Quick Take Members of the Capitol Police will be among the first to testify during the House select committee investigation into the Jan. 6 riot, according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, who will lead the panel. But social media posts have made the unfounded claim that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “won’t […]
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Meme Trumpets Falsehood About Delta Variant
SciCheck Digest The delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads more quickly than the original virus and has been classified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization. It is now the dominant variant in the U.S. But a meme has been circulating on Facebook falsely […]
Posts Falsely Accuse U.S. Women’s Soccer Team of Disrespecting Veteran During Anthem
Quick Take Before a July 5 match against Mexico, some members of the U.S. women’s soccer team turned toward the flag while a World War II veteran played the national anthem on his harmonica. But social media posts mischaracterized their actions by claiming they “turned their backs” on the veteran. […]
Second Ladies in Combat Zones
In several recent speeches to members of the military, President Joe Biden has sprinkled in a curious piece of trivia about his wife, Jill, saying he thinks she is the only second lady to visit a war zone. She isn’t. Jill Biden accompanied then-Vice President Biden on a visit to […]
House GOP’s Misplaced Blame for Rising Homicides
On Twitter, the House Republican Conference posted an image of rising homicide rates in seven cities with this bit of misleading commentary: “Welcome to President Biden’s America.” Homicides are on the rise, but the increase started last year when Donald Trump was president. According to data compiled by the Major […]
Democrat Makes Misleading ‘Defund the Police’ Claim
A senior aide to President Joe Biden misleadingly claimed that congressional Republicans “defunded the police” when they voted against the American Rescue Plan Act. House and Senate Republicans didn’t support the legislation, but it wasn’t a vote to cut or eliminate federal funding for law enforcement, as the claim may […]
Spoof Video Furthers Microchip Conspiracy Theory
SciCheck Digest A list of the ingredients used in COVID-19 vaccines is publicly available, and the ingredients don’t include microchips. Yet claims advancing conspiracy theories that they do continue to flourish. A recent video purports to show a microchip reader for pets detecting a chip in a vaccinated person’s arm […]
Flawed Paper on COVID-19 Vaccines, Deaths Spreads Widely Before Retraction
SciCheck Digest The COVID-19 vaccines have been shown in trials and real-world application to be safe and effective. But a paper shared widely online claimed that vaccines cause two deaths for every three lives saved. Experts say the analysis misinterpreted data and was flawed — and it has now been […]
No New Revelation on Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19
SciCheck Digest Randomized controlled trials — the highest standard of evidence — have found that hydroxychloroquine isn’t beneficial in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Yet social media posts are claiming the drug works, and conservative outlets have touted an unpublished, and much-criticized, observational study as evidence of the drug’s effectiveness. What […]
Facebook Post Misleads on H.R. 1’s Proposal on Voter Rolls
Quick Take Democrats say their bill, H.R. 1, the For the People Act, would expand voter access in federal elections. But a Facebook post falsely claims the legislation would prevent the removal of dead people from voter rolls. The bill doesn’t say that, and existing federal legislation requires states to […]