This report was run on 12-20-2023 at 17:12, and we have new fact checks from the following organizations:
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Fact checks from FactCheck.org – 1 new post
Yale Preprint Recorded Patient Experiences, Did Not Demonstrate Vaccines Cause New Syndrome
Published 12/18/2023 21:26
A preprint on a Yale-based study described chronic symptoms self-reported after COVID-19 vaccination by 241 members of an online group. The paper, which has not been peer-reviewed, did not show how common these symptoms are in the general population, nor whether vaccinations caused them — limitations popular online posts did not make clear.
Read at FactCheck.org
Fact checks from Lead Stories – 15 new posts
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Young Man Murdered By IDF In 2023 — It’s From 2015; Teen Survived
Published 12/20/2023 20:32
Does a viral video show a Palestinian teenager killed by the Israel Defense Forces during the 2023 Hamas-Israel war? No, that’s not true: The footage went viral in 2015. The events preceding the scene in the video were highly contested,…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Zelenskyy Begging Western Leaders To Spend Their Money On Ukraine
Published 12/20/2023 19:53
Does a video show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy begging Western leaders to spend their money on Ukraine? No, that’s not true: In the Fox News Channel interview, Zelenskyy was directing his comments toward domestic critics, not anyone in the West….
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Woman Planning To Sue School Because Son Isn’t Allowed To Identify As A Cat — It’s Satire
Published 12/20/2023 19:35
Is a mother planning on suing a school because they will not let her son identify as a cat? No, that’s not true: The creator of this video on social media has “#satire” in the TikTok caption of her post…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Muslim Immigrant Urinating On Pork In Dutch Supermarket — Creator Has Posted Similar Staged Scenes Before
Published 12/20/2023 01:31
Did a bystander or cohort film a spontaneous incident when a Muslim immigrant urinated on packages of pork in a Dutch supermarket? No, that’s not true: The video is staged and was posted by a TikTok creator. The same creator…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Laura Ingraham Did NOT Report Dr. Oz Was Sued Over ‘Revolutionary Diabetes Curing Drug’ — Audio Is Doctored
Published 12/20/2023 01:16
Did Fox News Channel host Laura Ingraham report that Dr. Mehmet Oz was sued by “Big Pharma” over a “revolutionary diabetes curing drug”? No, that’s not true: A Fox News spokesperson told Lead Stories that Ingraham didn’t say that on…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Israeli Army Attacking Patients From Kamal Hospital In Gaza With Bulldozers
Published 12/20/2023 00:38
Does a viral video on the X platform prove that “the Kamal Hospital in the Gaza Strip” was attacked by the Israeli forces “with a bulldozer” in 2023? No, that’s not true: The footage predates the conflict. It is a…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Palestinian Baby Injured During 2023 Gaza Conflict — It’s American Infant With Serious Medical Conditions Born Before War
Published 12/19/2023 21:16
Does a video of a baby with medical tubes and sensors attached to their body show the consequences from conflict in Gaza for Palestinian children in 2023? No, that’s not true: The footage in a post making that implication predates…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: JAG Did NOT Arrest Georgia Secretary Of State Raffensperger For Treason — It’s A Made-Up Story
Published 12/19/2023 20:37
Did the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps arrest Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for treason in December 2023? No, that’s not true: The chief operating officer for the Secretary of State’s office posted a message on social media…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Israel Did NOT Officially Admit Its Army ‘Bombed At Nova Festival And Killed 364 Israelis’
Published 12/19/2023 19:21
Did Israel officially admit that its army bombed the Nova Festival and caused the death of 364 Israelis during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023? No, that’s not true: Israeli officials called the claim “untrue” and “fake.” Additionally, there…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Military Chaplain Did NOT Say In Prayer ‘Please Get Rid Of Joe Biden’ — The Audio Was Edited
Published 12/19/2023 18:17
Did a military chaplain end a prayer with “Please get rid of Joe Biden and bring back the real president, Donald J. Trump”? No, that’s not true: This audio has been edited. Lead Stories found the original video, taken at…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Dr. Oz Did NOT Promote A ‘Cure’ For Prostate Disease
Published 12/19/2023 01:45
Did Dr. Mehmet Oz promote a “cure” for prostate disease that does not require surgery? No, that’s not true: A representative for Oz told Lead Stories, “This is a fake post fraudulently using Dr. Oz’s name and likeness.” A link…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Donald Trump Did NOT Endorse A ‘$6,400 Bonus’ Scheme Before Christmas
Published 12/19/2023 01:32
Did Donald Trump endorse a “$6,400 bonus” scheme before Christmas 2023? No, that’s not true: Lead Stories could not find any evidence that the former president ever made any of the comments in a video making the claim, and it…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Amazon Delivery Fleet Is NOT Converting Back To Diesel — Amazon Plans To Add More Electric Vehicles To Fleet In The Future
