Vice President Kamala Harris supports a ban on the sale of so-called assault weapons, but no longer supports a mandatory buyback program for such guns. The National Rifle Association misleadingly claims that Harris will “ban law-abiding Americans from owning” guns and “seize your legally owned guns.” Her proposal would not ban all guns or seize any guns.
Vice President Kamala Harris has said that she will not attempt to ban fracking if elected president, a reversal of a position that she took during her 2020 presidential campaign. But a TV ad from Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick claims that Harris “will make” hundreds of thousands of fracking-dependent jobs in Pennsylvania “disappear.”
Rumors about Ryan Wesley Routh, who staked out Trump International Golf Club in Florida on Sept. 15, have been flying on social media. Some claim he “is a registered democrat.” Others claim he “is a Republican.” Routh was once registered as a Democrat, but said he voted for Donald Trump in 2016. He is not currently registered with any party.
The arrest of Ryan Wesley Routh in an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has sparked unfounded claims online that Routh had “inside” knowledge of Trump’s plans. Public reports about Trump’s schedule indicated his likely whereabouts, and evidence shows Routh staked out the site for about 12 hours.
Pop star Taylor Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Sept. 10. Social media posts falsely claim that, as a result, Swift’s ticket sales have plummeted and some of her concerts and a major endorsement deal have been canceled. The remaining U.S. shows on Swift’s Eras tour are all sold out, and she has not lost her partnership with Coca-Cola.
Former President Donald Trump cited the dubious results of a poll commissioned by a conservative group as the foundation for his latest claim of rampant voter fraud among mail-in voters.
Former President Donald Trump has been the target of two assassination attempts over the past three months. Viral posts are now spreading the false claim that police discovered explosives in a vehicle near a Trump campaign rally in New York on Sept. 18. Police said the claim is “unfounded.”
Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, circulated a baseless rumor on social media that the residents of Springfield, Ohio, “have had their pets abducted and eaten by” immigrants. Now, Vance has cherry-picked data to make the unfounded claim that immigrants are responsible for an 81% increase in the city’s murders.
Responding to rising mpox cases in Africa, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern on Aug. 14. Social media posts subsequently repeated a plethora of false or baseless claims, including that COVID-19 vaccines cause the viral disease or that the current outbreak is part of a global conspiracy.
Case numbers for the global mpox outbreak have decreased since 2022, but the situation in Africa has noticeably worsened. On Aug. 14, the World Health Organization once again declared an mpox public health emergency of international concern. Here, we answer questions about the current increase in mpox cases, the international public health emergency and what this means for people in Africa and globally.