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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Ad Attacking Cooper Makes False Connection to Murder

Ad Attacking Cooper Makes False Connection to Murder

An ad from a super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley features a heart-wrenching testimonial from the father of a woman who was murdered in 2025. The ad falsely implies the accused murderer was one of the prisoners released during the COVID-19 pandemic when Whatley’s Democratic opponent, Roy Cooper, was governor of North Carolina. Cooper had nothing to do with the accused murderer’s release.

The NRSC’s Weak Ties Between Brown and Deadly Interstate Crash in Ohio

The NRSC’s Weak Ties Between Brown and Deadly Interstate Crash in Ohio

In the Ohio Senate race, a Republican ad blames former Sen. Sherrod Brown for a deadly crash in April on an Ohio interstate in which an immigrant was charged with vehicular homicide. But there’s no evidence of any tie between Brown’s votes on immigration, as the ad suggests, and the suspect in this incident.

Trump’s ‘No Tax on Tips’ Claim Doesn’t Add Up

Trump’s ‘No Tax on Tips’ Claim Doesn’t Add Up

The White House has provided no federal data to support President Donald Trump’s claims that because of his “no tax on tips” policy, “440,000 tipped workers” in Nevada “saved an average of $10,000 on their taxes,” and “130,000 tipped workers” in Georgia “saved an average of more than $7,000 on their taxes.”

Kennedy Distorts Stat in Celebrating Obesity Drop

Kennedy Distorts Stat in Celebrating Obesity Drop

In recent public appearances, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said obesity dropped 3% “in the last year” and suggested the Trump administration deserves at least some of the credit. One poll shows obesity falling by about that much — but the decline happened over several years and began well before President Donald Trump’s current term.

Trump’s Misleading Crime Drop Claims

Trump’s Misleading Crime Drop Claims

In announcing the latest FBI annual report on nationwide crime, President Donald Trump wrongly cast the decline in crime in 2025 as a dramatic turnaround and made misleading claims about the impact of his administration’s policies.

RFK Jr. Falsely Claims New Evidence Supports Splitting MMR Vaccine

RFK Jr. Falsely Claims New Evidence Supports Splitting MMR Vaccine

Following an executive order that called for breaking up the combination measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that a “recent” study “just came out” that “very strongly supports” the idea. But there’s no evidence of any such credible study, past or present.

Republicans Revive False Miscarriage Statistic, Twist Fauci’s Texts About COVID-19 Shots

Republicans Revive False Miscarriage Statistic, Twist Fauci’s Texts About COVID-19 Shots

Studies have shown no connection between COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and increased risk of miscarriage. Despite this, Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Johnson resurrected a long-debunked claim of an astronomical rate of miscarriage after vaccination while also accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci of deceiving the public about the safety of the shots during pregnancy.

Alaska Senate Candidates Attempt to Link Each Other to Epstein

Alaska Senate Candidates Attempt to Link Each Other to Epstein

In Alaska’s tossup Senate race, Democrat Mary Peltola has put out a new ad misleadingly accusing Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of casting “the deciding vote” to keep the Epstein files “hidden.” While Sullivan voted against considering an amendment to an otherwise unrelated bill that would have released the files earlier, he, like the rest of the Senate, supported a bill to make the records public.

Wright’s Hairsplitting Statements About Canceled Energy Grants in Blue States

Wright’s Hairsplitting Statements About Canceled Energy Grants in Blue States

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has repeatedly denied that politics were involved in the termination of more than 280 grants last October. A court filing made public in July, however, shows that Energy Department lawyers admitted that the only reason why those awards and not others were canceled is that the grant recipients were in states that vote for Democrats.

Trump Uses Deceptive Chart in False Inflation Boast

Trump Uses Deceptive Chart in False Inflation Boast

In a recent interview, President Donald Trump falsely claimed to be the “lowest of the last 10 presidents on inflation,” seemingly based on a chart Trump posted to social media that misleadingly compares price growth over the first 18 months of his second term with total inflation at the end of his predecessors’ full four-year terms.