There were some factual missteps in several nominating speeches by lawmakers as Rep. Kevin McCarthy repeatedly fell short of the votes needed to become speaker of the House. Read more»
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The Ukrainian aid legislation, which passed with broad bipartisan approval, includes about $19 billion for military support - though not all of that will be transferred to Ukraine - and the rest of the $40 billion included humanitarian and economic aid, among other measures. Read more»
The American Rescue Plan came after two pandemic stimulus laws were enacted under former President Donald Trump, worth a total of $3.1 trillion - but relief spending is hardly the only inflation factor, with the fallout from the pandemic the root of the matter. Read more»
In a May 10 speech on inflation and the economy, President Joe Biden made some misleading claims and used political spin to criticize Republicans and promote his policies. Read more»
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 or whether the industry is holding back - both sides are spinning the facts. Read more»
The Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was the culmination of months of false claims about election fraud, and on that day — and afterward — FactCheck debunked false, misleading and unfounded claims related to the events that day. Here is a summary of the coverage. Read more»
In the laboratory, some mouthwashes used outside the U.S. have been shown to block infectivity or suppress SARS-CoV-2, but clinical trials involving people are not conclusive and researchers are continuing to study the matter, despite a claim by Sen. Ron Johnson. Read more»
FactCheck: Benefits outweigh risks of pediatric COVID vaccine, contrary to posts misusing VAERS data
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System can detect possible safety issues in vaccines, but anyone can submit an unverified report, and viral messages continue to misuse the VAERS data, and flawed calculations, to claim the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children is unsafe. Read more»
For weeks, President Joe Biden has been saying the Build Back Better plan would be “fully paid for” and would not increase the deficit - but the official congressional scorekeeper in its long-awaited final analysis contradicted the president’s claims. Read more»
Raw numbers of hospitalizations or deaths among the vaccinated are not a good indicator of whether vaccines are effective - if the large majority of a population is vaccinated, it’s not surprising if most deaths are among the vaccinated - but social media posts suggest otherwise. Read more»
Both Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, the senators who negotiated a bipartisan infrastructure bill, have claimed the legislation is “paid for” - but a budget watchdog group says the bill only pays for about half of the $548 billion in new spending. Read more»
In a prime-time town hall aired on CNN, President Joe Biden overstated some facts about the coronavirus vaccines, and misled on other jobs, car prices and government trust facts. Read more»
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. Read more»
So far, COVID-19 vaccines have been effective against variants of the coronavirus, and social media claims blaming vaccination for an impending variant “disaster” are hypothetical predictions that ignore life-saving benefits of the vaccines. Read more»
Democrats and Republicans are pointing fingers over an increase in illegal immigration at the southern border, and notably an increase in children traveling alone. While Democrats argue the surge began before President Joe Biden took office, Republicans argue Biden’s welcoming policies are to blame. A rise in border apprehensions did begin prior to the election under then-President Donald Trump. But the increase in unaccompanied children has spiked significantly in the first full month of the Biden administration. Read more»
In his remarks to the nation after signing the latest COVID-19 relief legislation, President Joe Biden stretched the facts, particularly when boasting of the increase in vaccinations on his watch. Read more»