Elections

Is Tyler Robinson, the suspect in custody for the shooting of Charlie Kirk, a Republican? No, that's not true: Voter registration records in Utah show he chose to vote neither as a Democrat nor as a Republican. He registered as "Unaffiliated." The claim appeared in a September 12, 2025 Facebook post (archived here) on the whitesarahh account under the title:…

Did President Trump sign into law an income tax exemption for families making less than $120,000? No, that's not true: No such exemption has passed the U.S. House and Senate. There is no such exemption on the official list of laws signed by Trump. The claim appeared in a September 4, 2025 TikTok video (archived here) published by the AppalachianQueen5…

Was Democratic politician Stacey Abrams indicted in Georgia for voter fraud? No, that's not true: The false claim was made on a self-described satire page whose logo was removed from the variations of the claim later spread by other accounts. No credible news organization reported on the existence of the purported lawsuit. The claim originated from a post (archived here)…

Is an image of British Union Jack flags crowding the Mall in London during a popular uprising of patriots in late August, 2025, authentic? No, that's not true: The image shared widely across social platforms is an odd digital representation of the Mall, which runs a half mile from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square. This image shows the Arc de…

Did MSNBC host Rachel Maddow "takedown" White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on air in a live interview? No, that's not true: Miller has never appeared on Maddow's show. The social media post and article saying it happened offered no proof of a date or time or evidence that the interview ever took place. There are no credible…

Did country music legend George Strait reject a $500 million deal from Elon Musk to endorse Tesla? No, that's not true: This is a fake story designed to get people to click on a link to a website. This identical fake story, with the same fake quote, keeps getting recycled with different celebrity names attached. The fake story appeared in…

Does a real soldier appear in uniform in the "Troops Against Trump" video, asking "I swore an oath to defend the constitution...What happened to us?" No that's not true: The video is the production of a social media account that labels itself a satire producer. In addition to the account's disclosure that it uses AI to produce videos, there are…

Does a photo show that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke at a microphone wearing a revealing transparent black dress? No, that's not true: The original press photo from a re-election kickoff event was published in the New York Post on Feb. 15, 2020. It shows Ocasio-Cortez wearing a black dress that is not transparent -- the photo in the social media…

Did Sen. Bernie Sanders get a $44 million USAID grant after he dropped out of the 2016 presidential race? No, that's not true: That story originated on a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The claim appeared in an August 18, 2025 Facebook post (archived here) on…

Did X.com suspend user privileges of the "Press" account for California Governor Gavin Newsom? No, that's not true: The photo offered as proof was a screenshot of @GovNewsomPress, a fake account. The authentic press account for the governor of California, @GovPressOffice, was not suspended. The claim was made in an August 15, 2025 X post (archived here) on the @americapapabear…

Has the woman photographed wearing a pink hijab posing next to a swastika been identified as Linda Sarsour, senior advisor of the Zohran for NYC campaign? No, that's not true on two counts. Linda Sarsour is not the senior advisor of the NYC mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani -- the "senior campaign advisor" is Zara Rahim. The photo of the…

Is a video of Minneapolis mayor candidate Omar Fateh saying "Look at me, I am the mayor now" authentic? No, that's not true: Fake audio was added to a clip from a real video of Fateh speaking to a state Senate hearing in 2022 in which he never spoke those words. The voice and accent in the fake audio do…

Did White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt write a post on X about the age of consent that, in part, said that "Mary was as young as 12 when she gave birth to Jesus"? No, that's not true: Her account didn't show such a post and a viral image pretending to be a screenshot of it appears to be fake.…

Is a viral video of former President Barack Obama saying "Trump crossed my bottom line" authentic? No, that's not true: The video is an obvious fake, with an extra-large gap between Obama's front teeth and lip movements that don't match the words being spoken. No Obama video statement about the situation were found on credible news sites, nor on Obama's…

Does a viral video really document Donald Trump pointing at minor girls as they walk by him and Ghislaine Maxwell? No, that's not true: A leading deepfake expert says the video used "motionizing" software, which is widely available, to turn authentic photos into video of something that did not happen. The original version of the cropped photo used to create…

Did Barron Trump announce, as a social media post claims, that he's dating Sasha Obama and that she "will be his one and only wife"? No, that's not true: The TikTok video says the announcement put Barron's father, President Donald Trump, in the hospital, a made-up event corroborated by no credible information sources. A president disappearing from his announced-in-advance schedule…

Did a Mexican search and rescue team sent to the scene of the July 2025 flooding in Kerr County, Texas rescue a sheriff's daughter, as social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Although Mexican rescue crews were in fact sent to help when Independence Day rain caused flash flooding along the Guadalupe River, there is no publicly available documentation…

Did Democratic nominee and then-sitting Vice President Kamala Harris get 68 million votes in 2024? No, that's not true: In reality, she got more than 75 million, according to data on the Federal Election Commission website. That's fewer than Joe Biden's 2020 total of 81 million, but 7 million more than is claimed by a viral meme. The claim appeared…

Were the parents of Rep. Ilhan Omar ordered into immigration court to answer allegations that they falsified records to make them eligible for refugee status? No, that's not true: The meme spreading that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer and a warning that all the contents of the page are made up. The owner of the…

Did Elon Musk post on X that Steve Bannon is named in the Jeffrey Epstein files? Yes, that's true: Musk posted the claim as a comment when he reposted an X post by Roger Stone, which also included a 2024 article about Bannon's relationship with Epstein. Musk and Bannon have been feuding on social media in recent weeks following Musk's…