Social media posts seeking to discredit the judge who presided over former President Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York have been circulating online. Contrary to a popular meme, the judge’s wife works for a Republican district attorney, not the Democratic state attorney general, and his daughter was not personally paid by a high-profile Democrat.
We answer some of the questions raised by former President Donald Trump’s conviction in New York.
Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty by a jury in New York on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an effort to conceal election law violations after buying the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels, shortly before the 2016 election. Trump repeatedly has made false and misleading statements about the case and trial.
Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego has consistently said that he opposes allowing anyone other than United States citizens to vote in Arizona and in federal elections. But in a campaign ad attacking him, Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake misleadingly claims that the congressman “supports … allowing illegals to vote.”
A Michigan town clerk pleaded no contest in 2023 to a charge of misconduct in office. Social media posts misleadingly highlight her case to push the false narrative that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged.” The clerk’s case was related to her local primary race, not the presidential election.
FBI agents who searched for classified documents held by former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2022 followed standard protocol. But Trump supporters and social media posts now falsely claim the raid was an “attempted assassination” of Trump. The claim is based on a misquote of FBI policy in a legal motion — and Trump wasn’t in Florida during the search.
In a May 19 interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Sen. Marco Rubio made misleading and unsubstantiated claims about election fraud in states lost by then-President Donald Trump in 2020.
College commencement remarks by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker on the roles of women drew widespread criticism, including from Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder. Social media posts falsely claimed Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs play, then canceled concerts by the band. A team spokesperson said Pearl Jam was “never scheduled to perform” at the venue.
A rare risk of dangerous blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was identified and reported in early 2021. This month, the company announced it was pulling the vaccine off the market globally, citing a decline in demand. Social media posts misleadingly linked the decision to the company having “admitted” the rare side effect “for the first time” in court documents and used it to impugn all vaccines.
In a speech at a National Rifle Association convention, former President Donald Trump deceptively stoked fears that if President Joe Biden is reelected, the government will be “coming for your guns.” Biden has advocated a ban on so-called assault weapons, but he has not proposed confiscating ones currently owned. Trump followed it up by claiming that gun owners don’t vote as often as non-gun owners. That’s wrong.