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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Debunking Viral Claims

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.

Social Media, Politicians Make Unfounded Claims of Politicized Mar-a-Lago Search

Social Media, Politicians Make Unfounded Claims of Politicized Mar-a-Lago Search
August 11, 2022

FBI agents searched the home of former President Donald Trump in Florida on Aug. 8 looking for presidential records and classified materials that were improperly removed from the White House. Social media posts claiming the FBI search was politically motivated have been swirling online, despite there being no evidence that President Joe Biden “had his department of justice’s FBI raid” Trump’s home, as one viral post claimed.

Four False Claims About Monkeypox

Four False Claims About Monkeypox
August 5, 2022

Monkeypox is a viral disease that spreads through close physical contact with an infected person and large respiratory droplets that don’t travel more than a few feet. A recent meme on social media gets the facts wrong about how the virus spreads, its severity and symptoms.

Posts Make Unfounded Claims About Death of Al-Qaeda Leader

Posts Make Unfounded Claims About Death of Al-Qaeda Leader
August 5, 2022

The U.S. announced it had conducted a drone strike on July 31 killing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul. But social media posts make unfounded claims that al-Zawahiri had died in 2020 from asthma. The posts cite an unconfirmed story in a British tabloid, which reported a year later that al-Zawahiri was still alive.

Online ‘Stimulus Loan’ Offers Are Not Related to Government Programs

Online ‘Stimulus Loan’ Offers Are Not Related to Government Programs
August 5, 2022

Three stimulus payments have been sent to Americans to ease the economic impact of the pandemic. Social media posts are now sharing a false claim about a new, $40,000 federal stimulus loan. But it’s a marketing ploy. The bottom of the web page says, “This is not a government program nor is it government aid, this is an advertorial for a loan service.” 

‘Unequivocal’ Evidence that Humans Cause Climate Change, Contrary to Posts of Old Video

‘Unequivocal’ Evidence that Humans Cause Climate Change, Contrary to Posts of Old Video
August 2, 2022

There is “unequivocal” evidence that humans are causing global warming, the U.N. climate change panel has said. But viral posts revive a 2014 video of Weather Channel co-founder John Coleman falsely claiming “climate change is not happening.” The channel, which supports the scientific consensus that climate change is real, had distanced itself from Coleman.

Posts Distort Chinese Research Creating Fragment of Monkeypox Viral Genome

Posts Distort Chinese Research Creating Fragment of Monkeypox Viral Genome
July 29, 2022

A Wuhan Institute of Virology study describes assembling part of a monkeypox viral genome for use in a diagnostic test. Although the researchers only made a fraction of the genome — and it matches a different version of the virus — social media posts are using the study to baselessly claim that the current monkeypox outbreak is a result of a lab leak.