On July 29 2019, frequent Facebook disinformation purveyor Joseph Rudy Rullo posted a meme (archived here) claiming that North Carolina had banned sharia law. Above a map highlighting North Carolina, the meme read: NORTH CAROLINA HAS BANNED
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FactCheck.org→ Misinformation Flows Following Epstein’s Death
Unfounded claims and baseless conspiracy theories have run rampant in the aftermath of the Aug. 10 death of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The misinformation has flourished in an online environment where people want to know how the high-profi
Snopes→ Planned Parenthood Sets Exit from Family Planning Program
Planned Parenthood said it will leave the federal family planning program within days unless a court puts a hold on Trump administration rules that bar clinics from referring patients for abortions.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Public Assistance Programs Exist in the United States Before Social Security?
In August 2019, disinformation and misinformation about the history of immigration to the United States flourished online following the announcement that United States President Donald Trump’s administration would pursue the so-called “pub
Snopes→ Flurry of Suits Emerge as NY Opens Door to Old Abuse Claims
Thousands of people who say they were molested as children in New York state will head to court this week to file lawsuits against their alleged abusers and the institutions where they worked.
FactCheck.org→ Harris, Warren Wrong About Brown Shooting
On Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in what the Obama administration’s Department of Justice determined was an act of “self-defense.” B
FactCheck.org→ Unproven Claim of ‘Camera Malfunction’ Before Epstein’s Death
Quick Take Viral posts claim there was a “camera malfunction” at the prison housing accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein before his death. Officials have not confirmed that. Full Story As federal officials probe the circumstances surroundi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: US Is NOT 3rd In Murders; Removing Chicago, Detroit, Washington, St Louis, New Orleans Would NOT Make It 189 out of 193
Does the United States rank third in murders throughout the world and would removing the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., St. Louis, and New Orleans from the total make the U.S. 189th out of 193 countries in the world in homicides?
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Bill Barr Did NOT Allegedly Make Secret Visit To Jail Before Epstein’s Death
Did U.S. Attorney General William Barr allegedly make a secret visit to the Manhattan jail where Jeffrey Epstein was being held just two weeks before the accused sex trafficker was found dead in his cell? No, that's not true: There is no actua
FactCheck.org→ Photos Don’t Tell the Whole Story on Border Trash
Quick Take Old pictures of trash strewn in the Arizona desert are circulating on Facebook with the suggestion that they were taken recently and that the media failed to cover it. Neither of those things is true. Full Story Photos of trash near Arizon
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Mixed Record on Gun Control
When asked what he was going to do about the “gun problem,” President Donald Trump responded that “we have done much more than most administrations.” Trump has taken some action to strengthen federal gun control, but his administration
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Mitch McConnell Campaign Did NOT Say ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ After Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Blasts Disturbing Groping Pic
Did Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign say "boys will be boys" in its reply to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's criticism of a tweeted photo of teen volunteers groping a life-size cardboard cut-out of her? No, that's not true: "B
FactCheck.org→ What Republicans Did on Mental Health, Guns
Quick Take A social media post misleadingly claims that Republicans “voted to allow people with pre-existing mental illness to buy firearms.” The measure blocked the Social Security Administration from reporting to the U.S. background chec
FactCheck.org→ Politics of Gun Violence
In the aftermath of two deadly mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, U.S. political leaders made a series of statements on gun violence that were unsubstantiated, lacked context or were seemingly contradictory. Here we look at some of those statements and
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Wife Of US Attorney Prosecuting El Paso Gunman Did NOT Flash White Power Symbol At Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings
Did the wife of U.S. Attorney John Bash, who is prosecuting accused El Paso massacre gunman Patrick Crusius, flash a white power symbol as she sat behind Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court? No, that's
Snopes→ Phillies Sue to Block Phanatic from Becoming ‘Free Agent’
In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the team alleged Harrison/Erickson threatened to terminate the Phillies' rights to the Phanatic next year and "make the Phanatic a free agent" unless the team renegotiated its 1984 agreement to
Snopes→ Rapper A$AP Rocky to Be Freed from Jail as Judges Mulls Case
It wasn't immediately clear from the decision by the Stockholm District Court whether he would be able to leave the country.
