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The Biden-Harris administration "wants to hand out $450,000 to illegal immigrants.

January 26, 2022

immigration;congress;elections;federal budget;legal issues;ad watch

jim lamon

Businessman Jim Lamon is making his first run for public office seeking the 2022 Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from Arizona.

arizona

an ad

Lamon said the Biden-Harris administration "wants to hand out $450,000 to illegal immigrants." It was reported in October that the Biden administration was in talks to potentially offer settlements of up to $450,000 a person to resolve lawsuits filed on behalf of parents and children who were separated at the border under the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policy. The families included people who were legally seeking asylum in the U.S. When asked a few days later about the $450,000 figure, Biden said, "That’s not going to happen." By Dec. 16, settlement talks ended. We found no to support the that the Biden administration wants to hand out $450,000 to any group of immigrants.  We rate the statement .

Republican politicians are pushing a plan "that could raise taxes on almost one in three Wisconsinites and sunset Social Security and Medicare in five years.

May 2, 2022

medicare;social security;taxes

democratic party of wisconsin

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin focuses on advancing state Democratic candidates and related issues.

wisconsin

News release

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin said Republican politicians are pushing a plan "that could raise taxes on almost one in three Wisconsinites and sunset Social Security and Medicare in five years."  There is an element of to the , in that the plan from Scott has those elements. But the goes awry by framing it as a plan endorsed by Republicans. Far from it. Scott has said it represents his ideas, not a platform.  And McConnell has explicitly said the two areas the Democrats hammered on will not be part of any GOP agenda. For a statement that contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, our rating is .  

McDonald's hamburgers are only 15 percent 'real beef.' The other 85 percent is meat filler cleansed with ammonia, which causes stomach and intestinal cancer.

August 27, 2014

food safety;punditfact

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook meme

An Internet meme accuses McDonald’s of using hamburger meat that contains only 15 percent "real beef," with the rest made up of a "meat filler cleansed with ammonia, which causes stomach and intestinal cancer." McDonald’s stopped using the "filler" in question -- lean, finely textured beef or its somewhat nickname "pink slime" -- back in 2011. When the product was on the grills, the burger most likely contained nowhere near 85 percent of meat filler, as experts said most consumers would notice a difference in taste after 25 percent.  What’s more, the lean beef does not have any documented links to cancer.

Evidence surfaces of Vatican funding caravans targeting America with cash.

November 25, 2018

immigration;fake news;homeland security;facebook fact-checks

puppetstringnews.com

A website associated with fake news.

a blog post

We’ve rated as several versions of that . Puppet String News’ About page said the website was created by a U.S. Navy veteran who "decided to get into alternative news to tell the to best of ability." Puppet String News did not respond to PolitiFact queries sent to its Facebook and Twitter accounts. Its headline claiming " surfaces of Vatican funding caravans targeting America with cash," is and . We rate it .

Says the University of Texas can afford to build a medical school because it has a $7 billion endowment and its football program had a $50 million profit last year.

October 14, 2012

education;health care;taxes

rob moshein

Rob Moshein is an Austin wine writer and consultant.

texas

a letter to the editor

Moshein said the University of Texas has a $7 billion endowment and its football program had a $50 million profit last year, indications it can afford to fund a medical school. His endowment tally seems about right and he undershoots football’s 2011-12 profits. However, such funds couldn't be siphoned off for a medical school--year after year at that--without socking existing commitments. We rate this statement as .

People born before 1957 are getting $1,728 added to their Social Security checks.

July 21, 2022

social security;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

"  In a statement, the spokesperson said that "CMS is making no such payments" and noted that "scammers target people with Medicare, as older Americans are particularly vulnerable to fraud and scams." Medicare beneficiaries should share their Medicare number only with their doctor, pharmacist, hospital, health insurer, or other trusted healthcare provider, the agency said. A Social Security Administration spokesperson told PolitiFact that "if people have questions about the validity of any of the programs administered by Social Security, we encourage them to visit our website for the most accurate and up-to-date information. "  We found no $1,728 entitlement on the agency’s website . We rate this post .  

There are corporations in this nation, some of the biggest corporations in this nation, who do not pay taxes.

March 1, 2011

corporations;federal budget;taxes

marcia fudge

Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Warrensville Heights, is the congresswoman from Ohio's 11th district. Prior to her election to the House of Representatives, she was mayor of Warrensville Heights.  

ohio

an interview on C-SPAN

"In sum, the idea that there is a large pool of corporations not paying taxes that they legally owe is just ," Regalia concluded. The nation’s big business representatives don’t dispute the report’s findings, even as they stress it should not be misconstrued to mean businesses are evading taxes they owe. During her television appearance, Fudge stressed that the businesses who don’t pay taxes aren’t cheating or doing anything . Our research finds solid ground beneath her that some large U.S. companies don’t pay taxes. That’s why we rate her statement as .

Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi planned "the ethnocide of the peoples of Europe" through "the encouragement of mass non-white immigration.

November 21, 2021

immigration;history

tiktok posts

Posts on the video-sharing platform TikTok.

a TikTok post

A post on TikTok shows a video claiming that an elite is carrying out a plan to replace white Europeans with non-white migrants, and that this plan was devised by Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, an early proponent of continental unification in Europe. There is no that the plan exists. The idea that it does lies in distortions of Kalergi’s writings and fabrications by Nazis and neo-Nazis, according to information from historians, Kalergi’s biographer, the European Commission, and Kalergi’s own writings. We rate the post .

With the money Elon Musk spent to buy Twitter shares, he could have given every American family $100,000 and still had enough left over to cancel all student debt.

April 5, 2022

debt;population;facebook fact-checks

tweets

Twitter is a messaging service where people often discuss politics. Individual messages are called Tweets.

a tweet

A user on Twitter said the $3 billion Elon Musk used to buy shares of Twitter could’ve been redistributed to give $100,000 to each American family and eliminate student debt. But $3 billion divided among all the families in America would be nowhere close to $100,000. It also wouldn’t even come close to covering the $1.74 trillion that Americans owe in student loans.  We rate this Twitter post as !

Criminals don't go through (gun) background checks. I think it's like 3% go through a background check.

August 8, 2019

guns

philip van cleave

Philip Van Cleave is president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a pro-gun lobbying group in Virginia that was founded in 1994.

virginia

a radio interview

Van Cleave said, "Criminals don’t go through (gun) background checks. I think it’s like 3% go through a background check." He was referring to results from a 2016 survey of 24,848 state and federal inmates by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. About 5,200 of the prisoners said they possessed or used a firearm during their crime. Of that armed group, about 350 - or 6.7 percent - said they went through a background check to get the gun. Van Cleave slightly understates the percentage of gun-toting criminals who went through background checks, but the gist of his - that very few of them did - is sound. We rate his statement .  

Absent from the news — Dominion lost their lawsuits against Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

May 30, 2021

elections;legal issues;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

Giuliani has denied defaming Dominion. Powell has argued that the suit against her should be dismissed because "no reasonable person would conclude that the statements were truly statements of fact." Online court filings show that both cases are active.  A spokesperson for Dominion confirmed the same. We rate the Facebook posts claiming otherwise .

(Hillary Clinton's State Department) actually admonished one of her ambassadors because he wasn't using the proper server.

July 26, 2015

technology;transparency

rand paul

Rand Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky elected in 2010. He ran for president in 2016 before dropping out to seek re-election to the Senate. Paul is a medical doctor and an ophthalmologist. His father is Ron Paul, a 2008 presidential candidate and a former member of Congress from Texas. 

national

an interview on "Fox News Sunday"

Paul said the State Department under Clinton "actually admonished one of her ambassadors for not using the proper server." The ambassador in question, Scott Gration, was effectively fired from his post in Kenya in 2012 because of his poor management skills but also for his email management. The department’s office of the inspector general, which works independently, called Gration’s use of a personal email account for government business a leadership failure and a security risk. We rate Paul’s .

Now, 50% of all of America, more than any other country, is fully vaccinated.

May 27, 2021

public health;coronavirus

joe biden

Joe Biden is the president of the United States. A Democrat, Biden served as a Delaware senator from 1973 (elected at the age of 29) until 2009. During his time in the Senate, he served as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, chair of the International Narcotics Control Caucus and chair of the Judiciary Committee. He subsequently served as Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2016. Biden launched unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008. He received a degree in history and political science from the University of Delaware and his J.D. from Syracuse School of Law. 

