Are all the "I just left the ER...We are officially getting crushed" memes about the COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak part of a fear campaign aimed at the unvaccinated? Not all of them. Some have been altered to refer to a "Ligma" variant, which does not exist. "Ligma" is the set-up for a "knock-knock"-type prank, in which the person who hears…

Is the United States the only country in the world without universal health care? No, that's not true: At least nine other countries did not have viable universal health care as of 2020. The claim appeared as a meme published in a Facebook post (archived here) on July 21, 2021. A makeshift infographic features an image of a primarily gray…

Did Marjorie Taylor Greene say, "Jesus loves the U.S. most, and that is why the Bible is written in English?" No, that's not true: There is no evidence the Republican representative from Georgia ever said that. There is evidence, though, that the quote or variations of it has been around for decades and has been misattributed to mock a range…

Can a rise in COVID-19 variants be determined by "test kits" that don't detect variants? No, that's not true: Routine tests for COVID-19 indicate whether a person is infected by the virus; they don't determine which variants have been detected. However, it's entirely possible to determine which variant caused a person's infection through genomic sequencing tests. The U.S. Centers for…

Was Gloria Steinem the author of a comparison between abortions and buying guns? No, that's not true: Although Steinem posted such a comparison on social media, she noted that she was not the author of the message. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on July 26, 2021. It featured a graphic that read: Brilliant from Gloria…

Did Hermann Goering say that the only reason Nazism worked in Germany was because the government convinced the German people to be afraid? No, that's not true: A history professor says there is no evidence of Goering, a leader in Nazi Germany who was convicted of war crimes, saying this in the official transcripts during the Nuremberg Trials that followed…

Did young males vaccinated against COVID-19 report more myocarditis and pericarditis than expected among their peers? Yes, the early data suggest that is true: Compared to the rate among the population at large, there is evidence suggesting the incidence of these heart inflammation disorders among vaccinated teenage men may be higher than among the population at large. While the number…

Are Internal Revenue Service (IRS) income taxes voluntary? No, that's not true: The duties to file a tax return and pay federal income taxes owed are not voluntary. The requirements are enshrined in the Internal Revenue Code as well as relevant case law. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on March 27, 2021. The title of…

Do the non-vaccinated and people who don't wear masks not get tested for COVID-19 and therefore was the July, 2021 increase in cases faked or from the vaccinated? No, that's not true. There is no proof that unvaccinated people and people who do not wear masks are not getting tested for COVID-19. What there is proof of is that a…

Does Delaware have a "child support card" that controls what mothers can purchase with child support payments? No, that's not true: While Delaware does give a client the option to enroll in its U.S. Bank ReliaCard program (previously the First State Family Card program) to receive child support payments, the card does not restrict choices the user can make. The…