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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

The Facts on Judge Jackson’s Defense Work for Gitmo Detainees

The Facts on Judge Jackson’s Defense Work for Gitmo Detainees
March 22, 2022

In the first day of Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn echoed a party talking point, saying that Jackson used her “time and talent not to serve our nation’s veterans or other vulnerable groups, but to provide free legal services to help terrorists get out of Gitmo and go back to the fight.” Jackson was a federal public defender on four cases, in which the men were not convicted, and continued to represent one man when she worked for a private firm.

Video Shows Climate Protest in Austria, Not ‘Crisis Actors’ in Ukraine

Video Shows Climate Protest in Austria, Not ‘Crisis Actors’ in Ukraine
March 22, 2022

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a barrage of false claims on social media, including posts that purport to show a video of “crisis actors” portraying dead victims of the fighting. The video used in the posts is from a climate protest held in Vienna, Austria, weeks before the war in Ukraine began.

Zelensky Remains in Ukraine, Despite False Claims on Social Media

Zelensky Remains in Ukraine, Despite False Claims on Social Media
March 21, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appeared in several recent videos that show he has remained in the country since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. But a post circulating on Facebook falsely claims he fled and recorded a video using a green screen to make it appear as though he’s still in Ukraine. There’s no evidence to support the claim. A digital forensics expert told us that nothing in the video indicates it was filmed using a green screen.

Posts Misinterpret Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Monitoring Document

Posts Misinterpret Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Monitoring Document
March 18, 2022

A Pfizer document recently released by the Food and Drug Administration describes adverse events reported following vaccination and attests to the continued safety of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. A popular video and other online posts, however, incorrectly imply that the vaccine caused the events.

Polio Vaccine Is a Four-Shot Series, Contrary to Greene Comments

Polio Vaccine Is a Four-Shot Series, Contrary to Greene Comments
March 18, 2022

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it “recommends that children get four doses of polio vaccine.” But Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, when speaking against a potential fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccines, wrongly suggested that the CDC doesn’t recommend four shots of the polio vaccine.

Ads Attacking Dr. Oz

Ads Attacking Dr. Oz
March 17, 2022

A super PAC that supports Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick has been flooding the airwaves in the Keystone State with ads attacking his opponent, cardiac surgeon and TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, as a “Hollywood liberal” and RINO, or Republican in Name Only. We’ll provide some context about the claims.

Ads Attacking Dave McCormick

Ads Attacking Dave McCormick
March 17, 2022

The campaign of Dr. Mehmet Oz and a super PAC supporting him are running ads that seek to paint his chief rival in the Pennsylvania Senate Republican primary, Dave McCormick, as a “friend” of China who outsourced Pittsburgh jobs and is out of step with former President Donald Trump. But the ads distort some facts to make that case.

Both Sides Spin Domestic Oil Production

Both Sides Spin Domestic Oil Production
March 17, 2022

With the U.S. blocking new purchases of Russian oil, the White House, Republicans and the oil industry are engaged in a disagreement over whether the administration has hampered domestic oil production on federal land or whether the industry is holding back. Both sides are spinning the facts.

Fauci Continues Making Public Appearances and Hasn’t ‘Disappeared’

Fauci Continues Making Public Appearances and Hasn’t ‘Disappeared’
March 17, 2022

Dr. Anthony Fauci has continued making public appearances, although news coverage has largely shifted away from the pandemic since Russia invaded Ukraine in February and COVID-19 cases have dramatically fallen. Some politicians and pundits, however, have suggested that Fauci has become so unpopular that he has “disappeared” from public view. He hasn’t. Fauci has made at least a dozen public appearances since Feb. 15.