November 2021 - Page 2 of 3

Rittenhouse Testified He Drove Himself to Kenosha Without Weapon

November 17, 2021

Kyle Rittenhouse, who is on trial for murder, testified in court that he drove himself from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 24, 2020, the day before he shot and killed two men at a protest that became violent. The weapon he used, according to testimony, had been stored at a friend’s house in Kenosha. Democratic Rep. Karen Bass falsely claimed that Kyle’s mother drove her armed son across the Illinois-Wisconsin border.

Electric Vehicle Tax Credits in Democratic Plan

November 11, 2021

The House’s current Build Back Better plan calls for extending a $7,500 tax credit for the purchase of electric vehicles, and it includes an additional $4,500 credit for electric vehicles built in the U.S. by union labor. We provide an explainer of what is being proposed.

Viral Posts Make Unfounded Claims After Newsom Gets COVID-19 Booster

November 11, 2021

After getting the COVID-19 booster on Oct. 27, California Gov. Gavin Newsom canceled a trip and did not participate in any official public events for 12 days. Social media posts claimed, without evidence, that Newsom was suffering serious side effects from the booster. But his staff denied that he had an “adverse reaction” to the shot and, during this time, he appeared twice on social media and reportedly attended a wedding.

SciCheck Featured on Podcast About COVID-19 Misinformation Directed at Latinos

November 11, 2021

FactCheck.org staffer Catalina Jaramillo was featured on the latest episode of “A Better Life?,” a podcast that explores how COVID-19 has made immigrants’ lives harder.

Video Questioning Vaccine Efficacy Pushes Falsehood About Israel Data

November 10, 2021

The COVID-19 death rate for unvaccinated people has been significantly higher than for vaccinated people in both Israel and the U.S. Despite that, conservative commentator Ben Swann makes the false claim in a video that Israeli data prove vaccines aren’t effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths. But the charts he uses don’t distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients.

Aaron Rodgers’ Inaccurate COVID-19 Claims

November 9, 2021

Aaron Rodgers, the star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, made headlines when he contracted COVID-19 and then defended his decision not to get vaccinated with a string of false and misleading claims that fact-checkers have frequently debunked.

A Guide to Pfizer/BioNTech’s Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids 5-11

November 5, 2021

As with its adult vaccine, Pfizer/BioNTech was the first to cross the finish line and offer a Food and Drug Administration-authorized COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 through 11. Here, we describe how it’s different from its grown-up cousin and what experts are saying about who should get it.

DeSantis, Social Media Posts Mislead on COVID-19’s Toll in Florida

November 5, 2021

Florida’s total COVID-19 case rate is higher than the national rate and 10th highest in the U.S. But social media posts and the state’s governor point to a recent decline in daily cases as evidence of Florida’s success in handling COVID-19, while ignoring the full impact of the pandemic’s toll on the state.

Biden Botches Virginia Election History

November 4, 2021

Seeking to deflect the significance of Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s loss in the Virginia governor’s race to Republican Glenn Youngkin, President Joe Biden wrongly claimed that “no governor in Virginia has ever won when … he or she is the same party as the sitting president.”

Japan Continues to Use Vaccines, Not Ivermectin, to Fight COVID-19

November 4, 2021

More than 70% of Japan’s population has received the COVID-19 vaccines, and the government is moving ahead with a booster shot in December. But a conservative radio host in the U.S. falsely claimed, “Japan drops vax rollout, goes to Ivermectin.” Japan hasn’t stopped its vaccine program and hasn’t approved ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment.