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.
Multiple social media posts are spreading a bogus conspiracy theory about the deadly Wuhan virus. The posts falsely claim that the virus has been patented and a vaccine is already available. That’s not true; the patents the posts refer to pertain to different viruses.
A viral YouTube video rehashed, and added to, a debunked hoax about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi taking money from Social Security to pay for the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump. The claim originated on a self-described satirical website.
Social media posts make a broad and misleading claim that “Democrats stood with” the leaders of Venezuela, China and Iran rather than supporting oppressed people in those countries. The facts don’t support that generalization.
Various claims online suggest that climate change hasn’t contributed to the bushfires ravaging the East Coast of Australia, pinning the blame instead on arson. Those claims distort the facts.
A meme falsely claims President Donald Trump “makes illegals eligible” for the draft. There is no military draft, and immigrants — including those in the country illegally — are already required to register with the Selective Service.
An Instagram post misleadingly claims a young rape victim can be “thrown in prison” for receiving an abortion in Alabama. Under a new law, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, criminal charges could be brought against doctors who perform abortions, but not women receiving them.
An out-of-context clip from a 2008 interview with then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is circulating on Facebook. It shows her saying the U.S. “will attack Iran” if she becomes president. But she was responding to a question about a hypothetical nuclear attack by Iran on Israel.
A fictitious tweet attributed to Rep. Ilhan Omar is circulating on social media. The congresswoman didn’t write that the “time for violence is now” over her disagreement with President Donald Trump’s actions on Iran.
A meme circulating on Facebook displays photos of five U.S. soldiers that purportedly were killed “this Tuesday in Afghanistan.” Actually, they died in 2013 and there was a sixth soldier killed in the same incident who isn’t included in the meme.
An old tweet from an account impersonating Rep. Rashida Tlaib resurfaced on social media — this time with an erroneous claim that the tweet was her response to the recent attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.