In a transcript dated February 24 2020, radio personality Rush Limbaugh claimed that novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is no more dangerous than “the common cold,” adding that he believed that concern over the new strain of disease was simply p
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Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bernie Sanders Did NOT Support Ayatollah Khomeini During The Iran Hostage Crisis
Did Sen. Bernie Sanders support Ayatollah Khomeini during the Iran hostage crisis? No, that's not true: Sanders, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, did not support Ayatollah Kohmeini during the crisis, when 52 Americans w
FactCheck.org→ Biden’s Factual Distortions
Former Vice President Joe Biden distorted the facts in two interviews in the wake of the Nevada caucuses: He claimed that one of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, “was opposed to Obamacare.” Sander
FactCheck.org→ Viral Meme Misrepresents Sanders’ Stance During Iran Hostage Crisis
Quick Take A viral meme falsely claims Sen. Bernie Sanders “supported” Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis and “accused” the hostages of “being CIA spies.” Sanders was affiliated with a political party that criticize
Truth or Fiction?→ Sophie Scholl’s Last Words
In February 2020, a two-year-old Facebook post about Sophie Scholl circulated to mark the purported anniversary of her death with her last words before her execution by Nazis: On February 21 2018, user Warren Lynn shared the screenshot above, writi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Chuck Schumer Did NOT Say, "It’s Racist To Only Allow Citizens To Vote"
Did U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer say, "It's racist to only allow citizens to vote"? No, that's not true: Schumer never said that. Several sites are wrongly attributing this quote to him, but he did not say it. Lead Stories has tra
Truth or Fiction?→ Are American Women ’50 Percent More Likely’ to Die From Pregnancy or Childbirth Than Their Mothers?
Hidden in the middle of a story about the effects of social media disinformation on a pregnant woman is a statistic that might give readers pause, but it is chilling — and accurate. The information was part of a February 20 2020 NBC News story o
FactCheck.org→ Family Separation Spin in Nevada
A misleading Spanish-language TV ad from a group backing President Donald Trump claims that then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden “separated families and put children in cages” while it shows images of minors who wer
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘He’s 18’: Twitter Trending Topics Amplifies Quaden Bayles Conspiracy Theory
Not long after Quaden Bayles became the virally popular star of an anti-bullying campaign, Twitter’s trending topics boosted a conspiracy theory under “He’s 18,” linked to tweets alleging the nine-year-old boy was a much olde
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the Las Vegas Democratic Debate
Summary Many of the factual disputes centered on disagreements among the candidates: Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said the stop-and-frisk policy that was “in place” when he became mayor “got out of control” and so “we cut 95% of
FactCheck.org→ Competing Claims on Trump’s Budget and Seniors
In what has become an annual Washington exercise, Democrats and Republicans are waging a war of words over the president’s proposed budget and how it would affect programs for seniors. President Donald Trump tweeted that he “will not be touchin
FactCheck.org→ State of the Union Anecdotes Debunked
It is customary for presidents to invite guests to the State of the Union address to provide anecdotal evidence that supports the president’s policies. But it turns out President Donald Trump’s speech included misleading descriptions of two
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Popping Bubble Wrap Does NOT Expose People To Coronavirus
Does popping bubble wrap expose people to the coronavirus? No, that's not true: Besides the fact that bubble wrap is not produced by having people blow into the plastic, the claim originated from a satirical Facebook page that has been shut do
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Federal Judge Did NOT Just Release Benghazi Evidence
Did a U.S. federal judge just release Benghazi evidence that puts former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in "deep trouble"? No, that's not true: This didn't just happen. The claim being shared is based on a foxnews.com article from 2018, an
Snopes→ Quarantine on Cruise Ship in Japan Comes Under Question
An extraordinary two-week quarantine of the Diamond Princess cruise ship ends Feb. 19, with thousands of passengers and crew set to disembark over the next several days in the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘If You Make $50,000/Year, $36 of Your Taxes Goes to Food Stamps, $4,000 Goes to Corporate Subsidies’
A February 14 2020 tweet about “socialism” and a putative $50,000 wage earner paying $36 in tax towards food stamps and $4,000 towards corporate subsidies went wildly viral, appearing in screenshots on Facebook and discussion forums in the
Snopes→ With ‘Mother Nature in Charge,’ Dams Unleash Floodwaters
Days and days of heavy rain have created a dilemma for authorities managing dams along swollen rivers in Mississippi and Tennessee.
FactCheck.org→ Roger Stone’s Crimes
President Donald Trump has criticized the Justice Department for prosecuting the president’s longtime associate Roger Stone and recommending that Stone serve up to nine years in prison. That’s his opinion, but he falsely supports it by clai
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ben Carson Did NOT Offer to Perform ‘Much Needed’ Brain Surgery On Maxine Waters
Did Ben Carson, the Housing and Urban Development Secretary, offer to do brain surgery on U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters? No, that's not true: Although Carson and Waters, a California Democrat, have shown great disdain for one another in the past, Ca
FactCheck.org→ Viral Posts Spread Iran-‘Deep State’ Conspiracy Theory
Quick Take An online conspiracy theory falsely claims that Democratic leaders coordinated the June attacks on two oil tankers and a U.S. drone and that President Donald Trump caught them in the act. The Trump administration has placed the blame squarel
FactCheck.org→ Bloomberg Misleads on Stop-And-Frisk
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg misleadingly stated that he “cut” the police practice of stop-and-frisk — a policy that he “inherited” — by “95%” by the time he left office as mayor of New York. There were nearl
Truth or Fiction?→ Trump Intervenes in Sentencing of Lobbyist Who Spread Corrosive Disinformation on His Behalf
The sentencing of convicted felon Roger Stone was abruptly derailed on February 11 2020, when all four of his prosecutors resigned on the same day that United States President Donald Trump, freshly emboldened by his impeachment acquittal the week befo
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Amazon’s First CFO Killed by One of the Company’s Delivery Trucks?
