As 2020 draws to an end, we present the 10 most popular stories on our website this year.
Our Most Popular Posts in 2020
Issues: H1N1
FactChecking the Vice Presidential Debate
The candidates disagreed on the facts regarding the coronavirus, jobs, taxes and more.
Trump Spins Quotes by/About Biden
In campaign rallies in Nevada, President Donald Trump twisted remarks made by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and gave a disputed description of comments by Biden’s former chief of staff.
Trump Didn’t Tweet In 2009 That He ‘Would Never Let Thousands’ Die in Pandemic
An image on social media falsely purports to show a tweet from Donald Trump in 2009, saying he “would never let thousands of Americans die from a pandemic while in office.” There is no evidence Trump ever posted that tweet.
Trump Misleads on H1N1 Swine Flu Testing
Deflecting attention from the rise in COVID-19 cases, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the Obama administration “stopped testing” during the H1N1 pandemic. But the two viruses are very different, making the comparison misleading.
Flawed Comparison on Coronavirus, H1N1 Emergency Timelines
Facebook posts falsely claim that it “took [President Barack] Obama ‘millions infected and over 1,000 deaths’ to declare the H1N1 flu a health emergency,” but President Donald Trump “declared a health emergency” before the first coronavirus death. In reality, both administrations declared public health emergencies before the first reported deaths.
Trump’s H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic Spin
In tweets and other appearances, President Donald Trump has repeatedly compared his response to the new coronavirus with President Barack Obama’s handling of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. But Trump’s information is frequently incorrect or misleading — and the two viruses are very different.
Using H1N1 to Sway Health Care Debate
The American Future Fund, a conservative advocacy group, has released a new ad that uses the H1N1 vaccine as the crux of its argument against health care overhaul legislation.
The ad asks: "If the government can’t run a flu program, can we trust it to run America’s entire health care system?" But the question assumes a false premise. The health care proposals that are nearing full chamber votes are not empowering the government to run an entire health care system,
Swine Flu Emergency?
Q: Did President Obama declare a national state of emergency because of H1N1?
A: Yes, but claims that this is an effort to instill panic in the American population show a misunderstanding of what such a declaration actually means.
Inoculation Misinformation
Wild rumors are flying about the newly developed vaccine for pandemic influenza H1N1, also known as “swine flu.” We’ve seen e-mails stating that the vaccine is tainted with antifreeze or Agent Orange, causes Gulf War syndrome, or has killed U.S. Navy sailors. One says the vaccine is an “evil depopulation scheme.” …