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: 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: Is the Florida school shooter a registered Democrat?
A: No. Nikolas Cruz isn’t even registered to vote.
Q: Did President Donald Trump order the removal of Barack Obama’s name from a Florida highway?
A: No. That rumor comes from a false headline attached to a 2015 opinion piece critical of the name change.
Q: During President Trump’s address to Congress, did top Democrats remain seated during a standing ovation for a Navy SEAL’s widow?
A: No. There were two ovations and video shows Democratic leaders stood for both. However, they did not remain standing as long as Republicans.
Some voters may be misled by a Democratic TV ad that uses fake images, marked “dramatization,” of Republican Rep. David Jolly and Donald Trump shaking hands and appearing together.
A Republican super PAC supporting Jeb Bush for president.
Q: Did Barack Obama and John Kerry miss 60 percent to 70 percent of their Senate votes while running for president, as Marco Rubio claimed?
A: Yes. Obama missed more than 64 percent of votes in 2008, and Kerry missed even more — nearly 90 percent — in 2004.