Viral Facebook posts say that former President Barack Obama “shut down the government to force Obamacare.” That’s misleading.
Social Posts Distort Facts of 2013 Shutdown
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.
Phony Claim On Elizabeth Warren’s Health
A baseless claim about Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s health is circulating on social media.
Bogus Claim on Interest Rate Increases
The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates nine times since 2015, so a claim circulating on social media that there were no increases during the Obama administration is wrong.
Story Cherry-Picks in Assessing CNN Ratings
A story shared on Facebook tells of CNN’s so-called “ratings disaster” — but it only uses select ratings information.
Social Security Falsehood Circulates Again
Social media posts wrongly claim Democrats voted against the Social Security cost-of-living increase for 2019. Adjustments to Social Security benefits are not decided by lawmakers.
False Claim Targets Muslim Congresswomen-Elect
Facebook posts shared by thousands of people make the unsupported assertion that “3 Muslim congress women” are refusing to uphold the Constitution.
Missing the Mark on the Edwards Case
A popular meme suggests prosecutors are applying a double standard in a campaign finance case involving President Donald Trump, but it distorts the facts of the case against former Democratic Sen. John Edwards.
The House That Isn’t Nancy Pelosi’s
A $23.9 million mansion was falsely identified as Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s home in a viral meme. Pelosi actually lives in the same neighborhood in a $2.3 million house.
Quote Falsely Tied to Ocasio-Cortez
A viral meme mocks Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a statement about capitalism versus socialism that she never actually made.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Taken Way Out of Context
In a 2012 interview with an Arabic-language television station, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested that as Egypt prepared to write a new constitution, Egyptians look to more recently written constitutions than the United States’.