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Quick Take A post on Facebook falsely claims comedian Sam Hyde is responsible for the spread of the new coronavirus. Researchers are still working to determine the source of this latest coronavirus, though evidence suggests it was first transmitted to humans from an animal. Full Story In late December, the […]

Quick Take Claims spreading online say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi used expensive pens, or ones made of gold, to sign the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Actually, the pens, which are made mostly of brass, have a suggested retail value of about $20. Full Story Various claims about […]

Quick Take Posts circulating amid the Senate impeachment trial misleadingly accuse nine Republican senators of having “joined Democrats on impeachment.” The claim originated in October as a list of senators who had not yet co-sponsored an impeachment-related resolution — but six of them did sign on to that measure. Full […]

President Donald Trump, who last year froze hundreds of millions of dollars in security aid for Ukraine, claimed “they got all” of it “long before schedule.” That’s false. The freeze that Trump directed lasted about two months last summer and not all of the money was later disbursed on time. […]

Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden have been trading barbs over Biden’s record on Social Security and Medicare. Sanders accuses Biden of saying “on many occasions we should cut Social Security,” and Biden accuses Sanders of lying and using a “doctored” video to mislead voters about his […]

Quick Take Multiple social media posts are spreading a bogus conspiracy theory about the deadly Wuhan virus. The posts falsely claim that the virus has been patented and a vaccine is already available. That’s not true; the patents the posts refer to pertain to different viruses. Full Story  Following the […]

Quick Take A viral YouTube video rehashed, and added to, a debunked hoax about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi taking money from Social Security to pay for the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump. The claim originated on a self-described satirical website.  Full Story  As the impeachment trial of President Donald […]

White House lawyers distorted the facts on the impeachment process and other issues during the Jan. 21 Senate trial: White House counsel Pat Cipollone falsely suggested Republicans were barred from the closed-door depositions conducted by the House intelligence committee. But members of three committees — both Democrats and Republicans — […]

Quick Take Social media posts make a broad and misleading claim that “Democrats stood with” the leaders of Venezuela, China and Iran rather than supporting oppressed people in those countries. The facts don’t support that generalization. Full Story  Dubious viral posts on Facebook accuse Democrats of supporting repressive regimes around […]

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler went too far when he claimed that President Donald Trump “worked with the Russians to try to rig the 2016 election.” The special counsel investigation found there were “multiple contacts … between Trump Campaign officials and individuals with ties to the Russian government,” but it “did […]