This report was run on 11-18-2023 at 07:21, and we have new fact checks from the following organizations:
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Fact checks from FactCheck.org – 3 new posts
What’s in the Ethics Report on George Santos?
Published 11/17/2023 21:58
The investigative subcommittee of the House Committee on Ethics released a 56-page report on Nov. 16 that found Rep. George Santos of New York “placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles.” Here we recap the findings of the ethics committee.
Read at FactCheck.org
Dozens of Children Died in Hamas’ Oct. 7 Attack on Israel, Contrary to Online Claim
Published 11/16/2023 23:03
At least 29 children have been identified by international authorities as having died in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. But a video, citing a post deleted by the World Jewish Congress, has been circulating online falsely suggesting that children didn’t die in the attack in Israel.
Read at FactCheck.org
Trump’s Latest Election Fraud Spin
Published 11/16/2023 23:01
In his latest election fraud spin, former President Donald Trump falsely suggested that 3,600 criminally duplicated ballots were counted in Atlanta’s Fulton County in the 2020 presidential election. He is referring to news reported months ago about errors made during an audit — not during the official ballot count.
Read at FactCheck.org
Fact checks from Lead Stories – 10 new posts
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Gavin Newsom Falling Down Steps While Deplaning — It’s 2014 Footage Of Tommy Tuberville
Published 11/18/2023 03:00
Does a video show California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, falling down the steps while deplaning? No, that’s not true: According to the person who first posted it, the footage, filmed in 2014, shows Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who at that time was…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Barack Obama’s Stepfather Did NOT Run Death Squads For The Indonesian Army
Published 11/18/2023 02:32
Did Barack Obama’s stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, run death squads for the Indonesian army in the mid-1960s? No, that’s not true: The identities of those who organized the death squads are well known and Soetoro was not one of them, a…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Oprah Did NOT Promote ‘Minimum Wage Subsidy Card’ — Audio Was Edited
Published 11/18/2023 02:25
Did American TV producer and host Oprah Winfrey endorse a “minimum wage subsidy card” that helps those with hourly wages below $26 pay for gas and groceries? No, that’s not true: Lead Stories found no proof of such an incentive….
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: US Special Forces Did NOT Arrest Ukraine Presidential Aide Andriy Yermak And Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko
Published 11/18/2023 02:03
Did U.S. Special Forces arrest Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on U.S. soil as of November 17, 2023? No, that’s not true: A Pentagon duty officer confirmed for Lead Stories that this claim is false….
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: VAERS and FAERS Data Does NOT Prove COVID-19 Vaccines Cause Deaths And Harm Health
Published 11/17/2023 23:08
Does data pulled from the Adverse Event Reporting System and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System prove that COVID-19 vaccines have caused more than 1.4 million adverse events and over 32,000 deaths as of November 25, 2022? No, that’s not…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: US National Debt Was NOT Paid Off In 2017 — Last Time Was 1835
Published 11/17/2023 23:04
Does a viral video show proof that the U.S. national debt was paid off in 2017? No, that’s not true: The U.S. Treasury website shows the current U.S. national debt, which is about $33.7 trillion, a number accepted by U.S….
