If this year taught us anything, it's this: A dire need remains for fact-based, explanatory journalism.
Snopes→ Sewell to Be 1st Woman, 3rd Black Person to Lead NYC Police
New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams named Keechant Sewell, a Long Island police official, as the city's next police commissioner, making her the first woman to lead the nation’s largest police force.
Logically→ A book being sold on Amazon about the Omicron variant has a copyright date of 2020, a year before the variant was first reported.
The Amazon listing for the book has now been removed. The content of the text is not legitimate.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FEMA Did NOT Arrive in Tornado-Stricken Kentucky With COVID-19 Vaccinations Instead Of Blankets, Food
Did the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) arrive in Kentucky after the December 10, 2021, tornadoes, and start giving COVID-19 vaccinations to the storm victims instead of blankets or food? No, that's not true: FEMA's director of
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Fauci Did NOT ‘Admit’ That COVID-19 Vaccines May Make People Worse
Did Dr. Anthony Fauci admit that COVID-19 vaccines may make people worse? No, that's not true: His comments were taken out of context. He spoke in March 2020, when the vaccines were still in development. The nation's top infectious diseas
Snopes→ Did Bill Gates Make an ‘Omicron’ Video Game?
Among the many flaws in this conspiracy theory, the COVID-19 variant "omicron" isn't spelled with a "K."
Poynter→ PolitiFact’s 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance
Shortly after 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, supporters of President Donald J. Trump breached the U.S. Capitol, turning the seat of American democracy into the scene of an unforgettable crime. […] The post PolitiFact’s 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about t
PolitiFact→ Joe Biden – Joe Biden wrong that he was against Afghanistan war from the start
“I’ve been against that war in Afghanistan from the very beginning.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID Testing Definition Was NOT Changed To Find Millions Of New Omicron Cases
Was the definition of what constitutes a positive COVID-19 test changed to include the omicron variant? No, that's not true: The variant (SARS-CoV-2, B.1.1.529) was first reported to the World Health Organization from South Africa on Nove
Snopes→ Did a Sign in Alaska IHOP Blame Biden for Curtailed Hours?
"Nobody wants to work anymore," complained a typo-ridden flyer supposedly posted in an IHOP restaurant in 2021.
Snopes→ Florida District to Pay $26 Million to Shooting Victims
The Broward County, Florida, school district will pay more than $26 million to the families of 17 people killed and some of those injured in the 2018 Valentine's Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Truth or Fiction?→ Was the ‘Bad Guy’ in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ Dr. Fauci?
On December 12 2021, a smear meme circulated on Facebook and Twitter, asserting that the “bad guy” in the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club was Dr. Anthony Fauci: pic.twitter.com/GlpYe3VPhK — TDD (@Tymnyc325) December 12, 2021 Atop a D
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – No, the COVID-19 vaccines do not cause AIDS
The COVID-19 vaccines cause AIDS.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ESPN Tweet Omits Context Of Noose In Wallace’s NASCAR Stall — It Was There Before Stall Was Wallace’s
Truth or Fiction?→ Jim Finch and the Mayfield Tornado
After devastating tornadoes wrought havoc in several states in December 2021, social media posts about a man named Jim Finch helping Mayfield, Kentucky residents (among the hardest hit) spread virally. A Facebook post with a still image read: This man
PolitiFact→ Bloggers – VAERS data misused to spread fears about vaccine’s impact on fetal health
"2,809 Dead Babies in VAERS Following COVID Shots as New Documents Prove Pfizer, the FDA, and the CDC Knew the Shots Were Not Safe for Pregnant Women"
Snopes→ Happy 100th, Bloody Mary: Paris Marks Cocktail’s Birthday
Harry’s Bar in Paris is celebrating the 100th birthday of the bloody mary, the vodka-tomato juice cocktail believed to have been invented at the iconic watering hole in 1921.
Logically→ AAP’s National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal has support from key Khalistani leaders, organizations.
There is no proper evidence to prove that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has support from Khalistani leaders.
