FactCheck.org Author: D'Angelo Gore

Latest CDC Data: Unvaccinated Adults 97 Times More Likely to Die from COVID-19 Than Boosted Adults

February 9, 2022

As of early December, unvaccinated adults were about 97 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people who had received boosters, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. But a Twitter user falsely implied that the death rate for the unvaccinated included people who had only one or two doses of a vaccine. The CDC said “unvaccinated” means someone has “not been verified to have received COVID-19 vaccine.”

Biden Repeats False Claims at Gun Violence Meeting

February 7, 2022

In remarks at a Feb. 3 gun violence prevention task force meeting, President Joe Biden repeated claims about gun rights and gun manufacturing that fact-checkers have previously found to be false.

Social Media Posts Repeat Inaccurate Reporting on Ivermectin and Omicron

February 2, 2022

A Japanese company found that the antiparasitic drug ivermectin showed an “antiviral effect” against the omicron variant in a lab setting. Reuters has corrected a story in which it “misstated” that the drug was effective in a phase 3 clinical trial with human subjects. Some social media users have repeated Reuters’ reporting error but have not repeated the correction.

Scientist Misleads on COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness and Vaccine Safety for Children

February 1, 2022

The approved and authorized COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. are effective at preventing severe disease, and experts say the benefits of vaccination for children outweigh any known or potential risk. But social media users have shared video of Dr. Robert Malone misleadingly asserting that the COVID-19 vaccines are “not working” and claiming without evidence that many children “will be hospitalized” and may experience brain damage and infertility due to the vaccines.

FactChecking Biden’s Press Conference

January 20, 2022

In a nearly two-hour press conference, President Joe Biden stretched the facts and left out important context on vaccinations, funding for lead pipe removal, child poverty and more.

Biden’s Numbers

January 20, 2022

Statistical measures of the president’s term to date.

Viral Story Takes Fauci COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Comments Out of Context

December 17, 2021

The COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. were found to be safe and effective in clinical trials and real-world conditions. Dr. Anthony Fauci did not admit that “Covid Vaccines May Actually Make People ‘Worse,'” as a viral headline misleadingly claims. Fauci’s March 2020 remarks about testing future vaccines were taken out of context.

The Whoppers of 2021

December 17, 2021

COVID-19 misinformation, election fraud whoppers and false claims by and about the new administration dominate our annual list of the most egregious falsehoods of the year.

Analyzing Republican Attacks on Biden for Increase in Fentanyl Seized

December 7, 2021

U.S. border officials reported seizing 10,856 pounds of fentanyl being smuggled across the southwest border in fiscal year 2021, a 132% increase from fiscal year 2020. Some Republicans have misleadingly suggested that the amount of drugs seized is a negative development attributable to the immigration policies of President Joe Biden.

Viral Post Misrepresents Facts in Rittenhouse Trial

December 1, 2021

Kyle Rittenhouse said that he went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to defend a car dealership during protests against police brutality in August 2020. He was not there to defend his grandparents’ gas station, as a viral social media post falsely claims. He was not related to the family that owns the car dealership.