The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System accepts any reports of adverse side effects following vaccination to help regulators detect potential problems. Anyone can submit a report, whether or not the incident is vaccine-related. Fox News host Tucker Carlson misrepresented the VAERS data to suggest that thousands have died from COVID-19 vaccines.
COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020. But a meme featuring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis minimizes the toll the pandemic already has taken — particularly among the elderly. The meme also questions getting inoculated, despite the safety record of the vaccines and DeSantis’ public support for vaccines.
In his April 28 address to Congress, President Joe Biden said, “No one should have to choose between a job and a paycheck or taking care of themselves and their loved ones — a parent, or spouse, or child.” Partisan social media accounts misleadingly edited his words in a viral video to suggest he said, “No one should have to choose between a job and a paycheck.”
Social media pages are spreading a false claim that President Joe Biden revoked the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline because of a campaign donation from Warren Buffett. Buffett did not donate to Biden’s campaign.
A fake letter purported to be the one left by former President Donald Trump for President Joe Biden has been circulating online. The phony letterhead template — which has been used to satirize Trump before — gives it away.
A congressman and conservative news outlets are spreading the baseless claim that the U.S. Army seized an election software company’s server in Frankfurt, Germany, that could supposedly prove there was fraud in the 2020 election. There was no such seizure — and the company doesn’t even have a server in Frankfurt.
Eric Trump misleadingly claimed on social media that gasoline was $5 per gallon “under O’Biden,” but “unbelievably good” during his father’s administration. The average retail price of gasoline while Barack Obama was president was $2.97. The average price under President Donald Trump has been $2.49, which includes lower prices due to the pandemic.
A tabloid story alleging that Kristen Welker, moderator of the final presidential debate, is politically biased has spawned several falsehoods on social media. Welker hasn’t donated to any federal candidates, and she wasn’t “busted” for revealing a question to the Clinton campaign in 2016.
A widely shared meme misrepresents Joe Biden’s endorsements. Biden hasn’t been endorsed by antifa or the Black Lives Matter organization, though BLM co-founders support him. And while President Donald Trump has been endorsed by the major law enforcement groups, Biden has received the backing of some law enforcement officials.
A tweet, shared by President Donald Trump, mischaracterizes a video that purports to show “Americans being ARRESTED for holding outdoor church services.” The video actually shows a demonstration in Idaho against a public health order regarding COVID-19 requirements held by a church in a city hall parking lot.