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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Crist Ads Misrepresent DeSantis Statements on Abortion and Background Checks on Guns

Crist Ads Misrepresent DeSantis Statements on Abortion and Background Checks on Guns

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to eliminate state permit requirements for carrying concealed firearms, and he supports banning abortion, with limited exceptions, after 15 weeks of pregnancy. But political ads from former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s campaign misleadingly claim that DeSantis opposes “any background checks” on gun buyers and “wants to ban abortion” in all cases.

Florida GOP Attacks Crist with Misleading Claims About the IRS and Police

Florida GOP Attacks Crist with Misleading Claims About the IRS and Police

President Biden and Democrat Charlie Crist have said that they don’t support calls to defund the police. And a law that both men supported provides funding for the IRS to potentially hire tens of thousands of new employees — mostly in customer service, not tax auditing, bureau officials have said. But a Florida GOP ad makes distorted claims about both issues.

Fetterman’s Commutation Vote on Convicted Murderer

Fetterman’s Commutation Vote on Convicted Murderer

A Republican super PAC’s ad labels Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman “dangerously liberal on crime,” citing a case in which Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, voted to recommend the commutation of a life sentence for a man convicted of murder in 1970. We thought readers may want to know more of the context of the case.

Trump Distorts Facts in Pennsylvania Rally

Trump Distorts Facts in Pennsylvania Rally

As the Department of Justice investigates his handling of highly classified documents, former President Donald Trump spoke for nearly two hours in a rally in Pennsylvania that was filled with false, exaggerated and misleading statements.

Biden’s Campaign-Style Distortions

Biden’s Campaign-Style Distortions

As the midterm elections draw near, President Joe Biden has delivered campaign-style speeches that misstated statistics on the COVID-19 pandemic, may leave the wrong impression that police officers were killed during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and overstated the impact of the Affordable Care Act.

Post Makes Baseless Allegations About Public Health Response to Monkeypox Outbreak

Post Makes Baseless Allegations About Public Health Response to Monkeypox Outbreak

A post published in English and Spanish repeats the debunked idea that the current monkeypox outbreak might have resulted from a virus that was created in a lab. The post also baselessly alleges that the World Health Organization’s decision to declare the outbreak a public health emergency was due to financial incentives.

Commentator Ben Shapiro Didn’t Receive $20K in Federal Loan Forgiveness

Commentator Ben Shapiro Didn’t Receive $20K in Federal Loan Forgiveness

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro criticized the Biden administration’s decision to forgive some student loan debt. Liberal social media accounts then falsely claimed Shapiro had received a loan of about $20,000 that had been forgiven as part of the federal Paycheck Protection Program. Two other people with the same name had received PPP loans.

Q&A on Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness

Q&A on Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness

The White House announced on Aug. 24 that President Joe Biden will take action this year to cancel thousands of dollars in federal student loan debt for millions of Americans, fulfilling a campaign promise he made during the 2020 election cycle. We answer some of the questions readers may have about the debt relief plan, and address political claims about the impact of the plan.