Chances are in early May 2020 you saw at least one Facebook post depicting a somewhat-official looking printable document: A viral image claiming that Americans in any state where masks had been mandated or otherwise advised in public places were spe
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Truth or Fiction?→ Are COVID-19 Doctors Reporting Bizarre Blood Clotting and Strokes in Otherwise Healthy Young Patients?
On May 3 2020, Twitter user Bess Kalb tweeted that her father, an intensive care unit doctor, claimed that COVID-19 damaged blood and vascular systems of victims like “sticking your finger in an electric socket”: My dad is an ICU doctor
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hydrochloroquine is NOT A Drug Being Held Back, And Studies ARE Underway For Vaccines That Will NOT Be Immediately Injected in People.
Is it true that "thousands of doctors" say hydrochloroquine "cures" COVID-19 patients," but the cure won't be valid until a major study is done? And is it true that once a vaccination against the novel coronavirus is manufactured, it will be q
FactCheck.org→ White House Press Secretary Repeats Russia Talking Point
In her first press briefing, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany repeated a false talking point about the Russia investigation. McEnany claimed the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election ended in ̶
FactCheck.org→ No Evidence That Flu Shot Increases Risk of COVID-19
Quick Take A claim being pushed on social media and by an organization skeptical of vaccines is using a military study to falsely suggest that the flu vaccine increases someone’s risk of contracting COVID-19. The study does not say that, and the
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Second Wave of the 1918 Spanish Flu Kill 20 to 30 Million, While the First Wave Killed 3 to 5 Million?
Against the backdrop of spreading (but engineered) COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests in April 2020, a tweet claiming that a “second wave” of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was far deadlier than the “first wave” attracted a large n
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Some Hospitals Compensated For COVID-19 Patients Under Stimulus, But NO Evidence NYC Hospitals Inflating Coronavirus Numbers
Are hospitals compensated 15% more for COVID-19 patients under the stimulus package -- and, with that financial incentive, are New York City hospitals inflating their coronavirus numbers? No, this is misleading: According to the bill passed by
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Proof That Genetic Mutations Responsible For Coronavirus’s Virulence
Did genetic mutations cause the coronavirus to become more dangerous? No, there is no evidence of that. The claim surfaced in a post (archived here) on Facebook. It opened: Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: BBC News Did NOT Report Bullied Quaden Bayles Died By Suicide
Did Quaden Bayles die of suicide, and did the BBC report on this? Also, did he record his own suicide? No, none of this is true: a gang of hoaxers (likely from the Philippines) has created a string of fake news websites that trick people into
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the South Carolina Debate
Summary In the last Democratic debate before Super Tuesday, the candidates often talked over and past one another. We sort out some of the misinformation. In criticizing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ sympathetic remarks about authoritarian regimes, former Vi
FactCheck.org→ Misinformation Outlasts Virginia Gun Bill
Quick Take A Virginia bill that would have banned the sale of “assault firearms” has been tabled for a year, but misinformation about it continues to circulate online — including a false claim that the state will confiscate guns. Ful
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
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Mods are Asleep, Post Mike Bloomberg in Epstein’s Black Book’
On February 11 2020, a tweet (also shared to Facebook) invoked the “mods are asleep” meme in a broader post about former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s purported appearance in the late Jeffrey Epstein’s “little blac
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Nancy Pelosi Violate ’18 Code US 2071 B’ by Tearing Up Trump’s State of the Union Speech?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s widely-reported decision to tear United States President Donald Trump’s printed State of the Union speech apart on February 4 2020 led to a predictably high amount of social media chatter, among it claims that
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘My Favorite Catholic Lore’ Holy Water Facts Meme
On January 15 2020, a Tumblr screenshot featuring purported facts about holy water (“my favorite Catholic lore”) was shared to Imgur with the title “How to get +1 holy damage”: A multi-party Tumblr exchange began with claims f
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NOT Due to Impeachment, Pelosi Did NOT Halt Trump’s Presidential Salary
Did Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi cut off President Trump's salary because of the ongoing impeachment proceedings? No, that's not true: a single member of Congress can't alter the president's salary. Only through legislation passed by Cong
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Using Antidepressants Disqualify You from a Military Draft?
After a January 3 2020 United States-led strike killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad, Iraq, speculation flew about impending war, eventually turning into rumors about an American military draft. On the day Suleimani was killed, news o
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Thousands of Young Trump Supporters Did NOT Show Up At Local Recruiters To Volunteer For Duty
Did thousands of young supporters of President Trump show up at local military recruiting stations to volunteer for active duty after the U.S. killing of Iran's Soleimani? No, this isn't true: This claim is from a satirical website run by a Ma
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the U.S. Department of Defense Display an Image of a Nazi on the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge?
