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Political leaders and government officials like to make dramatic statements. Are they telling the truth?

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Trump’s Misleading Tariff Chart

Trump’s Misleading Tariff Chart

In his Rose Garden announcement of sweeping new "reciprocal tariffs," President Donald Trump held aloft a misleading chart that claimed to give a breakdown of the tariffs other countries charge the U.S. and the corresponding tariff that the U.S. will now impose against those countries.

The post Trump’s Misleading Tariff Chart appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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Legal Scholars Dispute Constitutional ‘Loophole’ for a Third Trump Term

Legal Scholars Dispute Constitutional ‘Loophole’ for a Third Trump Term

President Donald Trump said in a March 30 interview that "there are methods" for him to serve a third term in the White House, and a Daily Mail article referred to a "loophole" in the 22nd Amendment that would make it possible. But legal experts told us the "loophole" legal argument is "implausible" and "defeats the clear intent" of the amendment.

The post Legal Scholars Dispute Constitutional ‘Loophole’ for a Third Trump Term appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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How to Combat Misinformation

How to Combat Misinformation

Misinformation is nothing new. It has, however, become ubiquitous and, in some cases, more difficult and time-consuming than ever to debunk. Here's our advice on how to identify bogus posts and factual distortions.

The post How to Combat Misinformation appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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Trump’s Misleading Claim on Canadian Dairy Tariffs

Trump’s Misleading Claim on Canadian Dairy Tariffs

To support his plan to increase tariffs, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the Canadian government charges U.S. farmers a 250% or 270% tariff on dairy products exported to Canada. That's misleading. There are rates that high on the books, but they would only be charged if U.S. exports exceed predetermined tariff rate quotas, which the dairy exports don't come close to meeting. 

The post Trump’s Misleading Claim on Canadian Dairy Tariffs appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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Q&A on the Alien Enemies Act and Tren de Aragua in the U.S.

Q&A on the Alien Enemies Act and Tren de Aragua in the U.S.

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift a District Court judge's order blocking the use of an obscure 18th century law to summarily expel Venezuelan immigrants. Earlier this month, the administration sent hundreds of immigrants to an El Salvador prison because, officials alleged, they were members of a dangerous gang. We'll lay out the facts as we know them regarding the key issues.

The post Q&A on the Alien Enemies Act and Tren de Aragua in the U.S. appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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RFK Jr.’s Faulty Advice On Bird Flu 

RFK Jr.’s Faulty Advice On Bird Flu 

In recent news appearances, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested allowing bird flu to spread in poultry flocks unchecked. Scientists say that's risky because it gives the virus more opportunities to replicate, increasing the chance it could change to spread easily among humans.

The post RFK Jr.’s Faulty Advice On Bird Flu  appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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Posts Make Unsupported Claims About Origin of Texas Measles Outbreak

Posts Make Unsupported Claims About Origin of Texas Measles Outbreak

The measles vaccine uses a weakened virus that's never been shown to spread to others. Samples from the outbreak in Texas also show that a wild-type virus is responsible. Yet, social media posts have falsely claimed that the outbreak is due to a vaccine strain. Without evidence, other posts have blamed immigrants crossing the southern border illegally.

The post Posts Make Unsupported Claims About Origin of Texas Measles Outbreak appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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Was the Signal Chat Illegal?

Was the Signal Chat Illegal?

As fallout from a Trump administration group chat about a military attack in Yemen continues to unfold, some Democrats are saying the inadvertent inclusion of a journalist in the chat goes beyond incompetence -- they say it was criminal.

The post Was the Signal Chat Illegal? appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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Q&A on Egg Prices

Q&A on Egg Prices

President Donald Trump campaigned in 2024 on lowering egg prices, which increased significantly toward the end of the term of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. Where do prices stand now? What caused them to spike last year? We answer those questions and more.

The post Q&A on Egg Prices appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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Viral Posts Share Phony ‘Leaked’ Audio of Vance Criticizing Musk

Viral Posts Share Phony ‘Leaked’ Audio of Vance Criticizing Musk

Vice President JD Vance has said White House adviser Elon Musk has made "mistakes" in his work with the Department of Government Efficiency. But social media posts are sharing what experts said is a manipulated audio clip that purports to be Vance making much harsher remarks about Musk. The vice president's spokesperson called the clip "100% fake."

The post Viral Posts Share Phony ‘Leaked’ Audio of Vance Criticizing Musk appeared first on FactCheck.org.

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The Washington Post

Trump White House cited economists for its tariff formula. They pan it.

Economists say the administration’s formula fails to take into account whether conditions change.

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Snopes

18th-century English gambling dens employed people to swallow dice in case of police raids?

One newspaper reported that people who were given the responsibility "must have had a good digestion."

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Striking image and video of 'Steeple Mountain' on Jupiter's moon Io are concept art — but authentic pics do exist

According to NASA, the massive mountain on the Jovian moon stands between 3 and 4.3 miles tall.

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Trump tariffs: 10 rumors with varying degrees of truth

From rumors about automakers opening new factories to layoffs in the alcohol industry, a variety of tariff-related claims are circulating online.

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AOC's family didn't collect dead grandmother's Social Security checks

The rumor about the New York congresswoman originated from a network of Facebook pages and websites describing its output as satirical in nature.

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Rep. Keith Self quoted Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels at congressional hearing. Here's the context

Self later posted on X calling a video's framing of his remarks "completely misleading."

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Trump didn't install a 200-foot statue of Jesus outside the White House

Errors in the footage make it clear the video is AI-generated.

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Investigating rumor that Musk is shutting down Meals on Wheels program for older Americans

The food delivery organization says it serves 251 million meals annually to 2 million seniors across the U.S.

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No, Rep. Jasmine Crockett didn't collect dead grandmother's Social Security checks

A network of Facebook pages and websites describing its output as satirical in nature originated the rumor about the Texas congresswoman.

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Fox News didn't show live stocks ticker after Trump's tariffs announcement — markets were closed

Also, the right-leaning cable news channel has never had a continuous live stocks ticker.

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Historian Heather Cox Richardson said Facebook removed her posts. Here's what we know

Posts on Richardson's page were visible again days after she and many of her followers first said they disappeared.

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