Q: Did George Soros pay three Democratic U.S. senators to vote for a government shutdown? A: No. The “senators” named in a fictional story are not real. FULL ANSWER “Fred Marken,” “Louis Kearns” and “Gerald Harmon” are not U.S. senators, so they could not have been bribed to vote against […]
FAN Moderator
Out With the ‘Old Dixie’
Q: Did President Donald Trump order the removal of Barack Obama’s name from a Florida highway? A: No. That rumor comes from a false headline attached to a 2015 opinion piece critical of the name change. FULL QUESTION Do you know if this is true? The comments suggest it isn’t. […]
Durbin and the Filibuster ‘Myth’
The minority party in the Senate — in this case, the Democrats — can block, or filibuster, legislation by taking advantage of a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to end debate on legislation before a final vote can be taken on the bill. That’s what caused the recent partial […]
No Shutdown Shakedown
Q: Did Sen. Chuck Schumer take $500,000 in donations from immigrant advocacy groups before the government shutdown? A: No. That rumor originated on a satirical website. FULL QUESTION Did Chuck Schumer receive donations from illegal immigrant support groups prior to Senate budget vote? Did [House Speaker Paul] Ryan or Schumer […]
The Facts on DACA
Congress is trying to agree on a bipartisan plan on what to do about DACA, after the Trump administration announced a “wind-down” of the program on Sept. 5, 2017. Lawmakers face a March 5 deadline set by the president to come up with a legislative fix. Senate Majority Leader Mitch […]
Fake Denzel Washington Story
Q: Did Denzel Washington call Barack Obama the “criminal-in-chief”? A: No. The actor has been a steady supporter of Obama and of other Democrats. FULL QUESTION Is the article “Denzel Washington: Criminal-In-Chief Obama” accurate? FULL ANSWER Denzel Washington has been a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party. He also has […]
Trump’s False Claim About Mexico’s Violence
Making a pitch for border wall funding, President Donald Trump falsely tweeted that Mexico is “now rated the number one most dangerous country in the world.” That’s wrong. Although the number of homicides reached a record high in Mexico in 2017, the homicide rates were higher in numerous other countries […]
Oprah’s 2013 Quote on Racism, in Context
Q: Did Oprah Winfrey say, “White People Just Have To Die.” A: No. In 2013, she said that “older people, who were born, and bred, and marinated” in racism “have to die” before racism can be solved. FULL QUESTION Did Oprah say that white people just have to die? FULL ANSWER Although […]
Video: Durbin’s ‘History’ of Distortions
In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper examines efforts by Republican Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue to discredit Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin’s account of President Trump using profanity to disparage African countries at an immigration meeting in the Oval Office. They said Durbin has a “history” of misrepresenting […]
Trump’s Numbers
Summary Now that President Donald Trump has been in office for one day shy of a full year, it’s time to take a look at how well his boasts — and his critics’ complaints — stack up against hard data. Here we offer key measures of what has happened since […]