Cleveland

Biden said, "Now, 50% of all of America — more than any other country — is fully vaccinated." The United States’ vaccination program is faring well by international standards, exceeding all but two advanced industrialized nations in the percentage of residents who are considered fully vaccinated. But Biden has exaggerated on two counts. The percentage of Americans who are fully vaccinated is 40%, not 50%. And five other countries have higher rates for full vaccination than the United States does. We rate the statement .

Says in Newark "we're paying 80 percent of the school budget from local property taxes.

January 5, 2012

education;taxes

ronald rice

Ronald Rice is a Democratic state senator who represents parts of Essex County.

new jersey

a state senate budget committee hearing

In a legislative hearing, Rice claimed that Newark funds "80 percent of the school budget from local property taxes." Of a $970 million budget, more than $106 million, or about 11 percent, is raised from local taxes. State aid, grants and entitlements account for most of the budget, at $775 million. That’s nearly 80 percent. We rate the statement . To comment on this ruling, to go NJ.com .

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett is "the most liberal man in the United States Congress.

June 12, 2010

bipartisanship;candidate biography

donna campbell

Donna Campbell, a New Braunfels physician, won election to represent Texas Senate District 25 in November 2012. In 2010, she was the Republican nominee for the U.S. House seat held by Democrat Lloyd Doggett of Austin.

texas

a speech

So, how does the doctor’s convention charge stick? Like melting butter. Doggett is liberal, but he’s by no measure the most liberal member of Congress, voting analyses show. Campbell owned up after we followed up. Her statement is .

Says a deer became "riddled with tumors from eating plants sprayed with Monsanto's Roundup.

May 8, 2019

environment;animals;fake news;science;facebook fact-checks

viral image

Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.

a Facebook post

Occasionally, researchers say, the fibromas can create a bacterial infection. While our efforts to find the origin of this photograph using reverse-image searches were not conclusive, fact-checking website TruthOrFiction reported it first appeared in October 2017 on a Facebook page for hunters in a post that went over the actual cause for the growths. Regardless of the origin, we do know that the picture shows a deer with growths that appear consistent with a condition commonly known as deer warts. The that such blemishes are caused by an herbicide is not . We rate this .

Says before he planned a rally on June 19 "nobody had ever heard of" Juneteenth.

June 17, 2020

race and ethnicity

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

national

an interview with the Wall Street Journal

Trump said that nobody had heard of Juneteenth until this year. The history is clear. Long before Trump was elected president, millions of Americans knew about the day that marks the end of slavery in America. We rate this .

Florida's water is dirtier and sicker than when Gov. DeSantis first took office.

January 3, 2023

water

lindsay cross

Lindsay Cross, a Democrat who represents St. Petersburg, was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives on Nov. 8, 2022. 

florida

a press release

But experts agreed with her assessment of the declining state of Florida's water quality, noting that the underlying conditions predate DeSantis’ tenure.  Comprehensive analyses submitted to the EPA during DeSantis' time in the governor's office show that a growing number of the state's water bodies, including estuaries and lakes, are impaired — meaning, they do not meet water quality standards. The state of coastal waters and streams has improved since before DeSantis’ time in office. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details. We rate it .

Says he "paid one dollar for" a sweater at Kohl's.

March 14, 2015

candidate biography

scott walker

Scott Walker, a Republican, is the former governor of Wisconsin. He was first elected in November 2010. He survived a recall election in 2012, defeating Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett after igniting controversy with a bill curtailing public-employee union collective-bargaining rights.  He won re-election to a four-year term in November 2014 and was a 2016 presidential candidate before dropping out in September of 2015. He was defeated by Tony Evers in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Walker is a former Milwaukee County executive and former member of the state Assembly.

wisconsin

a speech

Now, that’s not $1. But Walker did say he used his "Kohl’s Cash" -- a coupon of sorts that is generated based on how much a customer purchased in an earlier visit to the store. Thus, he could have easily gotten one for $1 out-of-pocket. We rate the . Now, just ask us how much Walker’s daily ham sandwich costs.

Jane Norton supported the largest tax hike in Colorado history.

July 9, 2010

message machine 2010;state budget;states;taxes

americans for job security

Americans for Job Security is a conservative-leaning issue advocacy group that favors "free markets and pro-paycheck public policy."

national

an issue advocacy ad

If the issue is just Referendum C, then yes, Norton supported it. But there are a number of qualifiers to that "yes": The is not conclusive that it's the largest tax increase in Colorado history, though certainly it's the largest in recent years. Also, technically speaking, the measure didn't increase tax rates -- it ended rebates, though that does mean less money in people's pockets. Finally, Norton supported a ballot issue on which Colorado voters had the final say and ultimately approved. Given these facts, we rate this statement .

Video shows Ukrainian air defenses in Sievierodonetsk shooting down "55 Ka 52 helicopters.

July 17, 2022

facebook fact-checks;ukraine;russia

viral image

Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.

a Facebook post

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook .) That’s because anyone who watches the video can clearly see that the footage isn’t authentic. It’s a video game.  We rate claims of this footage’s veracity .

In 2017, Joe Biden paid $3,742,974 in federal income taxes and Kamala Harris paid $516,469 while Donald Trump paid $750.

September 27, 2020

taxes

viral image

Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.

a Facebook post

A lawyer for the Trump Organization told the New York Times that "most, if not all, of the facts appear to be " in response to a letter the newspaper sent summarizing its findings.  "Over the past decade, President Trump has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015," the lawyer told the paper in a statement. The New York Times noted that this appeared to conflate income tax with other federal taxes Trump has paid, including Social Security and Medicare. If emerges to bear that out the claims of Trump’s lawyer, we will reconsider our rating on this fact-check.  For now, we rate this post .

If you take the vaccine, you'll be enrolled in a pharmacovigilance tracking system. It means that you've enrolled yourself in a medical trial.

February 6, 2021

facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

simone gold

Simone Gold is the founder of America's Frontline Doctors.

a viral video

Anonymized data from a CDC system will be used to help federal agencies keep track of vaccine distribution, not the people who are vaccinated. Another optional part of the system will allow vaccine recipients to report any adverse side effects. Trials to test the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines were done before they were approved for emergency use. Signing up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine does not automatically enroll a patient in a clinical trial.  We rate this .   

Says he would be first CPA to serve as Texas comptroller.

August 27, 2013

raul torres

Represented Corpus Christi's District 33 in the state House 2011-13; owner since 1993 of accounting/financial services firm.

texas

a campaign video

Torres said he’d be "the very first CPA to serve" as state comptroller. We’re not judging here whether the comptroller needs to be a CPA. But we found nobody with that certification in the checkered past of the comptroller’s office, so we’ll rate Torres’ as . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

President Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid support Rick Perry's "decision to give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

September 29, 2011

immigration;education

mitt romney

Mitt Romney is a U.S. senator from Utah. He ran for president in 2012 as the Republican nominee, losing to incumbent President Barack Obama. Prior to that, Romney served one term as governor of Massachusetts, elected to the post in 2002. He was born in 1947 in Michigan, where his father was governor from 1963 to 1969. Romney graduated from Brigham Young University and received both a law degree and an MBA from Harvard University. Romney helped found the investment firm Bain Capital in 1984, which launched or rebuilt such companies as Staples and Dominos Pizza. Romney managed the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City from 1999-2002. He ran for president in 2008 but lost the Republican nomination. He and his wife, Ann, have five sons, Tagg, Craig, Matt, Ben and Josh.

texas

a campaign video

Obama once co-sponsored a measure like the Texas tuition law, giving Romney’s a thread of . However, none of the Democrats has aired support for Perry’s decision to sign his state’s proposal into law, which is the essence of the . We rate Romney’s statement .

Says it was "unquestionably" not within his "legal authority" to postpone Illinois' primary election by changing the date or shifting to vote-by-mail.

March 17, 2020

elections;coronavirus

jb pritzker

J.B. Pritzker is Illinois' 43rd governor and a former Chicago venture capitalist and entrepreneur.

illinois

remarks at a press conference

Pritzker said it was "unquestionably" not within his "legal authority" to postpone Illinois’ primary election by changing the date or shifting the election to vote-by-mail. While there are too many hypotheticals to be certain Pritzker’s administration could not have delayed the election in any way, experts told us the governor spoke correctly in describing the limits of his powers under state law. We rate his . — The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

Today President Obama said there will NOT be a National Day of Prayer in May.

April 26, 2016

history;religion

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

national

a multitude of Facebook posts

Widely shared Facebook posts contended that, "Today President Obama said there will NOT be a National Day of Prayer in May." For those who got on Facebook and tried to share the , we applaud you. If you found yourself overwhelmed by all the people who were immediately convinced that the bad information was , welcome to our world. And for those of you who reposted the without checking, we bestow on you a collective ! https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/4598d5c4-6083-4cd3-9fa5-c6bb9b8dcdb2

The House of Representatives has never sued a sitting president in all of U.S. history.

