A not-so-fond look back at the worst viral deceptions of the year.
The Viral Spiral of 2018
Issues: religion
Overstated Funding for Overseas Mosques
Q: Did the Obama administration spend $770 million restoring overseas mosques?
A: That claim is based on a misleading television news report about a 20-year funding project that ended well before Barack Obama became president.
Russia’s Ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses
Q: Did President Trump urge Jehovah’s Witnesses to seek asylum in the U.S. after the religious group was banned in Russia?
A: No. A fake news story attributed that statement to Trump.
SCOTUS Didn’t Ban Teaching About Islam
Q: Did the Supreme Court rule that public schools cannot teach students about Islam?
A: No. That false claim was spread by a network of fake news websites.
Eight Years of Trolling Obama
Some of the many false viral claims about Barack Obama’s faith and citizenship.
We Know Plenty About Clinton’s Religion
Speaking to a group of evangelical Christian leaders, Donald Trump claimed there’s “nothing out there” about Hillary Clinton’s religion. That’s inaccurate. Clinton’s religious practice as a Methodist has been well-documented and widely reported.
Prayer Day Still Not Cancelled
Year after year, we see some of the same false viral claims circulating on social media and via email with little about them changing but the dates. Claims that President Barack Obama has cancelled the National Day of Prayer are a perfect example.
Video: Carson on ‘Extreme Bias’
This week, CNN’s Jake Tapper gives the full account of an incident Ben Carson has described as an example of “extreme political bias” on college campuses.
Carson’s ‘Extreme Bias’ Example
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says he would use the Department of Education to monitor “extreme political bias” on college campuses, but the example he has cited isn’t as clear-cut as Carson suggests.
Cruz & Crosses
Sen. Ted Cruz set up a false bogeyman when he said the Supreme Court is “one justice away” from ordering that crosses on tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery be torn down.