Presidential Debate

Did former President Obama award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed on an American civilian, to Harvey Weinstein, the famous producer on trial for sex crimes against scores of women? No, that's not true: The image on Facebook is an altered image, playing off the moment when Obama suprised former Vice President and current presidential candidate Joe…

Could U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi face up to three years in prison for tearing up a copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address? No, that's not true: The law in question applies only to documents that are considered official government records - not copies of speeches, like the one Pelosi had in hand. Pelosi will not…

Were Iowa caucus locations switched in the days before the caucuses, particularly in places where Bernie Sanders was polling well? No, that's not true: Fewer than 10 of the 1,678 caucus precinct locations were changed in the last week before the February 3, 2020, caucuses and mostly because larger venues were needed due to anticipated high turnout, according to the…

Did U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard include a clause in her new lawsuit against Hillary Clinton stipulating that she does not experience "thoughts of suicide"? No, that's not true: The document seen in the post has been falsified. The word "suicide" does not appear in Gabbard's 14-page complaint. The claim originated from a post (archived here) published by Libertarian Redhead on…

UPDATE: After this article was published, we received an email from Nathan Berning, executive director of Let Them Live Action Corporation. Berning called the Guttmacher Institute studies we cited "biased." We noted in our fact-check that Guttmacher Institute advocates "advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights in the U.S. and globally" and that both sides of the abortion debate are…

Did President Trump play golf during the U.S. Embassy siege in Baghdad? No, that's not true: While Trump did arrive at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on New Year's Eve, he only spent under an hour there. Media reports said he did not hit the links as the U.S. embassy siege in Baghdad was unfolding.…

Did Bernie Sanders say at a Democratic debate that the planet has only eight or nine years before major cities go under water? No, that's not true: What the Democratic presidential hopeful said was that, unless "we get our act together within the next eight or nine years," the rising sea levels would inevitably flood major cities. Instead of saying…

Did Hillary Clinton claim Russians are "grooming" Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as a third-party presidential candidate in 2020? No, that's not true: Clinton suggested in a podcast that the Trump campaign -- not Russians -- was "grooming" a woman who was competing for the Democratic nomination to run an independent presidential campaign in 2020. Clinton said the potential third-party candidate being…

Was a satanic pentagram displayed on the ceiling above the stage of the Democratic presidential debate stage in Westerville, Ohio? No, that's not true: A purported photo showing the pentagram above the Democratic candidates was digitally altered. It was not seen during the CNN telecast or on other images from the debate. The fake image and false claim originated in…

Did President Trump just sign an executive order banning all assault rifles nationwide? No, that's not true: the "news" may have caused joy or dismay depending on which side of the debate you are on but it was totally made up by a prankster who launched the rumor through prank website LA TLMES (a name that looks a lot like…