Various claims online suggest that climate change hasn’t contributed to the bushfires ravaging the East Coast of Australia, pinning the blame instead on arson. Those claims distort the facts.
Memes and videos misrepresent a New York City law by suggesting that everyone in the city will be “banned” from using the term “illegal alien,” or face a $250,000 fine. Actually, the city has only clarified that immigration status can’t be used to discriminate against people in certain situations under a decades old law.
A clip from an old episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is being used to discredit a woman who recently accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. The clip doesn’t prove that she is a “fraud,” as the headline of a story claims.
A video spreading on Facebook has been mislabeled to make a political statement about Democratic lawmakers in California. However, the video, which seems to show people under the influence of drugs, was filmed in Philadelphia.
A video clip of a July 2018 rally in support of President Donald Trump has gone viral with the false claim that it is from his June 2019 trip to London. The posts wrongly accuse the media of ignoring the year-old rally to make the president look bad.
Another manipulated video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is circulating on Facebook. She did not slur her words during a speaking engagement at the Commonwealth Club of California.
A Facebook post falsely describes a video of an interdenominational rally against Islamophobia as a “Muslim rally … demanding their Sharia Rights.”
Q: Was the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade made because Jane Roe said she was raped?
A: No. “Jane Roe” falsely claimed she was gang raped, but that accusation was not a factor in the court ruling.
Q: Did Nancy Pelosi describe how the Democrats use a tactic called the “wrap-up smear” to attack political opponents?
A: No. Pelosi was describing a tactic that she anticipated Republicans would use against her in 2018. Her remarks were taken out of context in a viral video.
Q: Do I have to answer Census questions? Isn’t this an invasion of privacy and a violation of the Fourth Amendment?
A: A widely circulated anti-Census commentary makes several false claims. The law requires truthful answers and states that they will be kept confidential. Courts have upheld its constitutionality.