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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Meme Inflates School Shooting Deaths

Meme Inflates School Shooting Deaths

A meme circulating online claims that 7,182 students have been “killed in U.S. schools” since 2012, but that number is inflated. It likely refers to all firearm fatalities involving children, including suicides and shootings off campus.

Kamala Harris Spins Facts on Truancy Law

Kamala Harris Spins Facts on Truancy Law

Sen. Kamala Harris acknowledges that a 2010 state truancy law she sponsored resulted in some parents being jailed. But she misleadingly claims that jailing parents was an “unintended consequence” of the law.

The ‘Raccoon’ Rant Not Written by Steve Harvey

The ‘Raccoon’ Rant Not Written by Steve Harvey

Q: Did the comedian Steve Harvey author a post in support of President Donald Trump circulating on social media?

A: No. It was written by an anonymous, 80-year-old American, according to the conservative website that first published it in 2016.

O’Rourke Wrong on Gun Control Stat

O’Rourke Wrong on Gun Control Stat

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke advocated universal background checks for gun purchases, claiming that state laws mandating universal checks “have been shown to reduce gun violence by 50 percent.” But academic research doesn’t support that.

Trump Distorts the Facts on Disaster Relief

Trump Distorts the Facts on Disaster Relief

President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Democrats “are trying to stop” disaster relief aid from going to several states. This is an old political trick of claiming the other party doesn’t support something, when both parties support it but have pushed different versions of the legislation.

Steve King’s Climate Change Rainfall Claims

Steve King’s Climate Change Rainfall Claims

In a recent town hall, Iowa Rep. Steve King focused on the positives of climate change, inaccurately stating that increased evaporation under higher temperatures will lead to rain in “more and more places” — a result that’s “surely gotta shrink the deserts and expand the green growth.”

Trump: 17 Repeats in 17 Hours

Trump: 17 Repeats in 17 Hours

Over the course of 17 hours, President Donald Trump repeated 17 false and misleading claims that we have written about since he became president.

Trump ‘Quote’ Originated as Satire

Trump ‘Quote’ Originated as Satire

President Donald Trump didn’t call for the “death penalty” for “suicide bombers,” as social media posts say. That’s a made-up quote from a satirical story published in 2017.

Trump on Tariff Revenue

Trump on Tariff Revenue

On the eve of the latest round of U.S.-China trade talks, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the U.S. collects “over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs.” The U.S. collected $41 billion in fiscal year 2018, and has collected $34.7 billion through the first six months of this fiscal year.

No, Climate Change Isn’t ‘Made Up’

No, Climate Change Isn’t ‘Made Up’

A popular social media post claims that climate change is a “made-up catastrophe,” despite a large body of evidence that supports the scientific consensus that it is real.