Does a list of questions about Joe Biden's inauguration contain only accurate and factual statements? No, that's not true: The rhetorical questions, posed to imply that Biden is not really president, are a mix of myths, falsehoods and sta
Search Results (4947) for: why
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Lloyd Austin Considering ‘Defunding’ or ‘Maybe Disbanding’ the U.S. Army?
The efforts to push disinformation about United States President Joe Biden’s administration began within days of his January 2021 inauguration, with a graphic falsely claiming that the U.S. military faced possible “defunding.” The me
Snopes→ The Spellbinding History of Cheese and Witchcraft
It’s not entirely clear why cheese is seen to have magical properties.
Truth or Fiction?→ Who Ordered the National Guard to Sleep in a DC Parking Garage?
On January 21 2021 — just one day after the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden, news broke that National Guard soldiers deployed to Washington, D.C. for the event had been relegated to a parking garage with insufficient restroom facilitie
FactCheck.org→ Missing Context on Claim About ‘Antifa.com’
Quick Take Social media posts point out that the web address antifa.com now redirects to the White House website. That’s true, but in need of some important context: Whoever owns a domain name can instruct it to reroute to whichever website they&
FactCheck.org→ Viral Video Makes False and Unsupported Claims About Vaccines
Quick Take A viral video makes a series of inaccurate and unfounded arguments for why people should not receive any vaccines, including those for COVID-19. Full Story As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the globe, anti-vaccination activists try t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Kamala Harris Did NOT Put Her Hand On Her Purse When She Was Sworn In As Vice President — It Was A Bible
Did Kamala Harris put her hand on her purse when she was sworn in as vice president? No, that's not true: Her hand was on a Bible. In fact, she used two Bibles in the ceremony -- one atop the other -- as can clearly be seen in photographs
Health Feedback→ Too early for conclusions on long-term COVID-19 immunity, but some findings suggest that immune memory against the virus lasts for up to eight months and possibly longer
SUMMARY This article, published on 6 Jan. 2021 by MIT Technology Review, titled “COVID-19 immunity likely lasts for years”, reports the findings of a study led by researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. The article received more th
Truth or Fiction?→ Conspiracy-Slinging Lawmaker Caught Encouraging Parkland Shooting ‘False Flag’ Lie
Journalists looking into the history of a newly sworn-in, QAnon-friendly Republican legislator have discovered that she has a history of conspiracy theories and disinformation around mass shootings. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene encouraged the c
FactCheck.org→ Viral Meme Strips Context from Lawmakers’ Quotes on Protests
Quick Take A viral meme presents quotes from some Democratic lawmakers to misleadingly suggest they were advocating violence. They were supporting protests over various issues. Full Story Days after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump Will NOT Be Sworn In On March 4, 2021, As The 19th President Of The United States Of America
Will Donald Trump be sworn in on March 4, 2021, as the 19th president of the United States of America? No, that's not true: Joe Biden is president. He took office on January 20, 2021, and is expected to serve for four years. Biden is the
Full Fact→ Video falsely claims PCR tests insert ‘nanoparticles’ into brain
A viral video on Facebook promotes a number of false and potentially dangerous claims about tests for Covid-19. These claims have no evidence and should not be believed. In the video, a British man claims “they are definitely putting something in
Health Feedback→ Overwhelming weight of scientific evidence demonstrates that vaccines are safe and effective, contrary to claims in video by chiropractor Steve Baker
REVIEW On 13 January 2021, the chiropractor Steven Baker posted this video on Facebook, titled “the top five reasons to not vaccinate”. The 15-minute long video contains several claims regarding vaccine safety which have been debunked many times
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Georgia County Meant To Order 250,000 Individual Voter Applications, NOT 25 Million
Did a Georgia county mean to order 25 million voter applications after the 2020 election? No, that's not true: The order was the result of an input error. Officials meant to order 250,000 individual voter applications, not 250,000 packs o
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Here’s the Letter George H. W. Bush Left Bill Clinton for the First Day of His Presidency’
On January 18 2021, Imgur user SisterMidnight shared an image called, “Here’s the letter George H. W. Bush left Bill Clinton for the first day of his presidency,” with the comment “Classy,” and “I wonder what Presiden
Full Fact→ Clearing up some of the confusion over free school meals
Last week, social media was full of images of food parcels sent to parents to feed their children. Ordinarily, state schools in England provide meals to eligible children free of charge, including children whose families receive certain benefits, and a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: These Photos Are NOT Associated With ‘Chemtrails’
Does this collection of photos show the inner workings of airplanes that spray "chemtrails" and has this information been "declassified"? No, that's not true: These photos do not show "chemtrail spraying equipment." The photos are either
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: An ‘Emergency Broadcast Alert’ Has NOT Been Issued Revealing Donald Trump Has Invoked The Insurrection Act
Did an Emergency Broadcast Alert reveal Donald Trump invoked the Insurrection Act? No, that's not true: A video makes the baseless claim that President Donald J. Trump informed the mayor of Oklahoma City that the "Insurrection Act has bee
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Much Of The ‘What Is Happening?’ Post Is NOT Happening: It’s Either Old Or Fake News
Does the "What is Happening?" Instagram post offer some alarming news, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel resigning and also the unrelated matter of Italian officials interfering with the U.S. presidential elections? No, that's not t
Truth or Fiction?→ How to Fight Disinformation: Part II — Gaslighting
This is part of an ongoing series about how communities can fight back and protect themselves against weaponized disinformation. You can read Part I here. On January 6 2021, a mob of Donald Trump supporters, enraged by corrosive rhetoric and lies fr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Raw Data Analytics’ Posted By The American Report Does NOT Prove China, Russia Hacked 2020 Election
Does an article posted by The American Report prove China and Russia hacked the 2020 Election and does it show IP addresses from China, Russia, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada and the Czech Republic hacking "PA, NV, MI, GA Battleground States"
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Amazon Banned Parler, But Allowed People to Buy This Shirt from Their Website.’
