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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Bogus Story on Cohen Raid

Bogus Story on Cohen Raid

Q: Did a federal judge rule that evidence collected from Michael Cohen’s office is inadmissible?
A: No. That claim was invented by a website that labels its content as satire.

No Trump-Ordered ‘Raid’ on Muslim Community

No Trump-Ordered ‘Raid’ on Muslim Community

Q: Did President Trump order a raid on Islamberg, New York, that uncovered weapons?

A: No. A false story from 2017 links the Muslim community to an unrelated arrest of a man on weapons charges.

Another Bogus Parkland Conspiracy Theory

Another Bogus Parkland Conspiracy Theory

Q: Does searching an obituary website prove that there were no shooting deaths at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14?

A: No. A website falsely suggests that there were no deaths because the victims’ obituaries couldn’t be found on one particular site.

Hyped Headline Turns Paint Into Terror

Hyped Headline Turns Paint Into Terror

Q: Was the first family attacked by a terrorist during the Easter holiday weekend?

A: No. That’s a misrepresentation of an act of vandalism at Trump International Golf Club.

Gun Control March Not Planned ‘Months’ Ago

Gun Control March Not Planned ‘Months’ Ago

Q: Was a permit application for the March for Our Lives rally filed “several months” before the event on March 24?

A: No. A Washington, D.C., police officer erroneously used that language in an email exchange. Officials say the permits were requested in late February. 

David Hogg at School During Parkland Shooting

David Hogg at School During Parkland Shooting

Q: Was David Hogg at home during the February school shooting in Florida?

A: No. Hogg recorded videos from inside the school during the shooting and a teacher confirmed that he was there at the time. 

Viral NASA Story Gets Science Wrong

Viral NASA Story Gets Science Wrong

Q: Is NASA “spraying Americans with lithium and other chemicals”?

A: No. The space agency uses such materials, which are also used in fireworks, in the upper atmosphere – way above where planes fly. Experts say it’s “extremely unlikely” even “a minute amount” would reach Earth’s surface.

Emma Stone Didn’t Commend Trump

Emma Stone Didn’t Commend Trump

Q: Did Emma Stone say, “America made a great choice with Donald Trump”?
A: No. There is no record of the actress ever making that comment, or others attributed to her in the same story.

Politics Roiled by Royal Wedding Rumors?

Politics Roiled by Royal Wedding Rumors?

Q: Is the White House enraged because Barack Obama, and not President Trump, was invited to the upcoming wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?

A: The guest list has not been made public, and there’s no evidence that Obama was invited and Trump wasn’t.