Latest Stories By Samantha Putterman

Question: “Did Capitol Police let a mob of Trump supporters into the building?” Answer:  We didn’t find evidence of that. Instead, we discovered that some online video is getting misinterpreted. Many officers had to abandon their posts and barricades because they were far outnumbered and overwhelmed. The Capitol Police’s inability to secure the U.S. Capitol […]

PolitiFact entered 2020 by fact-checking claims about Australian wildfires and a virus outbreak in China. With an upcoming election, we assumed the year would be eventful, however, we had no idea just how many claims would fly our way in the coming months — and from every direction. Between an historic race for the White […]

The distribution of coronavirus vaccines begins a hopeful new phase of the pandemic, but most Americans will have to wait. The first doses are going to health care workers and at-risk populations. It may take until the spring or summer months, at the earliest, for the general population to receive their shots. Some parts of […]

Health care workers across the country on Dec. 14 became the first Americans to get the vaccine following trials, kicking off the country’s most ambitious effort ever to vaccinate hundreds of millions of Americans. In every state in the nation, journalists were watching the process and asking questions. The Poynter Institute and the American Medical […]

Question: Should people get vaccinated if they’ve already had COVID-19? Answer: The short answer is yes. Medical researchers and immunology experts say it’s rare, but possible, for recovered COVID-19 patients to become infected with the virus again as their natural antibody levels wane over time. They say vaccines will provide stronger and likely longer-lasting immunity.  […]

During a 90-minute press conference led by Rudy Giuliani, lawyers representing President Donald Trump made their best case to overturn an election Trump lost to Joe Biden. Their case invoked the TV show “Law & Order,” the movie “My Cousin Vinny,” Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Mickey Mouse, antifa, and the Philadelphia Eagles football team. Tying it […]

Joe Biden is president-elect of the United States. But President Donald Trump and his supporters aren’t giving up the race. Trump has brought a barrage of legal challenges contesting vote totals in several key swing states. He has repeatedly made unfounded assertions of victory and allegations that widespread voter fraud affected the outcome of the […]

A video spreading online claims to show Democrats and other left-leaning groups plotting a post-election coup if President Donald Trump won re-election, including the takeover of major U.S. cities and government buildings including the White House. But the 34-minute video, posted on YouTube, was deceptively edited to make it look like the individuals in the […]

Conspiratorial-sounding posts spreading on Election Day claimed that instances of broken or locked voting machines in a handful of polling locations across the country are signs of cheating. On Twitter, the posts were accompanied by the hashtag #StoptheSteal. The claims sometimes note that malfunctions happened in districts that voted for President Donald Trump in 2016. […]

Question: “With the election less than one week away, is it too late to mail in your ballot?” Answer: With only six days to go until Election Day, experts say that now it might be better to submit your ballot at a drop box or to vote in person rather than use the mail. The […]

Since his return from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, President Donald Trump has repeated that he may now be “immune” to the coronavirus. In a video released shortly after he arrived back at the White House, he said, “Now I’m better, and maybe I’m immune, I don’t know.” In a 55-minute interview on Fox […]

Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence are set to face off for the first time on the debate stage, and although we’ve seen heaps of misinformation about Harris – including false claims about her heritage and eligibility to hold office – there’s been much less about Pence, even dating back to July 2016, […]