On January 16 2021, a claim about Amazon selling a “Kill All Republicans” shirt went viral as part of backlash over Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) decision to discontinue hosting controversial social media platform Parler. In a tweet, ri
Health Feedback→ Strong evidence lacking to support claim that ivermectin is a cure for COVID-19 ; there are only limited clinical results at this stage
REVIEW The COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the world since early 2020 sparked an intense research effort to uncover cures for it. To date, scientific and general public media outlets presented several molecules as possible cures for COVID-19, such
FactCheck.org→ What Do the New Coronavirus Variants Mean for the Pandemic?
Q: What are the risks of the newly identified coronavirus variants? A: There’s no clear evidence yet that mutant versions cause more severe disease, although some are likely more contagious. Scientists expect vaccines will work but are monitoring t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There is NO Proof Donald Trump Settled Multiple Child Rape Cases For Millions Of Dollars
Did Donald Trump settle multiple child rape cases for millions of dollars? No, that's not true: A claim has gone viral again that there is a list of payments Trump made to settle rape accusations brought against him by male and female min
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Michigan Officials Were NOT ‘Caught On Video’ Forcing Audit Volunteers To Count ‘Multiple Ballots With Same Signature’
Were Michigan election officials caught on video forcing audit volunteers to count multiple ballots with the same signature and to count dubious ballots without asking questions? No, that's not true: In U.S. elections, ballots are not sig
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Our President HAS Been Officially Impeached. Twice. — Video Misstates Constitutional Process
Has President Donald Trump officially never been impeached because the United States Senate hasn't convicted him? No, that's not true: The U. S. Constitution gives the House of Representatives sole power of impeachment and the Senate sole
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Big Tech’ CANNOT Prevent Child Porn From Circulating On The Internet
Is "Big Tech" letting child porn distributors freely operate while restricting people who post content that companies like Amazon and Facebook consider to be dangerous falsehoods? No, that's not how it works: No one owns the internet, whi
FactCheck.org→ Timeline of National Guard Deployment to Capitol
On the day of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, the first National Guard members arrived to assist at about 5:40 p.m. By then, most of the violence had subsided. In the critical minutes before rioters had breached the Capitol building around 2 p.m., the chie
FactCheck.org→ Road to a Second Impeachment
In the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol, the House Democrats on Jan. 11 introduced legislation to impeach President Donald Trump, charging him with “inciting violence against the Government of the United States.” The impeachment resolution,
FactCheck.org→ Viral Tweet Distorts Facts on Consequences of Impeachment
Quick Take A viral tweet that migrated to Facebook distorts the facts on the consequences of a potential, second impeachment of President Donald Trump. Impeachment alone would not strip Trump of his pension or bar him from pursuing office in the future
Health Feedback→ Vaccines protect people from diseases, but don’t always prevent disease transmission; research ongoing to determine if COVID-19 vaccines stop transmission
REVIEW A YouTube live stream recorded on 5 January 2020, featured David Martin, who claimed that the COVID-19 RNA vaccines are not vaccines because they don’t fulfill the definitions of a vaccine according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control a
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘WH Office of Pardon Attorney’ Parler Post Prompts Justice Department to Issue Statement
Around January 9 2021, in the days after a pro-Trump riot at the United States Capitol building, screenshots of a purported Parler post attributed to @WHPardonAttny (White House Office of Pardon) appeared, soliciting names, locations, and “wha
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Laptop Stolen From House Speaker’s Office Conference Room, Was ‘Only Used For Presentations’
Was a laptop stolen from Nancy Pelosi's office when the Capitol was stormed? Yes, but without context, that fact is being used to support conspiracy theories about Pelosi's motivation for seeking the removal of President Donald Trump in t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pope NOT Arrested On 80-Count Indictment For Child Trafficking And Fraud During Supposed ‘Vatican Blackout’
Was Pope Francis arrested in Vatican City after a supposed blackout and was he indicted for child trafficking and fraud? No, that's not true: there is no evidence for any of this and the claim went viral through a website run by an anonym
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘A Letter from the Chairman’ From Nye County, Nevada GOP Repeats Several Unproven Conspiracy Theories
Does a letter published by the chairman of a Nevada county Republican Central Committee, disputing the outcome of the presidential election, include evidence for the conspiracy theories proposed? No, that's not true: the widely viral arti
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Olive Garden Did NOT Revoke ‘Never Ending Pasta Pass’ For Sean Hannity And Capitol Insurrectionists
Did Olive Garden announce it was revoking the "Never Ending Pasta Pass" for any customers identified as a participant in the invasion of the U.S. Capitol, along with the revocation of Sean Hannity's "Lifetime Pasta Pass"? No, that's not t
Truth or Fiction?→ Zip Ties and the Capitol Riots
On January 8 2021, “zip ties” became a topic of discourse around the January 6 2021 Capitol riots as the public began to unpack and come to terms with the events of that chaotic day: Many are wondering about this USA TODAY photo –
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the Electoral College Debate
The process of certifying Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, after being disrupted by rioters and delayed by Republicans who repeated false and misleading claims about the election result
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Chuck E Cheese Issue a Statement on the Capitol Riots?
On January 7 2021 a statement on the Capitol riots, attributed to the family-themed restaurant chain Chuck E Cheese, began circulating on Twitter: Thank you, Chuck E Cheese. pic.twitter.com/ZaOAk47n4b — Queen LaDeefa (@It_Aint__ME) January 7,