July 29, 2014

congress;legal issues

nancy pelosi

Rep. Nancy Pelosi represents a district in California. She served as speaker of the U.S. House January 2019-2021. Formerly the speaker of the House from 2007-11, Pelosi served as the House minority leader from 2003 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2019.

national

a fundraising letter

Pelosi said "the House of Representatives has never sued a sitting president in all of U.S. history." We did find a long record of skirmishing between the legislative and executive branches over the limits of each branch’s power, including at least 14 suits over the past four decades filed by individual lawmakers or groups of lawmakers. But Pelosi said "the House of Representatives," and in her narrowly crafted , she’s right. We rate her statement .

There has never been a leak anything like this" draft of a Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. "There's never been a leak of a vote — much less an actual opinion, much less in a case of this significance.

May 2, 2022

abortion;corrections and updates;supreme court

jeffrey toobin

Jeffrey Toobin is a staff writer for the New Yorker, a legal analyst for CNN and an author of several books about the law.

an interview on CNN

Toobin said there has never been a Supreme Court leak "anything like this. There’s never been a leak of a vote — much less an actual opinion, much less in a case of this significance." Votes have been leaked in the past, but Supreme Court leaks are widely considered rare. Experts said the public release of a draft majority opinion this far in advance of an expected ruling was indeed unprecedented. We rate this .  CORRECTION (May 6, 2022) : This fact-check was corrected to properly identify UPI reporter Elizabeth Olson.

Trump wants to deport American Indians to India.

April 25, 2017

fake news;punditfact

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a headline

Both websites also are registered to addresses in Kosovo . There has been some concern that Trump’s immigration efforts may affect Indians in the United States — some 300,000 illegal immigrants are Indians , according to the Times of India . Possible changes in the H-1B temporary visa program also are likely to affect Indians here. But Trump didn’t make these statements, and there’s no executive order deporting Native Americans to another country. We rate the statement !

Says he has "never received any contributions from the Koch brothers.

September 15, 2014

campaign finance

john thrasher

John Thrasher is a Republican state Senator representing District 8 in Northeast Florida and the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.

florida

forum with Florida State students

Thrasher said he has "never received any contributions from the Koch brothers." Thrasher says he has never received money personally from the Koch Brothers, and as far as we can tell, that’s correct. However, he did receive four donations totaling $3,000 from Koch Industries, a company they own. That's what we're checking, not whether he knows Charles and David Koch. His campaign said those donations specifically came from the subsidiary Georgia-Pacific, a major employer in his district that had donated to Thrasher years before being owned by the Kochs, but the contributions were officially categorized as coming from Koch Industries. Experts say it could be reasonable to equate those donations as coming from the company’s owners. The statement contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it .

Says Sen. Dean Heller "wants to cut programs like Social Security and Medicare to pay for tax cuts for his ultra-wealthy donors.

August 13, 2018

federal budget;medicare;social security;taxes

jacky rosen

Jacky Rosen is a Henderson synagogue leader and the Democratic candidate in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District.

national

a campaign endorsement event

Rosen said that Heller wants to cut programs like Social Security and Medicare to pay for tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy. Overall, his policies could make it more likely that spending on entitlements would be reined in. There is reasonable debate whether those changes would lead to a cut in benefits. And while the tax cuts favor the rich, it isn’t inevitable that the lost revenues will be made up for by trimming Social Security and Medicare. For a statement that is partially accurate but missing important details, we rate it .

Links jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff to Rep. C.W. Bill Young.

April 14, 2010

candidate biography;elections;message machine 2010

charlie justice

Sen. Charlie Justice is a Democrat representing St. Petersburg.

florida

a web ad

The ad doesn't say Abramoff bought Young the car, but with its ominous music and flying hat, it suggests a connection when there isn't one. The only connection is a tenuous one, that one of Abramoff's clients contributed $1,000 to Young in 2002. There's no that Abramoff himself contributed to Young, nor that Young ever sought earmarks for Abramoff, nor that they even actually met. That's not enough to hang a hat -- or a fedora -- on. !

There are 390 million guns out on the streets of a country of 329 million people.

September 4, 2019

public safety;guns

beto o'rourke

Beto O’Rourke is a former representative of Texas’s 16th Congressional District. He represented the district from 2013 until 2019, when he gave up his seat to run a senate campaign against incumbent Ted Cruz, which O’Rourke lost. He received a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Columbia University. In 2019, he ran for the Democratic nomination for president.

texas

an interview

"Even after adjusting for population, it is clear that the United States far outnumbers other countries," reads  a release from the group . "The United States has 4% of the world’s population, but its civilians hold almost 40% of the world’s firearms." Our Ruling O’Rourke said, "There are 390 million guns out on the streets of a country of 329 million people." The latest study of civilian-owned firearms in the United States supports this statement. We rate this .

One quarter" of today's $31.4 trillion federal debt "was accumulated in the four years of my predecessor," Donald Trump.

January 20, 2023

corrections and updates;debt;federal budget

joe biden

Joe Biden is the president of the United States. A Democrat, Biden served as a Delaware senator from 1973 (elected at the age of 29) until 2009. During his time in the Senate, he served as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, chair of the International Narcotics Control Caucus and chair of the Judiciary Committee. He subsequently served as Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2016. Biden launched unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008. He received a degree in history and political science from the University of Delaware and his J.D. from Syracuse School of Law. 

a speech at the White House

Biden said that "one quarter" of today’s $31.4 trillion federal debt "was accumulated in the four years of my predecessor." His number is accurate, but the figure leaves out important details and context. Assigning debt to a particular president can be because so much of it traces back to decades-old, bipartisan legislation that set the parameters for Social Security and Medicare. Biden’s decision to single out Trump also sets up an implicit comparison between himself and his predecessor. But other ways of analyzing the data undermine his point. One of those ways shows that Obama accumulated more debt than did Trump or Biden so far.  We rate Biden’s statement . CORRECTION, May 19, 2023 : The text and the charts in this version correct a math error made in calculating the amount of debt accumulated on Biden’s watch in the original story. The corrected figures show that Trump accumulated the most debt per year, followed by Biden. The rating remains the same.

Says Alex Sink supported "a $5.2 billion increase in Florida's debt.

October 30, 2013

debt;economy

republican party of florida

The Republican Party of Florida represents Republicans in Florida.

florida

a YouTube attack ad

As CFO, Sink did watch the debt increase over her term, but by $3.4 billion, not $5.2 billion. Plus, the Legislature, not the Cabinet, has most of the say in bond appropriations. Not to mention there was a nationwide recession that took its toll on the Florida economy, which is out of the hands of state officials. Given all these hefty clarifications, we rate the Florida Republican Party of Florida’s .

The overwhelming amount of the money that we're raising is not going to Hillary (Clinton) to run for president. ... It's going to the congressmen and senators to try to take back Congress.

April 16, 2016

campaign finance;corrections and updates;punditfact

george clooney

George Clooney is an Oscar-winning actor and producer and activist.

an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press"

Clooney said, "The overwhelming amount of the money that we're raising, is not going to Hillary to run for president. ... It's going to the congressmen and senators to try to take back Congress." Clooney is correct that most of the big-dollar donations in question are not going to Clinton’s campaign for president. By law, they can’t. Whether the money is "going to the congressmen and senators to try to take back Congress" is a much different story. Most of the money appears to be winding up at the DNC, not state parties, as individual donors may have expected. The national party says that money is being used on campaign infrastructure that will benefit House and Senate candidates. But it will benefit Clinton, too. Clooney’s is partially accurate but leaves out important details. We rate it .  

Says Donald Trump's conversion to pro-life beliefs are akin to Justin Bieber's, who said in the past that abortion "was no big deal to him.

February 1, 2016

abortion;punditfact

sarah palin

Sarah Palin was the Republican nominee for vice president in 2008. She is also the former governor of Alaska and the author of  Going Rogue: An American Life. Sarah Palin's previous experience includes leading the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and serving as the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

an interview on CNN

Palin said Bieber "has made statements understanding the sanctity of life but in the past said (abortion) was no big deal to him." At PolitiFact, we believe it's the responsibility of the person making a to provide the to back it up. Palin didn't respond to our query. The only reasonable conclusion at this point is that Bieber hasn’t changed his position on abortion like Trump. Nonetheless, we never say never : If on-the-record of Bieber supporting abortion prior to his Rolling Stone interview turns up, we'll consider a different ruling. Until then, Palin’s is not substantiated. We rate her .