Published 12/18/2023 23:57
Did Amazon convert its delivery fleet back to diesel “as electric doesn’t work”? No, that’s not true: A public relations manager from Amazon told Lead Stories on December 18, 2023, that this claim is false. An Amazon article from October…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Of Palestinian Man Falling In A Street Is NOT ‘Theater’ From Gaza In 2023 — It Was Shot In Hebron In 2015; There’s NO Evidence Man Was Faking Injuries
Published 12/18/2023 23:38
Does a video of a man collapsing in the street prove that his fall was staged for pro-Hamas propaganda and that it happened in Gaza in 2023? No, that’s not true: The footage predates the 2023 Hamas-Israel war. Contrary to…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Georgia Gov. Kemp Lawyers Did NOT Notify Sec. of State Raffensperger ‘17,852 Invalid 2020 Votes’ Counted In Fulton County
Published 12/18/2023 23:32
Did Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s legal staff notify Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in late 2023 that 17,852 invalid 2020 votes were counted in Georgia’s Fulton County? No, that’s not true: The State Election Board told Lead Stories that Kemp’s…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact checks from PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories – 17 new posts
TikTok posts – No hay evidencia de que un influencer palestino sea un ‘actor de crisis’ en Gaza
Published 12/20/2023 21:48
“MSNBC transmitió un video de este actor” en la guerra entre Israel y Hamas.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
PolitiFact’s top 10 fact-checks of politicians and pundits in 2023
Published 12/20/2023 21:32
As 2023 ends, PolitiFact looked back at the fact-checks of politicians and pundits that most captured readers’ attention during the year. Here’s our top 10:
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Facebook posts – Edited images falsely depict Donald Trump talking about deadly Panera Bread lemonade
Published 12/20/2023 21:23
During a speech former President Donald Trump said, “Even the lemonade is killing people” under President Joe Biden.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
PolitiFact en Español: 5 cosas Ridículas y Falsas que verificamos en 2023
Published 12/20/2023 15:23
PolitiFact en Español: 5 cosas que calificamos Ridículas y Falsas en 2023. Estas afirmaciones en redes sociales son absurdas, se propagaron para sembrar miedo o falsa esperanza.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
‘How is this not a Pants on Fire?’: What PolitiFact readers thought of recent fact-checks
Published 12/20/2023 14:21
PolitiFact readers respond to our fact-checks of President Joe Biden, Former President Donald Trump, U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy and a claim about the cost of groceries in the “Home Alone” movie.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Instagram posts – No, Texas Children’s Pediatrics clinics don’t have a vaccine mandate for patients
Published 12/19/2023 23:14
“Texas Children’s Hospital pediatric clinics announce they will no longer treat unvaccinated children.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Instagram posts – No, all Gaza schoolchildren have not been killed in Israel-Hamas war
Published 12/19/2023 23:02
Gaza’s education ministry “officially announced the end of the 2023/2024 academic year as all students have been killed.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Nikki Haley – Haley is correct that fentanyl deaths top casualties from 3 wars combined
Published 12/19/2023 22:44
“We’ve had more Americans die of fentanyl than the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam wars, combined.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
James Woods – Biden’s net worth is around $10 million, not $41 million
Published 12/19/2023 22:38
Joe Biden’s net worth was $41 million in 2022.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Donald Trump – Donald Trump claimed the Lincoln Project used AI to make him ‘look bad.’ But the clips are real
Published 12/19/2023 22:21
The Lincoln Project is “using A.I. (Artificial Intelligence)” in its “television commercials.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Mark Lamb – No, the U.S. government is not giving people who crossed the border illegally $5,000 gift cards
Published 12/19/2023 21:10
“We have our government giving people who came into this country illegally $5,000 gift cards.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Chris Christie – Christie’s claim on Trump’s China trade deal is on the right track, but hinges on the math
Published 12/19/2023 20:26
Under the Trump administration’s trade deal, “China’s only fulfilled one-third of the promises of agricultural products that they were supposed to buy from our farmers.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Divisions in Cyprus amplify fact-checking challenges
Published 12/19/2023 18:20
Divisions in Cyprus amplify fact-checking challenges: The Mediterranean island nation’s unusual bicultural dynamic poses challenges for fighting off misinformation. Our report from both sides of the United Nations buffer zone.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Julian Bradley – Has Wisconsin's governor vetoed multiple middle-class tax cuts this year?
