Did Cristiano Ronaldo, an award-winning soccer player and the captain of the Portugal national team, sell some of his trophies -- European Golden Shoes -- and donate the money "to the children of Palestine" in 2011? No, that's not true: S
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Clint Eastwood NOT On Life Support After ‘Deadly Ligma Virus’ Spreads Through Body
Is Academy Award-winning actor/director Clint Eastwood on life support in a California hospital after the "deadly ligma virus" spread through his body? No, that's not true: Ligma is not a real disease, and the purported hospital source in
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: World Economic Forum Did NOT Tweet That ‘Christmas Must Be Abolished’
Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) tweet that "Christmas must be abolished" to fight climate change? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this is a real tweet and it does not appear on the official WEF Twitter account. The claim
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Painting Of George Washington Was NOT Removed From White House Display By Obama, And It Is NOT For Sale By Biden
Did then-President Barack Obama put this painting into storage in the White House in 2014 and has President Joe Biden put it up for auction? No, that's not true: This painting, "Washington Crossing the Delaware," was on loan from a privat
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Picture Does NOT Show Biden ‘Fondling’ A Child — It’s Been Edited
Does a photo circulating on social media show President Joe Biden "fondling" a child? No, that's not true: The image was digitally altered. The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) published by the @realstewpeters account on December
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Andrew Tate’s Arrest NOT Because Of Pizza Boxes In Video With Name, Phone Number — It Followed Long Probe
Did the appearance of a name and number on pizza boxes delivered to former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate in a video he posted lead to his arrest by Romanian authorities on December 29, 2022? No, that's not true: Ramona Bolla, a spoke
AllSides→ Our Most Popular Articles in 2022
https://www.factcheck.org/2022/12/our-most-popular-articles-in-2022/ Before we ring in 2023, we look ba
FactCheck.org→ Our Most Popular Articles in 2022
Before we ring in 2023, we look back at the most popular articles that we posted to our website in 2022. For the third consecutive year, COVID-19 tops our list. Nine of the 10 most popular articles were about the pandemic. And most of those were fa
The Dispatch→ The GOP Braces for Divided Government—and a Divided Party
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy conducts a news conference after securing the Republican nomination for speaker on November 15. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)GOP centrists are trying to find their footing in a chaotic caucus. Th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Chuck Norris Did NOT Announce ‘Devastating News’ As Of December 26, 2022
Did Chuck Norris announce "devastating news" on or before December 26, 2022? No, that's not true: A Facebook post that claimed the martial artist announced "devastating news" and implied he suffered a health crisis appears to be nothing m
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Man Was NOT Attacking People In Multiple Cities — The Post Is Spam, Meant To Trick People To Share
Was a 25-year-old man attacking people in multiple cities across the United States? No, that's not true: The alarming claim is spam, meant to trick people into sharing the post. The post is an example of a common -- and deceptive -- metho
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NASA ‘Photograph’ Does NOT Show Pyramid On Mars — It’s Doctored Image With Egyptian Pyramid Added
Does a NASA photograph show a "perfectly built" pyramid located on the surface of Mars? No, that's not true: A photo shared on Facebook in December 2022 said to show a pyramid on Mars is a digitally altered image using actual NASA photos,
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Video Does NOT Show ‘Russia’s Most Advanced Nuclear Submarine’ Spotted In Hawaii On December 26, 2022
Was "Russia's most advanced nuclear submarine' seen floating in Hawaii on December 26, 2022? No, that's not true: A social media post making the claim uses footage from a fictional TV show. The story appeared in a post published on Facebo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ukrainian Flag Delivered To Washington By Zelenskyy Did NOT Have The ‘Nazi SS’ Symbol
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bring a national flag with the "Nazi SS" symbol to Washington, D.C.? No, that's not true: The image circulating on social media was flipped to distort the original inscription. The claim appeare
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Did NOT Tweet About Celebrating Christmas By ‘Putting Migrants On A Bus’
Did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweet about celebrating Christmas by "putting migrants on a bus and kicking them out into the freezing cold"? No, that's not true: The tweet is fake. It combines a genuine photo of the governor's family with a m
Health Feedback→ The Hoxsey herbal mixture doesn’t cure cancer
REVIEW Although the number of deaths from cancer significantly decreased over the past years owing to treatment and diagnostic advances, cancer still represented the second cause of death in the U.S. in 2020. Unfortunately, the emotional burden of c
The Dispatch→ Lying Liars and the Party That Loves Them
Rep.-elect George Santos during a press conference on November 9 in Baldwin, New York. (Photo by Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM/Getty Images.)Who would take Republicans seriously if they showed outrage about George Santos?The post Lying Liars and th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show Olena Zelenska After ‘Shopping Trip In Paris’ — Image Is Photoshopped
Does the image in this tweet document Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska on what appears to be a private jet after she spent "€40000 on a shopping trip in Paris"? No, that's not true: The image is a digital manipulation that puts her f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Max Loughan NOT Missing ‘About Six Years’ — ‘Energy Harvesting Device’ Creator Was In Middle, High School
Did Max Loughan, a 13-year-old who gained fame in 2016 for creating an "energy harvesting device," disappear for "about six years"? No, that's not true: There's no evidence that Loughan was or is missing or hiding. A video posted by his s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The Orange Dot On iPhone Does NOT Mean Someone Is Listening To You
