This report was run on 11-09-2023 at 18:52, and we have new fact checks from the following organizations:
This site is not affiliated with, or supported by, any of these sources. This site aggregates descriptions of fact checks, and links back to the original source. Read About FlammablePants for more information about this site.
Fact checks from FactCheck.org
Taylor Swift Film Is Being Screened in Israel, Contrary to Online Post
Published 11/09/2023 17:31
As some celebrities issued statements in response to the Israel-Hamas war, a video posted to social media falsely claimed that pop star Taylor Swift stopped screenings of her new film in Israel. But it was technical difficulties with showtime schedules that made screenings appear unavailable in Israel. Screenings of the film have continued in Israel.
Read at FactCheck.org
FactChecking the Third GOP Primary Debate
Published 11/09/2023 07:50
Five candidates took the stage in Miami and twisted the facts on China, abortion and U.S. life expectancy.
Read at FactCheck.org
RFK Jr. Incorrectly Denies Past Remarks on Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness
Published 11/08/2023 21:59
In a “PBS NewsHour” interview, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly denied previously saying that “no vaccine” is safe and effective. But Kennedy said exactly that on the Lex Fridman podcast in July.
Read at FactCheck.org
Fact checks from Lead Stories
Fact Check: US Code Section Does NOT Make American Workers Exempt From Taxes — It’s About Federal Reserve Banks
Published 11/09/2023 21:45
Does a section of the U.S. Code, cited in a video on social media, exempt American workers from paying taxes? No, that’s not true: No section of the U.S. Code universally exempts American workers from paying taxes. The section of…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Iowa Gov. Reynolds Was NOT Interrupted By Trump Chants At Rally Where She Endorsed DeSantis
Published 11/09/2023 21:31
Was Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds interrupted by Trump chants during the speech in which she endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the presidential race? No, that’s not true: The audio of the November 6, 2023, speech has been edited to…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Israel Bombing Palestinian Water Tank — It’s Footage Of Fuel Tank Bombing In Sudan
Published 11/09/2023 21:25
Does a video show Israel bombing a Palestinian water tank, injuring civilians? No, that’s not true: The video was not taken in Palestinian territory and does not show a water tank being attacked. Rather, it shows the bombing of a…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Impersonator Wearing Trump Mask At Civil Fraud Trial — Video Was Edited
Published 11/09/2023 20:43
Did a Donald Trump impersonator take the place of the former president during his November 6, 2023, civil fraud trial? No, that’s not true: The visual of Trump sitting in court in this claim on Instagram has been edited. The…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Topless Photo Does NOT Show New York AG Letitia James — The Illegally Obtained Photo Shows Victim Of Federal Cybercrime
Published 11/09/2023 19:22
Does a topless photo show New York Attorney General Letitia James? No, that’s not true: This photo does not show James, but Stacey Plaskett, the U.S. delegate to Congress from the Virgin Islands, who was a victim of cybercrime. Two…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Study Did NOT Find Human Meat In Hot Dogs — Startup Reported Unsourced Findings Of Human DNA
Published 11/09/2023 00:37
Did a study detect human DNA in many hot dog samples tested with a new type of technology, finding that many hot dogs, even vegetarian hot dogs, are made with human meat? No, that’s not true: A startup named Clear…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: FBI Has NOT Warned Of Coordinated Hamas Attacks On US Cities — There’s Nothing ‘Specific And Credible’
Published 11/09/2023 00:01
Did the FBI warn about coordinated attacks on more than two dozen American cities by Hamas in the aftermath of the militant group’s attack on Israel in October 2023? No, that’s not true: The FBI said it hasn’t “issued such…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Rapper Lil Wayne Did NOT Endorse $6,400 ‘Health Allowance Card’
Published 11/08/2023 21:55
Did rapper Lil Wayne endorse a health allowance card in an online promotion? No, that’s not true: Lil Wayne, who purportedly backed the plan, did not post such an endorsement on his official social media channels. The claim that the…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: US Navy JAG Did NOT Hang ‘250 In October’ 2023
Published 11/08/2023 21:41
Did the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) hang “250 Deep State felons in October” 2023? No, that’s not true: The website where this claim was made has a disclaimer that states it publishes satirical content. Fictional stories from…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Photos Do NOT Actually Show Lionel Messi Holding Up Palestinian, Israeli Flags — They’re Manipulated
Published 11/08/2023 21:34
Do two separate images show professional soccer player Lionel Messi holding up a Palestinian flag and an Israeli flag, seemingly in support of both? No, that’s not true: Both the images are altered to show Messi with the respective flags….
