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.
Posts circulating on social media this summer falsely claimed that Black Lives Matter activists were responsible for the beating of five elderly white people shown in the posts’ photos. But the pictures have been online for at least five years — and most early uses identify the photos as originating in South Africa.
A baseless conspiracy theory on Facebook suggests that the California wildfires were started by a “powerful laser.” The meme spreading the theory uses the same photos that circulated in 2018 to advance a similar claim.
The prime-time programming for the Democratic National Convention every night on TV included a recital of the Pledge of Allegiance, including the phrase “under God.” Two individual Democratic caucuses omitted those words during daytime meetings — prompting claims that misleadingly suggested they were dropped throughout the convention.
Facebook posts falsely claim that under Joe Biden, the “tax rate on a family making 75000 dollars would go from 12% to 25%.” Biden’s proposal does not call for a tax increase on those making less than $400,000, though analysts say an increased corporate tax rate could effectively result in a small tax increase for middle-income earners.
Posts on social media repeat an error reported by Lou Dobbs on Fox Business in July, claiming that major corporations were donating large sums of money to Black Lives Matter. The companies have pledged support for racial equality initiatives, but haven’t specified Black Lives Matter as a beneficiary.
Facebook posts are using out-of-context photos to suggest Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, are not abiding by public health recommendations regarding face masks. The photos are from early March, before face masks were recommended by federal health officials.
A photo taken at a Black Lives Matter protest in June is now being shared on social media, including by President Donald Trump, with the false claim that it shows a recent rally in Seattle to “demand mail-in voting.”
A popular bar graph on social media claims to show that the number of human trafficking arrests skyrocketed under President Donald Trump, compared to those under former President Barack Obama. But the chart misleads by using cherry-picked and, in some cases, faulty numbers.
Contrary to claims in viral internet posts, Sen. Kamala Harris did not call former Vice President Joe Biden a “racist” or a “rapist.” Rather, she has been critical of Biden’s position on busing to integrate schools and comments he made about segregationist senators, and she has said that she believed women who accused Biden of making them feel uncomfortable.
A Facebook post makes the baseless claim that Bill Gates’ mother was related to Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The post also shows an image of a young man who is misidentified as Gates.