In Massachusetts, Scott Brown's Republican affiliation is "not a secret, but clearly not on display.

January 19, 2010

candidate biography;elections;pundits

kelly o'donnell

Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News.

national

a segment on NBC's Today show

So, back to O'Donnell's that Brown's Republican affiliation was "not a secret, but clearly not on display." O'Donnell was correct that during the campaign there was "no mention of being a Republican on Brown's bus, signs or campaign ads." We did find two brief instances -- one in a speech, one in a news release -- in which Brown referred to himself as a Republican. But while news coverage regularly mentioned his party affiliation, meaning that it should have been no secret to voters, the candidate clearly downplayed his partisan ties. So we find O'Donnell's statement .

Since December 2010 Florida has created 540,000 new jobs.

March 31, 2014

jobs

rick scott

Rick Scott, a wealthy Florida businessman, was first elected Florida's 45th governor on Nov. 2, 2010 and re-elected Nov. 4, 2014. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and is running for re-election in 2024.

florida

an online ad

Scott said in an online ad, "Since December 2010 Florida has created 540,000 new jobs." Looking only at the numbers -- and not whether Scott’s policies should get credit for the growth -- Florida added 517,500 total nonfarm jobs and lost 23,000 government-sector jobs between December 2010 and February 2014. It would have been more accurate for Scott to cite private-sector job growth. We rate this .

Palin supports "aerial hunting of wolves and other wildlife.

September 26, 2008

environment

defenders of wildlife action fund

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is the political action committee for a conservation advocacy group that champions environmental causes.

national

a TV ad

The program was axed by a judge who ruled it an improper bounty on wildlife. “I have said many times that my administration is committed to management of game for abundance, and to a proactive, science-based predator management program where appropriate,” the governor said in a news release at the time. We find her actions are adequate to support the statement that she promotes aerial shooting. But the environmental group’s categorization of the program is debatable and not putting it within the context of a state predator management program is a bit . We find the is .

Says Hillary Clinton "wants to abolish the Second Amendment.

May 7, 2016

guns

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

national

Washington

Trump said, "Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment." We found no of Clinton ever saying verbatim or suggesting explicitly that she wants to abolish the Second Amendment, and the bulk of Clinton’s comments suggest the opposite. She has repeatedly said she wants to protect the right to bear arms while enacting measures to prevent gun violence. Gun advocates say Trump’s is backed up by Clinton’s openness to a gun buyback program and her disagreement with a Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment. But whether or not these two cherry-picked comments actually reveal Clinton’s intentions is a matter of interpretation. For this to hold water, the support for Second Amendment abolition needs to be more direct. So we rate it .

One year ago, (Republicans) would not fill seats vacated for people who went to the administration because of the cost of those elections. Now, they're talking about changing the rules to add additional elections that will cost millions of dollars of taxpayer expense.

November 18, 2018

elections;taxes

gordon hintz

Wisconsin state Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, was elected to the state Assembly in 2006. In September 2017, his colleagues elected him minority leader of the Assembly.

wisconsin

a TV interview

Our rating Hintz said, "One year ago, (Republicans) would not fill seats vacated for people who went to the administration because of the cost of those elections. Now, they’re talking about changing the rules to add additional elections that will cost millions of dollars of taxpayer expense." Hintz is generally on target: Republicans did cite cost as one factor -- among several -- when they initially planned to hold off on calling special elections to fill seats vacated by Walker appointees. And they are considering adding a single -- not multiple -- additional election in 2020, which by one estimate could cost taxpayers about $7 million. We rate the .

In Rhode Island "there are 150 different pension plans for public workers.

August 21, 2010

economy;public service;retirement;state budget;workers

kernan "kerry" king

Kernan "Kerry" King, the unsuccessful Republican candidate for General Treasurer in 2010, is former executive counsel for Gov. Donald Carcieri, and retired vice president of Met Life.

rhode island

an interview on WPRI-TV's "Newsmakers

"Likewise for judges, who tend to be appointed later in their careers, so those designs take that career track into account. Those have traditionally been different," said Dingley. "But aside from that, there is a strong argument to be made that the rest should have a uniform design." The bigger question, given how poorly-funded some of the plans are, "is who makes up the huge deficits," Dingley said. Ultimately, King's count of the number of public pension plans in Rhode Island isn't perfect, but it's close enough for us, so we rate his statement as .

Wisconsin is not as obese as the national average is. The national average, 35.7 percent of the population is obese. In Wisconsin, it's closer to 26 percent.

September 25, 2013

corrections and updates;health care;public health;states

tommy thompson

Tommy Thompson, a Republican, was a 2012 candidate for the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin. He served as governor of Wisconsin from 1987 until 2001, when he left office to become President George W. Bush's secretary of health and human services. He previously spent 20 years in the Wisconsin Assembly. Thompson briefly ran for president, withdrawing in 2007.

wisconsin

an interview

The national average, 35.7 percent of the population is obese. In Wisconsin, it's closer to 26 percent." In one study, 35.7 percent of American adults were estimated to be obese. In another study, which used a different methodology, the rate was 28.1 percent, slightly below Wisconsin’s 29.7 percent. The percentages cited by Thompson contain an element of , but the conclusion he drew isn’t valid because the two studies can’t be compared, so we rate his statement .

Says that under the new healthcare law, full- and part-time workers will be required to buy insurance costing $375 to $1,000 a month, starting in 2014.

November 2, 2012

health care

county line

The County Line restaurants, originated in Austin, specialize in barbecue.

texas

an open letter to employees

The County Line letter to workers says full- and part-time workers will be required to buy health insurance in 2014 costing $375 to $1,000 a month. Those figures align with the budget office’s 2010 letter on what it would cost to purchase health insurance in 2016--not 2014. Also, those estimates did not attempt to calculate the effect of premium subsidies and were clearly presented as ballpark forecasts. Broadly, too, the County Line notice risks the misimpression that insurance costs would be borne by workers alone when results will not be that simple. We rate this as .

Says Hillary Clinton had an "undercover nurse" with her at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony in New York.

September 13, 2016

candidate biography

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

national

posts

Bloggers started a rumor that photos showed Clinton with an "undercover nurse" at the Sept. 11 memorial in New York. The undercover nurse then became Clinton’s personal doctor. Neither is . The woman in the photos is a former Clinton staffer who was helping at the memorial. We rate this . https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/67c3b389-1420-4a7e-bded-8af2eafc7b02

Ron Johnson has voted against funding for law enforcement and recently opposed a plan to recruit and train new officers

September 2, 2022

criminal justice;elections;crime

mandela barnes

Mandela Barnes is an American politician serving as the 45th lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party, Barnes is a former state representative. On August 14, 2018, he won the Democratic primary in a landslide and became the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tony Evers. Evers and Barnes went on to win the November 2018 election, defeating incumbent Republicans Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch. Barnes became Wisconsin's first African American lieutenant governor.    

wisconsin

News release

Barnes said, "Ron Johnson has voted against funding for law enforcement and recently opposed a plan to recruit and train new officers."  The on both is beyond thin. On the first part of the , Team Barnes makes an American Rescue Plan Act-related PolitiFact has already rated . Also, Johnson’s vote on a budget balance bill was cited, but the best is cuts to law enforcement funding might have happened down the line. On the second part of the , the criticism of Johnson’s response to Biden’s Safer America Plan is indirect at best — albeit, the response apparently came in knee-jerk fashion. Finally, the ignores cases where Johnson has backed law enforcement. We rate this .  

A "Liability Warning Acknowledgement Form" allows a worker to sue their company if they get injured from the COVID-19 vaccine.

September 15, 2021

jobs;public health;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A Facebook post claims that a worker can compel their boss to sign a "Liability Warning Acknowledgement Form" that allows them to sue their company if they report an adverse reaction after getting the COVID-19 vaccine that prevents them from working. Labor experts said they don’t know of any states where a "liability warning acknowledgement form" exists or, if it did, would be recognized in any legal capacity. We rate the Facebook post .

After Sandy Hook, Ted Cruz stopped Obama's push for new gun control laws.

November 6, 2015

guns

courageous conservatives pac

The Courageous Conservatives PAC is supporting U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in his bid for president and other conservatives running for House and Senate.

texas

a video ad posted online

The pro-Cruz PAC said that after the Sandy Hook shootings, "Cruz stopped Obama’s push for new gun control laws." Actually, Cruz had company in stopping the Obama-supported push for new restrictions. Crucially, most Senate Republicans and a few Democrats kept the expansion of background checks favored by Obama from winning further consideration. Still, we see an element of here. Despite just joining the Senate, Cruz frequently spoke out on the issue and shared authorship of an unsuccessful alternative to the failed background-check plan. We rate the statement . – The statement contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. Click here for  more  on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

The new tax law is "kicking the American economy into high gear with $5.5 trillion in tax cuts.

January 2, 2018

taxes

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

national

an email from the White House

Trump said the recently enacted tax law includes "$5.5 trillion in tax cuts." Putting it that way ignores that the bill also includes $4 trillion in tax increases, for a net of $1.5 trillion in tax cuts. The statement contains an element of  but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, so we rate it . 

Says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is proposing a "nationwide motorcycle ban.

June 28, 2019

fake news;facebook fact-checks

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a Facebook post

Also: "Back off!!! A good majority of motorcyclists are retired veterans. She is NOT going to be able to do it." This satirical article is just that — satire. We rate it !

Iran will be shooting at our soldiers with bullets, etc., purchased with the $150 billion Obama gave them.

January 1, 2020

iran;nuclear;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A Facebook post claimed: "Iran will be shooting at our soldiers with bullets, etc., purchased with the $150 billion Obama gave them." The 2015 Iran nuclear deal involved multiple nations, not just the United States under Obama, and did not involve the United States giving cash to Iran. It’s also debatable whether Iran ultimately got access to $150 billion of what were its own assets — which had been frozen in retaliation for its pursuit of a nuclear weapon — or whether the amount was much less. What is correct is that largely because of the U.S. involvement, the deal resulted Iran getting access to likely tens of billions of dollars of its own funds, and it’s unclear how they might be spent. For a statement that contains only an element of , our ruling is .

Says "Elizabeth Warren lied when she says I want to abolish the Federal Minimum Wage.

May 11, 2016

workers

donald trump

Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016.  He has been a real estate developer, entrepreneur and host of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump's statements were awarded PolitiFact's 2015, 2017 and 2019 Lie of the Year. In November 2022, he announced he would run for president in 2024.

national

a tweet

Trump said, "Elizabeth Warren lied when she says I want to abolish the Federal Minimum Wage." Yet when Trump was asked if he would have a federal floor with states going higher if they wish,Trump said, "No." While Trump's other statements can leave readers with a different impression, there is certainly no Warren lied. She simply used Trump's own words. We rate this statement .

It's time to remove any statue of Margaret Sanger who was a white suprematist (sic), spoke at kkk events & supported by democrats. #prolife

August 18, 2017

abortion;history;race and ethnicity

andrew koenig

Andrew Koenig is a Republican state senator in Missouri, representing portions of St. Louis County. He was previously a state representative.

missouri

a tweet

Koenig said Margaret Sanger statues should be removed because Sanger was a white supremacist who "spoke at KKK events." Sanger spoke at one event for the women’s affiliate of the KKK, but it was to educate those women on birth control. And this was the only event she spoke at that any sources or documents pointed to. Sanger has been accused of white supremacy by many because of her belief in eugenics and her implementation of a birth control clinic in Harlem and other black communities. But historians point out this was because she wanted to share her belief in the importance of birth control with both white and black women. Koenig’s statement contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it .

Says U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar has been "arrested 23 times" and is the "daughter of (a) Somali terrorist.

August 1, 2019

candidate biography;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A viral photo on Facebook claims that Ilhan Omar has been arrested 23 times and is the daughter of a Somali terrorist. She was arrested once and the charges were dropped. Minnesota court records show that Omar has had 24 traffic violations in the past 10 years, not arrests. We could not find any that either of Omar’s parents were involved in a terrorist organization in Somalia. The post is not accurate. We rate it .

Pregnant women trying to buy health insurance on their own are barred from maternity coverage because they have a "pre-existing condition.

August 16, 2009

health care

j. james rohack

J. James Rohack is a cardiologist and served from 2009 to 2010 as the president of the American Medical Association, the leading group that represents physicians in the United States.

national

Fox News Sunday

Such plans may have unfavorable terms and high premiums. So back to Rohack's . Health care reform legislation now under consideration in Congress would, if enacted, improve the situation for pregnant women seeking health insurance by prohibiting restrictions based on pre-existing conditions. But for now, Rohack is correct that pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition and prevents many women from getting coverage if they seek insurance on the individual market. We find his statement .

Says that "18 children died while in custody of Border Patrol" during the Obama administration.

December 26, 2018

immigration;facebook fact-checks

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a Facebook post

A meme on Facebook says that "18 children died in U.S. custody at the border" when Obama served as president. We were unable to find any documentation that supports the that any children died in U.S. custody at the border during the Obama administration. Trump's Homeland Security secretary also said that until the two recent deaths, it had been over a decade since a child died in custody at the border. The seems to have started by articles that re-circulatied a 2016 human rights watchdog report that analyzed the deaths of 18 adult detainees between 2012 and 2015. We rate this .

Bill Clinton cut the military drastically.

January 5, 2008

military

rudy giuliani

Rudy Giuliani is the former mayor of New York City. He was born in Brooklyn in 1944 and previously served as a federal prosecutor, as well as an associate attorney general under President Reagan. He graduated from Manhattan College and earned a law degree from New York University Law School. He has been married since 2003 to Judith Nathan and was married twice before. He has two children, Andrew and Caroline. He withdrew from the presidential race on Jan. 30, 2008.

national

Manchester, N.H

Total defense forces also shrank, from 3.3-million to 2.9-million. The Republicans are trying to portray Clinton and the Democrats as weak on defense and to make the peace dividend look like a partisan effort. But contrary to the Republicans' claims, the post-Cold War shrinkage of the U.S. military was very much a bipartisan effort. It began under a Republican president and a Democratic Congress and continued under a Democratic president and a Republican Congress. And so we find, as we did before, that this is .

A bill supported by Gov. Scott Walker makes it "so that drunk drivers who kill have an easier time of it.

November 1, 2011

alcohol;legal issues

democratic party of wisconsin

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin focuses on advancing state Democratic candidates and related issues.

wisconsin

a campaign news release

Both sides -- defense and prosecution -- are subject to the new standards. And even defense-side experts don’t buy the "easier road" argument. Finally, we think it’s to suggest -- as the party’s statement did --  that the intent of the bill was to favor homicidal drunken drivers. It clearly wasn’t. We rate the party’s .

Says a pro-Democratic ad is "false" for saying that he allowed two disgraced staffers in 2012 to "resign.

April 15, 2014

candidate biography

thom tillis

Thom Tillis is a Republican who serves as U.S. Senator from North Carolina.

national

a TV ad

Tillis’ ad called a pro-Democratic ad "" for saying that he allowed two disgraced staffers in 2012 to "resign." But the news coverage at the time painted a different picture -- he accepted their resignations. This generally supports the Democratic ad’s description, so we rate Tillis’ .

Approving the constitutional amendment on Illinois' November ballot "would let the politicians immediately implement their plan to increase taxes on small businesses, farmers and large employers.

August 31, 2020

elections;taxes

coalition to stop the proposed tax hike amendment

The Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment is a political committee opposed to a measure on Illinois' November 2020 ballot that would allow the state to tax income at graduated rates if approved. 

illinois

an ad

The coalition’s ad says approving the amendment "would let the politicians immediately implement their plan to increase taxes on small businesses, farmers and large employers." Corporations will see an increase in their flat-rate income tax under the plan that takes effect if the amendment is approved. But only a wealthy subset of small businesses, which generally pass their profits to shareholders, would be affected — and data suggests that portion would be small. We rate this . – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

A gallon (of gasoline) delivered to the front lines for our troops in Afghanistan cost more than $400.

May 9, 2011

afghanistan;energy

marcy kaptur

Marcy Kaptur represents Ohio's Ninth Congressional District in the House of Representatives. She was first elected to the House in 1982. She is the senior-most woman in the 111th Congress.  

ohio

Politico

So where does that leave Kaptur’s statement? Numerous sources have said it can cost as much as $400 per gallon to provide gas for troops in Afghanistan. That the statistic seems to be a high end number is a piece of information that provides clarification. On the -O-Meter, we rate her statement . Comment on this item .

My grandparents were proud immigrants to the United States of America, here to Illinois in the late 1800s. My grandparents did not speak English when they were young.

