Qanon

Did former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton say that "man-machine hybrids could live for centuries"? No, that's not true: A meme that users are sharing contains a made-up quote, and the accompanying image has been put through a filter to make Clinton appear older. The quote originated from a meme (archived here) published by qanonofficial on December 13, 2019. It…

Did a "high-level exercise" conducted three months ago show that a coronavirus pandemic could kill 65 million people? No, that's not true: The organizers of the event, which was held in October 2019, have issued a statement saying that they made no such prediction during the "tabletop exercise." The claim appears to have originated from an article published by The…

Did California omit the Republican Party as a choice in that state's 2020 presidential primary? No, that's not true: Any citizen registered as a Repubican can vote in the GOP primary. Voters who did not specify a party preference on their voter registration received a mailing in December of 2019, giving them the option of voting in the Democratic Party,…

Can a House impeachment of President Trump be overturned if 80% of those voting for it are arrested and judged by a military tribunal? No, that's not true: The U.S. constitution gives the House "sole power" to impeach and the Senate "sole power" to try an impeachment. There is nothing in the constitution or federal law that provides for a…

EDITORS NOTE: Meet Carolina Chaney. Take a good look at her Facebook profile photo. Maybe she looks like your kid's math teacher or your doctor. Privacy settings block us from seeing anything about her, but we do see she is one of 11 administrators of the "Trump - 2020 KAG!#" Facebook group. Carolina started in that role on Monday,…

Do Pepsi Co. and other food companies use cells from aborted fetuses as ingredients for their products? No, that's not true: The false claim is based on the use of HEK 293 cells -- which were developed decades ago from live-baby birth fetal cells -- in taste research by another company. The cells are and never have been placed into…

Did President Trump reveal that he is Q, the anonymous leaker of purported "deep state" secrets to followers? No, that's not true: The claim is based on a video clip of a Trump rally in Kentucky on November 4, 2019 in which the president says he may not "hang it up" for another five, nine, 13, or 17 years. The…

Is John F. Kennedy Jr. alive and will he make a public return to join President Donald Trump as his vice presidential running mate in 2020? No, that's not true: It is a cornerstone of a conspiracy myth promoted by QAnon followers who believe that the son of President John F. Kennedy faked his own death (and that of his…

Was Britain's Prince Andrew put on suicide watch to protect the reputation of the Royal Family? No, that's not true: the story was put out by a satirical website but many people fell for the headline because the satire disclaimer on the site is hidden behind a disclaimer link that can't be reached because of infinite scrolling. The story originated…

Did President Trump's team appear to delete tweets where he used "invaders" to describe immigrants in the wake of the El Paso and Dayton attacks? No, that's not true: Tweets using the words "invaders" and "invasion" remained on the president's Twitter timeline a day after mass casualty shootings of August 3 and 4, 2019. The false claim originated in various…