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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Out With the ‘Old Dixie’

Out With the ‘Old Dixie’

Q: Did President Donald Trump order the removal of Barack Obama’s name from a Florida highway?

A: No. That rumor comes from a false headline attached to a 2015 opinion piece critical of the name change.

No Shutdown Shakedown

No Shutdown Shakedown

Q: Did Sen. Chuck Schumer take $500,000 in donations from immigrant advocacy groups before the government shutdown?

A: No. That rumor originated on a satirical website. 

Fake Denzel Washington Story

Fake Denzel Washington Story

Q: Did Denzel Washington call Barack Obama the “criminal-in-chief”?

A: No. The actor has been a steady supporter of Obama and of other Democrats.  

Bogus Claim on Mosque Raid

Bogus Claim on Mosque Raid

Q: Were 11 would-be terrorists arrested in a late-night raid at a mosque?

A: No. The FBI confirmed that there has been no such raid.

More Claims of Alabama Voter Fraud

More Claims of Alabama Voter Fraud

Q: Were illegal voters bused in to Alabama to swing the election to Doug Jones? Were thousands of fraudulent votes recorded for him?

A: Those claims were made by self-described “satirical” websites. The Alabama Secretary of State says there’s no evidence that fraudulent voting affected the outcome. 

Medicare, Cancer and the Tax Bill

Medicare, Cancer and the Tax Bill

Q: Is it true that under the GOP tax bill, Medicare will stop covering cancer treatment?
A: No. Nothing about the tax bill would end cancer treatment benefits. Increased deficits could lead to Medicare spending cuts, however.

Elizabeth Warren’s ‘Pocahontas’ Controversy

Elizabeth Warren’s ‘Pocahontas’ Controversy

Q: Is Sen. Elizabeth Warren part Native American? Is that how she got jobs as a professor at Ivy League law schools?

A: Warren has released a report of a DNA test that claims to “strongly support” her statement that she has Native American ancestry, and no one has proved that she was ever hired because of her racial background.

Debunking False Vaccine Claim

Debunking False Vaccine Claim

Q: Has the Food and Drug Administration announced that vaccines cause autism?

A: No. FDA statements are grounded in scientific evidence. There is no evidence that vaccination is linked to autism.

Trump Didn’t Cut Canine Program

Trump Didn’t Cut Canine Program

Q: Did President Donald Trump shut down a service dog training program for veterans?

A: No. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center ended its contract with the program and told us that the president was not a factor.

Texas Shooting Unrelated to Antifa

Texas Shooting Unrelated to Antifa

Q: Was the man who killed more than two dozen people in a rural Texas church trying to start a civil war as a member of antifa?

A: No. Law enforcement officials believe the mass shooting was motivated by a family dispute, and they are not investigating it as an act of terrorism.