August 28, 2017

immigration

bruce rauner

Bruce Rauner was elected governor of Illinois in 2014. He became the first Republican governor in the state in 12 years upon his inauguration in January 2015. The gubernatorial campaign was Rauner's first foray into politics. He previously had been a principal at the private equity firm GTCR in Chicago.

illinois

a bill signing event

Bruce Rauner said his grandparents were immigrants from Sweden who came to the U.S. "in the late 1800s." We have no reason to doubt that Rauner’s grandparents meant the world to him. But the Census plainly refutes his that they were immigrants. What’s more, both couldn’t have come to the U.S. in the late 1800s because they weren’t even born until the early 1900s — in Wisconsin, not Sweden. Rauner’s assertion in August that his grandparents immigrated to Illinois is yet another inaccuracy. Since we don’t have a time machine, we can’t say for certain what language was spoken in the Erickson and Wedin childhood homes. But to the extent that Rauner implies the Ericksons' facility with English was limited, Census reports refute that notion as well. Topping all that is the acknowledgement by Rauner himself in his 2014 Tribune interview that his grandparents were not immigrants. Still, he continued to repeat the on many occasions. Census records and Rauner’s own admission show that this statement has no credibility. That is why it earns our lowest possible rating, .    

Why would our president close the embassy to the Vatican? Hopefully, it is not retribution for Catholic organizations opposing Obamacare.

November 27, 2013

health care;foreign policy;religion

jeb bush

Jeb Bush was a Republican candidate for president of the United States in 2016. He served two terms as the governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is also the brother of former President George W. Bush and the son of former President George H.W. Bush. 

florida

a tweet

Bush said, "Why would our president close the embassy to the Vatican? Hopefully, it is not retribution for Catholic organizations opposing Obamacare." For starters, the United States is not going to "close" its embassy -- it’s relocating it to a place that’s closer to the Vatican and that is more secure, less expensive and more architecturally distinctive. In addition, the move didn’t originate with Obama. It has been in the works since George W. Bush -- Jeb Bush’s brother -- was president. Finally, we found no to support the idea that the relocation was related to battles over Obamacare. We rate Bush’s !

Says Joe Biden "helps build Afghanistan's pipeline.

February 15, 2021

afghanistan;energy;foreign policy;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A widely shared Facebook post claimed Biden "helps build Afghanistan’s pipeline." The U.S. has long supported the long-planned Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline, which would traverse Afghanistan.  Asked about the , the State Department said only that the U.S. has long supported regional cooperation in the area, including on energy infrastructure. Experts said no administration, including Biden’s, has provided tangible assistance on construction of the pipeline. We rate the statement .

Says he's not a politician.

May 6, 2018

candidate biography;congress;elections

randy bryce

Democrat Randy Bryce, an Army veteran, union leader and iron worker, lives in Caledonia in Racine County, Wisconsin. In November 2018, he lost a bid for Wisconsin's 1st District congressional seat, which had been held by U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Janesville Republican. Bryce also lost races for the Wisconsin Legislature in 2012 and 2014 and lost a 10-way primary for the Racine County Board of Education in 2013.   

wisconsin

an interview

And there is no universal definition of politician. But Bryce, who is active in the Democratic Party, is making his fourth run for public office in the past six years. And his current run is by far the most involved -- as the nearly $5 million he has raised, his national endorsements and leaving his job to campaign full time would attest. Bryce’s statement has some element of but is . We rate it .

Says John Cox "parroted, parroted Trump — almost verbatim — on the children's separation issues at the border.

August 17, 2018

immigration;criminal justice;crime;public safety;the 2018 california governor's race

gavin newsom

Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California in 2018. He is the state's former lieutenant governor and served as mayor of San Francisco. He is a Democrat.

california

a TV interview

Democrat Gavin Newsom recently claimed his GOP opponent for governor John Cox "parroted" President Trump on the issue of family separations at the border. His statement, made right after a discussion of Cox’s policies, wrongly implies Cox supports separating immigrant families. Cox has repeatedly stated he opposes the policy. Cox and Trump have both said Congress should solve the issue, offering one parallel between the two. But even on this point, they’re not in lock-step. Trump has falsely blamed Democrats in Congress for forcing the separations, while Cox hasn’t made that specific charge. If anything, Cox has "parroted" one of Trump’s talking points about who should solve the problem. But he hasn’t backed Trump’s policy. Newsom’s statement contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it . –  The statement contains some element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine "is not approved.

September 2, 2021

drugs;government regulation;public health;facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

tiktok posts

Posts on the video-sharing platform TikTok.

a TikTok video

While the Pfizer vaccine "and other vaccines have met the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for emergency use authorization, as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product," the FDA announcement said.  "While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated." Moderna announced on Aug. 25 that it has completed its application for  approval. Johnson & Johnson is expected to apply sometime in 2021. We rate the TikTok posts .

There is "aborted male fetus" in the Oxford-AstraZeneca "Covid 19 vaccine.

November 15, 2020

abortion;public health;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A Facebook video claims that there is "aborted Male fetus" in the Oxford-Astrazeneca "Covid 19 vaccine." The video incorrectly identifies the cell line used to grow the virus for the vaccine. The post also gives the impression that fetal tissue is included in the vaccine. The vaccine is created from a virus grown in a cell line derived from aborted fetal tissue. However, the cell line is purified away from the vaccine before it is used. It is to that the vaccine "contains" aborted fetal tissue.  The is not accurate. We rate it . ​

Because of its higher minimum wage, New York State is "already showing signs of various companies picking up and leaving.

October 14, 2016

economy;jobs

michael long

Mike Long is the chairman of the Conservative Party of New York State.

new york

an interview on Capital Tonight

Long, the state’s Conservative Party chairman, said New York State is "already showing signs of various companies picking up and leaving" because of the new minimum-wage legislation. We found a handful of businesses that cited the higher minimum wage as a factor for closing. But we couldn't find any companies that relocated out of New York State because of the wage increase.  We rate this as .

Says Ronald Reagan said immigrants "brought with them courage and the values of family, work, and freedom. Let us pledge to each other that we can make America great again.

July 3, 2018

immigration;history;homeland security

becoming american initiative

A conservative group, 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, promoting immigrants' positive contributions to society.

national

an ad

A Becoming American Initiative ad claimed Ronald Reagan said immigrants "brought with them courage and the values of family, work, and freedom. Let us pledge to each other that we can make America great again." The ad is based on a 1980 Labor Day campaign speech in New Jersey, where Reagan lauded immigrants’ contributions, while also listing his grievances with Carter and his own vision for America. Reagan didn’t say immigrants "made America great" verbatim, but he did imply it. The ad cuts out some of Reagan’s words to make the comments appear adjacent. We rate Becoming American Initiative’s statement .

Forty cents of every dollar being spent by the federal government is being borrowed from my children.

June 28, 2010

federal budget

marco rubio

Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, was a candidate for president of the United States in 2016 and then dropped out and won re-election to the Senate. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and took office Jan. 5, 2011. Rubio served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and is a former Speaker of the Florida House. He served on the West Miami City Commission from 1998 to 2000. He is from Miami and holds a law degree from the University of Miami.

florida

a Fox News interview

"I hope the commission is successful, but I also hope to see the Tooth Fairy some day," Burman deadpanned. In short, we can't predict whether the Rubio children will be stuck with our tab. That is up to future policy decisions. What we do know is in this instance, when it comes to the hard numbers, father still knows best: The United States government spent 40 percent more than what it collected during the most recent fiscal year. We rate this .

As Virginia lost over 65,000 jobs, (Tim) Kaine put partisan ambitions first" by serving as DNC chairman during the last year of his governorship.

June 13, 2012

economy;jobs;message machine 2012

american crossroads

American Crossroads is a 527 campaign committee that supports Republican candidates.

virginia

a TV ad

American Crossroads said that while Kaine was governor and chairman of the DNC, Virginia lost more than 65,000 jobs. That number checks out and we could make an argument that the job loss was higher. But every state saw unemployment rise from January 2009 to January 2010. Virginia’s unemployment rate remained well below the national average. Governors have little control over their state economies in good times or bad. The suggestion that Kaine could have inoculated Virginia from a national recession had he not been DNC chairman is unrealistic. On balance, we rate American Crossroad’s .

Says a photo shows Donald Trump kissing Ivanka Trump on the lips.

November 25, 2018

candidate biography;families;facebook fact-checks

viral image

Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.

a Facebook post

He does not kiss her the way the Facebook post makes it appear.  You can watch the moment from a different angle in a clip accompanying this story from Time , which at the time reported on how Trump had "once again creeped out the Internet, this time with a ‘so inappropriate’ embrace of his daughter Ivanka."  But the criticism wasn’t about a kiss. Rather, some people objected to the way he touched his daughter’s hips.  We rate this Facebook post .