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Photo Of US Soldiers Praying Is NOT Before They’re Deployed To Israel — US Is Not Sending Soldiers To Israel
Published 11/08/2023 21:07
Does a photo show American soldiers praying in 2023 “before being deployed to defend Israel”? No, that’s not true: At the time of writing, U.S. soldiers were not deployed to Israel. This photo was posted on social media in 2017,…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show ‘British Policeman’ ‘Set On Fire At A Hamas Demonstration’ In 2023
Published 11/08/2023 20:18
Does a video on social media show a British law enforcement officer engulfed in flames during a rally related to the 2023 Hamas-Israel war? No, that’s not true: The footage predates the conflict and the incident occurred far from the…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact Check: Joe Rogan Did NOT Talk About Purported Child Abduction Into Disneyland Secret Tunnels
Published 11/08/2023 19:06
Did podcaster Joe Rogan discuss a child being abducted through secret tunnels at Disneyland on his show? No, that’s not true: The audio making the claim about a child being taken away from his family via a secret underground tunnel…
Read at Lead Stories
Fact checks from PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Instagram posts – Video showing Joe Rogan talking about Disneyland child abduction is a deepfake
Published 11/09/2023 22:50
Joe Rogan spoke about a child being abducted into a secret Disneyland tunnel.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Chris Christie – Fact-checking Chris Christie on U.S. security obligations toward Ukraine
Published 11/09/2023 21:48
“In 1992, this country made a promise to Ukraine. We said if you return nuclear missiles that were part of the old Soviet Union to Russia, and they invade you, we will protect you.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – No, Mel Gibson didn’t post about ‘the end’ of Israel
Published 11/09/2023 21:01
Mel Gibson posted about “the end” of Israel and said the country wants “to destroy everything in the way.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – Donald Trump recently testified in his civil fraud trial, not someone in a Trump mask
Published 11/09/2023 20:52
Video shows someone wearing a Donald Trump mask appeared in court instead of the former president.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – Social media reports of Elon Musk’s death are greatly exaggerated
Published 11/09/2023 17:38
Elon Musk is dead.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – Altered videos appear to show Wolf Blitzer, Dr. Mehmet Oz promoting diabetes cure
Published 11/09/2023 17:36
Video shows TV personalities promoting a diabetes cure.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – Singer Kelly Clarkson keeps appearing in videos promoting diet drugs, but they’re fake
Published 11/09/2023 17:34
Videos show singer Kelly Clarkson promoting diet products.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – Taylor Swift fans in Israel can still see ‘The Eras Tour’ film there
Published 11/09/2023 17:31
“Taylor Swift pulls ‘Eras’ film screenings in Israel.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Instagram posts – Blame Mother Nature, not Mexican government, on Hurricane Otis hitting Acapulco
Published 11/09/2023 15:42
“Acapulco destroyed by yet another directed weather attack!”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Top 5 fact-checks: Republican candidates take aim at Biden’s foreign policy in Miami debate
Published 11/09/2023 12:58
The Republican candidates had tough words for President Biden on Israel evacuations, Ukraine funding and Iran policy. But how accurate were their attacks?
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Fact-checking the third GOP presidential debate in Miami
Published 11/09/2023 05:41
PolitiFact live fact-checked the third GOP debate in Miami. We sorted through the presidential candidates’ claims on Israel-Hamas war, abortion, taxes, the environment and more. Take a look.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Wisconsin Election Committee, Inc . – Claim that Wis. elections official Meagan Wolfe refused to ‘clean up’ voter rolls is Pants on Fire
Published 11/08/2023 15:33
Wisconsin elections administrator Meagan Wolfe “refuses to clean up our voter rolls”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Wisconsin Election Committee, Inc . – Claim that Wisconsin official Meagan Wolfe allowed absentee drop boxes, ballot harvesting is false
Published 11/08/2023 15:32
Wisconsin elections administrator Meagan Wolfe “allowed for the use of illegal drop boxes and ballot harvesting.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Wisconsin Election Committee, Inc . – Claim that Wis. elections official Meagan Wolfe permitted ‘Zuckerbucks’ in 2020 is Pants on Fire
Published 11/08/2023 15:31
Wisconsin elections administrator Meagan Wolfe “permitted the ‘Zuckerbucks’ influence money.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – Pro-Palestinian protest video shows flags of an Indian political party, not Italy’s
Published 11/08/2023 14:38
“Protesters in Kerala India accidentally brought the Italian flag instead of the Palestine flag to pro-Hamas protest.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Facebook posts – No, this video doesn’t show New York Attorney General Letitia James criticizing President Joe Biden
Published 11/08/2023 14:35
New York Attorney General Letitia James said President Joe Biden “is an embarrassment to all that we stand for.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – No, NASA didn’t admit space and planets are fake
Published 11/08/2023 14:33
“NASA admits space and planets are fake.”
