Memes, like jokes, are often depicted as mostly harmless and incapable of exerting political influence. But recent elections have demonstrated organizers can easily leverage them to build political movements, spread […] The post How memes can fue
Snopes→ Ian Swamps Southwest Florida, Trapping People in Homes
Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the U.S., swamped southwest Florida on Wednesday, turning streets into rivers, knocking out power to 1.6 million people and threatening catastrophic damage further inland.
Snopes→ Jurors Must Decide How Much Newtown Families Suffering Worth
A judge last year found Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, liable by default for defaming and inflicting emotional distress on the plaintiffs.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Breastfeeding NOT Unsafe For Babies First 2 Days After Vaccination Despite Traces Of MRNA Found In Breast Milk
Do the trace amounts of COVID-19 vaccine mRNA found in breast milk during the first two days after vaccination make it unsafe for babies? No, that's not true: There's no evidence to suggest breastfeeding after COVID mRNA vaccination shoul
PolitiFact→ United Facts of America’s focus turns to disinformation in health care and online
The three-day United Facts of America: A Festival of Facts, heads into its final day Sept. 29, with a full slate of online presentations, headlined by a discussion of health care disinformation.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Fox News Did NOT Revisit ‘Whitehat Military Sting Operation’ Theory — Just Reported On Ginni Thomas’ Texts
Did Fox News revisit a "theory" about a "huge Trump and military white hat sting operation" in 12 states about the 2020 U.S. presidential election? Did this include a statement that the Biden family, elected officials, bureaucrats, social
Snopes→ Records Contradict Majewski’s Account of Military Punishment
Republican J.R. Majewski has centered his campaign for a competitive Ohio congressional seat around his biography as an Air Force veteran.
PolitiFact→ United Facts of America: How memes can fuel political strategy
At United Facts of America, a panel of experts defined memes and discussed the political significance and conservative organizers’ widespread adoption of them.
FactCheck.org→ Posts Take Biden’s Vaccination and Hurricane Prep Comments Out of Context, Again
SciCheck Digest Last year, President Joe Biden made a special plea to residents in hurricane-prone states to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in advance of possible evacuations or shelter stays. Now, as Hurricane Ian approached Florida, social media pos
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Vicks VapoRub Does NOT Treat Anxiety
Does rubbing Vicks VapoRub on the neck help a person fight off an anxiety attack? No, that's not true: The company, Proctor and Gamble (P&G), and the label on the Vicks VapoRub container say it should only be used to treat cold sympto
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – China President Xi Jinping is still in power, despite coup rumors
“President Xi of China under house arrest” amid “coup by the PLA.”
PolitiFact→ Scaring voters to the polls? How political ads use crime statistics to try to sway voters
Although violent crime remains below the record rates of the early 1990s, several categories of violent crime have seen significant increases since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Experts say the ads are meant to induce fear, which can moti
FactCheck.org→ Everytown’s Misleading Ad on Johnson’s Votes ‘Against Funding for the Police’
A TV ad from a gun control advocacy group claims Republican Sen. Ron Johnson voted “against funding for the police, preventing local departments from hiring more officers.” But the two votes cited were against trillion-dollar spending bill
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Most Energetic’ Russian Propagandist Did NOT Say He ‘Gets Drafted’
Did Vladimir Solovyov, dubbed "the most energetic" Russian state TV propagandist by the U.S. State Department, say he got drafted? No, that's not true: Deliberately mistranslated subtitles in a viral video that allegedly shows this scene
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Charles IS Expected To Be Crowned King
Is the United Kingdom's current head of state, Charles III, expected not to become the country's crowned king? No, that's not true: Upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, Charles, the prince of Wales, became
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – Video of Italian demonstrators removing European Union flag is from 2013
Video shows “Italians take down an EU flag and replace it with an Italian flag” after the 2022 national election.
Snopes→ This Is Not a Real Pic of an Orca in a Flooded City Street
This fabricated photo was making the rounds well before anyone claimed it was taken during Hurricane Ian.
Snopes→ Ian Makes Landfall in Southwest Florida As Category 4 Storm
Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida as one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the U.S.
Snopes→ Hold Fire: Re-Enactors Fear Being Targeted by NY Gun Law
Some historical battle re-enactors in New York are holding their musket fire because of worries over the state's new gun rules.
Snopes→ Did Police Return Jeffrey Dahmer’s Victim to Him, Whom He Then Murdered?
