A new Cleveland Clinic study on the flu vaccine grabbed vaccine skeptics’ interest, prompting questions and concerns about the vaccine’s safety. “Get the flu shot and you are 27% more likely to get the flu!” read an April 7 X post that referenced a preprint study published April 4. “GET THE SHOT GET THE DISEASE!” […]
A social media post, followed by a market-moving tariff announcement, led President Donald Trump’s critics to speculate that he might have profited from inside information. At 9:37 a.m. ET on April 9, after a nearly 20% downturn in key market indexes, Trump posted on Truth Social, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.” See […]
President Donald Trump and his allies have offered a solution for avoiding price hikes because of his car tariffs: buy American. Trump told NBC News March 29 that he “couldn’t care less” if foreign car manufacturers raise prices in response to tariffs. “I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are going […]
Fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid driving the nation’s high drug overdose rates, is also caught up in another increasingly serious problem: misinformation. False and misleading narratives on social media, in news reports and even in popular television dramas suggesting people can overdose from touching fentanyl — rather than ingesting it — are now informing policy and spending decisions. In an […]
If you listen to President Donald Trump and his allies discuss his sweeping tariff plans, one word pops up a lot: “Cheating.” During his April 2 announcement of what he called “liberation day,” Trump released a list of new tariffs of up to 50% on virtually every country — a plan that took effect at […]
Politicians and economists said President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff rollout amounted to a historic tax increase. “Donald Trump just imposed the largest tax hike in our lifetime,” Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted April 2 on X. Other Democratic politicians made similar claims, including Illinois Gov. JB Priztker, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and […]
For weeks, stock markets have been falling, and the plunge accelerated after President Donald Trump on April 2 unveiled U.S. tariffs on virtually every country. Commenters on social media have said the drop in stock prices could portend a recession. Professional analysts at JPMorgan have estimated a 60% likelihood of a recession, while Goldman Sachs […]
Two-plus months into office, President Donald Trump has signed more than 100 executive orders that inspired over 150 legal challenges against his administration. As Trump exercises and seeks to expand executive powers, people affected by his actions on everything from immigration to civil service employment have taken their complaints to the judiciary in hopes of […]
Billionaire businessman and White House adviser Elon Musk and his colleague, venture capitalist Antonio Gracias, said they uncovered “crazy” information about Social Security and immigrants. “This is a mind-blowing chart,” Musk said at a March 30 campaign event for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, pointing to data that showed the number of noncitizens who received […]
April 2 is a big day. For U.S. President Donald Trump, it’s what he’s described as “liberation day,” the date he planned to roll out “reciprocal” tariffs with countries that have trade imbalances with the U.S. And for fact-checkers, it’s International Fact-Checking Day, the post-April Fools’ holiday started by Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. It’s a […]
Several times since he’s returned to the White House, President Donald Trump has teased the possibility of serving more than two terms in office. In an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker that aired March 30, Welker asked Trump, “Have you been presented with any potential plans that would allow you to serve a third term?” […]
Two hours before billionaire businessman Elon Musk stood beside President Donald Trump in an Oval Office press conference, he reshared an anonymous account’s X post that warned a federal judge had engaged in “lawfare” against the Trump administration. It wasn’t the first time that day Musk, a donor who Trump named special adviser, had reshared […]