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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

RFK Jr.’s Unsupported Claims About Tylenol-Autism Study He Called ‘Garbage’

RFK Jr.’s Unsupported Claims About Tylenol-Autism Study He Called ‘Garbage’

During an April 17 congressional hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called for retraction of a new Danish study that didn’t find a link between Tylenol and autism, repeatedly calling it “garbage” and baselessly suggesting that it was industry-generated and “fraudulent.”

Definition of ‘86’ at the Heart of Comey Indictment

Definition of ‘86’ at the Heart of Comey Indictment

A federal indictment against former FBI Director James Comey hinges on the meaning of “86.” The Department of Justice said it indicates a threat of physical harm, while the more common dictionary definition is to throw out or get rid of something.

Providing Context for Leavitt’s Examples of ‘Violent Rhetoric’

Providing Context for Leavitt’s Examples of ‘Violent Rhetoric’

Two days after an armed man tried to enter the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cited rhetoric from Democrats that she said is “inspiring violence” against President Donald Trump and other Republicans. But several of the statements she quoted were stripped of their original context, a point that House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made in a rebuttal.

Project 2025 Series Wins National Headliner Award

Project 2025 Series Wins National Headliner Award

FactCheck.org has won a National Headliner Award for online beat reporting of government and political coverage. Our series on “How Project 2025 Has Unfolded Under Trump” won first place in that category.

The Persistent Misleading Claim That Vaccines Aren’t Properly Tested for Safety

The Persistent Misleading Claim That Vaccines Aren’t Properly Tested for Safety

It’s a common, misleading refrain in anti-vaccine circles: Childhood vaccines may be unsafe because few if any have been tested in placebo-controlled trials before being approved. But that claim misunderstands the vaccine safety testing process and takes advantage of a narrow definition of a placebo, scientists told us.

We Won a Webby People’s Voice Award

We Won a Webby People’s Voice Award

We’re honored to have won the 2026 Webby People’s Voice Award in the category for Websites and Mobile Sites: News & Politics. Thank you to our loyal readers and social media followers who voted for us.

Elon Musk Amplifies Baseless Claim About COVID-19 Vaccine

Elon Musk Amplifies Baseless Claim About COVID-19 Vaccine

Elon Musk this week amplified an unfounded claim, based on a distortion of vaccine safety monitoring data, that COVID-19 vaccines killed tens of thousands of people in Germany. The vaccines saved millions of lives worldwide during a deadly pandemic, and serious side effects or deaths from vaccination are rare.

An Attack Over ICE in the Massachusetts Democratic Senate Race

An Attack Over ICE in the Massachusetts Democratic Senate Race

An online ad attacks Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, for not being sufficiently progressive because of past policy positions. But it also misleadingly claims that Moulton, a critic of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “thanked ICE as they were terrorizing our communities and then killed citizens.”

Politicians Say Glyphosate Weedkiller Causes Cancer But Evidence Not Clear-Cut

Politicians Say Glyphosate Weedkiller Causes Cancer But Evidence Not Clear-Cut

Following an executive order from the Trump administration that promotes production of glyphosate, some Democrats have claimed that the herbicide causes cancer. The science, however, is nuanced. While there is some evidence linking glyphosate to cancers in lab animals or to the blood cancer non-Hodgkin lymphoma in agricultural workers, the findings have been inconsistent.