We lay out many of the key diplomatic decisions, military actions, presidential pronouncements and expert assessments of the withdrawal agreement that ended the U.S. military’s 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Timeline of U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Marine General Supports Vaccinations for Military
The secretary of defense announced that COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for all service members by mid-September. But social media posts have shared an article from a dubious website that falsely claimed that the leader of the Marines “rebuked” the vaccine mandate. A Marine Corps spokesperson told us “there is no truth” to the claim.
CDC Document Discusses Strategy To Protect Displaced People From COVID-19
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document reviews the challenges of using a “shielding” approach to protect high-risk people living in places such as refugee camps from COVID-19. But conservative commentator Candace Owens misinterpreted it to mean the agency was proposing putting high-risk Americans into camps.
Biden Leaves Misleading Impression on U.S. Debt
In promoting his own spending priorities, President Joe Biden blamed his predecessor’s “unpaid tax cuts and other spending” for increasing the national debt by nearly $8 trillion over four years. The total debt figure is correct, but trillions of that were due to bipartisan coronavirus relief packages.
Misinformation About Face Masks
A growing body of evidence supports the use of masks to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the effectiveness of masks is now being challenged again. Here we summarize some of our work over the past 16 months, based on categories of misinformation about masking.
Biden and Buttigieg Overstate Jobs Impact from Infrastructure Bill
President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg overstated the impact of the bipartisan, Senate-approved infrastructure bill on job creation, citing instead an economic forecast that includes the much larger and partisan “human infrastructure” bill.
Post Offers Misleading Advice on Mandatory Vaccines and Unemployment Benefits
As some companies mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees, a social media post misleadingly tells workers who don’t want the vaccine that they can collect unemployment benefits if they are fired. In most states, workers fired for violating company policy aimed at workplace safety are not entitled to unemployment benefits.
Indiana Doctor Piles On Bogus COVID-19 Claims in Viral Video
In a viral video, an Indiana physician baselessly claimed that the COVID-19 vaccines, which have been shown to be safe and effective, “fight the virus wrong and let the virus become worse than it would with native infection.” He also incorrectly said no vaccine prevents infection and contended that people previously infected with COVID-19 do not benefit from vaccination, despite studies that suggest otherwise.
Video: Irish Professor Makes Unfounded Claims About Long-Term Effects of mRNA Vaccines
Our latest video with Univision Noticias addresses baseless claims made by an Irish professor about the long-term effects of the mRNA vaccines.
Tax Credit for Plug-in Electric Vehicles Still Available for Certain Models
Dozens of electric cars and trucks still qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for buyers purchasing new plug-in electric vehicles. President Joe Biden misleadingly claimed that the Trump administration allowed the tax credit to expire, which, so far, is only the case for purchases of models made by Tesla and General Motors.