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.
Jacob Albarado, who has been described in media reports as an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer, helped students escape the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24. But online rumors falsely claim he was the CBP officer who killed the shooter. Albarado has said in interviews, “I didn’t shoot the guy.”
Police are still investigating the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, but as of May 26 they had shared no evidence about the shooter’s gender identity. Despite that lack of evidence, Rep. Paul Gosar and others claimed the gunman was transgender. Social media posts making the baseless claim have shared photos of a person unrelated to the attack.
A Mississippi-based nonprofit has sent shipments of baby formula to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country. A social media post misleadingly suggests the shipments are responsible for the formula shortage in the U.S. But the shortage has been due to supply chain problems, a product recall and the temporary closure of a manufacturing plant.
A fund backed by Bill Gates has invested in a startup working to develop lab-manufactured breast milk, but it won’t reach the market for several years. Yet, social media posts make baseless claims that Gates is behind the current baby formula shortage — which stems from supply-chain issues and the shutdown at a major manufacturing plant.
Proposed legislation in Tennessee and Missouri would not regulate Plan B contraception pills, and experts say state “trigger laws” that would take effect if Roe v. Wade were overturned will not ban methods of birth control. But social media posts falsely claim that both states have banned Plan B – the morning-after pill.
A shortage of baby formula has provoked misleading partisan claims that suggest President Joe Biden is responsible for the “bare shelves.” But the shortage has been caused by a recall and plant shutdown by a major manufacturer and ongoing supply-chain issues due to the pandemic.
In a footnote of a draft opinion on abortion access, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito quoted from a 2008 government report on the demand for adoption in the U.S., which used the phrase, “domestic supply of infants.” Posts on social media critical of the opinion have misleadingly suggested that Alito himself came up with the phrase.
Elon Musk’s $44 billion offer to buy Twitter was criticized by several prominent Democrats. But a social media post misleadingly claims Democrats didn’t speak out against companies buying out competitors and creating monopolies until Musk bought Twitter. Democrats have opposed monopoly power and encouraged competition for years.
A leaked draft opinion suggests that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. Shortly after the document was published, a meme began circulating that falsely claims President Joe Biden has “[s]topped abortion.”
Data on the number fires at food-processing plants in 2022 “does not signal anything out of the ordinary,” according to the National Fire Protection Association. Despite no evidence of foul play, unfounded rumors from conservative pundits suggest a rash of “mysterious fires” may be part of a plan to disrupt the food supply.