In several recent speeches to members of the military, President Joe Biden has sprinkled in a curious piece of trivia about his wife, Jill, saying he thinks she is the only second lady to visit a war zone. She isn’t.
Second Ladies in Combat Zones
House GOP’s Misplaced Blame for Rising Homicides
On Twitter, the House Republican Conference posted an image of rising homicide rates in seven cities with this bit of misleading commentary: “Welcome to President Biden’s America.”
Democrat Makes Misleading ‘Defund the Police’ Claim
A senior aide to President Joe Biden misleadingly claimed that congressional Republicans “defunded the police” when they voted against the American Rescue Plan Act. House and Senate Republicans didn’t support the legislation, but it wasn’t a vote to cut or eliminate federal funding for law enforcement, as the claim may have led viewers to believe.
Spoof Video Furthers Microchip Conspiracy Theory
A list of the ingredients used in COVID-19 vaccines is publicly available, and the ingredients don’t include microchips. Yet claims advancing conspiracy theories that they do continue to flourish. A recent video purports to show a microchip reader for pets detecting a chip in a vaccinated person’s arm — but the original video was created as a joke.
Flawed Paper on COVID-19 Vaccines, Deaths Spreads Widely Before Retraction
The COVID-19 vaccines have been shown in trials and real-world application to be safe and effective. But a paper shared widely online claimed that vaccines cause two deaths for every three lives saved. Experts say the analysis misinterpreted data and was flawed — and it has now been retracted by the journal that published it.
No New Revelation on Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19
Randomized controlled trials — the highest standard of evidence — have found that hydroxychloroquine isn’t beneficial in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Yet social media posts are claiming the drug works, and conservative outlets have touted an unpublished, and much-criticized, observational study as evidence of the drug’s effectiveness.
COVID-19 Vaccine-Generated Spike Protein is Safe, Contrary to Viral Claims
There is no evidence to indicate that the spike proteins generated by human cells following vaccination are a toxin or that they circulate in the body and damage tissues, contrary to what a Canadian virus immunologist recently claimed.
Unsubstantiated Claims Follow Deaths of British and Indian Airline Pilots
Following the deaths of four British Airways pilots and five Air India pilots, social media posts claimed without proof that the pilots died as a result of receiving COVID-19 vaccines. Air India said its pilots died from COVID-19. British Airways said “there is no truth whatsoever in the claims on social media speculating that the four deaths are linked.”
Misinformation About WHO’s COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance for Children
A World Health Organization advisory group has concluded that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine “is suitable for use by people aged 12 years and above,” and is specifically recommending it for children ages 12 to 15 who are at high risk of severe COVID-19. The WHO did not say “stop giving kids the vaxx immediately,” as some have claimed online.
The Facts – and Gaps – on the Origin of the Coronavirus
Despite increased media attention to the possibility that the novel coronavirus may have escaped from a lab, no credible evidence has emerged to support it and most scientists think the virus likely has a natural origin.