President Joe Biden said in April 2022 that some of the funding in a Ukraine aid package that Congress later overwhelmingly approved could be used to pay pensions for Ukrainians amid the ongoing war with Russia. That is not a new development, as several viral tweets have misleadingly claimed in recent days.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland wears head coverings on the House floor to cover his hair loss while undergoing treatment for cancer. Social media posts falsely claim that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, refused to allow Raskin to wear his head covering. The posts misinterpret a joke Raskin made in response to a question.
Research suggests COVID-19 vaccination can cause changes in a person’s menstrual cycle. But the changes are small and short-lived — and studies have shown there’s no effect on fertility. Yet people on social media are suggesting the cycle changes are evidence of harm.
A blood transfusion from a vaccinated person doesn’t transfer the inoculation to an unvaccinated person. But high-profile purveyors of misinformation have been promoting the long-standing false claim that it does.
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the need to provide “resources” for climate change mitigation “based on equity.” Republicans misleadingly claimed Harris said the Biden administration would provide federal hurricane relief based on race. We put her remarks in context.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was among the many politicians who posted Fourth of July messages on social media. But a bogus, nonsensical July Fourth tweet purportedly from the congresswoman has been spread by partisan accounts. The post was meant as a spoof.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia’s talk of “de-Nazifying” Ukraine is a non-starter in peace negotiations. We’ll explain what these claims are all about and why experts say they are misleading.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene parroted a Russian talking point with her claim that Ukraine is a country whose “government only exists because the Obama State Department helped to overthrow the previous regime.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it “recommends that children get four doses of polio vaccine.” But Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, when speaking against a potential fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccines, wrongly suggested that the CDC doesn’t recommend four shots of the polio vaccine.
James Ray Epps was at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. But there is no evidence that he was an FBI plant assigned to instigate the riot, as a conspiracy theory — embraced by at least two members of Congress — claims. There is evidence, however, that Epps once held a leadership role in the Oath Keepers, some of whose members have been charged in the attack.