Our latest update of what’s happened in the U.S. under Biden’s presidency.
Biden’s Numbers, July 2023 Update
Featured Posts
The Twitter Debate About Biden’s Wages Claim
A reader’s note temporarily attached by Twitter to a claim by President Joe Biden — that “real wages for the average American worker is higher than it was before the pandemic” — said that statement “contains a factual error.” But it turns out it doesn’t.
FactChecking Biden’s Campaign-Style Speeches
President Joe Biden has been giving a series of campaign-style speeches, touting the success of his economic policies, which he calls “Bidenomics,” and talking about his efforts to diversify the federal courts. But we found that some of his claims were wrong or imprecise.
No ‘Bombshell’ On COVID-19 Origins, U.S. Intelligence Rebuts Claims About ‘Sick’ Lab Workers
It remains unknown how the virus that causes COVID-19 originated, but many scientists think a natural spillover is most likely. Online posts have cited unnamed sources to claim that scientists in Wuhan, China, were the first to get sick with COVID-19. But U.S. intelligence says the researchers’ symptoms were non-specific or inconsistent with COVID-19, and the information has no bearing on the origin of the pandemic.
Q&A on Mpox
Last summer saw the largest outbreak ever of mpox, the disease formerly known as monkeypox. Here, we provide an update on the disease, and explain what makes the outbreak unusual and how people can protect themselves.
Republican Claims About Hunter Biden Offenses
Several Republican lawmakers have objected to a plea deal between the Department of Justice and Hunter Biden, the president’s son, claiming it was “a slap on the wrist.” We’ll explain the plea and what we know about several other offenses Republicans say Hunter Biden committed, some of which are unsubstantiated.
Ad Misleads: Trump Not Charged as Spy
The latest ad from the anti-Trump Lincoln Project promotes the same mistaken argument that Donald Trump himself has made — that the former president has been charged with spying or espionage. Trump was charged under a part of the Espionage Act concerning the willful retention of national defense information. That’s different from spying.
Trump’s Distortions of Federal Indictment
In the days leading up to his June 13 arraignment and in a speech several hours afterward, former President Donald Trump distorted what the federal indictment against him said and made faulty comparisons to other politicians’ actions.
Q&A on Trump’s Federal Indictment
On June 9, the Department of Justice unsealed a 44-page indictment against former President Donald Trump detailing allegations not only of mishandling sensitive classified documents after he left office, but of obstructing federal officials who tried to get them back. Here, we answer some questions about the indictment.
FactChecking Pence’s Presidential Announcement
Mike Pence formally jumped into the 2024 presidential race on June 7, becoming the first vice president in 83 years to challenge a president under whom he served. We fact-checked his remarks on the day he announced his candidacy.