Joe Biden

Did an executive order signed by President Donald Trump reverse "the plastic straw ban"? No, that's not true: No such national "ban" was enacted by Congress. Trump's order counters policies of former President Joe Biden aimed at gradually phasing out single-use plastic items in the future, which affected only the operations of federal agencies. While some localities do have restrictions…

Does an image in a social media post show one of the Black Hawk helicopter pilots killed in the January 2025 Washington, D.C., aircraft collision as she worked on the White House staff for two years "instead of flying"? No, that's not true: The person singled out in the image is not Rebecca Lobach, one of the soldiers participating in…

Did the Fraternal Order of Police rescind its endorsement of President Donald Trump in response to the sweeping January 6 pardons he gave after his 2025 swearing-in? No, that's not true: The Fraternal Order of Police issued a letter that criticized pardons by both Trump and former President Joe Biden of people convicted of violence against law enforcement officers, but…

Does U.S. law allow for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be extradited to Russia? No, that's not true: A notoriously unreliable website that published a story about Putin supposedly demanding such an extradition did not offer any named sources or specifics regarding alleged charges. Lawyers who specialize in extradition told Lead Stories that there's no legal basis to send an American…

Does a video show President Donald Trump saying "I don't care" about the economy in an interview with Fox News? No, that's not true: Trump's response of "I don't care" to Sean Hannity was not about the economy, he was saying it didn't matter to him that the TV host was running out of time and wanted to change the…

Did Instagram and its parent company, Meta, force users to follow Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The accounts in question are reserved for the sitting vice president and president, respectively. Ownership was transferred to the leaders shortly after they assumed office. The claim appeared in a post on Instagram on January 21, 2025.…

Does a viral clip authentically show Donald Trump's son Barron "whispering something to Biden" during his father's second inauguration on January 20, 2025? No, that's not true: The cropped video misled viewers about the scene's content. The footage of the same scene shot from a different angle showed that at that particular moment Trump's son spoke to outgoing Vice President…

Did President Joe Biden pardon Michael Byrd, the U.S. Capitol Police officer who allegedly killed Ashli Babbitt during the January 6, 2021, protest? No, that's not true: None of the pardons he issued mentioned Byrd directly. Also, the blanket pardon Biden signed for police officers from the Capitol Police who testified before the January 6 Select Committee didn't cover Byrd…

Does a video show President Donald Trump saying that the 2024 presidential election was rigged with the help of Elon Musk? No, that's not true: In the speech excerpted in the video, Trump's remark about rigging referred to the 2020 presidential election, which he has repeatedly and falsely claimed was not legitimate. In the speech, he made a vague remark…

Does a clip showing open computer files prove President Joe Biden's farewell address was prerecorded? No, that's not true: The recording only showed Biden's photo, not the purportedly prerecorded video file with his speech. Plus, a White House pool photographer took a photo capturing the final moments of the speech and posted it as the president was still speaking. The…