FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on the social media network. We provide several resources for readers: a guide on how to flag suspicious stories on Facebook and a list of websites that have carried false or satirical articles, as well as a video and story on how to spot false stories.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman checked into a hospital on Feb. 15 to be treated for clinical depression following his recent stroke. Social media posts falsely claim that Fetterman is “brain dead” and that he hasn’t been seen in public. Fetterman has been shown working from the hospital in a March 6 tweet shared by his chief of staff.
A U.S. Army combat team recently completed its European deployment as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a series of military exercises in support of NATO. The brigade has returned to Fort Hood, Texas, and its equipment will follow. But social media posts falsely claim the equipment shown in a video is “arriving in Europe” to aid Ukraine.
Russia developed a COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in 2020. President Vladimir Putin has said he received three doses of the vaccine, and the government continues to urge Russians to get vaccinated against the disease. But social media posts falsely claimed Putin “ordered the destruction of all” COVID-19 vaccine stockpiles in Russia.
On Jan. 6, 2021, about 140 police officers were assaulted during the Capitol riot, and 326 participants — more than 100 armed with weapons — have been charged. But Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson has used recently released video from that day to misleadingly minimize the violence at the riot and to distort the actions of the police.
Social media posts make the unfounded claim that the Heinous Crimes Court in the Philippines issued a warrant for Bill Gates’ arrest for “‘premeditated murder’ linked to vaccine roll out.” That court no longer exists, and a spokesperson for Gates told us there is no warrant for his arrest.
Efforts to stop child sex trafficking in the U.S. have been underway for decades, led by presidents including Joe Biden. But an Instagram post makes the false claims that former President Donald Trump was the first to “acknowledge that children are being sold for sex in the U.S.” and that Biden “rescinded” a Trump order addressing the problem.
The U.S. Constitution established Congress’ right to impose federal income taxes, and the Internal Revenue Service administers the laws that require payment of taxes. Yet social media posts falsely claim there is no law that requires U.S. residents to pay taxes.
A Republican Study Committee task force released a budget last year proposing to raise the full retirement age to 70 for some future Social Security beneficiaries. There was no vote on the plan, but a liberal group’s viral meme incorrectly claimed “156 congressional Republicans … just voted to RAISE the retirement age to 70.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy predicted that if Russia’s invasion of his country is successful, it will invade nearby NATO countries, triggering a war involving the U.S. military. Some conservative commentators misleadingly claimed that he’d called upon the U.S. to “send their sons and daughters to war for Ukraine and potentially die.”
The National Transportation Safety Board’s chair said an Obama-era rule the Trump administration nixed would not have prevented the derailment of a train in Ohio, as some partisan commentators inaccurately claim. The rule requiring a new electronic braking system for certain trains carrying hazardous cargo did not apply to that train.