Q: Did McCain lift his cross-in-the-sand anecdote from Solzhenitsyn’s "Gulag Archipelago"?
A: There’s no such story in "Archipelago." There is a somewhat similar story attributed to Solzhenitsyn, which we’ve traced back to Rev. Billy Graham by way of former Richard Nixon aide Charles Colson. But that’s not proof that McCain’s story isn’t true.
Ask FactCheck
Have a question for FactCheck? Ask us.
If you have a question about a social media post, we may have already answered it on our Debunking False Stories page.
Or see the most popular questions on our Viral Spiral page.
Pelosi and T. Boone Pickens
Q: Is Nancy Pelosi heavily invested in T. Boone Pickens' alternative energy company?
A: No, but her husband bought stock in Clean Energy Fuels Corp. last year. It amounted to a tiny fraction of the couple's assets.
Obama in Berlin
Q: Did 200,000 people show up in Berlin for food, beer and a free concert and not to hear Obama’s speech?
A: It’s possible that some people were there for those reasons, but there’s no way of knowing for sure. The lead singer of one of the bands says that Obama was definitely the main attraction.
Troop Support for Candidates
Q: Did ABC News misrepresent which candidate troops in Iraq support, as a chain e-mail alleges?
A: No. The e-mail is bogus, and the major general to which it is attributed says he never wrote it.
No Flag on Obama’s Plane?
Q: Did Obama replace the U.S. flag on the tail of his campaign plane with his campaign symbol?
A: Yes. Obama’s newly designed campaign plane features the campaign’s logo on the tail. However, an image of the U.S. flag appears on the side of the plane.
Obama Quote Rumors
Q: Did Obama urge supporters to help him change “the greatest nation in the history of the world”?
A: No. Obama never said what’s being attributed to him in a number of chain e-mail messages. The line was meant as a joke about John McCain, Hillary Clinton and politicians in general.
Uranium in Iraq
Q: Was it recently revealed that the U.S. found uranium in Iraq after the invasion in 2003?
A: No. Uranium recently shipped from Iraq to Canada was left over from Saddam Hussein’s defunct nuclear weapons program and had been in sealed containers, under guard, since the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. Claims that this material is "vindication" for President Bush’s WMD claims in 2003 are completely false.
U.S. Government Paying Former Insurgents?
Q: Is the U.S. government paying factions in Iraq not to fight us?
A: We are paying Iraqis, some of whom were formerly hostile insurgents, to police areas and fight terrorists.
Oil Ad Distorts Supply Count
Q: Is there 60 years worth of oil for 60 million cars in the U.S.?
A: The oil industry claim is mathematically correct, but it accounts for about a quarter of the vehicles on the road in the U.S.
Fraudulent Column Casts Doubt on Obama’s Funding
Q: Does a Maureen Dowd column cast suspicion on Obama’s funding?
A: No, the column is being disseminated under her name is a fraud.