Social media posts are making links between the terrorist attack in New Orleans and the vehicle explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day — because the suspects served at Fort Liberty, a large military base in North Carolina formerly known as Fort Bragg. Some posts stated definitively that the […]
On Jan. 3, the new Congress — the 119th — officially began its duties. Once Donald Trump is sworn in as president on Jan. 20, Republicans will have unified control of government. But particularly in the House, the margin will be close. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., was reelected House speaker on Jan. 3., receiving the […]
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old suspected driver in the New Year’s truck attack in New Orleans, was a U.S. citizen and U.S. Army veteran. But within hours of the attack — which killed 14 people and is being investigated as an act of terrorism — President-elect Donald Trump, Republican leaders and social media influencers speculated that Jabbar […]
When Jimmy Carter entered the national political scene in the 1970s, the peanut-farmer-turned-Georgia-governor touted his status as a relative political unknown. But nearly 50 years after winning the U.S. presidency, serving a single, troubled term and engaging in more than four decades of postpresidential work to promote global democracy, eradicate disease and build homes for […]
A contentious presidential election, two devastating hurricanes, the Baltimore bridge collapse: It was a busy news year, and where news goes, misinformation follows. Sometimes it even precedes it, as you’ll see below. The year’s events prompted dozens of false claims that PolitiFact fact-checked. There were also false claims about what should have been more lighthearted […]
When better to fact-check politicians than in an election year? In 2024, PolitiFact’s web traffic showed readers sought answers to questions raised by and about the leading presidential candidates, former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Whose national debt pile was bigger? Whose inflation record was worse? Was Trump right […]
A recent avian influenza outbreak among California dairy cows and the first known severe human case of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. have reignited concerns online about the disease. Some social media users pointed to the disease’s high fatality rate in humans and warned of an impending bird flu pandemic. Meanwhile, other social media […]
A bipartisan deal to avert a government shutdown over the holidays collapsed Dec. 18 after President-elect Donald Trump issued new demands, including that Congress raise the debt ceiling to extend funding. Trump’s push to torpedo the stopgap spending plan came as his billionaire ally Elon Musk, the co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, an […]
Days after New Hampshire voters received a robocall with an artificially generated voice that resembled President Joe Biden’s, the Federal Communications Commission banned using AI-generated voices in robocalls. It was a flashpoint. The 2024 election would be the first to unfold amid wide public access to AI generators, which let people create images, audio and […]
With a busy 2024 heading toward a close, PolitiFact readers sent us thoughtful questions and plenty of election-year feedback through email and social media comments. Readers weighed in on the presidential race, President Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son, Hunter Biden, and more. Here’s some of that feedback, edited for clarity and style. Readers can […]
See Figure 5 on PolitiFact.com SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Underlying 2024’s most outrageous political lie was a truth — some might even argue a confession — voiced by an accomplice: To get media attention, then-vice presidential candidate JD Vance acknowledged, sometimes “I have to create stories.” And so, with a brazen disregard for facts, Donald Trump […]
It’s time to announce the winner of PolitiFact’s 2024 Readers’ Choice Lie of the Year. Although last year’s readers’ pick won by only a narrow margin, this year’s choice won by a landslide. And it’s proof that great minds think alike. The reader pick for the 2024 Lie of the Year is also PolitiFact’s official […]