The real-life Milwaukee serial killer was the subject of a Netflix show in fall 2022.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hospitals Did NOT Force Vaccination Of Children For COVID-19; Myocarditis Risk Is Greater Without Vaccine Than With It
Did hospitals force the vaccination of millions of children for COVID-19 and are they now trying to normalize a rare side effect? No, that's not true: Hospitals do not have that kind of power and less than a handful of states have mandate
Snopes→ ‘Rainbow Fentanyl Candy’ Scare Erupts Just in Time for Halloween
So far, it appears to be a 2022 twist on an old type of scarelore.
Truth or Fiction?→ Publix Hurricane Cake (Ian Edition)
As Hurricane Ian approached Florida, images of “hurricane cakes” purportedly being sold at Publix began circulating on social media platforms: #HurricaneIan I think we're being warned pic.twitter.com/XLk9by8xTL — Inappropriate
Snopes→ NASA Moon Rocket Back in Hangar, Launch Unlikely Until Nov.
NASA’s moon rocket returned to the safety of its hangar as Hurricane Ian approached Florida, its launch now unlikely before mid-November.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Most Intense Weather Broadcast Ever’
As Hurricane Ian bore down on Florida in September 2022, old clips of Shepard Smith’s blunt warnings to Floridians about a different storm gained new life online. “So the weatherman just gonna OD on us like that?” read one tweet showi
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Biden’s remarks about COVID-19 vaccines predate Hurricane Ian by more than a year
As Hurricane Ian approached, President Joe Biden said, “a vital part of preparing for hurricane season is to get vaccinated now.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: US Government Does NOT Own Or Co-Own Moderna’s COVID Vaccine, Has No ‘Ulterior Motive’ To Mandate Shots
Does the U.S. government own or co-own Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, giving it an "ulterior motive" for mandating the shots? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support this claim. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious D
Snopes→ Do the ‘Time Warp’ Again — ‘Rocky Horror’ Show Will Travel
Grab your toilet paper. Bring a flashlight. Don't forget a newspaper — or your fishnets.
PolitiFact→ Viral image – Hurricane Matthew coverage in 2016 spreads without context as Hurricane Ian heads toward Florida
A news anchor warned that if Hurricane Ian “moves 20 miles to the west … you and everyone you know are dead.”
Snopes→ NKorea Test Launches Missiles on Eve of Harris Trip to Seoul
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, a day before U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is to visit South Korea.
The Dispatch→ Fact Check: Has Xi Jinping Been Arrested?
Xi Jinping. (Photo by Rao Aimin/Xinhua/Getty Images.)Following an absence from public view since mid-September, rumors began spreading on social media that Chinese President Xi Jinping had been arrested. Xi’s alleged disappearance combined with a
Full Fact→ Video of Italian protesters removing European flag from building is from 2013
It’s been claimed that the video was filmed during the recent general election in Italy.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Joe Biden Did NOT Advise Americans To Get COVID Vaccine Ahead Of Hurricane Ian
Did President Joe Biden tell Americans to get COVID vaccinations as Hurricane Ian was bearing down on Florida in late September 2022? No, that's not true: A post suggesting he did uses a video recorded in August 2021, not on the eve of Ia
Snopes→ Katie Couric Says She’s Been Treated for Breast Cancer
Katie Couric said that she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent surgery and radiation treatment this summer to treat the tumor.
Logically→ A new study demonstrates that vaccine-related harms outweigh their benefits.
The methodology and data used to support this conclusion are highly dubious.
Logically→ Covid-19 vaccinations cause AIDs, weaken immune systems, and cause other forms of harm.
Previous fact checks by Logically show that there is no evidence that Covid-19 vaccines cause AIDs or weaken immune systems. The claims are false.
Snopes→ EU Vows to Act if Energy Lines Hit As Firms Ramp Up Security
The European Union suspects that damage to two underwater natural gas pipelines was sabotage.
Snopes→ Photos From Space: The Seconds Before NASA’s Spacecraft Crashed Into an Asteroid
Here's what happened in the seconds before the collision — a first of its kind.
Snopes→ Capitol Rioter, a ‘One Man Wrecking Ball,’ Gets 7-Year Term
Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Kyle Young in U.S. District Court in Washington to the long term, noting he had admitted to helping in the assault of a police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
Logically→ COVID-19 vaccinations have caused more than 70,000 deaths.
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