Charlie Kirk

Did USAID spend over $8 million on Politico, LLC, as social media posts imply? No, that's not true: The government spending database only shows $44,000 in two transactions. Both were subscriptions, not grants. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X where it was published on February 5, 2025. It opened: So let me get this straight... USAID…

Did an authentic ABC newscast state that "in 2.5 years of war, about a million Ukrainian soldiers have died"? No, that's not true: TrueMedia's AI detector found "substantial evidence" that the voice heard in the social media post was created by artificial intelligence. The ABC video was originally about wounded Ukrainian soldiers receiving prosthetic legs from a nonprofit. The claim…

Did Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum say that migrant caravans will no longer reach the U.S. border from her country in response to President-elect Donald Trump's threat of tariffs? No, that's not true: Sheinbaum actually said migrant caravans "no longer arrive at the border" because of her country's "comprehensive policy to assist migrants." The other reason is a U.S. program set…

Was Bill Gates criminally indicted in the Netherlands in October 2024 for his role in the COVID-19 pandemic? No, that's not true: A Dutch judge only ruled that the case can be heard in the Netherlands because one plaintiff lives in the region covered by the court. This is a civil lawsuit, as court records show, and, therefore, it doesn't…

Does a video show Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz "flipping off" a heckler at a Michigan football game? No, that's not true: A still photo taken at the same event shows that Walz was pointing his index finger at bystanders. His middle digit remained firmly folded in his hand. The claim appeared in a video on X (archived here)…

Did the state of Minnesota enact a policy that put tampons in "10 year old boys bathrooms" while Tim Walz was governor? No, that's not true: The Minnesota statute does not mention boys-only bathrooms, and school districts said free menstrual products go to female-only and designated gender-neutral bathrooms. The state Department of Education said they haven't told any schools to…

Does a video circulating on social media in February 2024 show several journalism students who were recently recorded wearing medical-style face masks outdoors? No, that's not true: The video dates back to September 24, 2021 when the Arizona State University students were at the state capitol to cover the release of the Arizona election audit results for Cronkite News. They…

Does a medical case study prove there's a link between the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and a fivefold increase in a cancer biomarker? No, that's not true: The case report looks at one person, a 79-year-old woman with ovarian cancer. It doesn't establish a causal link between the vaccine and the increased level of a biomarker, which are molecules that don't…

Did President Joe Biden choose a "Satan worshipper" to oversee the health of Americans? No, that's not true: Biden picked Dr. Demetre Daskalakis to serve as the deputy coordinator of a national health response team for a single disease, monkeypox. Daskalakis does have a tattoo of a pentagram -- a symbol that some associate with Satan and the occult --…

Did two different television networks report on the same Uvalde school shooting victim with two different fathers? No, that's not true: Both the biological father and stepfather of Amerie Jo Garza, 10, gave interviews to different networks but were both initially identified as her father. News reports clarified their relationship with her but a social media post said "same victim,…