FactCheck.org has won its second consecutive Sigma Delta Chi Award for fact-checking from the Society of Professional Journalists.
FactCheck.org Wins Third Sigma Delta Chi Award
Evidence Points to Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines for Pregnant People
Clinical trials and medical studies have indicated that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe for pregnant people. But online posts misrepresent unverified reports submitted to vaccine monitoring systems in the U.S. and Europe to misleadingly suggest “920 women” lost babies because they received COVID-19 vaccines.
Facebook Post Misleads on Bipartisan Capitol Attack Report and Interview
On June 8, a bipartisan group of senators released a report on the security and intelligence failures related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The report did not “single out” former President Donald Trump “for inciting … the riots,” as a Facebook post from the advocacy group Occupy Democrats could lead social media users to believe.
SciCheck on the Radio
Managing Editor Lori Robertson discussed several of our recent SciCheck articles on the public radio show “Conversations on Health Care.”
Viral Posts, Pundits Distort Fauci Emails
Thousands of pages of redacted emails to and from Dr. Anthony Fauci are now publicly available, thanks to journalists’ Freedom of Information Act requests. Some of those messages have been distorted in viral posts, particularly about face masks, the origins of the coronavirus and the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine.
Understanding Pennsylvania’s Proposed Bill on Handling Fetal Remains
Q: Did Pennsylvania lawmakers vote to “fine” women who miscarry?
A: No. But a bill proposes to mandate that health care providers bury or cremate fetal remains, regardless of when or how the pregnancy ends. Experts say such requirements could translate to additional costs for women or their insurers.
Biden Exaggerates Opposition Votes from Moderates
President Joe Biden went too far when he claimed he hasn’t gotten more done legislatively because Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin “vote more with my Republican friends.” By one measure, both have voted with Biden’s position 100% of the time since he has been in office.
Dominion’s Defamation Lawsuits Are Still Active
Dominion Voting Systems has sued Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell for making false accusations of election fraud that defamed the company after the 2020 election. Both of those lawsuits are ongoing, but a false claim circulating on social media says that “Dominion LOST their law suits.”
Is Unemployment Bonus Keeping Workers on Sideline?
Despite a stubbornly high unemployment rate of 6.1% in April — representing 9.8 million people who say they are actively looking for work — many employers are reporting that they can’t find people to hire.
Caitlyn Jenner Overstates California’s Share of U.S. Homeless Population
As of January 2020, California had a little more than one-quarter of all the homeless people in the United States, according to the most recent federal estimates of homelessness.