Headlines shared on social media distort the facts of a recent order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that mandates face masks be worn on public transportation. The order doesn’t require that individuals wear two masks. CDC guidance issued with the order does say that cloth masks should be made of at least two layers.
Social media pages are spreading a false claim that President Joe Biden revoked the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline because of a campaign donation from Warren Buffett. Buffett did not donate to Biden’s campaign.
Social media posts falsely claim that the November election in Myanmar was conducted using Dominion Voting Systems, the company that was the focus of bogus theories about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The company said its systems aren’t used in Myanmar, and there’s no indication that the country uses any voting machines.
A video from conservative commentator Liz Wheeler falsely claims the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, repeatedly “lied” to the American public about the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this video, available in English and Spanish, we explain the distinction between virus and disease: The virus SARS-CoV-2 can lead to illness with the disease COVID-19.
A viral video clip makes bogus claims about COVID-19 vaccines and falsely accuses the government of “pure racism” for “push[ing] this heavily on Blacks and browns.” Public health experts have recommended prioritizing those communities for the vaccine because they have suffered higher rates of infection and death.
A meme purports to list actions taken by President Joe Biden in his “first 48 hours” in office — but most of the points are misleading or wrong. For example, the purported tax changes are proposals — some of which need additional context — and would require legislation before they can be implemented.
Dubious websites and viral posts falsely claim that the World Health Organization changed COVID-19 testing protocols for political reasons following Joe Biden’s inauguration and admitted that false-positive cases had been inflating the case count. The WHO’s guidance merely reminded labs to follow instructions provided by each test’s manufacturer.
Baseball legend Henry “Hank” Aaron died from natural causes, according to the medical examiner’s office in Fulton County, Georgia. There’s no evidence that his death was a result of being vaccinated against COVID-19 in early January, as multiple posts on social media suggested.
In calling for a “thorough investigation” into “election fraud,” Republican Sen. Rand Paul distorted the facts about a Wisconsin policy that was introduced by Republicans and put in place before the 2016 general election.