In the days leading up to his June 13 arraignment and in a speech several hours afterward, former President Donald Trump distorted what the federal indictment against him said and made faulty comparisons to other politicians’ actions. Trum
Search Results (469) for: factchecking
FactCheck.org→ Q&A on Trump’s Federal Indictment
On June 9, the Department of Justice unsealed a 44-page indictment against former President Donald Trump detailing allegations not only of mishandling sensitive classified documents after he left office, but of obstructing federal officials who tried
FactCheck.org→ A Florida School Restricted Access to Amanda Gorman’s Poem, But Didn’t ‘Ban’ It
Quick Take Following a parent’s complaint, one K-8 school in Florida restricted access to a poem by Amanda Gorman that she had read at the 2021 presidential inauguration. The school moved the book in its library to a shelf for upper-grade stu
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Dubious Promise to End Birthright Citizenship
Former President Donald Trump misleadingly said that “under Biden’s current policies” children born to parents in the country illegally automatically become citizens. That’s not a Biden policy, but rather it has been the standing i
FactCheck.org→ CNN Says Future Town Halls Will Include Live Audiences, Contrary to Online Posts
Quick Take CNN was criticized by some for hosting a town hall with Donald Trump and a live audience that expressed strong support for the former president. Online posts now wrongly claim CNN will have “no more live audiences at town halls.
FactCheck.org→ Unpacking the Claim that Blinken ‘Lied’ to Congress
On Fox News, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said he caught Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a lie to Congress about communicating with Hunter Biden via email. Johnson said Blinken ought to resign or be impeached. It’s significant when a U.S
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Numbers, April Update
Summary Here’s how things have changed in the U.S. so far under President Joe Biden, who announced on April 25 that he is officially running for reelection: The economy added 12.6 million jobs under Biden, putting the total 3.2 million hi
FactCheck.org→ Fewer Cases of Flu Due to Pandemic Precautions, Contrary to Viral Claim
SciCheck Digest Public health organizations have explained that the reason there were far fewer cases of the flu in 2020 and 2021 was likely due to measures adopted to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, such as handwashing and socia
FactCheck.org→ Taking Folic Acid, Not Other Folates, Is Recommended to Reduce Risk of Birth Defects
SciCheck Digest A folic acid supplement is recommended during pregnancy and prior to conception because it reduces the risk of neural tube defects in babies. Social media posts have claimed that people should avoid folic acid in favor of&
FactCheck.org→ No Evidence Offshore Wind Development Killing Whales
Q: Is the development of offshore wind energy farms in the U.S. killing whales? A: Whales have been dying at an unusual rate along the Atlantic Coast since 2016, often from ship strikes or entanglements with fishing gear. Federal agencies and exper
FactCheck.org→ No Evidence Scientists Received Grant for Changing Opinion on Pandemic Origins, Contrary to Claims
In 2020, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded 11 grants to scientists so they could investigate how and where infectious agents emerge from wildlife and cause illness in humans. Although the grants were r
FactCheck.org→ Posts Make False Comparisons Between COVID-19 Immunity From Infections and Vaccines
SciCheck Digest Vaccination and infection both provide protective immunity to COVID-19, particularly against severe disease. But gaining immunity through infection is far riskier than vaccination. Posts citing a new Lancet study omit that important
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s False Claim About Defense ‘Deal’ with South Korea
Former President Donald Trump, who has regularly complained about the amount of money South Korea pays the U.S. to maintain American military bases there, falsely claimed this week that he “had a deal [with South Korea] for full payment to us, $
FactCheck.org→ The Facts on Sen. Scott’s Claim That Biden Is a ‘Tax Cheat’
After President Joe Biden took a veiled swipe at him during the State of the Union address, Sen. Rick Scott released an ad labeling Biden a “tax cheat.” Biden was first scrutinized in 2019 for using what one nonpartisan expert described as an “a
FactCheck.org→ Video: Hearst on the State of the Union
Hearst Television — one of our media partners — produced this fact-checking video segment featuring our article on President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. The segment aired on numerous local TV news stations owned and op
FactCheck.org→ Hannity’s Dubious Claim About Studies Showing ‘No Systemic Racism in Policing’
Discussing the fallout from the death of Tyre Nichols, Fox News’ Sean Hannity said two academic studies found police officers are as or less likely to shoot Black suspects, showing, “There is no systemic racism in policing. It doesn’
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This is Peak Greed’: Activists Blast Meta for Reinstating Trump to Facebook
The reinstatement of right-wing former United States President Donald Trump to Facebook and Instagram was roundly criticized by activists warning that it could drive “democracy to the brink.” “Meta is moving backwards, returning us to
FactCheck.org→ The Whoppers of 2022
Summary The midterm elections are finally over, but it won’t be long before the 2024 campaign cycle — which will really start in 2023 — gets going. Before that happens, we’ve put together this list of the year’s bigges
FactCheck.org→ Bernie Sanders Overstates Number of Americans Without Health Insurance
Explaining why he is likely to vote against an $858 billion defense spending bill, Sen. Bernie Sanders wrongly stated that there are “85 million Americans who have no health insurance.” The government estimate is about 27 million. The Ve
Health Feedback→ Scientific evidence shows that unvaccinated people are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 and die, contrary to claim in viral social media posts about Germany data
REVIEW Despite scientific evidence demonstrating that COVID-19 vaccination effectively reduces the risk of severe disease[1-5], claims that COVID-19 vaccines don’t work or even make things worse persist in online spaces and social media. Such clai
FactCheck.org→ Ballot Processing Continues in Closely Watched States Amid Unfounded Claims of Fraud
