REVIEW On 23 January 2023, retired nurse educator John Campbell published a YouTube video commenting on excess mortality data from EuroMOMO, a project monitoring mortality in 29 European countries or subregions, led by scientists at the Statens Seru
The Dispatch→ Satellite Censorship?
Signage for the Newsmax on display at the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting on May 28, 2022. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)Newsmax claims DirecTV dropped the channel to silence political speech. Is there more to the sto
The Dispatch→ Nikki Haley’s Campaign-in-Waiting Starts its Engines
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022.(Photo by WADE VANDERVORT/AFP via Getty Images)Two existing Haley groups form the foundation of a poss
The Dispatch→ A Defense of Clichés
‘Casablanca’ at 80 reminds us of the beauty of the tried and true.The post A Defense of Clichés appeared first on The Dispatch.
The Dispatch→ Self-Flagellation Nation
The National Museum of American History is seen closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak starting Saturday, March 14. This decision was made in an effort to limit large gatherings of people, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the Washington, D.C., Maryland
The Dispatch→ Any Given Doomsday
There's no scientific risk analysis going on here.The post Any Given Doomsday appeared first on The Dispatch.
The Dispatch→ Hinge Moments: What To Do When Life Changes
Opportunities, changes, and faith. The post Hinge Moments: What To Do When Life Changes appeared first on The Dispatch.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Heckling Crowd Did NOT Chant ‘Fuck Joe Biden’ At Speech — It’s Altered Audio
Did a crowd of hecklers shouting "Fuck Joe Biden!" interrupt the U.S. president during a White House speech about gun violence and gun safety laws? No, that's not true: The video has been digitally altered to add a loud chorus of voices.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Crystals Found In Some ‘Lunchables’ Nacho Cheese Dip Are NOT Glass Shards But Phosphate Crystals, Company Says
Does the nacho cheese dip in Lunchables "Nachos Cheese Dip & Salsa" contain shards of glass? No, that's not true: The crystals have been widely reported by consumers -- but they are not glass. The crystals may form from one of the reg
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Outside Agitators’ Have Always Been a Racist Myth
In January 2023, the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police in Memphis, Tennessee drew widespread outcry in the United States. Ditto for the death in Atlanta, Georgia that same month of protestor and environmental activist Tortuguita — Ma
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Aborted Fetal Cells NOT Used In Artificial Flavors In Food
Are aborted fetal cells added to artificial flavors in food products? No, that's not true: The false claim mis-states the use of HEK 293 cells in taste research by the Senomyx company, which was purchased by Firmenich, a Swiss flavor and
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – U.S. spending in Afghanistan dwarfs aid to Ukraine
The amount the U.S. has spent in Ukraine is “double the U.S. expenditure for its own war in Afghanistan.”
The Dispatch→ Threat Level Midnight Forever
The 2023 Doomsday Clock. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.)The Doomsday Clock is a P.R. stunt, not science.The post Threat Level Midnight Forever appeared first on The Dispatch.
PolitiFact→ Viral image – Flames from hell? That’s just the Truth-O-Meter burning over claims a photo shows Obama as Satan
A photo shows “Barack Obama dressed up as Baphomet (Lucifer).”
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Empty promise on Facebook dangles free health care. It isn’t true
President Joe Biden signed an executive order “making health insurance free for qualifying Americans.”
PolitiFact→ Viral image – Don’t egg them on: Scientists found no link between eggs, sudden blood clots
“Scientists warn eggs are causing thousands of people to ‘suddenly’ form blood clots.”
FactCheck.org→ Damar Hamlin Is Recovering and Has Appeared Publicly, Contrary to Online Claims
Quick Take Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest Jan. 2 on the football field after being hit in the chest during a tackle. Hamlin was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 11 and has made several public appearances since then.
The Dispatch→ Down With the Establishment! (Whoever That Is)
Republican Party chair Ronna McDaniel speaks after being re-elected during the 2023 RNC winter meeting in Dana Point, California, on January 27, 2023. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images.)The confusing politics of the RNC election.The post Dow
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Video Does NOT Show Abrams Tanks In Poland
Does a video circulating on social media show American M1 Abrams tanks in Poland? No, that's not true: The clip was shot in the United States, in Kansas. While the video lacks the precise details needed to establish whether the tanks in q
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Damar Hamlin is alive despite baseless claims to the contrary
Hospital photo of Damar Hamlin proves “he’s a corpse.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Heavy Metal Detox Does NOT Cure Autism
Does heavy metal detox cure autism? No, that's not true: An expert told Lead Stories there is "no evidence" that substantiates the claim that taking something for a "heavy metal detox" can cure autism. There is no known cause or cure for
Logically→ Video shows Pakistan’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari dancing to the song ‘Besharam Rang.’
