Author: FAN Moderator

Quick Take A viral, made-up story sowed confusion among social media users over whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has diverted Social Security money to the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. She didn’t. Full Story  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not taken money away from Social Security in order to fund the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. That hoax is the product of America’s Last Line of Defense, a self-described “satirical” publication whose viral…

California’s proposed fuel efficiency standards for cars don’t have anything to do with the state having the highest gas prices in the country, but that’s what President Donald Trump suggested in a tweet. The state is pushing for higher fuel efficiency standards than the Trump administration has proposed for vehicles nationwide, and the president said those standards “just aren’t doing the trick,” linking them to gas prices. Gasoline prices in California are much higher right…

In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper debunks two claims made by President Donald Trump about the U.S. military involvement in Syria. Trump falsely claimed on Twitter, “The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago.” He then repeated the claim both in remarks at the White House and in a campaign rally. But several experts told FactCheck.org and CNN that they never heard of such…

Summary Since President Donald Trump took office: The economy added 6 million jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level in nearly 50 years. Economic growth fell far short of the annual 4% to 6% Trump promised. The most recent rate is 2.0%. The federal debt went up more than $2.4 trillion. The annual deficit hit nearly $1 trillion in fiscal year 2019 – the highest since 2012. Median household income rose 2.3%. Average…

President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Hunter Biden, without evidence, of making millions of dollars in a “payoff” from China, after accompanying his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, on a 2013 diplomatic trip to Beijing. The claim involves a cross-border private equity fund involving some state-owned financial companies in China. Biden served on the management company’s board while his father was vice president, but his attorney says that was an unpaid position, that he did…

After announcing a withdrawal of U.S. troops in Syria at the border with Turkey, President Donald Trump tweeted incorrect statements about the conflict. On Oct. 7, Trump claimed the United States’ involvement in Syria was originally supposed to last “30 days,” but experts told us they had never heard of such a plan. When the Obama White House first announced the deployment of special operations troops in 2015, Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters, “I…

With its candidate the subject of an impeachment inquiry, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has gone on the offensive with a TV ad that claims to present the “facts” about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Ukraine. In fact, the ad relies on speculation and unsupported accusations to mislead viewers. The TV ad, among other things, cites a “witness statement … for use in legal proceedings in Austria” that includes assumptions, beliefs and speculation. A…

Quick Take A political group took credit for planting a woman who espoused “eating babies” to address climate change at a recent town hall event hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But some have still misrepresented the woman as “AOC’s crazy supporter.” Full Story  A bizarre moment at an Oct. 3 town hall event with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was seemingly designed for virality. Nearly an hour and a half into the event in Queens, New…

Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House intelligence committee, wrongly implied that his committee had no contact with the whistleblower before receiving the complaint. Schiff claimed, “We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower,” when the whistleblower had in fact reached out to a committee aide before filing a complaint. A Democratic committee official told us Schiff “could have been more clear” but was “referring to the Committee officially interviewing the whistleblower, and himself personally.”…

Quick Take Memes and videos misrepresent a New York City law by suggesting that everyone in the city will be “banned” from using the term “illegal alien,” or face a $250,000 fine. Actually, the city has only clarified that immigration status can’t be used to discriminate against people in certain situations under a decades old law. Full Story Nothing has changed about how the term “illegal alien” could trigger a fine in New York City…