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – Altered video appears to show Jimmy Fallon interviewing Kelly Clarkson about weight loss
Published 11/08/2023 14:30
Video shows late night host Jimmy Fallon interviewing singer Kelly Clarkson about a weight loss product.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Viral image – No, Gov. Gavin Newsom can’t be seen slipping down airplane stairs in viral video
Published 11/08/2023 14:28
Video shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom falling down airplane stairs.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
United Facts of America: What polling, focus groups tell us about 2024 voters
Published 11/07/2023 23:54
Republican political strategist Sarah Longwell and ABC News Political Director Rick Klein said ahead of 2024, the economy is top of mind for voters, enthusiasm for President Joe Biden is low and loyalty to former President Donald Trump remains strong.
Read at PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories
Fact checks from Reuters
Fact Check: Altered, miscaptioned images of Cristiano Ronaldo in pro-Palestinian video
Published 11/09/2023 20:45
A video showing mostly altered photographs and miscaptioned videos of Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is being shared online alongside claims that the images reflect his support for Palestinians.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Edinburgh war memorial vandalised in 2022, not 2023
Published 11/09/2023 17:11
Edinburgh’s war memorial has not been vandalised in 2023, said the city’s council, despite online accounts sharing the aftermath of its vandalising in 2022 as if recent.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: October Forbes issue featured Mark Zuckerberg, not Hamas official
Published 11/09/2023 16:08
Forbes magazine did not publish a special October issue featuring former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on the cover, a spokesperson for the magazine said.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Image of Barack Obama bowing to Ayatollah Khamenei is fake
Published 11/09/2023 06:57
Two separate photographs of former U.S. President Barack Obama and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were digitally combined into a single image to make it appear as if Obama was bowing before Khamenei.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Video of policeman set on fire is from 2020 Mexico protest, not London 2023
Published 11/09/2023 06:47
A graphic video of a policeman being set on fire at a protest in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2020 has been falsely labeled online as a British policeman being set on fire by pro-Palestinian protesters in London calling for an end to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Photo shows concentration camp victims in Germany, not Deir Yassin massacre
Published 11/08/2023 23:25
(Editor’s note: Story links to graphic photo in paragraphs 3-7)
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Agencies did warn of Hurricane Otis’ quick development
Published 11/08/2023 17:02
Government agencies did issue warnings ahead of Hurricane Otis hitting the Mexican city of Acapulco on Oct. 25, contrary to claims on social media that said there was “no warning” ahead of the hurricane.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: No evidence of Trump post to nominate Judge Cannon to Supreme Court
Published 11/08/2023 15:16
There is no evidence that former U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would make Florida U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon a Supreme Court justice after he wins the presidential elections in 2024, as suggested in posts circulating online.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Syria hospital attack footage falsely said to be Gaza 2023
Published 11/08/2023 14:55
(Note: Some links in this story include distressing footage)
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Image of injured Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV correspondent is from 2015
Published 11/08/2023 14:27
An image of an injured journalist covered in bandages reporting for a Lebanese TV station in October 2015 has been shared without context online amid the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.
Read at Reuters
Fact Check: Video of captured woman mistranslates captor as threatening ‘rape’
Published 11/08/2023 11:57
A video of men with weapons speaking Arabic purported to be Hamas militants with what appears to be a captured Israeli woman has been shared online with English and Hebrew subtitles that falsely claim one captor says she is going to be raped.
