Politics

Did the BBC post a graph that showed a dramatic increase in the "Fortunes of Ukrainian politicians" between February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and December 2022, after the receipt of billions of dollars in U.S. assistance? No, that's not true: The BBC did not post this image, which has been widely distributed on social media.…

Did the Central Intelligence Agency say it killed former President John F. Kennedy? No, that's not true: A video posted on Facebook that makes this claim provides no supporting evidence. There is no evidence elsewhere that the CIA has ever said it played a role in the 1963 slaying of Kennedy. The claim appeared in a post and video on…

Did newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweet a poll asking Americans if he should step down as the "head of Congress"? No, that's not true: A review of McCarthy's official Twitter account found no such tweet, and there is no single "head" of the U.S. Congress, a title that is not used by members of Congress. The claim appeared…

Has the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded more than 16,000 people who have died within a few days of taking the COVID-19 vaccine where the deaths were proven to have been caused by the vaccine? No, that's not true: Only nine deaths of some 18,500 preliminary reports of death have been causally associated with vaccination for coronavirus.…

Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) or its founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab, tweet or say that "Jesus is the original fake news"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the statement is from Schwab or the WEF. The claim, widely disseminated on social media, originally appeared in an article on a website known for publishing fake…

Did Pope Benedict ask President Joe Biden not to attend his funeral? No, that's not true: According to a Vatican spokesperson, the wish of the retired head of the Catholic Church was to have a simple ceremony, and there is no evidence that Pope Benedict specifically excluded the U.S. president from the list of attendees. The White House told Lead…

Did the Central Intelligence Agency come up with the term "conspiracy theorist" to discredit the views of those casting doubts on the results of the official investigation into the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy? No, that's not true: Archival materials show that the term was in use before November 22, 1963, when the 35th president of the United States…

Did the U.S. House of Representatives' committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol withdraw its subpoena of former President Donald Trump because "they knew Trump did nothing wrong"? No, that's not true: The withdrawal had nothing to do with Trump's guilt or innocence. The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States…

Is former U.S. President Barack Obama the grandson of Nazi-era Germany's leader Adolf Hitler? No, that's not true: U.S. census data and Obama's birth certificate show that his mother, Ann Dunham, was born in Kansas in 1942 to American parents. She was not born in Germany to Hitler and his then-girlfriend, Eva Braun, as a social media post alleges. The…

Did "white hats" in the U.S. military "disable an amphibious cruiser that attacked GITMO" as of January 4, 2023? No, that's not true: The aircraft carrier identified with a photo as the "aggressor" was never put into service and was sold for scrap in 1971. Also, this claim was made on a website known for publishing fabricated content. The claim…

Did former President Donald Trump endorse Florida Rep. Byron Donalds for House speaker? No, that's not true: Trump, himself, says the claim is false. He described the statement making the claim as a forgery and a fake. Trump has publicly endorsed California Rep. Kevin McCarthy for the coveted House position. The claim appeared on Twitter (archived here) on January 4,…

Did Japan launch an official investigation into "millions of COVID vaccine deaths" in December 2022 or early January 2023? No, that's not true: As of January 4, 2023, there is no available evidence to suggest that "millions" of people in Japan had died as a result of COVID vaccines, nor had any such investigation been announced by public health officials…

Did former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi cry after Iowa's Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley presented information about business ties between Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, and the Chinese government? No, that's not true: Video footage posted on social media with this claim shows no confrontation between the two lawmakers. It shows Grassley speaking on the Senate…

Did President Joe Biden blame Elton John for the U.S. spending taxpayer money to "fight AIDS"? No, that's not true: There is missing context to this video. A transcript of this event shows that Biden is praising John. Both the audience and John applaud Biden's sentiments. The claim appeared on Instagram on January 1, 2023. The caption read: Flashback to…

Did police in Washington, D.C., arrest top virologist Dr. Anthony Fauci after Twitter CEO Elon Musk released information that Fauci lied about COVID-19 research and imposed unnecessary restrictions on Americans? No, that's not true: The claim appears in a story on a site that publishes satirical takes on the news. The claim appeared in a December 27, 2022 article by…

Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) issue an order directing the public to bathe once weekly or less as part of an effort to combat climate change and save the planet? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence that WEF has issued such an order, nor does it have the authority to do so. The site that the…

Did the military arrest former FDA "Commisioner" Stephen Hahn? No, there's no evidence to substantiate that: The claim was reported on a website that is well-known for making up stories about public figures. The site posts a disclaimer warning readers that it contains "humor, parody, and satire." The headline on the story making the claim also misspelled commissioner as "commisioner."…

Is there a new health care stimulus program giving $5,200 to people who make under $50,000? No, that's not true: There are no government programs offering money to people as a health care stimulus as of this writing. The claim appeared on Facebook on December 27, 2022. The narrator of the video starts with: Guys, you are being ripped off…

Did Cristiano Ronaldo, an award-winning soccer player and the captain of the Portugal national team, sell some of his trophies -- European Golden Shoes -- and donate the money "to the children of Palestine" in 2011? No, that's not true: Such rumors about Ronaldo donating to Palestine have been circulating for the past 11 years, but no official announcements confirming…

Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) tweet that "Christmas must be abolished" to fight climate change? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this is a real tweet and it does not appear on the official WEF Twitter account. The claim appeared in an article published by News Punch on December 24, 2022, titled "WEF Wants To Cancel…