The Department of Agriculture announced the cancellation of a $600,000 grant to study the development of feminine hygiene products made of natural fibers. The USDA, Department of Government Efficiency and social media posts misleadingly claimed the study was of “menstrual cycles in transgender men.” The university behind the study said it was focused on making safer products to “benefit all biological women.”
We wrote about a lot of misinformation in 2024, and, as usual, some fact-checking articles piqued our readers’ interest more than others. In this post, we present the 10 most popular stories published on our website this past year.
X owner Elon Musk has rolled back policies intended to protect transgender people from harassment on his platform. But social media posts falsely claimed Pride-related content has now been “blocked on X permanently,” citing a purported “late-night announcement” by Musk. The claim originated on a satirical website.
In his third campaign for the nation’s top office, former President Donald Trump’s closing messages have run the gamut, touching on the economy, immigration, the military, crime, taxes and more. In lengthy speeches, he rattles off a stream of claims. We reviewed Trump’s remarks from Oct. 18 through Oct. 22.
Both presidential candidates appeared on Fox News on Oct. 16 — former President Donald Trump in a town hall with women voters in Georgia and Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview with Bret Baier. We fact-checked their remarks.
Q: Does Kamala Harris support government-paid gender-affirming surgery for prison inmates and immigrant detainees?
A: The government must provide medical care to prisoners and immigrant detainees. Vice President Kamala Harris expressed support in a 2019 questionnaire for “medically necessary” gender-affirming care, including surgical care, for federal prisoners and detainees. She has not detailed her position in the current campaign.
Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is “a person who transitioned” and “was a good male boxer.” Khelif was born a woman and has lived as a woman, participating in women’s boxing events for years. Many social media posts made similar claims.
We fact-checked the first night’s speeches, which mainly focused on economic issues.
Both Easter and the Transgender Day of Visibility happened to fall on March 31 this year. President Joe Biden recognized both occasions, as he has done every year in office. But some social media posts and conservative politicians characterized his acknowledgement of Transgender Day of Visibility as “mocking” Easter and declaring “war” on Christianity.
The two presidential contenders had the stage to themselves just days before the Iowa caucuses.