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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Does Obama Want a Higher Pension?

Does Obama Want a Higher Pension?

No. Obama requested an additional $588,000 in FY2017 to cover pensions and other costs for four former presidents plus “new spending for new former President Barack Obama.”

The Clinton Furniture Flap

The Clinton Furniture Flap

Q: Did Bill and Hillary Clinton return furniture they took from the White House in 2001?
A: Yes. The Clintons returned more than $28,000 worth of items, which, they said, they thought were personal gifts given to them and not to the White House.

VA Funds and Syrian Refugees

VA Funds and Syrian Refugees

Q: Did President Obama cut benefits for veterans by $2.6 billion to give the money to Syrian refugees?

A: No. The Department of Veterans Affairs transferred funds to close a $2.6 billion gap in a health care program. The transfer is unrelated to Syrian refugee aid.

Obama’s Funeral Attendance

Obama’s Funeral Attendance

Q: Is President Obama the only president not to attend funeral services for a sitting Supreme Court justice (Antonin Scalia) or a former first lady (Nancy Reagan)?

A: Obama is not the first president to miss the funeral of a sitting justice, and presidents rarely attend the funerals of former first ladies.

GMOs Didn’t Cause Zika Outbreak

GMOs Didn’t Cause Zika Outbreak

Q: Did genetically modified mosquitoes cause the Zika outbreak?
A: No. In fact, GM mosquitoes may be able to help control the virus’ spread.

Dearborn’s Anti-ISIS Rally

Dearborn’s Anti-ISIS Rally

Q: Was there a pro-ISIS rally in Dearborn, Michigan, on Dec. 5?
A: No. Actually, there was an anti-ISIS rally on Dec. 5 in Dearborn. False information about that rally was spread on social media. 

Bogus Meme Targets Trump

Bogus Meme Targets Trump

Q: Did Donald Trump tell People magazine in 1998 that if he ever ran for president, he’d do it as a Republican because “they’re the dumbest group of voters in the country” and that he “could lie and they’d still eat it up”?
A: No, that’s a bogus meme.

Hillary Clinton on Gun Deaths

Hillary Clinton on Gun Deaths

Q: Have 3,000 people been killed by guns in the U.S. in one month, from Oct. 13 to Nov. 14, 2015?
A: Comprehensive data aren’t available yet. The figures cited by Hillary Clinton during a Democratic debate are an extrapolation based on past years.

Senators Missing Votes

Senators Missing Votes

Q: Did Barack Obama and John Kerry miss 60 percent to 70 percent of their Senate votes while running for president, as Marco Rubio claimed?
A: Yes. Obama missed more than 64 percent of votes in 2008, and Kerry missed even more — nearly 90 percent — in 2004.