The cause of death of Amazon’s first chief financial officer in 2013 was quickly snapped up by online users after it was finally revealed six years later and cited as an example of recklessness by the company she had helped propel to the heights
FactCheck.org→ Will the New Coronavirus ‘Go Away’ in April?
President Donald Trump suggested that the new coronavirus would “go away” in April, as temperatures warm. While some viruses are seasonal, it’s not yet clear if the new virus will follow the same pattern — and experts caution against bankin
Truth or Fiction?→ Did North Dakota Republicans ‘Block Native Americans From Voting’?
Stories continue to circulate online about a federal judge’s October 2018 ruling around a North Dakota voter identification law, but readers on social media may not be aware that as of February 2020, the legal fight against the law has not concl
Lead Stories→ Fake News: PepsiCo NOT Discontinuing Production of Mtn Dew
Did PepsiCo decide to discontinue the production of Mountain Dew (which it stylizes as Mtn Dew) products because they have been shown to adversely affect people's health? No, that's not true: The post is a hoax. PepsiCo has denied it plans to
Snopes→ Snoop Dogg Apologizes to Gayle King for Rant over Bryant
After days of blistering criticism, Snoop Dogg has finally apologized to Gayle King for attacking her over her interview with former basketball star Lisa Leslie about the late Kobe Bryant.
Truth or Fiction?→ Prolific Web Artist Qinni Dies at 29
Well-loved DeviantArt and social media artist Qing Han, known to fans as Qinni, has died. She was 29. DeviantArt, a platform on which Qinni maintained a massive following (and which honored Qinni in 2017), confirmed Qing Han’s death in a tweet:
FactCheck.org→ Trump Has Condemned White Supremacists
Former Vice President Joe Biden wrongly claimed President Donald Trump has “yet once to condemn white supremacy, the neo-Nazis.” Trump drew criticism for his condemnation of “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides” after a r
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pelosi’s Lapel Pin Does NOT Mean She’s A Witch Or Nazi
Does a lapel pin worn by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi show allegiance with witches or Nazis? No, that's not true: The pin she wears is a replica of the silver mace, a symbol used in the House since 1841. The claim originated from a post (archive
FactCheck.org→ Trump Attacks Romney with Baseless Viral Claims
Several days after Sen. Mitt Romney was the lone Republican vote to convict President Donald Trump of abuse of power in the impeachment trial, the president used his Twitter account to spread dubious and unfounded viral claims about the Utah senator. W
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Mel Gibson Did NOT Say, ‘The Only Reason Liberals Hate Trump Is They Hate God’
Did actor Mel Gibson say, "The only reason liberals hate Trump is they hate God"? No, that's not true: The actor never made such a statement. The article is a work of satire, and the author of such posts is trolling conservatives into believin
FactCheck.org→ Fake Coronavirus Cures, Part 1: MMS is Industrial Bleach
Quick Take Online posts have claimed to reveal various “cures” for the new coronavirus. Some are benign, like eating boiled garlic, while others are potentially dangerous, like drinking chlorine dioxide, an industrial bleach. Neither will c
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Federal Records Did NOT Show George Soros Was Biggest Funder Of Iowa Caucus App
Did federal records show that George Soros, a liberal financier, was the biggest funder of the troubled app used during the Iowa Caucus? No, that's not true: The records are actually a donation by Soros to a Super Pac associated with Shadow, I
Lead Stories→ Fake News: New Hampshire Democrats Are NOT Encouraging Voter Fraud By Nonresidents
Are New Hampshire Democrats encouraging out-of-state residents to commit voter fraud, telling nonresidents they can vote in New Hampshire and remain nonresidents? No, that's not true. Some ultra-conservatives got upset after a Democratic activ
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Americans Getting Jailed for Unpaid Medical Debt?
On February 10 2020, a story about people in Kansas being jailed over medical debt spread on Facebook and Reddit: "You wouldn’t think you’d go to jail over medical bills": County in rural Kansas is jailing people over
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the New Hampshire Democratic Debate
Summary Four days before the New Hampshire primary, seven Democratic presidential candidates debated. We found factual distortions on several issues: Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sen. Bernie Sanders “voted to give the gun manufacturers … a
FactCheck.org→ Baseless Conspiracy Theories Claim New Coronavirus Was Bioengineered
Quick Take Several online stories inaccurately claim that the new coronavirus contains HIV “insertions” and shows signs of being created in a lab. But there is no evidence that the new virus was bioengineered, and every indication it came from an a
Snopes→ Did Uncle Don Call Kids ‘Little Bastards’ on the Air?
Unpacking an old school urban legend about an alleged "hot mic" moment in the early days of radio.