Facts Check

Quick Take Viral posts are spreading a false claim that a photograph shows Rep. Adam Schiff with the “whistleblower.” The photo was posted by Schiff and shows his family and his daughter’s boyfriend — who is a college student, not an intelligence official. Full Story  As the impeachment trial of […]

China first reported an unusual cluster of pneumonia cases in the city of Wuhan on Dec. 31, and, within a month, the internet was infected with misinformation about the responsible virus, now called the 2019 novel coronavirus. Fact-checking organizations, including FactCheck.org, from 30 countries collaborated through the International Fact-Checking Network […]

Quick Take Numerous social media posts falsely suggest that because Clorox and Lysol products list “Human Coronavirus” on their bottles, the new coronavirus driving the outbreak in China was already known. It wasn’t. There are many human coronaviruses, and these products were tested against a strain that causes the common […]

At his rally in Iowa, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the new trade agreement with China “will boost American agriculture by $50 billion every year.” China agreed to increase agricultural purchases by $12.5 billion this year and $19.5 billion next year compared with 2017 levels. The trade pact does […]

The campaigns of President Donald Trump and Democrat Mike Bloomberg have purchased airtime during the preeminent TV ad event of the year: the Super Bowl. Both scheduled spots make claims that require context or further explanation. Trump’s ad says “change is what we got” under Trump and then focuses on […]

Quick Take Online headlines falsely claim that Virginia lawmakers want to make criticizing state officials a “criminal offense.” The bill doesn’t create new offenses. It would merely allow cases of threats or harassment against some state officials to be prosecuted in Richmond. Full Story  Viral headlines peddled by multiple websites […]

An outbreak of viral pneumonia that began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 has now sickened thousands, and led to more than 100 deaths.  Although much is still unknown, scientists have made rapid progress in understanding the culprit, a new virus in the coronavirus […]

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg blamed tax cuts backed by President Donald Trump for creating the nation’s debt problem. But while the Congressional Budget Office says those tax cuts are worsening the nation’s debt, spiraling deficits and debt over the next decade were projected even before those tax cuts were […]

One of President Donald Trump’s defense lawyers described Rudy Giuliani as “just a minor player” in Ukraine matters that resulted in the president being impeached. But the evidence suggests otherwise. White House defense lawyer Jane Raskin made her remarks about Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, on Jan. 27, the second […]

Quick Take A conspiracy theory website distorted the facts about an emergency preparedness exercise to suggest that the “GATES FOUNDATION & OTHERS PREDICTED UP TO 65 MILLION DEATHS” from the coronavirus now spreading. The event dealt with a hypothetical scenario involving a fictional virus. Full Story  We’ve previously explained that […]