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.
Facebook posts, evidently intended as a prank, erroneously claim that the government — or specific states such as Michigan or Florida — has mandated that employers and schools close for two weeks in response to the coronavirus. No such announcement has been made.
Viral posts falsely claim President Donald Trump received more votes in the California primary than the top two Democratic candidates combined. Unofficial totals show that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden received 1,842,471 votes; Trump received 1,486,415.
An article circulating on social media claims without evidence that Pope Francis and two of his aides have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Vatican has said the pope has a cold, “with no symptoms related to other pathologies.”
Posts on Facebook falsely claim to show screenshots of two tweets by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer about the U.S. coronavirus response. Schumer didn’t post the supposed tweet criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to bar travelers from China.
A meme with the false claim that “[t]he US is charging over $3,000 per test” for patients who may have COVID-19 has been circulating on social media. For now, the two agencies authorized to test for the illness are not billing patients.
A doctored image on social media shows members of the KKK carrying a Trump-Pence campaign banner. The original image, which predates President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign by several years, does not.
Viral Facebook posts use a photo of a vaccine for cows to falsely suggest that the novel coronavirus isn’t actually new, alleging it is proof of “how much the media controls people.” The cattle vaccine has nothing to do with the COVID-19 virus.
An ad misleads when it claims that Sen. Bernie Sanders “helped turn neighborhoods like ours into a toxic waste dumping ground.” Sanders did support a bill that could have resulted in nuclear waste being placed near a poor, minority town in Texas, but the state ultimately rejected that location.
A viral meme falsely claims that Sen. Bernie Sanders received only 3,444 votes in the Nevada caucuses. He actually won 41,075 votes — more than twice as many as any other Democratic candidate.
A meme circulating on Facebook claims without evidence that Hillary Clinton has made $95.5 million since she ran for president in 2016, and falsely implies that she and former President Barack Obama enriched themselves by “steal[ing] your money.”