Quick Take After the 2016 presidential election, some progressive Democrats tried to convince electors for Donald Trump to switch their Electoral College votes to Hillary Clinton. But a conservative commentator misleadingly claimed in a social media post that the Democrats were “calling for alternate electors” — as Trump did after […]
Facts Check
Website Peddles Old, Debunked Falsehood About COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines
SciCheck Digest An executive at the German pharmaceutical company Bayer referred to mRNA vaccines used against COVID-19 as an example of innovation in biotech at the World Health Summit 2021. But a website post takes the executive’s words out of context to falsely claim he said the vaccines are gene […]
Biden Claims Too Much Credit for Decline in COVID-19 Deaths
With the U.S. experiencing a major dip in the number of daily deaths as the omicron variant wave runs its course, President Joe Biden has repeatedly boasted that his “approach has brought down COVID deaths by 90%.” That figure is accurate, but experts say the dip is largely attributable to […]
Social Media Swirls With Unsupported Claims About Cause of Justin and Hailey Bieber’s Medical Conditions
SciCheck Digest Pop star Justin Bieber announced he has Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a form of facial paralysis caused by a reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. Social media posts have claimed his condition was caused by COVID-19 vaccination, but there is no established link between vaccination and the syndrome. […]
Kansas Cattle Died After Unusual Heat Wave, Contrary to Baseless Claims Online
Quick Take At least 2,000 cattle have died following a heat wave in southwestern Kansas. Although the cattle apparently died of heatstroke, social media posts have made baseless claims suggesting that the deaths might be part of a larger conspiracy theory about the food supply. Full Story A heat wave […]
NRSC’s Misleading Green New Deal Attack on Fetterman
John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, says he “never supported the Green New Deal” though he does support a longer-term transition away from fossil fuels. Nonetheless, a TV ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee argues that Fetterman is “too radical” and misleadingly tries to put […]
Posts Baselessly Link Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome to COVID-19 Vaccines
SciCheck Digest Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome, or SADS, has been studied for decades and is caused by genetic heart problems. But social media posts suggest, with no evidence, that SADS is related to COVID-19 vaccines. How do we know vaccines are safe? How do we know vaccines are safe? No […]
Democratic Congressman Exaggerates Number of Gun ‘Massacres’
In discussing a bipartisan Senate proposal to address gun violence, Rep. Jamie Raskin exaggerated when he said there have been “more massacres than days in 2022.” Using the source supplied by the congressman’s office, guns were used in 14 “mass murders” so far this year. By another measure, as we […]
Posts Distort Questionable Study on COVID-19 Vaccination and EMS Calls
SciCheck Digest Studies have found that COVID-19 increases the risk for heart complications, and that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risks for males and females in all age groups. Social media posts, however, have misinterpreted and publicized a criticized study that claims to have identified a correlation between […]
Examining Uvalde’s Police Spending
For the fiscal year ending in September, spending on police is expected to account for 37% of general fund expenditures in the city of Uvalde, Texas. But police spending is projected to make up about 17% of the city’s total operating expenditures, contrary to imprecise claims made by some politicians […]