FactCheck.org staff writer Saranac Hale Spencer appeared on The Colin McEnroe Show on WNPR, a Connecticut public radio station, to talk about the conspiracy theories and misinformation that spread online after the deadly shooting on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
Q: Are the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting actually alive?
A: No. That is a claim made by conspiracy theorists who believe the shooting never happened.
Q: Is David Hogg pictured in a California school yearbook?
A: No. That’s a yearbook photo from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, where Hogg is a student.
The internet has been rife with rumors about the school shooting that left 17 dead in Florida on Feb. 14. We’ve debunked several of them.
Q: Are the students who survived the Florida school shooting really “crisis actors”?
A: No. Conspiracy theories have been spreading online to undercut students advocating stricter gun control.
Q: Has the Food and Drug Administration announced that vaccines cause autism?
A: No. FDA statements are grounded in scientific evidence. There is no evidence that vaccination is linked to autism.
Q: Is the Department of Defense planning a drill that will cause a nationwide blackout? Is antifa involved?
A: No and no. The Army is conducting a drill with ham radio operators, and it has nothing to do with antifa.
Q: Is Congress considering a bill that would allow police to track “all Americans” with microchips?
A: No. A popular story on Facebook distorts the implications of proposed legislation to help locate missing Alzheimer’s patients and autistic children.
Q: Is Jade Helm 15 a government attempt to create martial law in the U.S.?
A: No. It’s a joint military training exercise lasting two months this summer.
If Donald Trump worked for us, we’d have to say: “Donald, you’re fired — for incompetence.” The successful developer and TV celebrity says he’d make a good president, and maybe he would — we take no stand either way about that. But when it comes to getting facts straight …