Quick Take Conspiracy theories aimed at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been circulating on social media since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. One recent example, falsely attributed to a “Pentagon official,” is the unfounded claim that Zelensky is the cousin of billionaire philanthropist George Soros. Full Story Ukrainian President Volodymyr […]
Facts Check
Josh Mandel Campaign Ad Was Not Photoshopped, Contrary to Social Media Posts
Quick Take In a campaign ad, Josh Mandel, a Republican Senate candidate from Ohio, shared an image of himself as a Marine with a group of Black troops. Social media posts falsely claim that Mandel photoshopped his head onto the body of a Black Marine. The Mandel campaign denied the […]
Biden Repeats Misleading Talking Point on Preexisting Conditions
In praising the Affordable Care Act, President Joe Biden misleadingly warned of the consequences if Republicans ever repealed the law, saying that would mean “100 million Americans with preexisting conditions can once again be denied health care coverage by their insurance companies.” But those Americans could only be denied coverage […]
Q&A on Second COVID-19 Boosters for Older People
At the end of March, the Food and Drug Administration authorized a second COVID-19 booster, or fourth dose, of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for people 50 years of age and older. The idea is to shore up any flagging immunity among the most vulnerable, particularly as the omicron subvariant […]
Pro-Lamb Super PAC Misfires in Attack Ad Against Fetterman
A super PAC supporting Rep. Conor Lamb for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania made two misleading claims about the Democratic front-runner, John Fetterman, one of which resulted in a Philadelphia TV station pulling the ad. The ad claims Fetterman is “a self-described democratic socialist.” Fetterman has not described himself that way, […]
Pro-Lamb Super PAC Misfires in Attack Ad Against Fetterman
A super PAC supporting Rep. Conor Lamb for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania made two misleading claims about the Democratic front-runner, John Fetterman, one of which resulted in a Philadelphia TV station pulling the ad. The ad claims Fetterman is “a self-described democratic socialist.” Fetterman has not described himself that way, […]
Clinical Trials Find No Increase in Mortality Among COVID-19 Patients Treated with Remdesivir, Contrary to Viral Claim
SciCheck Digest Remdesivir is the only antiviral medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19. But a retired chiropractor misleadingly claims on a viral clip on social media that the drug is “killing people.” Studies have shown that remdesivir can lead to faster recovery times for hospitalized […]
COVID-19 Data Comparing Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated Continue to Be Available, Contrary to Viral Posts
SciCheck Digest Weekly rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths by vaccination status are published monthly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its website. The death data were last posted on March 17, and the hospitalization data on March 31. But a viral tweet claimed the CDC is […]
Strategic Petroleum Reserve Oil Stocks Declined Under Trump, Contrary to His Claim
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was set up in the 1970s as an emergency source of oil in the event of unexpected supply disruptions. When Donald Trump took office as president in January 2017, the reserve held 695.1 million barrels of crude oil. The last full week before he left […]
The Facts on ‘De-Nazifying’ Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia’s talk of “de-Nazifying” Ukraine is a non-starter in peace negotiations. “We won’t sit down at the table at all if all we talk about is some ‘de-militarization’ or some ‘de-Nazification,’” Zelensky said in an interview with independent Russian journalists on March 27. “For me, […]