&Quot;Gavin Newsom&Quot;

Did 351,709 votes that had been cast to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom mysteriously vanish during a live CNN broadcast of the California election night results when about half of the votes had been counted? No, that's not true: There was a data entry error made by a staffer of Edison Research Polling, which falsely inflated the count of the…

Do California ballots have holes in them so that others can see how someone voted? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for California's secretary of state told Lead Stories that the holes in ballot envelopes were included to aid California voters who have "low vision" in finding where to sign on the envelope. There are also ways to orient the…

Did California lift the state's regional stay-at-home order in January 2021 even though hospitalization numbers are much higher than when the order was put in place in 2020? Yes, but that summary leaves out context: California Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the stay-at-home order on January 25, 2021, after the Los Angeles County Health Department reported a declining number of people…

Are a couple of tweets and a link to a website named lacountyarrestrecords.com solid evidence Adam Schiff was arrested by the FBI at LAX Airport on December 24, 2020? No, that's not true: tweets are not solid evidence and there is no reason FBI arrests would show up on a website claiming to show county arrest records. The website itself…

Did a man who no longer lives in California receive an election ballot at his parents' house? No, that's not true. Jarrett Stepman, who is employed by The Daily Signal, a conservative news outlet, claimed on Twitter his parents received his ballot although he says he hasn't lived in California in 10 years. California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted that this…

Did California pass a "pro pedophilia bill" that would make it legal to have sex with children? No, that's not true. A meme claims California Senate Bill 145 passed in a 6-2 vote and "no registration or felony if sex with minor is w/in 10 years." The bill is intended to protect LGBTQ+ minors from discriminatory laws, not to be…

Can businesses ignore California Gov. Gavin Newsom's shutdown order since it was issued by the state Department of Public Health? No, that's not true. The governor has issued multiple executive orders that people follow the "guidance and directives" of the public health department, and that is enforced up by legislation. The claim appeared as a post (archived here) where it…

Was a truck driver found dead on Interstate 5 in California and positive for COVID-19 hauling a load of made-in-China masks contaminated with the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true. The California Highway Patrol said the photo included in a meme making that claim is from an old accident prior to 2020, and the driver died of a medical emergency,…

Did President Trump sign a bill that addresses the future of 5G infrastructure? Yes, that's true: the Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020 was signed on March 23, 2020, but a video detailing the potential fallout of expanding 5G technology is exaggerated. The claim came from a video (archived here) where it was published by The Last American Vagabond…

Did California Gov. Gavin Newsom pardon 1,342 prisoners so they couldn't be deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents? No, that's not true: the article comes from a satirical news site, Newsom did not pardon that many people and a state pardon from Newsom would do little-to-nothing to protect immigrants in the United States without proper documentation from federal law…