Aaron Rodgers, the star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, made headlines when he contracted COVID-19 and then defended his decision not to get vaccinated with a string of false and misleading claims that fact-checkers have frequently debunked. The
Truth or Fiction?→ Houston Police Attempt to Link ‘Drug Spiking’ to Fatal Astroworld Concert
Houston police attempted to link an alleged injection “attack” to the chaos at a November 2021 concert that culminated in the deaths of eight people and injuries to more than 300 others. Local police chief Troy Finner first pushed the claim
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pfizer Does NOT Confirm Vaccinated People Can ‘Shed’ Spike Proteins And Harm The Unvaccinated
Does Pfizer "admit" that people given its COVID-19 vaccine "shed" spike proteins and infect unvaccinated people? No, that's not true. The claim is based on the standard clinical study protocol used for a wide range of medicines. There is
Snopes→ No, Gavin Newsom Isn’t ‘Missing’
Everybody be cool.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Digital Driver’s License’ in Utah Will NOT Contain Vaccination Status, Credit Score — But Some States Will
Will Utah implement a "digital driver's license" that includes a license holder's COVID-19 vaccination status and may eventually consist of information such as their credit score? No, that's not true: Although Utah is introducing mobile d
Snopes→ Did 23 People Die at a Michael Jackson Concert?
This anecdote about "the most dangerous concert in history" is made up out of whole cloth.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Gavin Newsom Did NOT Awaken From Vaccine Coma And Was NOT Held At GITMO
Did Gavin Newsom awaken from a vaccine coma at GITMO? No, that's not true: California Gov. Newsom was not in a coma at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp after receiving the COVID-19 booster shot on October 27, 2021. While he was not seen
Snopes→ Bentleys to Buddhas: Vintage-Car Shop Restores Temple Statue
The major branches of Buddhism are often known as “vehicles,” or ways of spiritual practice.
Logically→ Vehicles are a bigger contributor to global warming than cattle.
Methane emissions from both vehicles and cattle contribute to global warming. It can be misleading to compare vehicle emissions and cattle emissions.
Snopes→ This Farmer Developed Earmuffs to Protect Cows From Frostbite
You'll want to get an earful of this.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The Italian Government Did NOT Exaggerate The Number of COVID-19 Deaths
Did the Italian government exaggerate the number of COVID-19 deaths in the country? No, that's not true: The late-2021 refinement of Italy's statistics did not change the number of COVID deaths documented in Italy. The Italian government
Truth or Fiction?→ Cannibal Corpse ‘My Home is Full of Skulls’ Meme
On November 7 2021, a Twitter meme about a Cannibal Corpse guitarist and the band’s purported songs (“I Have Guns in My House, For Murder” and “My Home is Full of Skulls”) received significant engagement: pic.twitter.com
Snopes→ Casinos Have Best Quarter Ever; 2020 Total Exceeded Already
The figures from the American Gaming Association, the casino industry's national trade group, show U.S. casinos are poised to have their best year ever in 2021.
AllSides→ Fact Checking McAuliffe’s Claim That Youngkin Wants to Ban Books by Black Authors
https://factcheck.thedispatch.com/p/fact-checking-mcauliffes-claim-that The Democratic nominee in the V
Snopes→ Dean Stockwell of ‘Quantum Leap,’ ‘Blue Velvet’ Dies at 85
Dean Stockwell, a top Hollywood child actor who gained new success in middle age in the sci-fi series “Quantum Leap” and in a string of indelible performances in film, has died. He was 85.
Snopes→ Max Cleland Dies; Senator and Veteran Lost Limbs in Vietnam
Cleland died at his home in Atlanta from congestive heart failure.
Full Fact→ No evidence people are trying to kill with fentanyl-laced tape on cars
A post on Facebook, shared more than 19,000 times, warns that people are putting tape laced with fentanyl—a strong opioid painkiller—on car petrol caps which, when touched, “will kill you”. There is no evidence this is tru
Full Fact→ Study linking sleep time and heart disease risk shows correlation not causation
“Going to bed between 10 and 11pm every night cuts your risk of getting heart disease by up to 25%, study claims” Daily Mail, 9 November 2021. The Daily Mail has reported on a new study and in the headline claimed it shows going to bed bet
Full Fact→ Emissions from COP26 private jets are far, far lower than Scotland’s annual CO2 output
It has been wrongly claimed that the emissions from private jets flying delegates to Glasgow for COP26 are equivalent to Scotland’s entire annual CO2 emissions. This claim is based on an article in the Sunday Mail (the Sunday edition of the
Snopes→ Is This COVID-19 ‘Vaccine Side Effects’ Poster Real?
