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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Social Media Swirls With Unsupported Claims About Cause of Justin and Hailey Bieber’s Medical Conditions

Social Media Swirls With Unsupported Claims About Cause of Justin and Hailey Bieber’s Medical Conditions
June 22, 2022

Pop star Justin Bieber announced he has Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a form of facial paralysis caused by a reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. Social media posts have claimed his condition was caused by COVID-19 vaccination, but there is no established link between vaccination and the syndrome. Some posts have also baselessly claimed vaccination was behind a mini-stroke suffered by Bieber’s wife, Hailey.

NRSC’s Misleading Green New Deal Attack on Fetterman

NRSC’s Misleading Green New Deal Attack on Fetterman
June 17, 2022

John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, says he “never supported the Green New Deal” though he does support a longer-term transition away from fossil fuels. Nonetheless, a TV ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee argues that Fetterman is “too radical” and misleadingly tries to put a price tag on his position, saying that Fetterman has “embraced parts of the Green New Deal that’d cost you 50,000 bucks a year.”

Democratic Congressman Exaggerates Number of Gun ‘Massacres’

Democratic Congressman Exaggerates Number of Gun ‘Massacres’
June 15, 2022

In discussing a bipartisan Senate proposal to address gun violence, Rep. Jamie Raskin exaggerated when he said there have been “more massacres than days in 2022.” Using the source supplied by the congressman’s office, guns were used in 14 “mass murders” so far this year.

Posts Distort Questionable Study on COVID-19 Vaccination and EMS Calls

Posts Distort Questionable Study on COVID-19 Vaccination and EMS Calls
June 15, 2022

Studies have found that COVID-19 increases the risk for heart complications, and that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risks for males and females in all age groups. Social media posts, however, have misinterpreted and publicized a criticized study that claims to have identified a correlation between emergency calls for cardiac events and the vaccination rate in Israel.

Examining Uvalde’s Police Spending

Examining Uvalde’s Police Spending
June 14, 2022

For the fiscal year ending in September, spending on police is expected to account for 37% of general fund expenditures in the city of Uvalde, Texas. But police spending is projected to make up about 17% of the city’s total operating expenditures, contrary to imprecise claims made by some politicians and news organizations.

Trump Ignored Aides, Repeated False Fraud Claims

Trump Ignored Aides, Repeated False Fraud Claims
June 14, 2022

At the second hearing of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, former President Donald Trump’s top aides testified that they told him his claims of election fraud were baseless. What Trump characterized as “fraud” was just part of the “normal process,” as former Attorney General William Barr said in one instance.

Evidence Gaps in ‘2000 Mules’

Evidence Gaps in ‘2000 Mules’
June 10, 2022

A conservative film now playing in select theaters around the country isn’t “determinative, definitive” proof of widespread voter fraud, as former President Donald Trump has claimed.

Vaccinated People Not More Susceptible to COVID-19 Than Unvaccinated

Vaccinated People Not More Susceptible to COVID-19 Than Unvaccinated
June 10, 2022

Q. Are vaccinated and boosted people more susceptible to infection or disease with the omicron variant than unvaccinated people?
A. No. Getting vaccinated increases your protection against COVID-19. Sometimes, certain raw data can suggest otherwise, but that information cannot be used to determine how well a vaccine works.