SciCheck Digest While some specifics of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates haven’t been determined, misleading claims about who will be “exempt” have circulated online. Employees at the White House and in agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services are subject to Biden’s executive order requiring federal employees […]
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Posts Spread Baseless Claims About Cause of Cargo Ship Backups
Quick Take U.S. ports slowed by pandemic-induced labor and equipment shortages cannot keep up with Americans’ demand for imported goods, resulting in cargo ship backups on both coasts. But social media posts, without citing evidence, falsely claim the Biden administration is purposely “orchestrating” product shortages. Full Story Cargo ships are backed up in […]
Video: Instagram Posts Spread Texas Lawmaker’s False Claims on Vaccine Testing
In this video, FactCheck.org and Univision Noticias teamed up to debunk false claims, spreading on social media, that were made by a state senator in Texas about vaccine safety. All three of the COVID-19 vaccines administered in the U.S. went through clinical trials involving tens of thousands of participants each. The […]
Basketball Star Bradley Beal’s Misleading Comments About COVID-19
SciCheck Digest NBA star Bradley Beal made some misleading comments — shared in viral video clips — about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. No vaccine is 100% effective, but clinical trials and studies show the COVID-19 vaccines are very effective at preventing illness, particularly serious illness, including for those previously […]
Trump Rejected Generals’ Advice, Too
Rep. Mike Rogers, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said congressional testimony this week showed that President Joe Biden ignored the advice of top generals about what to do in Afghanistan while former President Donald Trump “did listen to it.” That’s not entirely accurate. In testimony this […]
Facebook Posts Distort Robert E. Lee’s Actions and Views on Slavery
Quick Take A statue commemorating Gen. Robert E. Lee was taken down in Richmond, Virginia, on Sept. 8. Days after the statue was removed, Facebook posts about Lee misleadingly claimed he freed his slaves, and a quote from Lee referring to slavery as a “moral evil” is taken out of […]
Generals Contradict Biden on Afghanistan Advice
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, contradicted President Joe Biden’s claim last month that top military advisers didn’t recommend keeping a residual force in Afghanistan. In a Sept. 28 Senate hearing, both generals said they believe the U.S. should […]
Ads Distort How Much Biden’s Tax Plans Could Cost ‘Your Family’
The 2022 budget proposed by President Joe Biden would redistribute income, hitting high-income earners with tax increases and providing refundable tax credits to low- and middle-income Americans. Ads from the conservative Club for Growth targeting nine vulnerable Democrats and one centrist Republican in the House, however, distort the impact of […]
Posts Spread Dubious Claim About Ivermectin and Male Fertility
SciCheck Digest The Food and Drug Administration says male infertility is not a known side effect of the antiparasitic medication ivermectin. Dubious claims that the drug sterilizes 85% of male users were incorrectly attributed to a questionable 2011 study of the drug’s effect on a small sample of Nigerian men with […]
Debt Limit Q&A
Democrats and Republicans are once again in a standoff over a looming debt limit crisis. Congress must raise or suspend the limit on federal borrowing soon or the U.S. government won’t be able to pay its bills. Here we provide the facts on the political dispute. What is the debt […]