Did a Twitter user text Rudy Giuliani pretending to be Ivanka Trump, the president's eldest daughter, with a new number? No, that's not true: The messages were fabricated as a joke. The Twitter user was not actually texting Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer and former New York City mayor. The story appeared in a tweet (archived here) published by @nickroberts317…

Did Donald Trump take his children to "hang out with his pedophile buddy Jeffrey Epstein" and fail to protect the Trump children? No, this photo was taken at the grand opening of the Harley Davidson Cafe in New York City on October 19, 1993. There were many photographers and celebrities there, and Donald Trump was a special guest. It was…

Was Hunter Biden chairman of the World Food Program, which just won the Nobel Peace Prize, and were Eric Trump, Donald J. Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump banned from ever operating a charity again because they stole donations to children with cancer? No, neither of these claims are true. Hunter Biden was a member and chairman of the board for…

Did the Iowa Farm Bureau withdraw its endorsement of Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa? No, that's not true: The Farm Bureau said it has not withdrawn its endorsement, and that the email circulating the claim is fake. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Twitter on October 16, 2020, and showed an image of a purported Iowa Farm Bureau…

Did the Republican Party make a last-minute substitution, replacing Vice President Mike Pence on the ballot with John F. Kennedy Jr.? No, that's not possible: Kennedy, his wife and sister-in-law died when the small plane he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in July 1999. QAnon followers believe Kennedy, Jr. faked his own death (and…

Did Donald Trump say "I'll have to leave the country" if he loses to Joe Biden in the presidential election and did rock star Bruce Springsteen say he would move to Australia if Trump is re-elected? Yes, both men said they would leave the United States depending on the election results, but both were clearly joking. The claim about Trump…

Did Donald Trump Jr. say his father is "one of the most unethical humans in political history," and endorse Joe Biden for president? No, that's not true. The Lincoln Project, a political action committee founded by Republicans working to unseat Donald Trump, posted a heavily edited video in which it appears the president's eldest son is calling his father's actions…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump die of COVID-19 October 12, 2020? No, that's not true: President Trump appeared on NBC in a live town hall, which ended at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 15, 2020. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) where it was published on October 12, 2020. It featured a fake CNN logo and…

Is Mitch McConnell the richest senator and is Kentucky, which he represents, the poorest state? No, that's not true: There are at least eight senators who have a higher net worth than Senate Majority Leader McConnell, and at least four states and a U.S. territory that have a lower median household income than Kentucky. The claim appeared in a meme…

Did Amy Coney Barrett say during her Supreme Court confirmation hearing she s wanot using notes because she has seven kids and is "used to stupid questions"? No, that's not true: The quote was incorrectly attributed to her. In a video of an exchange in which she was asked by Republican Sen. John Cornyn on the second day of the…

Did the crowd at a rally in Virginia raise their arms to salute President Donald Trump in a gesture like the infamous "Sieg Heil!" salute used by the Nazi Party? No, that's not what is happening in this photo. Most of the raised hands in this photo are using their cell phone cameras to get a better view and record…

Is a lawsuit that accused Donald Trump of raping a 13-year-old aspiring model "upcoming"? No, that's not true: The suit, which was filed back in 2016, was voluntarily dismissed that same year. There are no scheduled dates related to the case. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) on October 12, 2020. The post included a short message…

Did President Donald Trump tell reporters the main reason he nominated Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court Justice was because she is attractive? No, that is not true: It is a made up quote. There is no instance of that statement in Factbase, a database that contains all of Trump's interviews, and when Trump announced her nomination, he gave no…

Did Mike Pence sign a bill when he was governor of Indiana to send same-sex marriage applicants to jail? No, that's not true: Pence, while a strong opponent of same-sex marriage, could not have signed any such bill because the legislation never existed. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram. It opened: Mike Pence signed a bill…

Did President Trump say he caught COVID-19 by forgetting to wear a mask at a Ku Klux Klan rally in Florida? No, that's not true: The claim was made in a satire article that used a satire photo from 2016. It is a real photo, but features a Donald Trump look-alike posing with a group of people dressed as Klansmen…

Were embryonic stem cells used in the development of Regeneron, the antibody treatment given to President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, the company behind the antibody cocktail, told Lead Stories that it did not use such cells in the development of its therapy. However, the treatment was tested using cells that were originally derived from an aborted…

In a video update on his medical condition, did President Donald Trump say he has "USA" instead of DNA and that doctors never saw a body kill coronavirus the way his does? No, that's not true: There is no record of Trump saying that and he doesn't say it in the video clip in which he was purported to have…

Did hospital records expose President Donald Trump's weight at 332 pounds? No, that's not true: No hospital records concerning President Trump are publicly available. The only official information about Trump's weight has been provided by the White House physician, including the revelation that he weighed 244 pounds as of June 2, 2020. Dr. Sean Conley also said on October 3,…

Did AARP endorse Joe Biden for president and give financial support to Planned Parenthood? No, both of those claims are not true: AARP is a nonprofit organization that is legally prohibited from supporting candidates and does not have a policy regarding abortion issues. An AARP spokesperson denied both assertions and the person making the claims offered no corroborating evidence. The…

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…