Quick Take Ghislaine Maxwell, who is charged with assisting accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is scheduled to go on trial on Nov. 29. Social media posts are circulating a photo that falsely claims to show Chief Justice John Roberts in an affectionate pose with Maxwell. The photo actually shows Maxwell […]
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Facebook Post Spreads Bogus Claim About ‘Detox’ After Vaccination
SciCheck Digest A vaccination can’t be reversed through any “detox” process, medical experts say. Yet, a social media post is spreading the false claim that a bath with borax can “get rid” of a COVID-19 vaccine. The bath may remove some water from the body, but not the molecules associated […]
Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine Formulation Tweaked to Improve Stability
SciCheck Digest With the release of its pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer switched the buffer used in its formulation to increase the stability of the product, allowing it to remain at refrigerator temperatures for longer. The Food and Drug Administration OK’d the change, which is also being made to some doses […]
CBO: Build Back Better Not Quite ‘Fully Paid For’
For weeks, President Joe Biden has been saying the Build Back Better plan would be “fully paid for” and would not increase the deficit. But the official congressional scorekeeper in its long-awaited final analysis contradicted the president’s claims. The U.S. Capitol on Nov. 18, as House Democrats attempted to hold a […]
Colorado Order Addresses Surge in Hospitalizations, Not Vaccination Status
SciCheck Digest Responding to a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order on Oct. 31 allowing hospitals that are at or near capacity to transfer or stop admitting patients. Social media posts falsely claimed the order says hospitals can “refuse to treat the unvaccinated.” But the order […]
White House Uses ‘Job-Years,’ Not Jobs, to Tout Infrastructure Law
Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris lauded the bipartisan infrastructure legislation for creating good-paying jobs for “millions” of Americans. But they meant millions of job-years, not millions of additional jobs. In fact, estimates of how many additional jobs the law will create range from not many to […]
Posts Misrepresent Data to Falsely Claim Italy Reduced Its COVID-19 Death Count
SciCheck Digest The vast majority of people who have died with COVID-19 had other medical conditions that put them at risk of severe disease, or other conditions caused by COVID-19. But internet posts misinterpret data about those conditions to falsely claim that Italy has reduced its count of COVID-19 deaths. […]
Rittenhouse Testified He Drove Himself to Kenosha Without Weapon
Kyle Rittenhouse, who is on trial for murder, testified in court that he drove himself from his residence in Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 24, 2020, the day before he shot and killed two men at a protest that became violent. According to court testimony and police records, […]
Electric Vehicle Tax Credits in Democratic Plan
The House’s current Build Back Better plan calls for extending a $7,500 tax credit for the purchase of electric vehicles, and it includes an additional $4,500 credit for electric vehicles built in the U.S. by union labor. In a press conference blasting the House Democrats’ bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham may […]
Viral Posts Make Unfounded Claims After Newsom Gets COVID-19 Booster
SciCheck Digest After getting the COVID-19 booster on Oct. 27, California Gov. Gavin Newsom canceled a trip and did not participate in any official public events for 12 days. Social media posts claimed, without evidence, that Newsom was suffering serious side effects from the booster. But his staff denied that […]