Read at Reuters
Fact checks from Snopes.com
Did Zelenskyy Ask the US for ‘Credit’ to Fight War Against Russia?
Published 11/09/2023 22:18
The Ukrainian president reiterated pleas for the United States to supply more weapons.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Taylor Swift Said She’s “In Love” With Travis Kelce, as Videos Claim?
Published 11/09/2023 20:39
The clips surfaced amid growing speculation over the pair’s dynamic.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Steve Harvey Is Not Dead, Despite What You May Have Heard on Facebook
Published 11/09/2023 16:37
This is the fourth death hoax to target the comedian in 2023.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: ‘The Gang Goes Jihad’ Was a Real Episode of ‘Always Sunny in Philadelphia’?
Published 11/09/2023 14:01
The alleged episode sees an Israeli businessman claim ownership of a large portion of Paddy’s Pub.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Mike Johnson Said Women Have a ‘Duty To Birth at Least One Able-Bodied Worker’?
Published 11/09/2023 14:00
Johnson has argued that, if not for Roe v. Wade, America would have “had all those able-bodied workers in the economy” to fund Social Security.
Read at Snopes.com
Did Mass Cat Killings Help Spread the Black Death in the Middle Ages?
Published 11/08/2023 23:34
The idea originated with a 13th-century pope who accused devil-worshippers of kissing cats’ hindquarters.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Did Truman Say of the Creation of Israel, ‘We Took Palestine in Small Doses’?
Published 11/08/2023 23:20
Some social media users theorized that a vintage-looking video clip of Harry Truman discussing the creation of the state of Israel was AI-generated.
Read at Snopes.com
Is Vladimir Putin Dead?
Published 11/08/2023 19:47
Rumors about the Russian president’s supposed death went viral in October 2023.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Is Closing All Locations, as Announced in 2023?
Published 11/08/2023 18:29
Investing.com appeared to report in late 2023 via Facebook ads that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store would be closing some or all of its locations.
Read at Snopes.com
Viral Videos Spread Unfounded Claims About Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade’s Relationship
Published 11/08/2023 17:38
Videos that spread the claims had millions of views across TikTok and YouTube.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Nevermind the Internet, Chuck Norris Is Not Dead
Published 11/08/2023 14:00
Rumors that claimed martial arts star Chuck Norris died in October 2023 were false.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact Check: Greta Thunberg Did Not Make Light of the Death of Pro-Israel Demonstrator Paul Kessler
Published 11/08/2023 00:55
Paul Kessler was a pro-Israel Jewish demonstrator who died in November 2023 after sustaining a head injury at a gathering about the Israel-Hamas war.
Read at Snopes.com
Fact checks from USA Today
Human meat factory? No, video came from UK mockumentary | Fact check
Published 11/09/2023 17:12
Human meat factory? No, video came from UK mockumentary | Fact check
Read at USA Today
Video shows Tommy Tuberville’s tumble, not Gavin Newsom | Fact check
Published 11/09/2023 16:36
A spokesperson for Newsom confirmed the video is not of him. The video is from 2014 when Tuberville was coaching at the University of Cincinnati.
Read at USA Today
Image of injured journalist in Jerusalem is from 2015 | Fact check
Published 11/09/2023 13:32
The image shows Lebanese TV reporter Hanna Mahameed after she was hit by a stun grenade while reporting in East Jerusalem in 2015.
Read at USA Today
Hoax article about weight loss mineral not from USA TODAY | Fact check
Published 11/09/2023 09:59
An article using the USA TODAY logo claimed a Harvard University medical student found a mineral to help weight loss. USA TODAY did not publish it.
Read at USA Today
GOP debate live fact check: What the candidates got right – and wrong
Published 11/09/2023 07:52
The USA TODAY Fact Check Team digs into statements made during the Nov. 8 GOP debate, including Ramaswamy’s overreach on the Ohio abortion measure.
Read at USA Today
False claim a billion people have died from COVID vaccine | Fact check
Published 11/08/2023 19:01
Fewer than 260 million people have died globally from all causes since the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in late 2020.
Read at USA Today
AI used to fabricate Kelly Clarkson weight loss endorsement | Fact check
Published 11/07/2023 00:00
An AI deepfake used Kelly Clarkson’s likeness to promote weight loss gummies. It’s an altered version of a video promoting her latest album.
Read at USA Today