Facebook Twitter Tumblr Close Skip to main content
A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

How Many Americans and Allies Are Left in Afghanistan?

How Many Americans and Allies Are Left in Afghanistan?

On Aug. 18, President Joe Biden said if there were U.S. citizens left in Afghanistan on Aug. 31 who wanted to leave, “we’re gonna stay to get them all out.” But that’s not what happened when the last U.S. soldier departed the country.

What We Know About the Claims of Military Dogs Left in Kabul

What We Know About the Claims of Military Dogs Left in Kabul

Q: Did the U.S. abandon its military dogs during its withdrawal from Afghanistan?

A: The Department of Defense maintains that none of its military service dogs were left behind. But animal welfare groups say some contract working dogs — which did not belong to the U.S., though some may have been contracted by the military — were left at the Kabul airport.

Biden Issued Proclamation to Fly Flags at Half-Staff

Biden Issued Proclamation to Fly Flags at Half-Staff

President Joe Biden issued a proclamation honoring those who died in the attack at the Kabul airport Aug. 26 and calling for flags to be flown at half-staff. But a meme has been circulating on Facebook with the false claim that no such order had been issued.

Instagram Post Wrong on U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan

Instagram Post Wrong on U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan

Eleven American military members were killed in Afghanistan in 2020, including four in combat. But, as the U.S. nears its Aug. 31 deadline for a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan, a social media post falsely claims that there weren’t any American casualties in Afghanistan in the last year-and-a-half of the Trump administration. 

Timeline of U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Timeline of U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan

We lay out many of the key diplomatic decisions, military actions, presidential pronouncements and expert assessments of the withdrawal agreement that ended the U.S. military’s 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Conspiracy Theory Baselessly Claims Biden Had Navy SEALs Killed

Conspiracy Theory Baselessly Claims Biden Had Navy SEALs Killed

A viral conspiracy theory spread across social media baselessly claims former Vice President Joe Biden “had SEAL Team 6 killed” as part of a cover-up after a purportedly failed assassination of Osama bin Laden. President Donald Trump shared the unfounded theory on Twitter.

Amid Military Tension, Meme Misdates Soldiers’ Deaths

Amid Military Tension, Meme Misdates Soldiers’ Deaths

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.

FactChecking Trump’s Iowa Rally

FactChecking Trump’s Iowa Rally

The 2020 presidential campaign is more than 1,200 days away, but President Donald Trump held yet another Make America Great Again rally — this time in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. And, as he did in past campaign speeches, Trump spoke for a long time and reeled off numerous false and misleading claims.

Sanders’ PTSD Statistic

Sanders’ PTSD Statistic

Sometimes politicians are right, but their campaigns can’t prove it. And we do. That’s what happened when we took a look at Sen. Bernie Sanders’ talking point about veterans.