Full Fact→ Reports Emma Tustin was hospitalised after inmates force fed her salt are not true
A Facebook post from 7 December claims that Emma Tustin, who murdered six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, has been sent to hospital after inmates forced her to eat “79 packets of salt”. Ms Tustin, who was found guilty of murder and ch
Logically→ Uttar Pradesh performs worst in governance among big states.
This claim cannot be presently verified as there is no supporting evidence approving the PAC India study.
Snopes→ RECALL: Coca-Cola Voluntarily Recalls Some Minute Maid Products
The products potentially have foreign objects in them, like metal bolts or washers.
Health Feedback→ Clip of Anthony Fauci discussing potential vaccine safety concerns is from March 2020; current scientific evidence shows COVID-19 vaccines reduce risk of infection and serious illness
REVIEW A 19 March 2020 Facebook Live conversation between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Anthony Fauci, the director for the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, was recently used to spread misinformation about the COVID-19 v
Full Fact→ A post offering free TVs from Tesco is a scam
A scam claiming to offer free TVs from Tesco is spreading widely on Facebook. The post, from an account called “Tesco Fans” says: “We're about to chuck around 300-400 TV's that have been use for display TV's in our stores around the U
Snopes→ Chauvin Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges in Floyd’s Death
Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
Full Fact→ Argos is not offering microwaves for £1.78
A Facebook post from an account which uses the Argos logo and is called “Goods for the kitchen” claims “the famous brand has broken its contract with Argos and is giving every UK resident a microwave oven for £1.78” along
Snopes→ Warriors’ Stephen Curry Breaks the NBA Career 3-Point Record
He refused to call himself the greatest shooter of them all until the numbers said so.
AllSides→ Facebook Fact Checks Are Opinions, Not Facts
https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2021/12/14/fact-check-facebook-fact-checks-are-opinions-not-facts/
AllSides→ Missouri attorney general’s scathing letter to Biden begins with false claim
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/09/politics/fact-check-missouri-schmitt-biden-travel/index.html President J
Full Fact→ Charles Bronson has not taken the father of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes hostage in prison
A post on Facebook claimed on 12 December that the armed robber Charles Bronson (now known as Charles Salvador) has taken Thomas Hughes, father of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, hostage in his prison cell, where he has attacked him. This is not true&mdas
AllSides→ US tornadoes: Is climate change to blame?
http://bbc.com/news/59641376 Several US states have been hit by a devastating series of tornadoes, with
Logically→ The U.K. government has violated the Nuremberg Code.
Measures adopted to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the U.K. do not violate the Nuremberg code.
Snopes→ Fox Stars Tried to Get Trump to Act on Jan. 6, Texts Show
Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Brian Kilmeade all texted advice to Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, as a mob of pro-Donald Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Full Fact→ Video of monster climbing buildings appears to be a hoax
A video on Instagram appears to show multiple clips of a four legged monster climbing over residential housing blocks in Russia. The narrator claims the first video shown was captured in 2014 and the second in 2013. He asks “Has Chernobyl radiati
Snopes→ US COVID Death Toll Hits 800,000, a Year into Vaccine Drive
More than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring.
Logically→ Pfizer made a $24.1 billion profit in the third quarter of 2021.
Pfizer did indeed make a $24.1 billion profit in the third quarter of 2021. However, only 60 percent of its profits came from vaccines.
Logically→ Japan places myocarditis warning on COVID-19 vaccines.
It is protocol to list possible adverse reactions to a vaccination. Cases of severe myocarditis have been extremely rare amid the vaccine rollout.
PolitiFact→ The 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance
Nearly a year later, there is zero evidence to say that Jan. 6 was an antifa operation, a tourist visit, a false flag, or an uneventful day to forget.
PolitiFact→ A look back at PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year, 2009 to 2020
A look back at PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year, 2009 to 2020
PolitiFact→ 2021 Lie of the Year Readers’ Choice poll results
Readers had no shortage of significant falsehoods to pick from for the 2021 Lie of the Year, but a large majority agreed
Poynter→ Fauci did not say he wants Americans to get 4 COVID-19 vaccine doses each year
Amid conversations and speculation about how many COVID-19 vaccine shots may ultimately be necessary to ward off the virus and its variants, some people are sharing a headline about Dr. […] The post Fauci did not say he wants Americans to get 4 C