Did Joe Biden say "The reason I was able to stay home during the pandemic is because some Black woman was able to keep the grocery shelves stocked?" Yes, that is true, but in its context it's clear Biden was praising, not demeaning Black people. On the full video, Democratic nominee Biden said Americans have realized that Black and Latino…

Does the seasonal flu kill more than 100,000 U.S. residents some years and is it more lethal than COVID-19, as President Trump claimed in a tweet? No on both counts: The CDC estimates that over the past decade yearly totals for U.S. flu deaths have ranged from a low of 12,000 people to a high of 61,000. And, although much…

Did Sen. Thom Tillis contract the coronavirus despite wearing a mask at the White House Rose Garden event announcing President Trump's Supreme Court nominee? No, that's not true: Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, was seen wearing a mask during part of the White House Rose Garden event to offically announce Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee,…

Can incarcerated people receive the $1,200 economic stimulus check behind bars? Yes, that's true. Prison inmates were previously banned by the IRS from receiving a check from the federal government because they were in jail or prison. A September 24, 2020 ruling by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the IRS and the U.S.…

Is forced vaccination of the unwilling part of the COVID-19 vaccination plan released by the Trump administration? No, that's not true: Both the vaccination plan itself and public statements by U.S. health officials emphasize free vaccines -- once developed -- will be voluntary. The website making the claim provides no proof that forced vaccination is planned. The forced vaccination claim…

Did a German schoolchild die as a result of wearing their required mask in school? No, there's no evidence: The person making the claim provided no evidence, not even the place, age or date of death. Police in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria have labelled a related claim a hoax and asked social media users to stop spreading it.…

Have other countries proved the U.S. Food and Drug Administration endangered thousands of lives by withdrawing approval of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19? No, that's not true: The findings of clinical studies in the U.S. and overseas show the anti-malarial drug is ineffective against COVID-19. The anti-abortion website saying otherwise bases its claim on an essay published by a…

Does not getting tested for Covid 19 make the disease disappear? Are the elderly the only people dying? Are Democratic governors intentionally infecting them? No, no and no. Those are not true: You will have the disease regardless of whether you get tested. You just won't have an official diagnosis that you have it. All age groups are dying from…

Did the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention downgrade COVID-19, rating it less fatal than seasonal flu? No, that's not true: The Sept. 10, 2020, document used as "proof" clearly states it is not a source of COVID data, and that it was created with multiple variables to help hospitals and public health officials build mathematical simulations to test…

Was New York state Assembly Bill A99, sponsored by Assemblyman Nick Perry, drawn up to take advantage of the pandemic, with the purported aim of allowing state officials to remove infected residents -- namely children -- from their homes and keep them in detention facilities indefinitely? And is the pandemic "fake" and is COVID-19 made-up? No, none of that is…

Did the governor of Mississippi sign an executive order abolishing statewide mask requirements? No, that's not true: The "formal letter" announcing the alleged order is fake, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and a spokesperson for the governor. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published by Facebook on September 26, 2020. The post appeared alongside text that…

Is COVID-19 the most highly survivable virus? No, that's not true: Chickenpox and Epstein-Barr (mononucleosis) are widespread and rarely lethal. Effective vaccines make those and lethal viruses like rabies and smallpox almost 100% survivable in the U.S. Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus killed 200,000 Americans and 972,000 worldwide by Sept. 23, 2020. The claim originated in a Facebook post (archived here)…

Does the appearance of the number 33 in a collection of news reports about COVID-19 cases represent anything that needs explaining? No. COVID-19 cases have been counted and reported around the world for hundreds of days. There is nothing remarkable about a search engine finding instances of any specific number of cases reported in the news, including the number 33.…

Did Joe Biden completely botch the Pledge of Allegiance during a campaign speech? No, that's not true and the comments were taken out of context. GOP rapid response director Steve Guest claimed that Biden "completely botches" the pledge during a campaign speech in a tweet that went viral. The Democratic nominee for president was criticizing Donald Trump and saying he…

Is it true that the government is about to approve an Emeryville, California company's implantable "chip" that will create "transhumans" and allow government to spy on our health and other data? No, that is not true. The sensor awaiting government approval would not track people's movements, listen in on calls, read emails, nor record search histories. Rather, it would measure…

Have no Social Security checks been delivered by the U.S. Postal Service since 2013 because of security issues with the U.S. mail? No, that's not true. While nearly 99% of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits are electronically transfered to people's bank accounts each month, 1.2% of benefits -- or 850,000 checks -- are still mailed every month. The…

Did Nevada 'quietly reverse' its decision to 'block' hydroxychloroquine prescriptions for COVID-19? No, that's not true: The emergency regulation simply expired. Also, although the order did put some limits on hydroxychloroquine, it did not prohibit prescriptions of the drug outright. It remained available to COVID-19 patients in hospitals and emergency rooms in Nevada. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Has South Carolina (or some other state) issued 723,855 (or some other number) active warrants for unemployment fraud? No, that's not true: There is a joke-hoax trend circulating on social media since late July and the information in these posts should not be taken seriously. People with concerns about the situation in their respective state should look for information from…

Does Bill Gates have a doctorate degree in immunology, virology and toxicology? No, that's not true: Gates dropped out of college to start Microsoft and does not have a conventional degree. He does, however, have honorary degrees in medicine and law. Through the $47 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, he funds projects in immunology, virology and toxicology. The claim…

Is it true that COVID-19 is not a pandemic? No, That's not true: The rapid global spread of COVID-19 fits both the dictionary definition of pandemic and has also ticked enough of the boxes necessary for global and national public health officials to declare it a pandemic. The claim was made in a broadcast by opinion columnist Alan Jones Sept.…