Facebook posts claim that President Donald Trump has withheld aid from California to fight wildfires, while offering help to Russia. That’s a rehash of a controversy in 2019, when Trump threatened to withhold aid from California, while offering help to Russia. The Trump administration has provided federal assistance to California for the recent wildfires.
Facebook posts falsely claim that the late Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was “nominated and confirmed 43 days before an election.” She was nominated and confirmed more than three years before the next presidential election.
Facebook posts claim that Sen. Kamala Harris said, “I like taking the guns early.” She didn’t say that, but President Donald Trump did.
Posts on Facebook and Twitter suggest that former Vice President Joe Biden is responsible for taxes on Social Security, but those posts ignore the political history and mislead on the details. The posts also twist Biden’s proposals on retirement contributions.
Rumors have spread across social media, claiming that the wildfires in Oregon were set by political activists. Law enforcement agencies have refuted those claims and asked residents to stop the spread of conspiracy theories.
A meme circulating on Facebook falsely claims, “Not one politician has died from the virus.” Actually, at least five current or former politicians across the country have died due to COVID-19.
Contrary to QAnon-fueled claims that a California bill would legalize pedophilia, the bill would actually standardize the rules about who is required to be on the state’s sex offender registry.
Posts circulating on social media this summer falsely claimed that Black Lives Matter activists were responsible for the beating of five elderly white people shown in the posts’ photos. But the pictures have been online for at least five years — and most early uses identify the photos as originating in South Africa.
A baseless conspiracy theory on Facebook suggests that the California wildfires were started by a “powerful laser.” The meme spreading the theory uses the same photos that circulated in 2018 to advance a similar claim.
Posts on social media repeat an error reported by Lou Dobbs on Fox Business in July, claiming that major corporations were donating large sums of money to Black Lives Matter. The companies have pledged support for racial equality initiatives, but haven’t specified Black Lives Matter as a beneficiary.