Facebook Twitter Tumblr Close Skip to main content
A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Social Media Posts Spread Bogus Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory

Social Media Posts Spread Bogus Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory

Multiple social media posts are spreading a bogus conspiracy theory about the deadly Wuhan virus. The posts falsely claim that the virus has been patented and a vaccine is already available. That’s not true; the patents the posts refer to pertain to different viruses.

Q&A on the FDA’s Flavored E-Cig Policy

Q&A on the FDA’s Flavored E-Cig Policy

The Trump administration announced a new policy that will soon forbid the sale of some, but not all, flavored vapes. We explain the new policy and review the scientific evidence on whether e-cigarettes are likely to have a positive or negative impact on public health.

FactChecking the January Democratic Debate

FactChecking the January Democratic Debate

In the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses, there were fewer candidates — only six — but more than a few false, misleading and exaggerated claims.

Trump Takes Undue Credit for Cancer Progress

Trump Takes Undue Credit for Cancer Progress

President Donald Trump boasted of the lowest cancer death rate on record, and implied that his administration was responsible for the achievement. While he’s right about the statistic, the improved death rate is the result of decades-long efforts on cancer prevention, detection and treatment.

FactChecking Trump’s Iran Address

FactChecking Trump’s Iran Address

In an address to the nation a day after an Iranian attack on military bases housing U.S. soldiers in Iraq, President Donald Trump made some dubious, misleading and inaccurate claims.

Biden Exaggerates Science on Burn Pits and Brain Cancer

Biden Exaggerates Science on Burn Pits and Brain Cancer

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden claimed without evidence that “more people are coming home from Iraq with brain cancer” than “any other war,” and blamed burn pits for the purported increase. But existing statistics do not bear that out, and the evidence on the cancer risk of burn pits is inconclusive.

Trump Mocks Global Warming, Lowballs Sea Level Rise

Trump Mocks Global Warming, Lowballs Sea Level Rise

President Donald Trump mocked concerns about global warming, saying that oceans would rise just “[o]ne-eighth of an inch within the next 250 years.” Although he may have been joking, his figure is many times lower than scientific estimates.

Unpacking Sanders’ ‘Climate Refugee’ Statistic

Unpacking Sanders’ ‘Climate Refugee’ Statistic

In the last Democratic debate, Sen. Bernie Sanders said that the United Nations is projecting “hundreds of millions of climate refugees” in the “years to come” as a result of climate change. The U.N., however, doesn’t currently endorse a particular estimate.