-
Reader response in Trump’s first 100 days
Approaching 100 days of Donald Trump’s second presidency, PolitiFact has been fact-checking a whole host of topics related to the new administration, significant policy changes and, in some cases, the structure of the executive branch. The media landscape has changed, especially for fact-checkers. Earlier this year, PolitiFact and other fact-checkers were in the headlines…
-
RFK Jr. exaggerates severe limitations for autistic people
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attracted notice — and in some quarters, outrage — for remarks about autism, a topic he’s clashed with scientists on for years. Kennedy held an April 16 press conference pegged to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that found the prevalence of…
-
“The Simpsons” didn’t predict Pope Francis would die in 2025
Be wary of social media posts claiming that long-running animated comedy “The Simpsons” made a correct prediction about Pope Francis in a “little-known” or “little-remembered” episode. Social media users have falsely claimed that the show has correctly predicted Queen Elizabeth’s death, the Los Angeles wildfires, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, COVID-19 in obscure episodes. Now,…
-
Fact-checking tax increase claim if Trump tax cuts expire
The largest tax increase in American history? That’s what Rep. Michael Lawler claims would happen if Congress does not pass a budget reconciliation bill by the end of the year. “The president is focused, as is Congress, on getting a reconciliation bill passed, that actually passes a tax bill, that is critical,” Lawler said recently…
-
Tracking Trump’s Promises at the 100-Day Mark
Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino. On the 2024 campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to launch a massive overhaul of the federal government if reelected president, and, he said, change would come fast. To be sure, Trump’s first 100 days have seen a frenetic pace of change. But while Trump has…
-
Firearm-related deaths ranked No. 1 for college-aged people
After a gunman at Florida State University killed two people and wounded at least six others, an advocacy group posted about firearm-related deaths. “Gun violence is the leading killer of college-aged people in the U.S.,” Moms Demand Action, part of gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety, posted April 17 on Threads. “Our young…
-
Donald Trump’s image of ‘MS-13’ finger tattoos: What to know
President Donald Trump posted an image of himself holding a photograph of what he said was the tattooed hand of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whom the government deported to El Salvador in March despite an order not to deport him there. To Trump and the White House X account, the tattoos are proof that Abrego…
-
Trump misleads about proof of Abrego Garcia gang membership
After President Donald Trump’s administration admitted in court it had deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in “error,” Trump described the 29-year-old deportee as a dangerous man. Democrats and the media portray Abrego Garcia as “innocent,” which is a “total, blatant, and dangerous LIE,” Trump wrote in an April 20 Truth Social post.…
-
RFK Jr. Misleads on Autism Prevalence, Causes
Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino. In announcing new autism prevalence data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. distorted scientific research to argue that there is an “epidemic” of autism that must be due to an “environmental toxin.” The main finding of the new…
-
How misinformation trailed Pope Francis
Pope Francis, who died Monday at age 88, was an unlikely chronicler of the world’s reckoning with false information online. Francis outlined the societal harms of misinformation in 2018, tracing the origin of false news to the Garden of Eden “snake tactics” that led to the original sin. “There is no such thing as harmless…