Published 12/19/2023 15:51
“Wisconsin Republicans have passed multiple billion dollar middle-class tax cuts this year, but each time we have, Governor Tony Evers has vetoed the relief.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Facebook posts – Promises of $16,800 payments from the U.S. government are a scam
Published 12/18/2023 23:07
“The U.S. is sending everyone (a) free $16,800 right now.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Ron DeSantis – Why Ron DeSantis’ claim that Sweden ‘shut down’ gender-affirming surgical care is Half True
Published 12/18/2023 22:44
Discussing gender-affirming surgical care for minors, said that Sweden “shut it down.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Facebook posts – Los casos de neumonía pediátrica en Estados Unidos no son un misterio, ni vinculados a China
Published 12/18/2023 22:27
“Neumonia misteriosa ya está golpeando” a niños en Estados Unidos “lo mismo que está pasando en China”.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Fact checks from Reuters – 7 new posts
Fact Check: Egypt 2013 video of bulldozer dispersing protesters shared as Gaza 2023
Published 12/20/2023 17:29
A video of a bulldozer dispersing protesters in Cairo, Egypt in 2013 has been falsely shared online as showing the Israeli army running over civilians at a Gaza hospital in 2023.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Sentence ‘Killing Children is Morally Wrong’ not listed as a hate symbol by ADL
Published 12/20/2023 14:56
A screenshot purportedly showing the official website of the Anti- Defamation League (ADL), a nonprofit organization that fights antisemitism, with the sentence “Killing Children is Morally Wrong” listed as a hate symbol is fabricated, a spokesperson for the organization said.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Trump did not say ‘lemonade is killing people’ under Biden administration
Published 12/20/2023 07:52
Still images from a broadcast of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s rally in Iowa in December 2023, altered to add satirical captions about lemonade “killing people” under the administration of President Joe Biden, are being taken seriously online.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Jon Voight’s 2016 pro-Trump comment misattributed to Tom Selleck
Published 12/20/2023 07:19
A 2016 comment made by American actor Jon Voight endorsing former U.S. President Donald Trump has resurfaced online and has been falsely attributed to actor Tom Selleck.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Bill Gates didn’t order governments to use only GM food at summit
Published 12/19/2023 19:53
An article claiming Bill Gates ordered governments to replace “real food” with genetically modified food to fight global warming misrepresents a speech Gates gave at the 2023 Africa Climate Summit in September.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Al Jazeera not banned from UK television
Published 12/19/2023 11:36
Claims spreading on social media that news network Al Jazeera has been banned from British television are false according to Everyone TV, the UK’s provider of free television, and Ofcom, Britain’s independent communications regulator.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Image does not show authentic homework assignment about Bill Clinton
Published 12/19/2023 07:01
A piece of art depicting an invented school assignment about former U.S. President Bill Clinton displayed in Miami has been miscaptioned online to say it shows a real piece of student homework.
Read at Reuters
Fact checks from Snopes.com – 7 new posts
Did Trump Call for Mass Detention and Deportation of Undocumented Immigrants?
Published 12/20/2023 20:19
The former president gave an incendiary speech at a December 2023 campaign rally in Nevada.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: There Is No Evidence Trump Ever Read ‘Mein Kampf’
Published 12/20/2023 18:40
Trump’s first wife, Ivana, reportedly claimed he kept a copy of Hitler’s speeches by his bedside.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: ‘The Godfather’ Being Remade with Javier Bardem and Oscar Isaac?
