Williamson Misleads on Children’s Health, Vaccines

FAN Moderator

In a July 31 television interview, Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson inaccurately implied there might be a connection between vaccines and higher reported rates of childhood chronic diseases. Williamson is correct that reported rates of chronic conditions in kids have increased over the last several decades, but there is no […]

Judge in Civil Epstein Case Died in March

FAN Moderator

Quick Take Robert Sweet, a federal judge who was overseeing a civil case against Jeffrey Epstein, was not “killed,” as a headline claims, nor did he die in August, as other recently published stories suggest. Sweet died of natural causes in March at age 96. Full Story Misinformation has proliferated […]

Meme Inflates Rise in Congressional Salaries

FAN Moderator

Quick Take A viral meme on Facebook falsely claims that members of Congress have received a “231%” increase in pay in the last 30 years. Automatic cost-of-living adjustments have resulted in an increase of 94.4% from 1989 to 2009. Full Story  Members of Congress haven’t received a salary increase in […]

Video: Harris, Warren on Michael Brown Shooting

FAN Moderator

In this fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper explains the Obama-era Department of Justice’s finding that Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in “self-defense,” not “murdered,” as Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris claimed. Harris and Warren both tweeted on Aug. […]

U.S.-Japan Trade Deficit Not ‘Changing Rapidly’

FAN Moderator

In Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the trade deficit with Japan is “changing rapidly.” In fact, the U.S. deficit in goods and services with Japan is up slightly under Trump. The president made his remarks at a Shell plant in Monaca, Pennsylvania, that when completed will produce polyethylene pellets used […]

The Epstein Connections Fueling Conspiracy Theories

FAN Moderator

Summary In the absence of information about how sex offender Jeffrey Epstein managed to die in prison by an apparent suicide on Aug. 10, outlandish conspiracy theories have cropped up across the political spectrum. Among the more prominent theories are claims that the Clintons or President Donald Trump is somehow involved. Trump himself […]

Biden Misleads on Top 1% Tax Rate

FAN Moderator

The top 1% of taxpayers, on average, pay a higher effective tax rate than middle-income people, contrary to a claim Joe Biden made on the campaign trail. As a result of a low tax rate for capital gains earned by many wealthy Americans, Democratic presidential candidate Biden said in a […]

Harris Wrong on Autoworker Jobs

FAN Moderator

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris wrongly claimed that “as many as 300,000 autoworkers may be out of a job before the end of the year.” That’s a high-end estimate for total job losses — not solely among autoworkers — due to the potential impact of the Trump administration’s trade policies, […]

Misinformation Flows Following Epstein’s Death

FAN Moderator

Unfounded claims and baseless conspiracy theories have run rampant in the aftermath of the Aug. 10 death of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The misinformation has flourished in an online environment where people want to know how the high-profile prisoner was allowed to die in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. Epstein, […]

Obama Hasn’t Called For ‘All-Out Gun Confiscation’

FAN Moderator

Quick Take A headline circulating on partisan websites distorts former President Barack Obama’s tweet advocating stricter gun laws in the wake of the most recent mass shootings. Full Story Former President Barack Obama posted a statement on Twitter advocating “tougher gun laws,” reducing the influence of online hate groups, and […]