The CDC hasn’t drastically reduced the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19, but that bogus claim has been circulating widely — boosted by President Trump.
Locations: National
Trump Retweets Dated, Racially Charged Post
President Trump retweeted a video, which had been posted under the misleading heading “Black Lives Matter/Antifa,” of a Black man shoving a white woman into a stopped subway car. The incident occurred on Oct. 23, 2019, and there is no indication that the man in the video was affiliated with either Black Lives Matter or antifa.
Social Media Posts Use Graphic, Unrelated Photos to Smear BLM Protesters
Posts circulating on social media this summer falsely claimed that Black Lives Matter activists were responsible for the beating of five elderly white people shown in the posts’ photos. But the pictures have been online for at least five years — and most early uses identify the photos as originating in South Africa.
Trump, Hahn Mischaracterize Data on COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma
Misleading Claim Swirls Over Pledge of Allegiance at DNC
The prime-time programming for the Democratic National Convention every night on TV included a recital of the Pledge of Allegiance, including the phrase “under God.” Two individual Democratic caucuses omitted those words during daytime meetings — prompting claims that misleadingly suggested they were dropped throughout the convention.
Video: Discussing FactChecking the Democratic Convention
False Claims on Corporate Donations to Black Lives Matter
Posts on social media repeat an error reported by Lou Dobbs on Fox Business in July, claiming that major corporations were donating large sums of money to Black Lives Matter. The companies have pledged support for racial equality initiatives, but haven’t specified Black Lives Matter as a beneficiary.
Republican Convention Opening Night
Trump’s Talking Points
New ‘Plandemic’ Video Peddles Misinformation, Conspiracies
The second part of “Plandemic” — a documentary-style video that presents a sweeping conspiracy theory about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, patents and vaccines — landed on Aug. 18, spinning together many of the falsehoods about the disease that we’ve been debunking for months, plus some new misleading claims.