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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Trey Gowdy Not Given Highest Security Clearance

Trey Gowdy Not Given Highest Security Clearance

Q: Did President Trump sign an executive order giving Rep. Trey Gowdy the “highest level of security clearance”?
A: No. That is a months-old fictitious claim that continues to circulate online.

Keanu Reeves Didn’t Praise Trump

Keanu Reeves Didn’t Praise Trump

Q: Did Keanu Reeves say that President Donald Trump is a role model?

A: No. That’s a made-up quote that has been attributed to at least two other actors.

Ivanka Trump Hasn’t Been Fired

Ivanka Trump Hasn’t Been Fired

Q: Is Ivanka Trump being fired from the White House?

A: No. That rumor comes from a headline posted on a group of questionable websites.

Georgia Didn’t Ban Muslim Culture

Georgia Didn’t Ban Muslim Culture

Q: Did Georgia “ban Muslim culture”?

A: No. A headline making that claim is based on a proposed state bill that never became law.

Sandy Hook Hoax Revisited

Sandy Hook Hoax Revisited

Q: Are the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting actually alive?

A: No. That is a claim made by conspiracy theorists who believe the shooting never happened.

Malia Obama Didn’t Attack Elderly Woman

Malia Obama Didn’t Attack Elderly Woman

Q: Was Malia Obama arrested for attacking an elderly white woman? Did the arresting police officer mysteriously die?
A: No. Those false stories originated on websites that claim to publish satire.

Shaking the Bushes for Quote About Trump

Shaking the Bushes for Quote About Trump

Q: Did George W. Bush say he doesn’t approve of the media’s treatment of Donald Trump?

A: No. That statement is based on a misrepresentation of what the former president said a year ago.

Phony Yearbook Photo

Phony Yearbook Photo

Q: Is David Hogg pictured in a California school yearbook?

A: No. That’s a yearbook photo from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, where Hogg is a student.

No Federal Ban on Smoking in Cars with Children

No Federal Ban on Smoking in Cars with Children

Q: Did a law go into effect Jan. 30 banning “anyone” from smoking in a car “as long as there are children in the vehicle”?

A: No. There is no federal prohibition, although several state and local governments previously had enacted such bans.