SciCheck Digest Stanford Medicine says it “strongly supports the use of face masks to control the spread of COVID-19.” Yet viral stories falsely claim a “Stanford study” showed that face masks are unsafe and ineffective against COVID-19. The paper is a hypothesis, not a study, from someone with no current […]
Facts Check
Q&A on the Rare Clotting Events That Caused the J&J Pause
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet April 23 to “provide further recommendations” on the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, possibly clearing the way for its resumption. The CDC and Food and Drug Administration on April 13 recommended “a pause in […]
Irish Professor Makes Unfounded Claims About Long-Term Effects of mRNA Vaccines
SciCheck Digest The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines authorized for use were found to be safe and effective in clinical trials and real-world conditions. A professor in Ireland baselessly claims in a video circulating on social media that they are not, and that those who get the vaccines will die as a […]
FactCheck.org Back in Contention For the Webbys
FactCheck.org has again been nominated for Webby Awards in the category for Websites and Mobile Sites: News & Politics. As always, you can help us win the Webby People’s Voice Award — which is voted on by the public — by going to vote.webbyawards.com and signing in to vote using […]
In Her Own Words: Maxine Waters
In the days after Rep. Maxine Waters told demonstrators in Minnesota that they should “get more confrontational” if Derek Chauvin was acquitted, Republicans have called for her censure or outright removal from Congress — claiming she was inciting violence. Waters says her words are being twisted, and that she was […]
Democratic Spin on Bipartisan Support for American Jobs Plan
Several independent studies show strong bipartisan support for many of the main spending components of the $2.7 trillion American Jobs Plan. Still, those polls also show most Republicans oppose the overall plan, particularly its call for infrastructure spending to be offset by higher corporate taxes. Nonetheless, the Biden administration has […]
Idaho Doctor Makes Baseless Claims About Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines
SciCheck Digest A viral video features a doctor making dubious claims about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments at a forum hosted by Idaho’s lieutenant governor. Dr. Ryan Cole claims mRNA vaccines cause cancer and autoimmune diseases, but the lead author of the paper on which Cole based that claim told us […]
Tucker Carlson Misleads on COVID-19 Vaccines, Masks
SciCheck Digest All of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing symptomatic disease. Yet Fox News host Tucker Carlson baselessly casts doubt on the effectiveness of the vaccines, because federal officials urge fully vaccinated people to wear masks in public settings. If I get vaccinated, can I return to […]
Underselling the Infrastructure in Infrastructure Plan
President Joe Biden has taken an arguably expansive view of infrastructure to justify some of the proposed spending in the $2.7 trillion American Jobs Plan. But some Republicans have gone too far with claims about how little in the bill qualifies as infrastructure. In an interview on “Fox News Sunday” […]
Posts Falsely Identify Suspect in Fatal Shooting as George Floyd’s Brother
Quick Take Viral Facebook posts falsely claim Dejywan Floyd — a Black man arrested April 1 in the fatal shooting of a woman in North Carolina — is George Floyd’s brother. There is no evidence the suspect is the brother of George Floyd, a Black man whose death in police […]