The U.S. Department of Energy approved a request to allow power plants in snowstorm-battered Texas to temporarily bypass some environmental limits during its energy crisis, in order to produce more power. Viral headlines falsely claim the department rejected the request.
Several high-profile conservative figures — including the Texas governor — have wrongly placed the blame for power outages in Texas on wind turbines.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Texas after a winter storm began wreaking havoc, and held a call with its governor as the state experienced power outages. But Facebook posts misleadingly claim there has not been “one word” on the emergency from Biden.
A viral tale on social media falsely claims that a campaign official for President-elect Joe Biden was arrested in an illegal ballot-harvesting scheme in Texas. He has not been charged or arrested. The false claim stems from unverified allegations in an unsuccessful lawsuit brought by a group of Republicans.
With some states posting record numbers of new COVID-19 cases, President Donald Trump continues to downplay the concern, falsely asserting that cases are up “only because of our big number testing,” and pointing to the falling number of daily COVID-19 deaths.
Q: Do people with serious mental health disorders pose a greater risk of becoming mass shooters?
A: People with mental illnesses are somewhat more likely to be violent than those without a diagnosis. But a majority are never violent, and very little is known specifically about mass murder.
Viral posts on social media make the baseless claim that the shooter in Odessa, Texas, had a sticker on his car for Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. The Texas Department of Public Safety said there was no sticker on the car he was driving during the attack.
In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper reviews President Donald Trump’s false claim about El Paso’s violent crime rates.
In the final days of the 2018 election, Republicans across the country are running TV ads about immigration that falsely accuse some Democrats of wanting “open borders,” plotting to “abolish ICE,” supporting “sanctuary cities” and more.
Q: Were “charges filed” against U.S. Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke of Texas for accepting an “illegal $10 million campaign donation” from CNN?
A: No. A Libertarian opponent filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, claiming CNN’s town hall event with O’Rourke was worth $10 million.