The man seen dancing to the Hindi song in the video is not Bilawal Bhutto Zardari but Mehroz Baig, a student at Iqra University, Karachi.
PolitiFact→ Joe Biden – Joe Biden touts big joblessness drop, but pandemic programs skew key comparison
“Two years ago this week, 18 million people were out of work needing unemployment benefits. Today, that number is under 1.6 million, the lowest in decades.”
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Feeling weighed down? It’s not because there are 5-15 pounds of stool ‘stuck’ in your gut
“The average American has anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds” of stool stuck in their gut.
Truth or Fiction?→ A&W Root Bear ‘Bear Mascot’ Twitter Joke Ends Up on Fox News
As a January 2023 debate over M&Ms’ “spokescandies” moved through the news cycle, a tweet about A&W Restaurants purportedly issuing a similar statement was featured on Fox Business: Why are right wingers obsessed with animat
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Human-Elephant Hybrid Is NOT Real, Did Not Attract Hindu Pilgrims To Norway
Was a baby with elephant-like facial features born in Norway, and have thousands of Hindu people flocked to Norway to see the child since media in India reported the birth? No, that's not true: The photo posted with this claim does not sh
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – WHO vaccine research aimed for contraception, not sterilization
“The World Health Organization has been working since 1974 on vaccines to create permanent sterility.”
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Misleading Unemployment Statistic
Speaking at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ winter meeting, President Joe Biden botched a statistic on the number of people receiving unemployment benefits, misidentifying them simply as the number of people “out of work.” His comment
The Dispatch→ Stirewaltisms: Aaaaaand They’re Off …
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas on November 18, 2022. (Photo by Wade Vandervort/AFP/Getty Images.)Did you really think 2024 would get off to a slow start?The post
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden DID Say He Added More Debt — But He Was Talking About Previous Administration
Did President Joe Biden say during a January 26, 2023, event that "No president added more to the debt in four years than my president"? Yes, that's true: But a social media video of his comment is missing context. Just before this remark
Truth or Fiction?→ Trump’s Tax Cuts and the National Debt
On January 25 2023, a Reddit account shared a screenshot of a tweet by musician and political blogger Jeff Tiedrich to r/WhitePeopleTwitter, asserting that former United States President Donald Trump’s tax cuts were “responsible for”
PolitiFact→ Timeline: Classified documents seized at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home
The FBI in August seized documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump sued to challenge the seizure, but later lost. The Justice Department’s investigation into Trump’s possession of the classified documents continues.
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Claim vastly overstates government’s spending on TSA’s gender-neutral screening technology
The Transportation Security Administration spent “a couple hundred million dollars” on gender-neutral screening technology.
Full Fact→ Jeff Bezos couldn’t give every Amazon worker £90,000
A bonus suggested by the Labour MP Zarah Sultana would cost more than Mr Bezos’s reported total wealth, let alone any wealth he gained during the pandemic.
Full Fact→ The Earth’s core has not stopped rotating
A study in Nature Geoscience said that the Earth’s inner core might no longer be spinning faster than the rest of the planet—not that it might have stopped spinning altogether.
Full Fact→ Lines reportedly seen in the sky around Heathrow are contrails, not chemtrails
A social media post has shared a number of images showing vapour lines from aeroplanes in the sky, and claims that these are in fact “chemtrails”. They aren’t—they’re contrails.
Poynter→ Mongolia moves to seize power to shut down internet, control social media
The Mongolian parliament passed a multipronged law last week that would ban users from posting information about any public official without express government consent. Any information shared in an online […] The post Mongolia moves to seize powe
The Dispatch→ A Freewheeling House
Members talk on the floor of the House Chamber on the opening day of the 118th Congress. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)Plus: An interview with a newly appointed member of the China competition committee. The post A Freew
Full Fact→ ‘Kraken’ Covid-19 subvariant linked to baseless claims about 5G harms
A social media post claims that 5G is “harming and killing people”.
Full Fact→ Facebook offer of free sausage roll and drink at Greggs is not genuine
A post shared hundreds of times on social media is not from the bakery chain.