Latest Stories By Bill McCarthy

As the spread of new coronavirus variants adds more urgency to the push to vaccinate people against COVID-19, public health officials and doctors across the country are working to reassure one group of Americans: those concerned about vaccines and pregnancy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revamped its COVID-19 vaccination recommendation for pregnant women, […]

Two outspoken Republican lawmakers were penalized by online platforms Aug. 10 for sharing misinformation about the impact of COVID-19 vaccines and mask-wearing. Twitter suspended Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for a week after she falsely claimed that the vaccines were “failing,” while YouTube suspended Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for a week over a since-removed video […]

Since the coronavirus pandemic erupted last year, PolitiFact has fact-checked hundreds of misleading statements about the development, deployment, content, safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. Even as the U.S. sees a rise in cases among unvaccinated populations, the unsupported claims keep coming. False narratives that the vaccines are mandatory and that they result in widespread […]

Editor’s note: PolitiFact has reviewed court filings and other information for hundreds of defendants facing charges related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in an ongoing effort to document what role misinformation played. This report reflects our initial findings about the way that hundreds of false claims about the 2020 election being […]

In April, faculty and staff at a small Miami private school received a letter telling them that if they chose to get the COVID-19 vaccine, they would have to keep their distance from the students. A week later, one fifth-grade student sent an email home to her parents from the school. The teacher “is telling […]

Around a quarter of Americans in Generation Z have signaled in recent polls that they will not get a COVID-19 vaccine. And podcast host Joe Rogan told his millions of listeners that if they’re young and healthy, he doesn’t think they should.  Rogan, whose show “The Joe Rogan Experience” was the most popular podcast on […]

A jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd after taking in nearly three weeks of witness testimony and video footage of Floyd’s final moments under Chauvin’s knee. Even the police chief spoke out against Chauvin’s use of force. But on the day that Floyd was killed, the Minneapolis […]

After weeks of testimony and a year of reckoning, a jury in Minneapolis convicted former police officer Derek Chauvin of two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter for the killing of George Floyd, who died gasping for air while Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nine minutes. The verdict follows testimony from 45 […]

New information from the chief medical examiner for the District of Columbia provides fresh details that call into question early reports about how U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died. Sicknick died the day after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. Initial reports, citing law enforcement sources, said that the 42-year-old had been struck […]

Question: I got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Am I going to be OK? Answer: People who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should seek medical assistance if they experience severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks of receiving the shot. Otherwise, there’s little reason for concern about what […]

The legal defense for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer on trial for murder in the death of George Floyd, tried unsuccessfully to get two witnesses to testify that Floyd said he “ate too many drugs” as he was pinned under Chauvin’s knee. Defense attorney Eric Nelson did not come away with the answer […]

Prince Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey left many observers of the British royal family puzzling over one question: Why doesn’t their son Archie have the title of prince? Meghan, who married Harry in 2018, said she was shocked to discover while she was pregnant that Archie would not get the title of prince […]