Q: Was a Muslim man arrested for causing a passenger train to crash in Washington state? A: No. Officials are still investigating the cause of the crash and have made no arrests. FULL ANSWER An Amtrak train that crashed on its way from Seattle to Portland on Dec. 18 was […]
Facts Check
FactChecking Science Claims in 2017
In our roundup of 2016 claims, we hypothesized that SciCheck would have no dearth of false and misleading claims to cover in 2017. That proved true. From President Donald Trump’s decision to exit the Paris Agreement to Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt’s ruling against banning a commonly used insecticide, politicians […]
A Guide to the Tax Changes
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is now law. The House and Senate approved the bill on Dec. 19. It passed 227-203 in the House with no Democratic votes and 12 Republican “no” votes. The Senate then passed the bill 51-48 along strict party lines, with one Republican senator, John McCain, […]
Video: Whoppers of 2017
In this video, we highlight six whoppers — out of a long list — told by politicians in 2017. The president dominated our roundup of the worst falsehoods of the year, so he dominated this video as well. Trump started his presidency with false claims about the size of the […]
The Whoppers of 2017
Summary We first dubbed President Donald Trump, then just a candidate, as “King of Whoppers” in our annual roundup of notable false claims for 2015. He dominated our list that year – and again in 2016 – but there was still plenty of room for others. This year? The takeover […]
More Claims of Alabama Voter Fraud
Q: Were illegal voters bused in to Alabama to swing the election to Doug Jones? Were thousands of fraudulent votes recorded for him? A: Those claims were made by self-described “satirical” websites. The Alabama Secretary of State says there’s no evidence that fraudulent voting affected the outcome. FULL QUESTION Is […]
Phony Pelosi Harassment Story
Q: Is Rep. Nancy Pelosi planning to step down amid sexual harassment allegations? A: No. There have been no such claims made publicly against Pelosi. FULL ANSWER Allegations of sexual harassment have already felled at least one U.S. senator and two congressmen. Now come the hoaxes. A forged court document […]