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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Old Hoax Shows Up in Posts About Nashville School Shooter

Old Hoax Shows Up in Posts About Nashville School Shooter

False claims about the shooter at a Christian elementary school in Nashville have been swirling on social media. Police shot and killed the suspect, whom they identified as 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale. The person was not named “Samantha Hyde” — a reference to a long-running internet hoax.

Plan B Pills Still Legal in Tennessee and Missouri, Contrary to Social Media Claims

Plan B Pills Still Legal in Tennessee and Missouri, Contrary to Social Media Claims

Proposed legislation in Tennessee and Missouri would not regulate Plan B contraception pills, and experts say state “trigger laws” that would take effect if Roe v. Wade were overturned will not ban methods of birth control. But social media posts falsely claim that both states have banned Plan B – the morning-after pill.

Social Media Posts Misrepresent Tennessee Bill Allowing Common Law Marriage

Social Media Posts Misrepresent Tennessee Bill Allowing Common Law Marriage

A Tennessee bill is aimed at excluding same-sex couples from proposed common law marriage contracts. Social media posts misleadingly claim the bill would allow child marriage and “legalize pedophilia.” The bill initially omitted a minimum age, but was amended on April 6 to say individuals must be at least 18 years old.

Rep.-elect Green Wrong About Vaccines, CDC Fraud

Rep.-elect Green Wrong About Vaccines, CDC Fraud

At a town hall event on Dec. 11, Rep.-elect Mark Green of Tennessee inaccurately claimed that vaccine preservatives might cause autism. He also repeated an unsubstantiated claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “fraudulently managed” data that showed a link between vaccinations and autism.

Republican Closing Ads: Immigration

Republican Closing Ads: Immigration

In the final days of the 2018 election, Republicans across the country are running TV ads about immigration that falsely accuse some Democrats of wanting “open borders,” plotting to “abolish ICE,” supporting “sanctuary cities” and more.

Health Care Spin in Tennessee

Health Care Spin in Tennessee

A Democratic TV ad in the Tennessee Senate race spins the facts on votes that Rep. Marsha Blackburn cast on health care.

Trump’s Tennessee Tale

Trump’s Tennessee Tale

In making his case to replace the Affordable Care Act, President Trump falsely claimed that in Tennessee “half of the state has no insurance company” on the ACA marketplace. In fact, all eight of the state’s rating areas have at least one carrier and three of them have two carriers.

Boehner’s ‘Bipartisan’ Bunk

Boehner’s ‘Bipartisan’ Bunk

House Speaker John Boehner exaggerates when he says “almost all” of the 46 “jobs bills” awaiting action in the Senate “passed the House on a bipartisan basis.” Exactly half of those bills got less than 20 Democratic votes, including two that got no votes.