Our latest quarterly report on various statistical indicators comes less than three weeks before Election Day.
Biden’s Numbers, 2024 Pre-Election Update
Pence Hasn’t Endorsed Harris, Contrary to Edited Video on Social Media
Former Vice President Mike Pence has said he will not endorse former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, but Pence has also said he “could never” vote for Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. An edited video on social media misleadingly purports to show Pence endorsing Harris. He did not.
Trump’s Spin on Tax Cuts Raising Revenues
Former President Donald Trump is proposing to lower the federal corporate tax rate to 15%, insisting that when he lowered it to 21% starting in 2018, revenues received by the government actually went up due to economic growth it spurred. Economists say that’s not what happened.
Post Misrepresents Impact of Voter Registrations Delivered to Maricopa County
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk made an unsupported claim online that a liberal group “attempted to inject chaos” into the 2024 election by dropping off 20,000 voter registrations in Maricopa County on the last eligible day. It’s unclear whether any group delivered that many forms, but experts say that amount can be processed by election offices.
Meme Rehashes Old, False Claim That J6 Committee Destroyed Evidence
The House committee that investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, issued a more than 800-page report presenting and analyzing the evidence about what happened that day. It also released videos, transcribed interviews, depositions and other documents. But some high-profile conservatives are now making the false claim that the committee destroyed “all the evidence.”
Misinformation Floods Hurricane Season
The 2024 hurricane season has brought with it a deluge of conspiracy theories and false or misleading claims about storms that have devastated some parts of the country and killed hundreds of people.
Trump’s False Claims of ‘No Help’ or Helicopters Sent for Helene Victims
In his continued attack on the federal response to Hurricane Helene, former President Donald Trump falsely said that no helicopters and no help were sent to the affected areas for days, blaming Vice President Kamala Harris. There’s plenty of evidence that helicopters have been used and that federal, state and local disaster recovery teams have responded to help victims of the storm.
Baseless Claims Proliferate on Hurricanes and Weather Modification
Experts say people cannot create or meaningfully alter hurricanes through existing weather modification techniques. That has not stopped a deluge of social media posts baselessly claiming or implying that Hurricanes Helene and Milton were intentionally created, steered or otherwise controlled by someone.
Harris Makes Unsupported Claim About Fentanyl Flows
Federal data do not show that “the flow” or “intake” of illegal fentanyl into the United States has been cut “by half” during the Biden-Harris administration, as Vice President Kamala Harris claimed in television interviews.
Social Media Posts Misrepresent Airspace Restrictions After Hurricane Helene
The Federal Aviation Administration regularly restricts the airspace over areas affected by natural disasters to allow rescue and relief efforts to take place. But this routine activity has sparked misleading posts online that claimed volunteer drone operators were banned from helping in recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene.