A not-so-fond look back at the worst viral deceptions of the year.
The Viral Spiral of 2018
Joe Arpaio Not Named to Replace John McCain
Q: Was Joe Arpaio, the former Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff, appointed to finish John McCain’s term in the Senate?
A: No. That claim is made up — the Arizona governor has not yet named a replacement.
After McCain’s Death, a False Claim Resurfaces
Q: Did John McCain “hide the fact that he ‘accidentally’ killed 134 American sailors”?
A: No. He wasn’t responsible for the fatal 1967 accident aboard the USS Forrestal.
Answering NFL National Anthem Questions
Q: Does the NFL have rules for player conduct during the national anthem? Does the Department of Defense fund patriotic ceremonies at NFL games?
A: Prior to May 2018, the league didn’t require players to stand during the anthem. The Defense Department no longer funds various patriotic displays.
Explaining McCain’s Defense ‘Cut’
Sen. John McCain says the budget deal President Donald Trump reached with Democratic leaders “basically freezes last year’s funding in place, which is a cut of $52 billion” in defense spending. In fact, the deal doesn’t cut the defense budget at all.
John McCain Still a Republican
Q: Has Sen. John McCain “renounced any affiliation with the Republican Party”?
A: No. That claim was made in a fake news story published by a “satirical publication.”
John McCain’s Life Expectancy
Sen. John McCain’s primary opponent implied that if reelected, McCain may not live long enough to fulfill another six-year term. Actually, the odds are in his favor.
What We Were Told About Ebola
Sen. John McCain claimed on a Sunday talk show that “we were told there would never be a case of Ebola in the United States.” Not exactly.
Romney and the Tax Return Precedent
Mitt Romney says he is following the “precedent” set by John McCain in releasing just two years of tax returns. That’s accurate. But McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, bucked the trend of other recent presidential candidates.
In more than three decades, no other nominees for either party have released fewer than five years’ worth of returns. Romney’s own father released a dozen years’ worth when he ran for the GOP nomination in 1968.
Romney has been under mounting public pressure to release tax returns —
Establishing Facts
New radio ads boosting Newt Gingrich urge conservatives to reject the GOP “establishment” that nominated Bob Dole and John McCain. But in 1996, Gingrich announced that he had voted for Dole over Steve Forbes and Pat Buchanan in Georgia’s Republican primary. And in 2008, he made statements supportive of McCain’s candidacy while Mike Huckabee was still vying for the Republican nomination.
The five ads from pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future (which you can listen to here) are running in three states —