An poster displaying supposed COVID-19 vaccine side effects did not originate with an authoritative source.
Logically→ Only people with COVID-19 vaccination are getting admitted to the ICUs in Belgium.
Thanks to vaccination, the number of patients hospitalized in this wave is "markedly lower" than in previous waves.
Snopes→ Is This ‘Beach Spider’ Dangerous to Humans?
Viral photographs show a genuine species of spider.
Snopes→ Storied General Electric to Split into 3 Public Companies
The storied American company General Electric will divide itself into three public companies focused on aviation, healthcare and energy.
The Dispatch→ Does a Pfizer Ad Tell Kids the Vaccine Will Give Them Superpowers?
“PURE EVIL: Disturbing Pfizer Ad Tells Kids They’ll Get Superpowers from COVID Jab (VIDEO).” Or so claims the headline of this story from misinformation peddler the Gateway Pundit. The article focuses on a video recently released
Snopes→ Congress Mandates New Car Technology to Stop Drunken Driving
Under the legislation, monitoring systems to stop intoxicated drivers would roll out in all new vehicles as early as 2026.
Snopes→ Rep. Gosar Under Fire for Anime Attacking Rep. Ocasio-Cortez
Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar was facing criticism after he tweeted a video that included altered animation showing him striking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword.
Logically→ The City of London Police and journalist Martin Lewis warns the public about a scam involving banks.
U.K.'s cybercrime reporting center and Lewis denied releasing a warning on a scam involving banks.
Poynter→ Why are gas prices so high? And who is to blame?
President Joe Biden faced an awkward moment during the international climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, when he was asked at a press conference about inflation back home, including gasoline prices. “If you take a look at gas prices a
Washington Post→ The false claim that only 11 percent of the infrastructure bill goes to ‘real infrastructure’
Former president Donald Trump knocked passage of the infrastructure plan, but by the metrics he used as president, nearly 40 percent would qualify as "real infrastructure" — and the percentage could even be double that figure.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Video Does NOT Show Graphene, Which Is NOT A COVID-19 Vaccine Ingredient
Does this video show graphene reacting to electrical impulses, and is there graphene in COVID-19 vaccines? No, both are not true. COVID vaccines contain no graphene. Pre-approval testing of COVID vaccines by independent labs, as well as t
Snopes→ Jan. 6 Panel Subpoenas 6 More Trump Associates in Probe
Further expanding its probe, the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has issued subpoenas to six additional associates of former President Donald Trump who were closely involved in his efforts to overturn his defeat in th
Snopes→ No, the Astroworld Tragedy Wasn’t the Result of ‘Satanic Rituals’
Experts are pointing at crowd dynamics and venue safety as primary factors in the deaths of eight people.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: AOC Did NOT Say ‘It Is Time To Redefine Natural Food’
Did Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez say "it is time to redefine 'natural food"? No, that's not true: This article is fake. The "Minneapolis Red-Star Tribune" does not exist, and there is no record of Ocasio-Cortez ever mentioning "cellular
Snopes→ Letter Accuses Facebook of Stealing MetaCompany’s ‘Name and Livelihood’
A viral letter claims that Facebook hounded this company in order to buy its name.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dipotassium Phosphate Is NOT Inherently Harmful To Health
Does the presence of dipotassium phosphate in a food indicate that it is heavily processed and that it could harm your health? No. The Food and Drug Administration classifies this food additive as "Generally Recognized as Safe." The addit
Snopes→ ‘Woman Leaves House to Neighbor’ Ad Is Not a True Story
We clicked through 50 pages of fiction so our readers don't have to.
Truth or Fiction?→ Travis Scott and Astroworld: Occult Conspiracies Follow Festival Tragedy
The November 5 2021 “crowd crush” tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas prompted extensive discussion on social media — complete with major threads focusing on purported occult overtones surrounding the
Snopes→ The Queen of England and the Farting Horse
No fewer than five U.S. presidents have found themselves the butt of this particular joke.
Snopes→ Pic of Gas Generator Charging Tesla Wasn’t Shot in U.S.
A far-right Twitter account reposted the picture with the hashtag "#GreenNewDeal."
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Jacob Rothschild Is NOT Worth ‘$500 Trillion’ And Does NOT Own ‘Every Central Bank In The World’
Is Jacob Rothschild worth "$500 trillion" and does he own "every central bank in the world"? No, that's not true: A satirical meme posted about the wealthy Rothschild exaggerates his estimated $5 billion wealth and erroneously claims that