Published 12/20/2023 18:32
The original film came out in 1972.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Does Bill Gates Own Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar?
Published 12/20/2023 14:00
A simple question with a really weird, complicated answer.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Did Trump Say ‘Courage Is the Ability To Act Effectively, in Spite of Fear’?
Published 12/20/2023 00:05
The late U.S. Sen. John McCain wrote a passage very similar to that in his 2004 book, “Why Courage Matters.”
Read at Snopes.com
Did Starbucks Lose $12B from Boycotts ‘Due to Its Support for Israel’?
Published 12/08/2023 00:09
Snopes examined the evidence behind allegations that Starbucks lost market value due to the company’s support of Israel.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Did Israeli Soldiers Stage the Capture of a Hamas Fighter Seen in Fox News Footage?
Published 11/24/2023 21:29
Pro-Palestinian accounts on social media shared footage of a Fox News clip they claimed showed the Israeli army’s deception.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact checks from USA Today – 14 new posts
Fabricated claim Brad Raffensperger arrested for treason | Fact check
Published 12/20/2023 16:12
Fabricated claim Brad Raffensperger arrested for treason | Fact check
Read at USA Today
Not a ‘whodunit’ situation, human CO2 drives global warming | Fact check
Published 12/20/2023 16:00
More than a century of experimental and observational research shows that global warming is driven by greenhouse gases emitted by human activity.
Read at USA Today
Video doesn’t show Gaza hospital being bulldozed | Fact check
Published 12/20/2023 15:43
The video is unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. It was filmed during the Rabaa Massacre in Egypt in 2013.
Read at USA Today
No, barcodes do not tell consumers where goods are made | Fact check
Published 12/20/2023 15:24
Social media users calling for a boycott of Israeli goods say barcodes can tell them what products not to buy, but they are misreading the numbers.
Read at USA Today
No, Tyson Foods isn’t putting insects in food for humans | Fact check
Published 12/20/2023 12:45
Tyson recently announced a partnership with an insect ingredients company, but it’s not using insects in any of its human food products.
Read at USA Today
Miscaptioned video shows protest in Oklahoma, not LA | Fact check
Published 12/19/2023 18:31
The video shows a 2020 protest in Oklahoma that followed George Floyd’s murder, not one in 2023 in Los Angeles stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.
Read at USA Today
Climate change, not volcanos, drive Antarctic ice melt | Fact check
Published 12/19/2023 18:29
While there is indirect evidence of active sub-glacial volcanos in Antarctica, climate change drives melting.
Read at USA Today
Zelenskyy war comments on Fox News taken out of context | Fact check
Published 12/19/2023 16:11
The clip of Zelenskyy’s comments was shortened and taken out of context. He was addressing criticism of his leadership coming from within Ukraine.
Read at USA Today
No, infant vaccines don’t cause VIDS, which doesn’t exist | Fact check
Published 12/19/2023 16:02
Social media users are once again trying to tie routine infant immunizations to SIDS, despite evidence to the contrary.
Read at USA Today
Fast fashion campaign misrepresented as Zara protest | Fact check
Published 12/19/2023 12:34
The video was created by a used luxury goods company as part of its campaign against fast fashion nearly a month before Zara’s photoshoot.
Read at USA Today
False claim US is paying homeowners to install solar panels | Fact check
Published 12/19/2023 12:27
The Department of Energy said the federal government does not fund solar panel installation and has warned the public about scams stating otherwise.
Read at USA Today
False claim Arkansas will pay for residents’ solar panels | Fact check
Published 12/18/2023 17:18
There is no such program mentioned on the Arkansas Department of Energy website. A department spokesperson said the claim is false.
Read at USA Today
No, US isn’t handing out $5,000 gift cards to immigrants | Fact check
Published 12/18/2023 17:14
An immigration expert says the claim is false. Spokespeople with two federal law enforcement agencies confirm they do not hand out such gift cards.
Read at USA Today
Texas hospital’s vaccination policy misrepresented online | Fact check
Published 12/18/2023 00:00
A spokesperson for the hospital said it treats patients regardless of their vaccination status, contrary to a viral post’s claim.
Read at USA Today
