Quick Take A Tennessee bill is aimed at excluding same-sex couples from proposed common law marriage contracts. Social media posts misleadingly claim the bill would allow child marriage and “legalize pedophilia.” The bill initially omitted a minimum age, but was amended on April 6 to say individuals must be at […]
Facts Check
Donald Trump Jr. Spreads His Father’s False Russia-Related Claims on Facebook
Quick Take Former President Donald Trump repeated false claims about a Russian natural gas pipeline, U.S. energy production and the 2020 U.S. presidential election in a four-minute video clip posted to Facebook by his eldest son, Donald Jr. YouTube removed the full video from its platform for spreading misinformation. Full […]
Zelensky and Soros Aren’t Cousins, Contrary to Social Media Claim
Quick Take Conspiracy theories aimed at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been circulating on social media since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. One recent example, falsely attributed to a “Pentagon official,” is the unfounded claim that Zelensky is the cousin of billionaire philanthropist George Soros. Full Story Ukrainian President Volodymyr […]
Josh Mandel Campaign Ad Was Not Photoshopped, Contrary to Social Media Posts
Quick Take In a campaign ad, Josh Mandel, a Republican Senate candidate from Ohio, shared an image of himself as a Marine with a group of Black troops. Social media posts falsely claim that Mandel photoshopped his head onto the body of a Black Marine. The Mandel campaign denied the […]
Biden Repeats Misleading Talking Point on Preexisting Conditions
In praising the Affordable Care Act, President Joe Biden misleadingly warned of the consequences if Republicans ever repealed the law, saying that would mean “100 million Americans with preexisting conditions can once again be denied health care coverage by their insurance companies.” But those Americans could only be denied coverage […]
Q&A on Second COVID-19 Boosters for Older People
At the end of March, the Food and Drug Administration authorized a second COVID-19 booster, or fourth dose, of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for people 50 years of age and older. The idea is to shore up any flagging immunity among the most vulnerable, particularly as the omicron subvariant […]
Pro-Lamb Super PAC Misfires in Attack Ad Against Fetterman
A super PAC supporting Rep. Conor Lamb for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania made two misleading claims about the Democratic front-runner, John Fetterman, one of which resulted in a Philadelphia TV station pulling the ad. The ad claims Fetterman is “a self-described democratic socialist.” Fetterman has not described himself that way, […]
Pro-Lamb Super PAC Misfires in Attack Ad Against Fetterman
A super PAC supporting Rep. Conor Lamb for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania made two misleading claims about the Democratic front-runner, John Fetterman, one of which resulted in a Philadelphia TV station pulling the ad. The ad claims Fetterman is “a self-described democratic socialist.” Fetterman has not described himself that way, […]
Clinical Trials Find No Increase in Mortality Among COVID-19 Patients Treated with Remdesivir, Contrary to Viral Claim
SciCheck Digest Remdesivir is the only antiviral medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19. But a retired chiropractor misleadingly claims on a viral clip on social media that the drug is “killing people.” Studies have shown that remdesivir can lead to faster recovery times for hospitalized […]
COVID-19 Data Comparing Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated Continue to Be Available, Contrary to Viral Posts
SciCheck Digest Weekly rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths by vaccination status are published monthly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its website. The death data were last posted on March 17, and the hospitalization data on March 31. But a viral tweet claimed the CDC is […]