On December 16 2019, social media accounts affiliated with the United States military put up the following image with a post attached to it commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge: The photograph showed a Nazi war criminal, SS-S
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Will Smith and Son Jaden NOT Dead In a Crash After Ultimate Car and Truck Collision
Did CNN report Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith died in a crash ? No, that's not true: a gang of hoaxers (likely from the Philippines) has launched another death hoax on the internet that tricks people into sharing quasi-random links on Face
FactCheck.org→ Revived Falsehood that Trump Fired ‘Muslim Judge’
Quick Take A viral story shared on Facebook falsely claims President Donald Trump has fired a “Muslim federal judge” over “Sharia Law.” The story was published two years ago by a website that calls its work satire, but it is bei
Truth or Fiction?→ A Four-Megaton Atomic Bomb Was Lost off Georgia’s Coast in 1958 (And No One Knows If It’s Active)
In November 2019, the Facebook page “Weird History” shared the following meme, which claimed that a four-megaton atomic bomb remained missing near Georgia — and that it might be live: Under an image of a Cold War-style bomb or missil
FactCheck.org→ Trump Repeats False Ukraine Claims
President Donald Trump called into “Fox & Friends” a day after the impeachment hearings ended and repeated false statements that have been debunked by fact-checkers and, in some cases, members of his own administration. Trump repeated
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Exaggerated Judicial Boasts
President Donald Trump recently boasted about the unusually high number of judicial appointments he has made so far, but in doing so he exaggerated and mischaracterized some of the facts: In terms of “quality and quantity,” Trump said his judicial
FactCheck.org→ Trump Again Misunderstands California’s Wildfires
For the second year in a row, President Donald Trump inaccurately attributed California’s rash of wildfires to poor forest management. He also falsely said other states don’t have “close to the level of burn” as California. Most of
FactCheck.org→ Flurry of Trump Falsehoods
Summary In two press appearances in the same day, President Donald Trump made several false claims and distorted the facts on issues ranging from Syria to trade: Trump claimed that former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan “would never issue a subpoena
FactCheck.org→ Schiff’s ‘Parody’ and Trump’s Response
In recent days, President Donald Trump has suggested that Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, should be arrested for “treason” and charged with “lying to Congress” for mischaracterizing Trump’s July
Lead Stories→ Fake News: JFK Jr. Is NOT Alive And Will Not Replace Vice President Pence as Donald Trump’s 2020 Running Mate
Is John F. Kennedy Jr. alive and will he make a public return to join President Donald Trump as his vice presidential running mate in 2020? No, that's not true: It is a cornerstone of a conspiracy myth promoted by QAnon followers who believe t
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Swedish Scientist Propose Cannibalism to Fight Climate Change?
On September 7 2019, United States President Donald Trump retweeted a Breitbart.com post that suggested a Swedish scientist had proposed that cannibalism was a viable solution to fight climate change: Swedish behavioral scientist Magnus Söderlund h
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This View of Hurricane Dorian Is Unlike Anything I’ve Ever Seen’
On September 1 2019, the following image purportedly depicting a rainbow in the eye of Hurricane Dorian appeared on social media: The post was shared more than 30,000 times in two days. An added caption read: Dorian’s image from NASA!!!😲🙏
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Oklahoma Does NOT Fear Collapse As Supreme Court Does NOT Decide Whether To Return Half Its Land To The Cherokee
Does Oklahoma fear collapse as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could force the return of half the state's land to the Cherokee tribe? No, that's not true: It is a major misrepresentation of Carpenter v. Murphy, which involves the
Truth or Fiction?→ Was the Mississippi Chicken Plant Raided by American Immigration Authorities Previously Sued for Workplace Abuses?
An early August 2019 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at Mississippi chicken plant made national news due to its size and the number of children left without parents or guardians in its wake; in its aftermath, rumors claimed that the b
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
Truth or Fiction?→ Is OfficeMax Selling Bullet-Resistant Backpacks?
On July 28 2019, a Facebook user shared a Snapchat image to Facebook (archived here), apparently showing a sale at OfficeMax of bullet-resistant backpacks. Across the image was text reading “SHIT JUST BROKE MY HEART,” and the following co
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
FactCheck.org→ Citizenship, the Census and Obama
Quick Take Memes circulating online claim that former President Barack Obama removed the citizenship question from the 2010 census. He didn’t. The citizenship question in 2010 was handled the same way it had been since 1970. Full Story The Tr
Lead Stories→ Fake News: The United Nations Has NOT Decreed That Humanity Should Place The Microchip
Did the United Nations decree that every human should have a microchip implanted in them for bio-metric identification to facilitate the "New World Order" by 2030? No, that's not true: It is a false conspiracy based on the United Nation's use
Washington Post→ Fact-checking President Trump’s reelection campaign kickoff
Phony numbers on trade. Unfounded claims about immigrants. False statements about special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation. You know, the usual.
FactCheck.org→ Meme Mangles Constitutional Rights
Quick Take A meme making the bogus claim that the U.S. Constitution confers rights only to citizens is circulating online. Actually, many of the rights granted in the Constitution apply to noncitizens, too. Full Story Many provisions in the U.S. Cons
PolitiFact→ Introducing PolitiFact’s Mueller Report book club
Editor’s note: Sign up for the book club by signing up for PolitiFact’s weekly email. For quite awhile, Robert S. Mueller III was one of the most mysterious men in Washington. But on May 29, he came before the cameras to make