Does the orange dot on the iPhone mean someone is listening to you or spying on you? No, that's missing context: A cyber security expert told Lead Stories the orange circle is a warning from Apple that the microphone is being used by an a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Merkel Does NOT Say In Interview That U.S., NATO Planned War In Ukraine Against Russia
Did former German Chancellor Angela Merkel reveal in an interview plans by the United States and NATO for war in Ukraine with Russia? No, that's not true: Nowhere in her interview with the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, which wa
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT File A Billion Dollars In Lawsuits Against ‘Totally Unprepared’ Kathy Griffin
Did Elon Musk file a billion dollars in lawsuits against "totally unprepared" Kathy Griffin? No, that's not true: The site that posted the story and a "Fact Check" follow-up is satirical. There are clearly marked disclaimers on the websit
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Lionel Messi’s Face Will NOT Be Featured On Argentine Banknote After World Cup Victory
Will the likeness of Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina's national soccer team, be featured on an Argentine 1,000 pesos banknote after the team's win at the 2022 World Cup? No, that's not true: There is no evidence at the time of this wri
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Southwest Airlines Did NOT Cancel All Of Its Flights Until January 1, 2023
Did Southwest Airlines cancel all of its flights until January 1, 2023? No, that's not true: In the final week of 2022, Southwest Airlines experienced major delays and widespread flight cancellations, but it did not cancel all of its flig
The Dispatch→ Fact Checking a Viral Claim About Elon Musk
Elon Musk (Photo by CARINA JOHANSEN/NTB/AFP via Getty Images) A digitally altered social media post falsely attributes a quotation from George Orwell’s famous novella Animal Farm to Elon Musk. View this post on Instagram A post
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Nancy Pelosi Was NOT Hanged At GITMO
Was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hanged at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba? No, that's not true: The claim was reported on a website well-known for making up stories about public figures. The site has a disclaimer warning readers
The Dispatch→ Fact Check: Did Charlie Hebdo Publish an Issue Mocking Volodymyr Zelensky?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images.) A fake, mock-up cover image of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is circulating online. The fabricated cover is of a supposed special holiday issue of the publi
The Dispatch→ The Real Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)The 45th president has made himself the saddest figure in politics. The post The Real Donald Trump appeared first on The Dispatch.
The Dispatch→ Reimagining the Anglosphere
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Indonesia, November. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images,)How a free movement zone between the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand could
The Dispatch→ A Guide to Guns
Assault rifles hang on the wall for sale at Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, Virginia, 2017. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)Frequently asked questions about gun policy. The post A Guide to Guns appeared first on The Dispatch.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Announce He Would Run For President, As Of December 24, 2022
Did Elon Musk announce, as of December 24, 2022, that he is running for president? No, that's not true: As one of the most-reported-on persons of 2022, any such announcement would have been a top story for dozens of credible professional
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Story Behind ‘FuelSave Pro’ Chip Is NOT An Authentic Narrative
Did a young engineer named Christian discover a way to make cars more fuel efficient, but get fired from his job after telling his managers? Did he then develop a chip that will calibrate a car's fuel usage? No, that's not true: Much of t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New Zealand Does NOT Allow Abortions ‘On Demand For Any Reason Up To Birth’
Does New Zealand allow abortions "on demand for any reason up to birth"? No, that's not true: According to a 2020 law, pregnancy terminations after the 20-week mark undergo a thorough review by at least two licensed health practitioners w
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal Was NOT Arrested For Child Porn
Was former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal arrested for possessing child pornography? No, that's not true: The article is from a satirical website and is completely made up. It was originally published without a satire label but has been update
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Did NOT Put His Hand On Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s Buttocks — The Photo Is Edited
Did President Joe Biden put his hand on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's buttocks while pausing for a photo op during Zelenskyy's December 2022 visit to the United States? No, that's not true: The original image was posted to Twi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Zelenskyy Did NOT Say ‘Butthole’ When Giving Biden A Medal
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say the word "butthole" when giving President Joe Biden a medal at the White House? No, that's not true: Zelenskyy was saying "Pavlo," the name of the Ukrainian Army military captain who sent hi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO ‘Huge Army Of 2500000 Chechens’ Preparing ‘The End Of Russia’ Or Helping Putin In Ukraine
Is there a "huge army of 2500000 Chechens preparing the end of Russia" or helping "get Putin out of the bottleneck" in Ukraine? No, that's not true: The self-contradictory claim that fails to mention a source cites an unrealistic number e
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Electric Companies Do NOT Hate ‘Young Whizkid’ For Purported Power-Saving Invention
Is a "young whizkid" inventor shown in a social media video despised by electric companies for creating a device that "cuts 50% off an average home's power bill"? No, that's not true: The young man shown in the video is an inventor but no
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hitler Was NOT Black NOR Does This Picture Prove He Was
Was Adolf Hitler, the head of the Nazi Party and dictator of Germany, actually black and does this photo prove it? No, that's not true: This picture is a color photo converted into black and white from an episode of a TV sitcom called "Co
The Dispatch→ Christianity is Political, But Not in the Way You Think
(Photo by Wolfram Steinberg/picture alliance via Getty Images)Debates about Christian nationalism often misunderstand the fundamental role of the church. The post Christianity is Political, But Not in the Way You Think appeared first on The Dispatch.