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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Tactical Unit, Not Off-Duty Officer, Killed Uvalde Gunman

Tactical Unit, Not Off-Duty Officer, Killed Uvalde Gunman

Jacob Albarado, who has been described in media reports as an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer, helped students escape the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24. But online rumors falsely claim he was the CBP officer who killed the shooter. Albarado has said in interviews, “I didn’t shoot the guy.”

Social Media Posts Make Baseless Claims About Gender Identity of Uvalde Shooter

Social Media Posts Make Baseless Claims About Gender Identity of Uvalde Shooter

Police are still investigating the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, but as of May 26 they had shared no evidence about the shooter’s gender identity. Despite that lack of evidence, Rep. Paul Gosar and others claimed the gunman was transgender. Social media posts making the baseless claim have shared photos of a person unrelated to the attack.

Border Patrol Required to Provide Formula to Detained Infants

Border Patrol Required to Provide Formula to Detained Infants

Q: Has the Biden administration sent “pallets” of infant formula to the border amid a nationwide shortage?
A: Yes. Customs and Border Protection, the agency that first encounters and then processes immigrants, is legally required to provide formula to infants in its care and has been doing so during the recent shortage.  

Some Posts About NIH Royalties Omit Fauci Statement That He Donates His Payments

Some Posts About NIH Royalties Omit Fauci Statement That He Donates His Payments

A nonprofit recently reported that, since 2009, the National Institutes of Health and many of its scientists received an estimated $350 million in royalties for developing experimental treatments. Some kept the money, but Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that he donates royalties he receives to charity — a detail left out of some online posts about the payments.

COVID-19 Vaccines Were Available Before Biden Took Office, Contrary to False Tweet

COVID-19 Vaccines Were Available Before Biden Took Office, Contrary to False Tweet

When Joe Biden was sworn in as president, two COVID-19 vaccines had already been authorized and millions of people nationwide had been vaccinated against the disease. But in a May 12 tweet touting economic progress made under Biden, the White House falsely claimed that “there was no vaccine available” at the time he was inaugurated.

Baby Formula Shortage Fuels Misleading Partisan Claims

Baby Formula Shortage Fuels Misleading Partisan Claims

A shortage of baby formula has provoked misleading partisan claims that suggest President Joe Biden is responsible for the “bare shelves.” But the shortage has been caused by a recall and plant shutdown by a major manufacturer and ongoing supply-chain issues due to the pandemic.

Posts Misattribute Phrase ‘Domestic Supply of Infants’ in Draft Opinion on Abortion

Posts Misattribute Phrase ‘Domestic Supply of Infants’ in Draft Opinion on Abortion

In a footnote of a draft opinion on abortion access, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito quoted from a 2008 government report on the demand for adoption in the U.S., which used the phrase, “domestic supply of infants.” Posts on social media critical of the opinion have misleadingly suggested that Alito himself came up with the phrase.

What Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett Said About Roe at Confirmation Hearings

What Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett Said About Roe at Confirmation Hearings

In the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that indicates the court could overturn Roe v. Wade, some lawmakers have charged that conservative Supreme Court justices led them astray during Senate confirmation hearings. We’ll look at what the three most recent conservative justices had said about Roe.

Unfounded Claims About Frequency and Causes of Food Plant Fires

Unfounded Claims About Frequency and Causes of Food Plant Fires

Data on the number fires at food-processing plants in 2022 “does not signal anything out of the ordinary,” according to the National Fire Protection Association. Despite no evidence of foul play, unfounded rumors from conservative pundits suggest a rash of “mysterious fires” may be part of a plan to disrupt the food supply.