Latest Stories By Daniel Funke

If Joe Biden is elected president, Americans who own certain kinds of guns may owe the federal government some money. One Facebook post, published Oct. 29 by the page for a Texas-based apparel company, claims that Americans who own semi-automatic firearms or high-capacity magazines would be charged $200 per unit under the Democratic presidential candidate’s […]

A former associate of Hunter Biden has televised his grievances about former Vice President Joe Biden, telling Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the elder Biden was more involved in his son’s overseas business dealings than he has let on. Tony Bobulinski claimed that emails, text messages and audio recordings he released show the Democratic […]

Amid a presidential election, a global pandemic and nationwide unrest, more Americans are using social media in 2020 than ever before. Facebook reported in July that its daily users had surged to 1.79 billion — a 12% increase from the year before. In the United States, more than 220 million people use the platform at […]

President Donald Trump says he doesn’t know anything about a conspiracy theory that claims he’s on a mission to secretly fight a cabal of left-leaning, Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic pedophiles. “I know nothing about QAnon,” Trump said during an NBC News town hall in Miami on Oct. 15. “I do know they are very much against pedophilia. […]

As Election Day approaches, you may be more likely to see online disinformation that’s aimed at influencing your vote. This year, we’ve fact-checked dozens of false claims on social media about the candidates. Other events — the coronavirus pandemic, nationwide protests against police brutality and natural disasters — have created an even more fertile environment […]

In the early morning hours after Donald Trump tweeted that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus, misinformation about the president’s condition ballooned on social media. Facebook users falsely claimed that “The Simpsons” predicted Trump’s death. A screenshot of a fake fundraising plea from the Trump campaign circulated on Twitter. […]

Just before the first presidential debate, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign shared a bingo card with spaces for “Biden’s lies.” Turns out, the Trump team’s bingo card contains a lot of falsehoods about the record of Joe Biden, and we have fact-checked several already. Here’s a closer look at the Trump campaign’s Facebook post and […]

Four years ago, Russian operatives used a series of “active measures” to hack campaigns, spread disinformation and sow discord in an effort to sway the election in favor of President Donald Trump. That’s according to a bipartisan Senate report and former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. As Nov. 3 approaches, one question is on most […]

LAKELAND, Fla. — The mid-morning wave of farmer’s market shoppers picked through amateur art and leafy greens until their gaze caught a group forming around the downtown park. The swelling crowd — a train of strollers, flip flops and jean shorts, packs of 20-something-year-olds and kids with weekend energy — would have blended with everyone […]

Update: After this story was published, the Wisconsin Department of Justice provided an update on its investigation. Those details are now included in this report. Police in Illinois have arrested a teenager in connection with the killing of two people during a third night of protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, […]

In mid August, Marjorie Taylor Greene won the primary election in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, which is likely to vote red in November. Two weeks later, she was invited to attend President Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention. Jo Rae Perkins of Oregon and Lauren Boebert of Colorado also won Republican primary elections […]

Twice in the past week, reporters have asked President Donald Trump what he thinks about QAnon. The conspiracy theory falsely claims that a cabal of prominent Democrats and movie stars are Satan-worshipping pedophiles.  Twice, Trump has demurred — and even encouraged QAnon followers. A reporter during an Aug. 19 press conference asked: “During the pandemic, […]