Says "the cascading effects" of climate change contributed to the rise of ISIS.

September 10, 2015

environment;climate change;foreign policy;terrorism

martin o'malley

Martin O'Malley is the former governor of Maryland who is running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016. He has also served as the mayor of Baltimore.

national

interview with Democracy Now!

O’Malley argued that "the cascading effects" of climate change contributed to the rise of ISIS The O’Malley campaign referred us to a credible March 2015 study that supports his point. According to the study, a drought in Syria in the 2000s displaced millions of refugees and added to discontent that eventually erupted into war. While the study does not mention ISIS by name, the authors say O’Malley is simply taking their argument one step further. Experts agreed that the drought, spurred by climate change, was one of many factors that led to the Syrian conflict. O’Malley’s phrasing suggests he understands this and is careful not overstate it. We rate his .

Trump revokes Barack Obama's security clearance.

May 9, 2020

candidate biography;facebook fact-checks

bloggers

Blog posting on the Internet

a Facebook post

"  In summer 2018, news outlets reported that Trump apparently wanted to revoke Obama’s security clearances. But Trump tweeted that he was not considering pulling Obama’s national security clearance . Trump revoked the security clearance for former CIA director John Brennan that year. But not Obama’s.  We rate this blog post .

The 'Denver Post' has actually hired an editor to promote pot.

December 9, 2013

after the fact;alcohol;drugs;punditfact;marijuana

bill o'reilly

Bill O'Reilly hosted The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News until 2017. He formerly worked as a television news reporter and has authored numerous books.

a broadcast of the "O'Reilly Factor"

O’Reilly said the Denver Post was a "far left concern" that had "actually hired an editor to promote pot". This goes to the newspaper's intent. The Denver Post said it planned to cover many aspects of the unfolding story of legalized marijuana in the state, ranging from policy and laws to the culture of pot users. While that coverage has yet to unfold, the stated goals of the Post do not match O’Reilly’s description of the newspaper’s intentions and we heard nothing from the show that supported O’Reilly’s view. We rate the .

After pushing through a red flag law in the New Mexico Senate, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham "has had the firearms of her guards and household seized.

February 9, 2020

guns

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

The laws allow police to petition a court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may be dangerous, or to block the person from obtaining a firearm. After a set amount of time, the firearm is either returned to the person or the court order is extended. RELATED: How Florida’s red flag gun law works There is no that guns were seized from Lujan Grisham’s home or from her security detail after passage of the law. We rate this statement .

Says Kaleb Torres, a young spokesperson for Shriners Hospitals for Children, has died.

March 25, 2021

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A social media post claims that Shriners patient ambassador Kaleb Torres recently died. This isn’t . The post confuses Torres with another boy, also named Kaleb, who died. We rate it .

Says former Rep. Michele Bachmann said that "White People Have Suffered More In The Last 8 Years Than Blacks Did During Couple Years Of Slavery.

July 7, 2017

fake news;race and ethnicity;punditfact

uspoln website

A fake news website that describes itself as a news/satire site.

a post on the Internet

If you click on the button, the part about Bachmann’s comments on slavery falls into the "" category. Moral of the story: Liberal dislike of Bachmann has survived her retirement so strongly that it is able to carry multiple iterations of clickbait. The website USPOLN.com said in a post that Bachmann had said, "White People Have Suffered More In The Last 8 Years Than Blacks Did During Couple Years Of Slavery." Not only is USPOLN.com an acknowledged "satirical" site, but the post originated in August 2016 on another acknowledged purveyor of articles that it admits are partially . We rate the item .

Each Georgia taxpayer would have to send $5,000 to the treasury to cover the state's debt.

August 4, 2014

pensions;state budget;taxes

truth in accounting

Truth in Accounting is a non-partisan think tank in Chicago.

georgia

a recent report

It’s a great way to get us to pay attention to the promises we’ve made with public dollars. The statement suggests that the state is being reckless, or that a one-time payment is coming soon. That is not the case. Georgia has been thoughtful about its looming obligations and positioned itself to pay down those debts over time. For that reason, we rate the .

There was never a single shred of evidence presented to anyone" that the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, were "spontaneous, and in fact, the CIA themselves understood that early on.

October 29, 2015

foreign policy;terrorism

marco rubio

Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, was a candidate for president of the United States in 2016 and then dropped out and won re-election to the Senate. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and took office Jan. 5, 2011. Rubio served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and is a former Speaker of the Florida House. He served on the West Miami City Commission from 1998 to 2000. He is from Miami and holds a law degree from the University of Miami.

florida

an interview on CNN

Rubio said on CNN, "There was never a single shred of presented to anyone that this was spontaneous, and in fact, the CIA themselves understood that early on." There was some initial confusion about what sparked the Sept. 11, 2012, attack. Although investigations showed that some officials thought it was a terrorist attack immediately, there at least appeared to be some question about whether the video could have played a role. Rubio when he said there wasn’t a "single shred of ." There were several suggestions that it was because of a protest. However, he has a point that much of the early pointed strongly to terrorism. Overall, we rate his statement .

Quotes Dr. Denis Mukwege as saying he resigned from the Congolese coronavirus response team because he was ordered to fabricate COVID-19 case and death numbers.

July 4, 2020

facebook fact-checks;coronavirus

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a Facebook post

A Panzi Foundation spokesperson also confirmed to PolitiFact that the quote is fabricated. On Twitter , Mukwege said any statements posted in his name were not genuine unless they appeared on his official social networks or websites.  Statements or press releases posted in my name but not appearing on our social networks @PanziFoundation @PanziUSA @MukwegeFound or our official sites https://t.co/ODQFGakgcm https://t.co/0DEwKkzxw1 https://t.co/KekC4StAma https://t.co/f0pTQFf4mr are not genuine.   Mukwege did resign from the coronavirus response team in Congo, but he never made the statement attributed to him in the post. We rate this .

Fifty seats have already changed hands from the Republicans to the Democrats since Donald Trump was elected.

February 11, 2018

elections

corey lewandowski

Corey Lewandowski is a conservative political adviser who worked for Americans for Prosperity in New Hampshire before joining Trump's campaign.

florida

Sarasota

Lewandowski said, "Fifty seats have already changed hands from the Republicans to the Democrats since Donald Trump was elected." We found of almost 40 seats that flipped from Republican to Democratic control since Trump took office. The bulk happened at the state legislative level. However, Lewandowski is also counting small municipal elections, which are harder to track. We found a couple of examples of Democratic mayors beating Republican incumbents. Beyond mayor’s races, it’s hard to say a seat flipped when some local elections are nonpartisan. We could not reach Lewandowski to explain how he got to 50. Given that we couldn’t duplicate Lewandowski’s total but he’s right about the trend, we rate this .

The federal infrastructure bill includes "a pilot program for a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee, which is basically a long-term plan to make it too expensive to drive a car.

August 4, 2021

energy;transportation;taxes;facebook fact-checks;ask politifact

viral image

Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.

a viral image

A Facebook states that the federal infrastructure bill includes "a pilot program for a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee, which is basically a long-term plan to make it too expensive to drive a car." The legislation does include a pilot program to test a per-mile user fee among volunteers who are willing to participate. But there isn’t now that it would become permanent or, if it did, that such a fee would end up making driving so prohibitively expensive as to make it obsolete. The image contains an element of , but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it .

New government-funded 'food pyramid' says Lucky Charms are healthier than steak.

January 15, 2023

food;public health;facebook fact-checks

instagram posts

Posters on Instagram, where people share photos and graphics and sometimes add filters.

an Instagram post

Rogan on Instagram shared an image that stated: "New government-funded 'food pyramid' says Lucky Charms are healthier than steak." The image is not a food pyramid, which was a government guide on healthy eating.  The image showed data from a food healthfulness system that ranked Lucky Charms cereal as  healthier than ground beef. Tufts University developed the system with partial funding from a federal agency. The image was created by other nutrition researchers to illustrate why they believed the system should not be used by consumers or for food policy.  The image Rogan shared contains an element of but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it .

Transporting drugs "is the price of admission" for people crossing the border illegally.

