In addition to former President Donald Trump, the indictment handed up by a state grand jury in Georgia names 18 defendants. Here we identify them and what they are alleged to have done.
Trump’s Co-Conspirators in Georgia
Republicans Oversell Archer’s Testimony About Hunter and Joe Biden
Congressional testimony by Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Devon Archer, on July 31 led to competing narratives about what Archer said, and how damaging his testimony was to President Joe Biden. We sort through the facts.
Posts Exaggerate Significance of Swiss Study on Heart Risk and COVID-19 Vaccination
A Swiss study found that after a COVID-19 booster, less than 3% of people briefly had a slightly elevated blood level of a protein that can be a marker of heart injury. No one in the study had any serious heart damage, and other experts say the findings are unlikely to be clinically significant. Viral posts, however, are spinning the results to falsely claim that the study shows the vaccine’s risks are “off the scale.”
Post Distorts Florida School Policy on ‘Romeo and Juliet’
A Florida school district is allowing students to read only excerpts of “Romeo and Juliet” in class — not passages with sexual content. But a Facebook post incorrectly suggests all Florida high schools are removing the “full text” of the play from classrooms. The state’s education commissioner included the play on a recommended reading list for grades nine to 12.
RFK Jr.’s COVID-19 Deceptions
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s battle against vaccines — and against the institutions that promote them — goes back to at least the mid-2000s, as we explain in the first article of this series. But the arrival of COVID-19 gave the environmental attorney fresh grounds to intensify his attacks and a timely platform to gain new followers and revenue.
Video Misrepresents Lasting Effects of Nuclear Bombs Dropped on Japan During World War II
The United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, killing hundreds of thousands of people to force Japan’s surrender in World War II. A video on social media falsely claims the cities “were never nuked,” reasoning that nuclear bombs would have made those cities “uninhabitable for thousands of years.”
Trump Makes Unsubstantiated Claim About Fani Willis
There is no evidence that Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, had “an affair” with a “gang member” she was investigating, as former President Donald Trump claimed in a campaign speech.
What RFK Jr. Gets Wrong About Autism
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes a variety of incorrect or misleading claims about vaccines, COVID-19 and other health-related topics. But his views on vaccines rose to prominence when he began to advance the thoroughly debunked idea that they cause autism.
Trump’s Defense Lawyer Spins the Facts
John Lauro, one of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers, went on five Sunday talk shows to present a counternarrative to a federal indictment that accuses Trump of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to remain in office despite losing to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
FactChecking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine advocate, is running for president as a Democrat. Our SciCheck team has combed through his recent interviews to identify and correct some of his most common health claims in a three-part series. In this first installment, we address several of his talking points about vaccines.