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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Obama’s Private ‘Military’ Doesn’t Exist

Obama’s Private ‘Military’ Doesn’t Exist

Q: Did former President Barack Obama create a “security company” that’s a secret “military” organization?

A: There are no records of Obama starting a “security company” in the city and states cited by a viral claim.

Headline Misrepresents Executive Order

Headline Misrepresents Executive Order

Q: Did President Donald Trump sign an executive order to “eliminate mass amounts of Democrat voters”?

A: No. Trump signed an executive order to change work requirements for welfare recipients.

False Headline on a Hot Topic

False Headline on a Hot Topic

Q: Did Democrats in Maine legalize female genital mutilation?

A: No. That practice is illegal across the U.S.

League of Conservation Voters

An environmental group launched in 1969 that targets a “Dirty Dozen” list of politicians for defeat.

Morrisey Didn’t Deny West Virginians Trump

Morrisey Didn’t Deny West Virginians Trump

In the Republican Senate primary in West Virginia, a TV ad attacking West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey falsely claims that he “refused to support Trump over Hillary.”

Clearing Up A Misleading Headline

Clearing Up A Misleading Headline

Q: Has Rod Rosenstein “cleared” President Donald Trump?

A: No. The investigation of Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, and another into Russian meddling in the 2016 election are both ongoing.

Trump Wrong on Comey ‘Leak,’ McCabe Funds

Trump Wrong on Comey ‘Leak,’ McCabe Funds

President Donald Trump claimed a memo that former FBI Director James Comey gave to a friend “in order to get a special counsel against me” was “all classified … totally classified.” That’s wrong. It was unclassified at the time and remains unclassified.

California Bill Wouldn’t Ban the Bible

California Bill Wouldn’t Ban the Bible

Q: Is California considering legislation that would ban the Bible?

A: No. Online stories making that claim have misrepresented a bill that would outlaw the advertising and selling of “sexual orientation change efforts.”

FactChecking McCarthy’s Statistics

FactChecking McCarthy’s Statistics

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy got some of his facts wrong about mandatory spending and the labor participation rate during a recent appearance on Fox Business.

Did the Polio Vaccine Cause Cancer?

Did the Polio Vaccine Cause Cancer?

Q: Did people develop cancer because of the polio vaccine?

A: There are no known cases, and it’s very unlikely. In the 1950s and 1960s, people did receive polio vaccines contaminated with a virus that causes cancer in rodents. But research suggests this virus doesn’t cause cancer in humans.