Quick Take Close Senate races are underway in some states that have different laws regarding ballot deadlines and tabulation. But some high-profile Republicans — including former President Donald Trump — have suggested, without any evidence
FactCheck.org→ Major Themes of the Midterms
Voters are about to get a respite from the political attack-ad onslaught: Election Day is tomorrow. That means no more messages from Democrats attacking Republicans over abortion rights or the future of Medicare; no more Republicans blaming Democrats
FactCheck.org→ Ads Distort Oz’s Position on Abortion, Taxes and Social Security
Ads from two Democratic-aligned super PACs distort Dr. Mehmet Oz’s positions on taxes, Social Security and Medicare, and abortion. An ad from Senate Majority PAC says Oz would “hike taxes on working families” based on Oz’s vagu
FactCheck.org→ It’s Not News, Nor ‘Scandalous,’ That Pfizer Trial Didn’t Test Transmission
SciCheck Digest The COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials were designed to study the vaccine’s safety and efficacy in preventing symptomatic disease, not transmission. But online publications now misleadingly present the fact that the Pfizer/BioNTech vacc
FactCheck.org→ Stacey Abrams Opposed Boycotts in Atlanta, Contrary to Facebook Post
Quick Take Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams opposed the state’s new election law and gun laws, but she spoke out against corporations using economic sanctions to protest the laws. Yet, a social media post falsely claims Ab
FactCheck.org→ Fetterman’s Tattoos Under Scrutiny in Pennsylvania Senate Race
Quick Take John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor who is running for the U.S. Senate, has tattoos on his arms, some of which memorialize victims of violence. But conservative pundits — including Newt Gingrich — claim, with
FactCheck.org→ Fetterman Ad Pushes Back on Crime
A sheriff featured in an ad defending U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman accurately states that Fetterman “voted with law enforcement experts nearly 90% of the time” on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, and voted to give “a second cha
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Misleading Claims About the Economic Recovery and Unemployment
When President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law in March 2021, U.S. gross domestic product had increased for three quarters straight, and the unemployment rate had decreased nearly nine percentage points from its pandemic peak. Bu
FactCheck.org→ Republican Talking Point Omits Key Details About Stimulus Payments to Inmates
Some congressional Democrats voted for COVID-19 relief bills that resulted in stimulus checks being sent to inmates — but so did some congressional Republicans. Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was one of the prisoners eligible for a
FactCheck.org→ Trump Distorts Facts in Pennsylvania Rally
As the Department of Justice investigates his handling of highly classified documents, former President Donald Trump spoke for nearly two hours in a rally in Pennsylvania that was filled with false, exaggerated and misleading statements: Trump false
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Campaign-Style Distortions
As the midterm elections draw near, President Joe Biden has delivered campaign-style speeches that misstated statistics on the COVID-19 pandemic, may leave the wrong impression that police officers were killed during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S
FactCheck.org→ Social Media Posts Falsely Claim Magic Johnson Donated Blood for People with COVID-19
SciCheck Digest In a 2012 documentary, Magic Johnson discussed his HIV diagnosis and how it has affected his career. Social media posts are sharing an image from the documentary to falsely claim it shows Johnson donating blood for people with COVID-19.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 1 In 25 Clients Of Germany’s Largest Health Insurer Were NOT Treated For COVID Vaccine Side Effects In 2021
Were 1 in every 25 clients of Germany's largest health insurer, Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), treated for side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021? No, that's not true: Only one of the four diagnosis codes (ICD) for billing health insu
FactCheck.org→ Gasoline Prices Up Due to Global Supply-Demand Issues, Russian Invasion of Ukraine
U.S. presidents have little control over the price that consumers pay for gasoline. As the Energy Information Administration explains, gasoline prices are mainly affected by the price of crude oil, a fossil fuel that is refined into gasoline. And the p
FactCheck.org→ Stimulus Spending a Factor, But Far From Whole Story on Inflation
Economists cite several reasons for high inflation in the United States, starting with the unprecedented circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. But TV ads in midterm races across the country blame one culprit: stimulus spending by President Jo
FactCheck.org→ Social Media Posts Falsely Attribute Statement on Gasoline Prices to Nonexistent ‘BP Oil Executive’
Quick Take A supply and demand imbalance, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, led to a surge in gasoline prices. But an online statement attributed to a supposed “BP Oil Executive” blames gasoline prices on U.S. dependence on foreign oil
FactCheck.org→ Q&A on Biden’s Gun Proposals
In a prime-time speech to the nation, President Joe Biden spoke about gun violence and his proposals to reduce it. Here, we answer common questions about some of the statistics the president cited and actions he proposed. His remarks on June 2 were mad
FactCheck.org→ ‘WHO Has No Authority to Dictate U.S. Health Policy’
SciCheck Digest The World Health Organization can make recommendations after the declaration of a global emergency, but it has no control over any nation’s decisions. Yet conservatives in the U.S. falsely claim that amendments proposed by the Biden a
FactCheck.org→ COVID-19 Vaccines Were Available Before Biden Took Office, Contrary to False Tweet
When Joe Biden was sworn in as president, two COVID-19 vaccines had already been authorized and millions of people nationwide had been vaccinated against the disease. But in a May 12 tweet touting economic progress made under Biden, the White House fal
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Earth Day Exaggerations
On Earth Day, President Joe Biden touted his administration’s environmental initiatives, but his rhetoric made efforts to reduce methane emissions and drinking water contamination sound more expansive than they actually are. Global Methane Pledge