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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Lawmakers’ Health Care, Government Shutdown Claims

Lawmakers’ Health Care, Government Shutdown Claims

Democrats and Republicans have sparred over Democratic demands to address health care issues in a government funding bill, with the standoff leading to the first government shutdown since 2019. We’ll provide the facts on two talking points each side is using to blame the other for the shutdown.

Repeated Falsehoods at Autism Press Conference

Repeated Falsehoods at Autism Press Conference

An hourlong press conference about autism was filled with false and misleading claims about the condition and vaccines from President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., many of which we have written about before.

Rural Health Fund Falls Short of Estimated Medicaid Cuts

Rural Health Fund Falls Short of Estimated Medicaid Cuts

In the battle over how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act affects rural hospitals, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has touted a five-year $50 billion fund as “an infusion of cash” that will “restore and revitalize” rural communities. But his statements ignore the higher estimated Medicaid spending cuts to rural areas under the law.

After Kirk’s Death, a False Social Media Post on Partisan Reaction to Violence

After Kirk’s Death, a False Social Media Post on Partisan Reaction to Violence

After the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, social media claims offering political views of the assassination and the reaction to it quickly spread. One message falsely claimed that “not a single Republican condemned” the targeted shooting of a Democratic politician in Minnesota in June. Many Republicans, including President Donald Trump, condemned it.

DCCC Serves up Spin for the Labor Day Cookout

DCCC Serves up Spin for the Labor Day Cookout

Over the Labor Day weekend, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is running digital ads on social media blaming House Republicans for “driving up the price of burgers.” But that’s misleading. The sizable rise in ground beef prices is tied to drought conditions in recent years, among other factors.

D.C. Homicide-Free Streak Not First in ‘Years’

D.C. Homicide-Free Streak Not First in ‘Years’

While signing executive orders at the White House on Aug. 25, President Donald Trump wrongly said that an 11-day span of no homicides in Washington, D.C., was the “first time that’s taken place in years,” a claim reiterated by other members of the administration who credited Trump’s federal takeover of the district’s law enforcement.

RFK Jr. Justifies Cuts to mRNA Vaccine Projects With Falsehoods

RFK Jr. Justifies Cuts to mRNA Vaccine Projects With Falsehoods

In justifying the government’s termination of $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine projects, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed mRNA vaccines “fail to protect effectively” against COVID-19 and suggested they are unsafe. The mRNA shots saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and have shown promise against influenza.

No Evidence for Trump’s Claims of ‘Rigged’ or ‘Phony’ Job Numbers

No Evidence for Trump’s Claims of ‘Rigged’ or ‘Phony’ Job Numbers

Hours after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released employment data showing slow job growth for July and prior months, President Donald Trump fired the BLS commissioner, claiming the job numbers were “phony” and that the commissioner had “faked” other job figures to help Democrats. There’s no evidence the commissioner, or others at BLS, manipulated the data, and Trump hasn’t provided any.