does a photo show alleged FSU shooter Phoenix Ikner marching in an anti-Trump demonstration? No, that's not true: The picture shows Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society organizer Oliver Cheese marching behind a banner that says "
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Phoenix Ikner Mention In FSU News Story About Anti-Trump Protests Was In Section About ‘Onlookers’
Did FSU News report alleged Florida State University shooter Phoenix Ikner participated in an anti-Trump rally? No, that's not true: The now deleted section of the article that mentions and quotes Ikner is about "onlookers" who showed up
The Dispatch→ The Tucker Wing Is Winning
We can’t call war crimes ‘war crimes’ because it will offend Russia.
The Dispatch→ The Problem With ‘Fund XYZ!’ as a Cure-All
Governments have a lot of resources. But they're often not used well.
The Dispatch→ Get Out by Good Friday, Feds Say to Afghan Christians
The Department of Homeland Security has revoked immigration status of some Afghans who fled to the U.S.