Facts Check

Democrats and the White House legal team have made competing arguments about whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned U.S. security aid to his country in his July 25 phone call with President Donald Trump. The fact is, it’s unclear what Zelensky was referring to when he thanked Trump “for your […]

Quick Take Social media posts falsely claim that a “Chinese spy team” working in a Canadian government lab sent “pathogens to the Wuhan facility” prior to the coronavirus outbreak in China. Two Canadian agencies have told us those claims are wrong. Full Story Suggestions have been circulating on social media […]

President Donald Trump falsely claimed in a tweet that the House Democrats “never even asked John Bolton to testify” in their impeachment inquiry. The Democrats asked, but Bolton refused to voluntarily appear. Trump tweeted about Bolton, his former national security adviser, early on the morning of Jan. 27 — not […]

Quick Take Websites and social media posts have circulated the erroneous claim that there are “thousands” or “10,000” dead as a result of the Wuhan coronavirus. As of early Jan. 27, the estimated death toll is 81 — all of them in China. Full Story  As health officials around the […]

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 […]