Facebook Twitter Tumblr Close Skip to main content
A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

False Claim About Fake Secret Service Agent Contributes to Rally Conspiracy Theories

False Claim About Fake Secret Service Agent Contributes to Rally Conspiracy Theories

Posts from the anonymous online forum 4Chan have been spreading the false claim that Secret Service officials prevented an agent named “Jonathan Willis” from shooting former President Donald Trump’s attempted assassin. The Secret Service has no employee by that name, and the claim is “categorically false,” the agency said.

Posts Use Altered Image of Secret Service Agents Following Trump Shooting

Posts Use Altered Image of Secret Service Agents Following Trump Shooting

The actions of the Secret Service at the Pennsylvania rally where former President Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt are under review. But social media posts show an altered photo to falsely claim agents were smiling while moving Trump to safety. The original Associated Press photo shows the agents weren’t smiling.

Tucker Carlson Post Makes Unsupported Claim About Trump Jurors

Tucker Carlson Post Makes Unsupported Claim About Trump Jurors

The judge in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump denied a defense request to ask jurors about their party registration, so their political affiliation is not known. But conservative commentator Tucker Carlson made the unsupported claim in a Facebook post that the jury was “stacked with Biden voters.” Both sides had the opportunity to reject jurors.

FactChecking Trump’s Immigration-Related Claims in Phoenix and Las Vegas

FactChecking Trump’s Immigration-Related Claims in Phoenix and Las Vegas

Former President Donald Trump has made illegal immigration and its impact on the U.S. a focus of his campaign – but several of his talking points are wrong or misleading. Here’s what we found among his immigration claims at recent events in the electoral swing states of Arizona and Nevada.

Meme Spreads Unsupported Claim About Net Worth of Alvin Bragg

Meme Spreads Unsupported Claim About Net Worth of Alvin Bragg

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on May 30. Now Bragg has become the target of viral social media posts that claim, without evidence, that he has a net worth of $42 million or more and baselessly imply that Bragg is corrupt.

Trump’s Latest False Claim About the U.S.-China Trade Deficit

Trump’s Latest False Claim About the U.S.-China Trade Deficit

The total U.S. trade deficit with China in goods and services in 2023 was about $252 billion, the lowest it has been in 14 years. Former President Donald Trump was way off when he falsely claimed that the U.S.-China trade gap is about four times as high.

Exaggerated Claims Circulate About Judge Merchan’s Family

Exaggerated Claims Circulate About Judge Merchan’s Family

Social media posts seeking to discredit the judge who presided over former President Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York have been circulating online. Contrary to a popular meme, the judge’s wife works for a Republican district attorney, not the Democratic state attorney general, and his daughter was not personally paid by a high-profile Democrat.