After Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes funding to increase staff at the IRS, social media posts falsely claimed members of Congress “voted to exempt themselves from IRS auditing of their personal finances.” An IRS spokesperson told us “there is no such special exemption,” and we found no such vote had been taken.
An image of elected officials playing a computer card game has gone viral on social media. But the photo is from 2009, and it shows state lawmakers in Connecticut, not members of Congress.
Facebook posts shared by thousands of people make the unsupported assertion that “3 Muslim congress women” are refusing to uphold the Constitution.
Q: Has $17 million in taxpayer money been spent on sexual harassment settlements for members of Congress?
A: No. That figure also includes payments for other types of settlements, as well as payments on behalf of employees other than members of Congress over a 21-year period.
Q: Is Congress considering a bill that would allow police to track “all Americans” with microchips?
A: No. A popular story on Facebook distorts the implications of proposed legislation to help locate missing Alzheimer’s patients and autistic children.
Q: Have Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Keith Olbermann introduced a bill that would do away with the requirement that the U.S. president be a natural born citizen?
A: No. Pelosi’s office confirmed that she has not, and Olbermann is not even a member of Congress.