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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Social Media, Politicians Make Unfounded Claims of Politicized Mar-a-Lago Search

Social Media, Politicians Make Unfounded Claims of Politicized Mar-a-Lago Search
August 11, 2022

FBI agents searched the home of former President Donald Trump in Florida on Aug. 8 looking for presidential records and classified materials that were improperly removed from the White House. Social media posts claiming the FBI search was politically motivated have been swirling online, despite there being no evidence that President Joe Biden “had his department of justice’s FBI raid” Trump’s home, as one viral post claimed.

Scott Overstates Tax Increases in Inflation Reduction Act

Scott Overstates Tax Increases in Inflation Reduction Act
August 11, 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act proposes to raise over $700 billion in new revenues over 10 years to be spent on energy, climate change initiatives, health care and deficit reduction. But not all of those revenues come via higher taxes. More than half comes from health care savings and from beefed up IRS tax enforcement.

Four False Claims About Monkeypox

Four False Claims About Monkeypox
August 5, 2022

Monkeypox is a viral disease that spreads through close physical contact with an infected person and large respiratory droplets that don’t travel more than a few feet. A recent meme on social media gets the facts wrong about how the virus spreads, its severity and symptoms.

Posts Make Unfounded Claims About Death of Al-Qaeda Leader

Posts Make Unfounded Claims About Death of Al-Qaeda Leader
August 5, 2022

The U.S. announced it had conducted a drone strike on July 31 killing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul. But social media posts make unfounded claims that al-Zawahiri had died in 2020 from asthma. The posts cite an unconfirmed story in a British tabloid, which reported a year later that al-Zawahiri was still alive.

Online ‘Stimulus Loan’ Offers Are Not Related to Government Programs

Online ‘Stimulus Loan’ Offers Are Not Related to Government Programs
August 5, 2022

Three stimulus payments have been sent to Americans to ease the economic impact of the pandemic. Social media posts are now sharing a false claim about a new, $40,000 federal stimulus loan. But it’s a marketing ploy. The bottom of the web page says, “This is not a government program nor is it government aid, this is an advertorial for a loan service.” 

How Does the Inflation Reduction Act Address Climate Change?

How Does the Inflation Reduction Act Address Climate Change?
August 4, 2022

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate plans to hold its first vote Aug. 6 on the Inflation Reduction Act. An estimated $369 billion over the next 10 years would go toward combating climate change and investing in “energy security.” Here we review some of the climate-focused provisions in the bill.