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: You Can NOT Simply Send Letter To Permanently Remove Damaging Info From Your Credit Report
Published 11/17/2023 22:35
Does the Fair Credit Reporting Act allow anyone to permanently remove anything hurting their credit report? No, that’s not true: Consumers have the right to dispute inaccurate information, but there is no new provision that allows a customer or company…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: The U.S. Government Is NOT Planning To Draft Women
Published 11/17/2023 21:32
Is the U.S. government planning to order young women to enlist in the military? No, that’s not true: At the time of writing, November 17, 2023, there is no plan afoot to draft women, a Defense Department spokesperson told Lead…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Cardi B Promoting ‘Health Spending Card’
Published 11/17/2023 21:23
Does a video on Facebook show singer Cardi B. endorsing a “health spending card” from the U.S. government? No, that’s not true: The footage of music artist Belcalis Almanzar-Cephus comes from a video in which she promoted a “holiday drink”…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: House Speaker Mike Johnson Did NOT Say ‘Homosexual Relationships’ Were ‘More Satisfying Than Hetero Relationships’
Published 11/17/2023 00:45
Did House Speaker Mike Johnson say that “homosexual relationships” were “more satisfying than hetero relationships”? No, that’s not true: There is no evidence that Johnson ever publicly made that statement. The fake quote may have been inspired by an opinion…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact checks from PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories – 7 new posts
Viral image – Princess Diana died in 1997. A conspiracy theory that loops in former President Donald Trump claims
Published 11/17/2023 22:51
Princess Diana “is still alive” and “possibly could be with Trump.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Facebook posts – More fake ‘Quantum AI’ claims about Elon Musk spread online
Published 11/17/2023 22:11
Video shows “Elon Musk and the Dubai billionaire have unveiled new software called ‘Quantum AI.’”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Stew Peters – No, this video doesn’t show Israeli military killing people at Oct. 7 concert in Israel
Published 11/17/2023 21:20
“Footage from Israeli helicopter shows the IDF killing many people at October 7 concert in Israel.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Instagram posts – New York City billboard ad showing ‘Stand with Israel’ replacing Ukraine is fake
Published 11/17/2023 21:20
Billboard in New York City shows “Stand with Israel” ad replacing “Stand with Ukraine” ad.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – Video doesn’t show President Joe Biden falling down plane stairs in Poland
Published 11/17/2023 16:57
Video shows President Joe Biden falling “on the plane stairs shortly after landing in Poland.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Francesca Hong – Wisconsin lawmaker falsely claims US House speaker ‘opposes Social Security’
Published 11/17/2023 15:04
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson “opposes Social Security benefits.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
In final report, House Ethics Committee targets George Santos’ falsehoods
Published 11/16/2023 22:27
The release of a scathing House Ethics Committee report may hasten a vote to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. The committee’s report accuses Santos of criminality, ethical violations and a wide range of falsehoods.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Fact checks from Reuters – 10 new posts
Fact Check: Clip does not show Israeli forces placing flag at Al Shifa hospital
Published 11/17/2023 22:12
A video showing soldiers placing an Israeli flag on the roof of a school in Gaza has been miscaptioned in online posts that claim it shows the Al Shifa hospital.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: ‘Patriots’ protecting Nuneaton statue post is satire
Published 11/17/2023 19:20
A satirical social media post about a group of men in Britain guarding a statue of writer George Eliot has circulated online as if it is serious and the image was captured in 2023 after pro-Palestinian marches in London.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Video shows stunt choreography, not attack on Israeli women
Published 11/17/2023 18:53
A choreographed video produced by a French stunt school has been miscaptioned amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war with false claims it shows Israeli women fighting off Muslim or Arab men.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Why fruit isn’t floating in International Space Station photo
Published 11/17/2023 18:37
The crew on the International Space Station (ISS) attach items to a tabletop to help them prepare food, according to NASA, contrary to claims shared online that space travel is fake based on a photograph of astronauts where food appears to be lying on a surface.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Video shows Madrid protest over Catalan amnesty deal
Published 11/17/2023 18:32
A video of a protest in Madrid against a plan by Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to grant amnesty to Catalan separatists has been falsely claimed online to show a pro-Palestinian protest.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: ‘Kidnapped’ billboard in New Jersey miscaptioned as Australia
Published 11/17/2023 16:36
A billboard with the word “KIDNAPPED” surrounded by images of faces referring to the people held hostage by Hamas was placed in Lakewood, New Jersey, and not, as suggested in online posts, Melbourne, Australia.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Behind-the-scenes footage of a film shared as Palestinians faking injuries
Published 11/17/2023 16:13
Behind-the-scenes footage from a short film made in Lebanon about life in Gaza has been shared without context online as evidence that Palestinians are faking injuries in the context of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Video of burning aircraft predates November 4 attack at Pakistan air base
Published 11/17/2023 15:00
An old video of a dummy fighter jet set ablaze by supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in May 2023 in Mianwali, Pakistan, has been falsely captioned as showing scenes from a November 2023 attack at an air base in that city.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Video of Syria’s Tadamon massacre shared as showing Gaza
Published 11/17/2023 09:09
(Editor’s note: Graphic footage and images linked to in paragraphs two, three, four and five)
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Photo of a child lying on a road in Yemen dates to 2020
Published 11/17/2023 07:44
An image from Yemen in 2020 of an injured child lying on a road while another child tries to drag her away from the scene has been shared with captions falsely suggesting that it shows Palestinian siblings killed by Israeli soldiers amid the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.
Read at Reuters
Fact checks from Snopes.com – 6 new posts
Fact Check: Idris Elba Exposed Tyler Perry for Portraying ‘Harmful Stereotypes’ of Black Men, as Videos Claim?
Published 11/17/2023 21:14
The clips surfaced after Perry appeared on Kelly Ripa’s podcast to discuss a new documentary and being a godfather to Harry and Meghan’s daughter.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Legit: Crown Royal’s ‘Purple Bag Project’ for US Troops Is Not a Scam
Published 11/17/2023 20:59
Readers asked us about this offer via email in November 2023. We found that it was legitimately hosted on Crown Royal’s official website.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: George Santos Claimed He Never Heard of OnlyFans, Months After Allegedly Making Purchases There?
Published 11/17/2023 19:32
The U.S. House Committee on Ethics looked into the New York representative’s 2022 campaign spending.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Lia Thomas Was Rejected From US 2024 Olympic Swim Team While Riley Gaines Got a Spot?
Published 11/17/2023 19:14
Snopes has previously fact-checked articles about Thomas and Gaines.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Denver Airport Installed Talking Gargoyle Robot That Said, ‘Welcome to the Illuminati Headquarters’?
Published 11/17/2023 14:00
“I mean, Denver International Airport,” the supposed gargoyle corrected itself as saying.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Video Captures IDF Soldiers in the Act of Demolishing Gaza Parliament Building?
Published 11/17/2023 00:36
The Palestinian Legislative Council Building in Gaza had reportedly been captured by Israeli troops a few days earlier.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact checks from USA Today – 7 new posts
Image of red water shows lake in Chile, not Nile River | Fact check
Published 11/17/2023 17:56
Image of red water shows lake in Chile, not Nile River | Fact check
Read at USA Today
Similar flags spur confusion on Indian pro-Palestinian rally | Fact check
Published 11/17/2023 17:47
Similarities between the flag of an Indian political party and the Italian flag spawned confusion at a pro-Palestinian march.
Read at USA Today
No, video does not show Israeli military attacking Israelis | Fact check
Published 11/17/2023 16:24
Footage released by the Israeli military shows a helicopter firing at Hamas militants at the Gaza security fence, not at concertgoers.
Read at USA Today
Baseless claim image shows ‘destroyed’ Israeli tanks in Gaza | Fact check
Published 11/17/2023 15:02
No one has reported the tanks shown here were destroyed, and experts say the tanks appear to be intact.
Read at USA Today
Moonlight is reflected sunlight, did not prevent moon landings | Fact check
Published 11/17/2023 13:15
The moon wouldn’t have been too bright for the astronauts to land on. Moonlight is just reflected sunlight.
Read at USA Today
Scholastic promoted book on spirituality in 2002, not 2023 | Fact check
Published 11/16/2023 18:20
A Scholastic spokesperson said the book was a “one-time inclusion” in its Inspiring Words Book Clubs during the 2001-2002 school year.
Read at USA Today
Image of Pfizer CEO in mask was taken in 2020, not 2023 | Fact check
Published 11/16/2023 17:58
Bourla posted the image on X, formerly Twitter, on Nov. 9. Bourla’s post clearly states that the image was taken “three years ago” on Nov. 9, 2020.
Read at USA Today
