We look at some of President Joe Biden’s remarks about the fall of the Afghan government forces to the Taliban, and how they square with the facts.
FactChecking Biden’s Statements About Afghanistan
Month: August 2021
Malala Yousafzai Has Responded to Taliban Takeover, Plight of ‘My Afghan Sisters’
Malala Yousafzai has expressed deep concerns for women and children in Afghanistan since the Taliban entered the country’s capital on Aug. 15. Yet a post on social media falsely accused Yousafzai, a children’s rights advocate, of being “silent” about the Taliban takeover and the impact on Afghan girls and women.
On Facebook, Fake Stories Use Fox News Hosts to Hawk Dubious CBD Products
A round of fictitious stories masquerading as news articles from Fox News — invoking the names and faces of prominent hosts on the channel — and other outlets have been used in recent weeks to hawk dubious products through paid Facebook advertisements.
Tweets Misrepresent Border Data
There has been a monthslong rise in illegal border migration. But some Republicans overstate the number of people encountered by immigration officials crossing the border illegally.
Hospitals Overwhelmed by Another Surge of COVID-19 Patients, Financial Strain
The seven-day average of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. has increased by 322% in two months, straining the ability of medical staff in some states to care for patients. Despite the rising numbers, an Instagram post questioned whether COVID-19 is “truly a pandemic that was ‘overwhelming hospitals,'” if hospitals are firing nurses who refuse to be vaccinated.
Timeline of U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
We lay out many of the key diplomatic decisions, military actions, presidential pronouncements and expert assessments of the withdrawal agreement that ended the U.S. military’s 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Marine General Supports Vaccinations for Military
The secretary of defense announced that COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for all service members by mid-September. But social media posts have shared an article from a dubious website that falsely claimed that the leader of the Marines “rebuked” the vaccine mandate. A Marine Corps spokesperson told us “there is no truth” to the claim.
CDC Document Discusses Strategy To Protect Displaced People From COVID-19
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document reviews the challenges of using a “shielding” approach to protect high-risk people living in places such as refugee camps from COVID-19. But conservative commentator Candace Owens misinterpreted it to mean the agency was proposing putting high-risk Americans into camps.
Biden Leaves Misleading Impression on U.S. Debt
In promoting his own spending priorities, President Joe Biden blamed his predecessor’s “unpaid tax cuts and other spending” for increasing the national debt by nearly $8 trillion over four years. The total debt figure is correct, but trillions of that were due to bipartisan coronavirus relief packages.
Misinformation About Face Masks
A growing body of evidence supports the use of masks to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the effectiveness of masks is now being challenged again. Here we summarize some of our work over the past 16 months, based on categories of misinformation about masking.