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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Meme Inflates Rise in Congressional Salaries

Meme Inflates Rise in Congressional Salaries

A viral meme on Facebook falsely claims that members of Congress have received a “231%” increase in pay in the last 30 years. Automatic cost-of-living adjustments have resulted in an increase of 94.4% from 1989 to 2009.

Video: Harris, Warren on Michael Brown Shooting

Video: Harris, Warren on Michael Brown Shooting

In this fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper explains the Obama-era Department of Justice’s finding that Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in “self-defense,” not “murdered,” as Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris claimed.

U.S.-Japan Trade Deficit Not ‘Changing Rapidly’

U.S.-Japan Trade Deficit Not ‘Changing Rapidly’

In Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the trade deficit with Japan is “changing rapidly.” In fact, the U.S. deficit in goods and services with Japan is up slightly under Trump.

Misinformation Flows Following Epstein’s Death

Misinformation Flows Following Epstein’s Death

Unfounded claims and baseless conspiracy theories have run rampant in the aftermath of the Aug. 10 death of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Here we recap some of the stories that we have written so far on the Epstein case.

Bogus Conspiracy Theory Claims Epstein is Alive

Bogus Conspiracy Theory Claims Epstein is Alive

A Facebook post from a user who appears to subscribe to QAnon conspiracies claims that Jeffrey Epstein is not dead. The theory is based solely on a news photo that shows an unresponsive Epstein being wheeled into a hospital on a gurney.

Harris, Warren Wrong About Brown Shooting

Harris, Warren Wrong About Brown Shooting

On Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in what the Obama administration’s Department of Justice determined was an act of “self-defense.” But Sens. Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren referred to Brown’s death as a “murder.”

Photos Don’t Tell the Whole Story on Border Trash

Photos Don’t Tell the Whole Story on Border Trash

Old pictures of trash strewn in the Arizona desert are circulating on Facebook with the suggestion that they were taken recently and that the media failed to cover it. Neither of those things is true.

Biden Takes Trump Quote Out of Context

Biden Takes Trump Quote Out of Context

In a speech that assailed President Donald Trump for a lack of “moral leadership,” Joe Biden falsely claimed that Trump “asserted that immigrants would, quote, ‘carve you up with a knife.’” Trump said that about MS-13 gang members, not immigrants.