Plus: Who leaked the Federalist Society pick?
The Dispatch→ What We Know About Women In Combat
There are real problems with women on the front lines—but they aren’t the ones Pete Hegseth is thinking of.
The Dispatch→ Trump, the Kurds, and a New Syrian Reality
New leaders in Washington and Damascus may expose longtime U.S. partners to Turkish incursions.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Drones Over US In 2024
Does a video on Threads show drones over the United States in 2024? No, that's not true: The video predates the 2024 wave of drone sighting reports. The clip has been online since at least 2022 and was described as showing drones spraying
The Dispatch→ The Dark Age
Making vaccine skepticism great again.
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – No, ivermectin still isn’t an effective COVID-19 treatment
“Ivermectin is a treatment after Covid and after vaccination, it is an effective medicine in all phases of Covid 19.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Administration Did NOT Spend $3 Billion For Just 93 Postal Delivery Electric Vehicles
Did the Biden administration spend $3 billion to procure just 93 electric mail trucks? No, that's not true: A Postal Service spokesperson told Lead Stories that Congress approved $3 billion to purchase 66,000 electric postal delivery vehi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NFL Did NOT Fire 3 Referees For Bribery Scheme
Did the NFL abruptly fire three referees who officiated the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams for their involvement in the largest bribery scheme in NFL history? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that t
PolitiFact→ Threads posts – No, this isn’t footage of a drone crash, and the ‘Star Wars’ stormtroopers are a clue
Video shows footage of a “drone crash.”
FactCheck.org→ Congress Not Proposing to Give Itself 40% Raise
Elon Musk, who has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead a committee to ferret out government waste, wrongly posted to X that members of Congress are trying to vote themselves a 40% raise. A continuing resolution put forward by Republ
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Tesla tablets for $100? Think again. There’s no evidence auto company ‘unveiled’ a tablet
“Elon Musk unveils a $100 Tesla tablet that will revolutionize the technological world.”
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – Photos don’t show Coca-Cola truck with rescued children. It’s a Christmas toy drive
“A Coca-Cola truck filled with kids was found by police in Cicero, Illinois.”
The Dispatch→ There Is No Kingdom of Heaven on the Liberal Earth
And that’s a good thing.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Of Nancy Parker Does NOT Show Altoona McDonald’s Employee Who Reported Sighting Of Luigi Mangione In Pennsylvania
Does a viral photo show the Altoona McDonald's employee who made the 911 call to report a sighting of Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania? No, that's not true: The photo shows a comedian from New York. A profile on Facebook that contained the
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Claim that men’s team refused to compete against Lia Thomas originated as satire
“Men’s swimming team refuses to compete against Lia Thomas, calling her a 'cheat'”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Has FAKE Audio Of ABC News Saying ‘A Million Ukrainian Soldiers Have Died’ — Voice Is Likely AI
Did an authentic ABC newscast state that "in 2.5 years of war, about a million Ukrainian soldiers have died"? No, that's not true: TrueMedia's AI detector found "substantial evidence" that the voice heard in the social media post was crea
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Did NOT Threaten To Deport 2 Million Americans
Did Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum threaten to deport 2 million American immigrants if President-elect Donald Trump sends migrants back to Mexico? No, that's not true: Lead Stories could not find any news reports or press releases fr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Employees Did NOT Poop In Lamborghini And Quit After CEO Cancelled Bonuses — Satire Story
Did some employees poop in the Lamborghini of a CEO who cancelled the worker's Christmas bonuses -- and then did everyone at the company resign in unison? No, that's not true: This fictional yarn is from a creator who calls his content, "
The Dispatch→ The Last Refuge of the Politician
Nippon Steel and the bogus use of ‘national security’ to win votes and reward friends.
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – New Jersey drones not connected to search for missing radioactive material
New Jersey drones are searching for missing radioactive material.
The Dispatch→ Claims About Biden’s Number of Pardons and Commutations Are Misleading
Viral posts use inconsistent data to suggest he has issued more pardons than any other president.
Full Fact→ Misleading Google search results on UK asylum seeker crime rate used 2017 data from Germany
Screenshots of Google results for searches on this topic have been shared on social media in recent months.
PolitiFact→ ‘Stop trying to play both sides': Readers share their 2024 election fact-checking feedback
As 2024 heads toward a close, PolitiFact readers have weighed in on a contentious election season with thoughtful questions and feedback for our newsroom. Here’s what they told us.
Health Feedback→ Unvaccinated people died of COVID-19 at a higher rate than vaccinated people; vaccines prevented hundreds of thousands of deaths
REVIEW A series of Facebook posts from December 2024 questioned how “Billions of Unvaxxed people with NO Boosters are still alive”. This kind of loaded question is a typical example of the “just asking questions” tactic, which involves frami
The Dispatch→ Congress Unveils Government Funding Bill
Lawmakers now have less than three days to prevent a shutdown.
The Dispatch→ The Case for Competition
The right to run your mouth.
The Dispatch→ How to Respond to the Next Drone Panic
Reports about drones in New Jersey might have been exaggerated, but the threat from unmanned aircraft is real.
The Dispatch→ The Economy Doesn’t Care Who Is President
We’ve been trending upward economically for 30 years, regardless of who occupies the White House.
The Dispatch→ Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The EU does not want a repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Authorities Have NOT Released Gender Identity Of Suspected Wisconsin School Shooter As Of December 17, 2024
Have authorities released the gender identity of the suspected shooter at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, as of December 17, 2024? No, that's not true: Police have used the pronouns "she" and "her" multiple times whe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Coca-Cola Truck Found ‘Full Of Children’ being trafficked — It Was Police Holiday Toy Drive
Does a video show a Coca-Cola truck found "full of children" being trafficked? No, that's not true: "It's fake news," a spokesperson for the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department told Lead Stories. The video shows the Davenport Police Depart
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show A ‘Drone Down’ In New Jersey — Small Plane Crashed In Connecticut
Does a video show a "drone down" in New Jersey? No, that's not true: This footage shows the wreckage of a small plane that crashed on Interstate 684 in Greenwich, Connecticut, on December 12, 2024. There were two people on board the plane
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Samuel Hyde Was NOT Identified As The Shooter In The Abundant Life Christian School Shooting In Wisconsin
Did police identify Samuel Hyde as the shooter at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin? No, that's not true: At a press conference on December 16, 2024, the Madison police chief identified the shooter as 15-year-old Na
The Dispatch→ The Squeeze
Threats are the political currency of Trump’s second term.
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – Fatal airplane crash on Connecticut-New York border falsely identified as drone crash in New Jersey
Video shows a drone crashed in New Jersey.
The Dispatch→ No, COVID Vaccines Don’t ‘Sterilize’ Those Who Are Immunized
Social media users are taking old comments from an immunologist out of context.
PolitiFact→ Social Media – No, officials didn’t say Madison, Wisconsin, school shooter identified as transgender
“The school shooter in Madison Wisconsin Christian School shooting has been identified as a female identifying as a male.”
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – ‘Robert Thibodeau’ is not a serial killer on the run in your city. This is a national scam.
"The city of… is being warned to be alert & vigilant as there is a serial killer on the run,” Robert Thibodeau.
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Fact-check: No, reported drones don’t have directed-energy weapons causing ‘pestilence’
Drones reported in the U.S., including around the U.S. Capitol, have directed-energy weapons that have a “space-based laser generating system that can create pestilence.”
PolitiFact→ Doug Mastriano – Photo shared by Pennsylvania state senator shows a ‘Star Wars’ fighter craft, not a downed drone
Photo shows a downed drone