July 9, 2010

immigration;drugs;homeland security;human rights;crime;marijuana

john loughlin

John Loughlin is state representative from Tiverton who ran an unsuccessful 2010 campaign for Congress in Rhode Island's 1st District. He owns a television, radio and film production company and served 26 years in the military, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve in 2006. He is married with two daughters.

rhode island

a comment on The Helen Glover Show

By saying that carrying drugs has become the price of admission for getting across the Arizona border illegally, Loughlin falsely created the impression that most immigrants sneaking across the border are being forced to pay this price. After we informed the campaign that the drug mule had been questioned (and sent along the June 30 PolitiFact item outlining its problems), Loughlin acknowledged that he was using anecdotal information from the law enforcement people he spoke with, yet still characterized his "price of admission" comment as "a sad but fact." But anecdotes are not the best . The not-so-anecdotal numbers from Customs and Border Protection show that his fact is sad but not . We rate his as .

Our government has now 'spent, lent, or committed' $12.8 trillion in its attempt to blunt the recession.

April 30, 2009

economy;stimulus

mark sanford

Mark Sanford is a former congressman and two-term governor from South Carolina. He was considered a potential contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination before he was implicated in a scandal concerning a extramarital affair in summer 2009.

national

a commentary piece

There are many ways to calculate the amount the United States has pledged to stem the recession. But we think the Bloomberg calculation is one legitimate way. And we think it was certainly fair for Sanford to cite it, so long as he includes those all-important qualifiers. And on two occasions at least, he did. So we rate his comment .

Says veterans' disability claims backlog doubled in Obama's first term.

November 19, 2012

veterans

john cornyn

John Cornyn is a U.S. senator from Texas, former Texas attorney general and former justice on the Texas Supreme Court. He earlier served as a Bexar County state district judge.

texas

a tweet

Cornyn said the backlog of veterans’ claims doubled in Obama’s first term. Counting from Jan. 24, 2009, forward yields an increase of 589 percent. This is an overstatement, though, since the government lowered its threshold for declaring a as backlogged after Obama became president. Still, the backlog has tripled since the lower threshold was imposed in October 2009. We often find fault in claims that assign the responsibility for broad results to a particular officeholder. That’s because many factors are usually at play. In this instance, however, Obama promised to reduce the backlog of claims and PolitiFact recently rated this a promise Broken. In turn, we rate Cornyn’s statement as .

A $5,000 stimulus loan is available.

December 7, 2022

economy;stimulus;facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

a post on Facebook

A Facebook post promises "stimulus" loans of $5,000.  But according to the U.S. Treasury, there is no such program.  The website that links to this Facebook post offers loans from various lenders. There is no indication on the site that the government is involved in these loans in any way.  We rate this . 

Says a crisis actor played the parts of a shooting victim and the mothers of shooting victims in Las Vegas, Orlando and Thousand Oaks.

August 8, 2019

fake news;crime;facebook fact-checks;guns

viral image

Graphics, pictures and charts shared on social media give chain emails a run for their money when it comes to spreading too-good-to-be-true claims all over the Internet. A common form is is the "Internet macro," which uses an easily recognized and repurposed image (called a meme) wth superimposed text to make a funny but political argument. Sometimes these images are passed across social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit so widely that the original source is nearly impossible to determine.

a post on Facebook

And searching for other photos of the women , ones in which they aren’t under duress and in some cases not wearing glasses, the differences are even more acute. Leinonen has been in the public eye since the shooting , speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, for example. Lambourne appeared on "Deal or No Deal." All three women are different individuals who have experienced gun violence up close. We rate this Facebook post .

As a student at Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1981, "there were days where folks couldn't go outside. … because of all the pollution in the air.

June 25, 2013

environment;history;public health

barack obama

Barack Obama is the former president of the United States. Obama also served as a U.S. senator from Illinois. He was born in 1961 in Hawaii, where his parents met as students at the University of Hawaii. Obama's father is from Kenya and his mother is from Kansas. He graduated from Columbia University and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. Obama previously served in the Illinois state Senate and was an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School. He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

national

a speech on climate change

Obama said that as a student at Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1981, "there were days where folks couldn't go outside. … because of all the pollution in the air." The idea that "folks couldn’t go outside" is an oversimplification. The advisories -- and they were only advisories -- were aimed at children and people who had existing health concerns. But Obama is right that smog was a severe problem at the time in the Los Angeles region. On balance, we rate his .

The U.S. military has reinstated a draft, and women are included.

February 26, 2022

military;ukraine;russia

tiktok posts

Posts on the video-sharing platform TikTok.

national

a video

The U.S. requires that male citizens and male immigrants between ages 18 and 25 register with the federal Selective Service System, the agency responsible for running a draft. It would require an act of Congress to reinstate a draft in the event of a national emergency, and if that were to happen, the Selective Service System would begin calling registered men for duty. "If Congress were to reinstate the draft, the Selective Service would activate and order all personnel to report for duty to open Area Offices," USA Today reported . "A public, televised and nationally streamed National Draft Lottery to establish the order by year of birth in which registrants receive directives to report for induction would follow." We rate the that women can be drafted in the U.S. !

Says Texas lawmakers last year expanded public education's share of state spending.

September 23, 2012

education;state budget

joe straus

State Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, was initially elected the speaker of the Texas House in 2009.

texas

a breakfast at the Texas Tribune Festival

As Straus says, public education made up a greater share of state spending in the 2012-13 budget than in the 2010-11 budget. Bur this statement lacks vital clarifying information -- that school funding still took a substantial hit. We rate it .

Boy passes Joe Biden a vial of fresh blood to drink on his way back to the White House

December 16, 2021

fake news;facebook fact-checks

tweets

Twitter is a messaging service where people often discuss politics. Individual messages are called Tweets.

a tweet

Crystal Staley, Beshear’s communications director, said the social media about Beshear's son slipping Biden a vial of blood is "completely ." The about Biden harvesting blood to drink plays into a segment of the QAnon conspiracy theory , which holds that the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles, including many high-profile Democrats. Some QAnon adherents believe members of this ring molest, kill and eat children to ingest a life-extending chemical in human blood, PolitiFact reported . Those beliefs are without , and so is this . We rate it !

Joe Biden brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass the 1994 crime bill, putting 100,000 cops on the streets and starting an eight-year drop in crime across the country.

August 23, 2008

crime

barack obama

Barack Obama is the former president of the United States. Obama also served as a U.S. senator from Illinois. He was born in 1961 in Hawaii, where his parents met as students at the University of Hawaii. Obama's father is from Kenya and his mother is from Kansas. He graduated from Columbia University and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. Obama previously served in the Illinois state Senate and was an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School. He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

national

Obama's language is a little more tempered than Biden's. While Obama parroted the dubious that the program resulted in 100,000 new officers on the street, Obama said only that the program "started" an eight-year drop in crime, which is a little different than saying it "resulted in" that drop. David Muhlhausen, senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, notes that the beginning of the decline in violent crime actually started a bit before the funding for COPS kicked in. But stats show it's pretty close. We rate Obama's .

Claims to be endorsed by the Democratic Party.

April 20, 2018

elections

duane hall

Duane Hall is a Democratic member of the N.C. House of Representatives. He's a lawyer and lives in Raleigh.

north carolina

a mailer

Hall’s mailer suggests that he’s endorsed by the Democratic Party. The local and state parties have promoted him in the past. But the Wake County Democratic Party, NC Democratic Party and Democratic National Committee all denied making any primary endorsements at all. Not only are the parties not endorsing him, the NCDP and DNC have called on him to step down. We rate this .

Says Sal Esquivel wants a 5 percent state sales tax on groceries.

October 5, 2010

taxes

lynn howe

LynnHowe lives in Medford. She retired from a career in nursing and health care administration in 2004. She is a volunteer with libraries and senior citizens.

oregon

a campaign mailer

It’s Esquivel has advocated for a sales tax, in exchange for lowering other taxes. But Howe takes this too far, by saying he’s going after bread-and-butter kitchen staples. The bill specifically exempts food items. Combine that with the dearth of information on what the bill, in its entirety, would have done and PolitiFact Oregon rates this .   Comment on this item.

Donald Trump gave a speech in Prescott Valley, Arizona, on July 18, 2022.

July 18, 2022

facebook fact-checks

facebook posts

Posters on Facebook and other social media networks.  

arizona

a Facebook post

Instead of a recent Trump speech, the video starts with remarks delivered by then-Vice President Mike Pence at a campaign event in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Oct. 30, 2020. Then it cuts to a Jan. 29, 2022, speech Trump gave in Conroe, Texas.  Trump was scheduled to speak at a "Save America" rally on July 16 in Prescott Valley but it was postponed following the death of his first wife, Ivana Trump. The rally was rescheduled for July 22.  We rate the this video shows a July 18, 2022, speech .