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking July’s Round Two Debate
Summary Another debate, and another crop of false and misleading claims. Sen. Kamala Harris of California and former Vice President Joe Biden disagreed on whether his health care plan would “cover everyone.” Biden’s website says it w
FactCheck.org→ Cummings Didn’t Have Obama’s Records ‘Sealed’
Quick Take A meme on Facebook falsely claims that Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings “wrote a bill to keep all of Obama’s record sealed.” That distorts bipartisan legislation dealing with the federal records of all presidents that Cumm
FactCheck.org→ False Caption on Refugee Picture
Quick Take A photo circulating on social media claims to show “Europeans trying to get to North Africa during World War II,” but it actually shows Albanian refugees arriving in Italy in 1991. Full Story A photo of a boat teeming with refu
FactCheck.org→ Posts Twist Facts on Democrats’ Names
Quick Take Social media posts claim some well-known Democrats are “fraudulent and corrupt” for not using “their real names.” But in some cases, the posts refer to them by an incorrect name, a nickname, a middle name or a maiden
FactCheck.org→ Pinning Down Prescription Drug Prices
One aim the president and Democratic 2020 challengers share is the desire to bring down the price of prescription drugs. But is that already happening, or are prices still climbing? The two parties disagree, and it depends on how they’re measurin
Snopes→ Jury to Decide Damages Owed by Katy Perry for ‘Dark Horse’
The unanimous verdict by a nine-member federal jury in a Los Angeles courtroom came five years after Marcus Gray and two co-authors first sued in 2014, alleging "Dark Horse" stole from "Joyful Noise," a song Gray released under the stage name Flame.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Senate Moves Bill With NO $15,000 Fines For Sharing Memes Online
Did the U.S. Senate move on a bill that provides fines of up to $15,000 against those who share memes online? No, that's not true: A trending article making that claim distorts what the proposed copyright legislation would provide. If passed i
Snopes→ New UK Official’s Office Rules: No Metric, ‘Very’ or ‘Got’
A memo for employees in Jacob Rees-Mogg's office directs them to avoid using words such as "very," ''hopefully" and "got," and to address men with the courtesy title "esquire."
FactCheck.org→ When Are Heartbeats Audible During Pregnancy?
Q: When is the human heart fully developed, and when are heartbeats audible during pregnancy? A: A developing heart has all of its primary structures after about nine weeks of pregnancy. Some forms of ultrasound can detect cardiac activity in an embryo
FactCheck.org→ A Misleading Message on Mueller’s Conclusions
Quick Take A social media image makes the misleading claim that former special counsel Robert S. Mueller “can’t provide evidence that his probe reached a conclusion.” Mueller reached several conclusions, including that Russia interfe
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Bucket of Heads,’ ‘Cooler’ with ‘Genitalia’ Alleged in Body Parts Broker Raid
In July 2019, a number of macabre stories circulated on social media that were based on recent reports that an Arizona facility that was supposed to be processing bodies donated to science was the subject of a gruesome and macabre raid. In July 2019,
Lead Stories→ Proof Of Life: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Confirms She’s "Very Much Alive," Disproving QAnon Conspiracy Theory
Is Ruth Bader Ginsburg dead and are recordings being faked to hide the U.S. Supreme Court justice's death to prevent President Trump from having another high court appointment? No, that's not true: The 86-year-old Ginsburg appeared on camera o
Snopes→ Judge Orders Man’s Mouth Taped for Interruptions
Another public defender in the courtroom faces contempt charges for recording the incident.
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the Mueller Hearings
While former special counsel Robert S. Mueller reiterated in congressional testimony what he said in his voluminous report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, politicians reiterated some claims about the in
Snopes→ Trump Associate Proved Invaluable FBI Source, Records Show
Newly unsealed court records confirm that Felix Sater, a former business associate of President Donald Trump, was an invaluable FBI source who used his ties to the criminal underworld to rat out New York's organized crime families and gather intelligen
Truth or Fiction?→ Luzerne County, Pennsylvania ‘School Lunch Debt’ Controversy
The issue of “school lunch debt” prompted heated debates in July 2019, thanks in part to an ongoing controversy in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The topic of incurring debt for school lunches in the Pennsylvania county came to national att
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Sasha and Malia Obama’s Biological Father NOT Suing Michelle for $40 Million
Is M'nakta N'tadaku Johnson the biological father of the Obama girls and is he suing Michelle for $40 million? No, that's not true: the man doesn't even exist. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to fool Trump suppor
FactCheck.org→ Unpacking Biden’s and Trump’s Big Cancer Promises
On the campaign trail, former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump have both claimed that a cure to cancer would soon become a reality — if they were elected in 2020. Experts, however, don’t share that degree of optimism. Despi
FactCheck.org→ Protections for Drivers Who Hit Protesters Didn’t Pass
Quick Take A viral post falsely asserts that Republicans are responsible for “passing laws making it legal to run over protesters with your car.” That distorts proposed, but not enacted, legislation in several states offering some protecti
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Obama Did NOT Remove Citizenship Question From The U.S. Census
If President Trump isn't allowed to add the citizenship question to the U.S. census for 2020, then why was President Obama allowed to remove it for the 2010 census? That's a trick question posed by a meme. Yes, a federal court did block the Tr
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Riots and War End Japanese Internment, Slavery, and World War II?
On July 16 2019, the Facebook page “Close the Camps” shared the following screenshot (archived here) of a Facebook post asserting that riots, rebellion, and war were necessary to put a stop to concentration camps, World War II, and slaver
Snopes→ Planned Parenthood to Defy Trump Abortion Referral Rule
The rule is being challenged in federal court, but the administration says there is currently no legal obstacle to enforcing it.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did United States President Barack Obama Remove a ‘Citizenship Question’ from the Census?
In July 2019, a Facebook user shared a text-based status update about the census-related “citizenship question,” which claimed that such a question had existed on the United States Census for 160 years — until President Obama outlawed