Terrorism Scorecard true 0% 54 Checks mostly-true 0% 63 Checks Half True 0% 77 Checks mostly-false 0% 95 Checks false 0% 123 Checks Pants on Fire 0% 77 Checks For more details, see the Principles of PolitiFact All Fact-checks for Terrorism JD Vance stated on October 15, 2025 in an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show: "Political violence, it's just a statistical fact that it's a bigger problem on the left.” October 20, 2025 Facebook posts stated on February 4, 2025 in a Facebook post: “Elon Musk officially cancelled USAID and fired all the staff. In his words, ‘we just toppled one of the biggest globalist terror organizations in history.’” February 7, 2025 Facebook posts stated on January 4, 2025 in a post on Facebook: “BREAKING: A second attack in New Orleans has been uncovered, police are searching.” January 6, 2025 Instagram posts stated on December 16, 2024 in an Instagram post: Photo of a young man in a tie shows Wisconsin school shooter Natalie Rupnow. December 17, 2024 X posts stated on September 18, 2024 in X posts: “iPhones exploding in Lebanon blowing up random people.” September 20, 2024 Instagram posts stated on April 13, 2024 in a video: The Sydney mall attacker is a “Zionist” who targeted Jewish people so that people would think the attacker was Muslim. By Maria Briceño • April 16, 2024 Alex Jones stated on March 23, 2024 in an X post: “It is a fact that Obama created ISIS.” By Sara Swann • March 28, 2024 X posts stated on March 22, 2024 in an X post: A March 7 U.S. security alert … means the U.S. was “behind this gruesome terror attack on Russian civilians.” By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, Louis Jacobson • March 27, 2024 Andrew Tate stated on March 26, 2024 in an X post: The ship that struck a Baltimore bridge “was cyber-attacked.” March 26, 2024 Facebook posts stated on January 23, 2024 in a Facebook post: Video shows a convicted terrorist, Movsum Samadov, coming to the U.S. through the southern border. By Maria Briceño • January 30, 2024 TikTok posts stated on January 9, 2024 in en una publicación enTikTok: "Ecuador firma acuerdo con los Estados Unidos para obtener presencia militar debido a los recientes acontecimientos por parte de delicuentes." By Maria Briceño • January 30, 2024 Facebook posts stated on November 22, 2023 in una publicación en Facebook: "Ataque terrorista islámico confirmado cerca de la frontera con Canadá en el puente del Arco Iris en las cataratas del Niágara". By Loreben Tuquero • November 29, 2023 National Republican Senatorial Committee stated on November 8, 2023 in an ad: Says U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin “voted to send hundreds of millions to Iran” to bankroll “radicals like Hezbollah and Hamas.” By Tyler Katzenberger • November 24, 2023 Instagram posts stated on November 1, 2023 in an Instagram post: “Jews did 9/11.” November 10, 2023 Vivek Ramaswamy stated on October 28, 2023 in an address to the Republican Jewish Coalition: “Gen Z is divided 50-50 on whether they support Hamas or Israel.” By Louis Jacobson • November 2, 2023 Donald Trump stated on October 9, 2023 in a Truth Social post: “The same people that raided Israel are pouring into our once beautiful USA, through our TOTALLY OPEN SOUTHERN BORDER, at Record Numbers.” By Amy Sherman, Maria Ramirez Uribe • October 12, 2023 Tim Scott stated on October 7, 2023 in a post on X: The Biden administration “wanted Israel to stand down after the attack" by Hamas. By Louis Jacobson • October 10, 2023 Benny Johnson stated on September 11, 2023 in a Facebook video: “Donald Trump spent 9/11 marching into a war zone of fire and ashes with an army of his own men to save Americans.” By Sara Swann • September 18, 2023 Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2023 in an Instagram reel: Video shows a missile hitting the Pentagon on 9/11. By Sara Swann • September 12, 2023 Instagram posts stated on July 18, 2023 in an Instagram post: No human remains or aircraft debris were found at the Pentagon or in Pennsylvania after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. July 19, 2023 Load More Latest Articles Experts question Kristi Noem calling Renee Good a ‘domestic terrorist.’ Here’s what it means • January 8, 2026 Can Trump designate antifa as a ‘major terrorist organization?’ Here’s what we know • September 18, 2025 Fact-checking claims about the Colorado attack at a gathering supporting hostages held by Hamas • June 4, 2025 Some noncitizens on terror watch list were released into U.S., but how many is not clear By Jill Terreri Ramos • February 25, 2025 What do we know about a smuggling network affiliated with the Islamic State group? By Maria Ramirez Uribe • January 9, 2025 No link between Fort Bragg and New Orleans, Las Vegas incidents, officials say By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • January 3, 2025 Are there really Chinese sleeper cells operating in the U.S.? By Conor Amendola, Brooke Johnpier, Louis Jacobson • April 29, 2024 No evidence of rising LGBTQ+ violent extremism or ‘trans terrorism’ By Grace Abels • February 26, 2024 Ask PolitiFact: How many people on the terrorist watchlist are coming into the United States? By Maria Ramirez Uribe • October 27, 2023 ‘Special interest alien’ designation is based largely on a person’s country of origin, experts say • September 21, 2023 No evidence of growing trend of trans radicalization or terrorism, experts say By Grace Abels, Samantha Putterman • March 31, 2023 What we know about Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, why Joe Biden traded him to free Brittney Griner By Yacob Reyes • December 8, 2022 Trump says he left Biden a perfect economy, but the facts say otherwise By Louis Jacobson, Matthew Crowley, Maria Ramirez Uribe, Yacob Reyes • November 16, 2022 Tucker Carlson’s ‘Patriot Purge’ film on Jan. 6 is full of falsehoods, conspiracy theories By Bill McCarthy • November 5, 2021 Biden’s misleading announcement that the United States is no longer at war • September 23, 2021 How the 9/11 attacks helped shape the modern misinformation, conspiracy theory industry By Bill McCarthy • September 9, 2021 How many terrorists have attempted to cross the southern border? Data is limited and imprecise By Miriam Valverde • March 22, 2021 ISIS, drug prices and COVID-19 deaths: How a viral post misleads on Biden’s first days in office By Samantha Putterman • January 26, 2021 Fact-checking Donald Trump’s closing arguments of the 2020 campaign By Miriam Valverde • October 27, 2020 GOP again tries to brand Spanberger with ‘Terrorist High’ ad By Warren Fiske • October 12, 2020 Latest promises about Terrorism Donald Trump Designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations State Department designates six cartels and two gangs as foreign terrorist organizations | February 26, 2025 Joe Biden Enact domestic terrorism law No new law enacted, but official strategy heightens focus on domestic terrorism | January 5, 2022 Donald Trump Keep Guantanamo Bay Detention Center open Trump signs order keeping Guantanamo prison open | January 31, 2018 Donald Trump Call for an international conference to defeat ISIS Trump’s counterterrorism efforts include continued global coalition meetings, but no new conference | July 15, 2020 Donald Trump Develop a plan to defeat ISIS in 30 days Experts say Trump deserves some credit for ISIS decline, but it’s not completely defeated | July 15, 2020 Donald Trump Close parts of the Internet where ISIS is Trump didn’t close parts of the internet to ISIS | January 15, 2021 Barack Obama We will crush al-Qaida Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliates still growing | April 2, 2015 Barack Obama Stop al Qaida prison recruitment A slow expansion of policies begun under George W. Bush | November 20, 2012 Barack Obama Convene a summit on preventing nuclear terrorism Two summits on preventing nuclear terrorism held, one scheduled for 2014 | November 15, 2012 Barack Obama Appoint a White House Coordinator for Nuclear Security White House nuclear security coordinator was installed in January | December 10, 2009 Barack Obama Revise the Patriot Act to increase oversight on government surveillance More oversight, but limits not ironclad | October 12, 2016 Barack Obama Restrict warrantless wiretaps Some limits on warrantless wiretaps but loopholes remain | November 18, 2016 Latest promises about Terrorism
Donald Trump Designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations State Department designates six cartels and two gangs as foreign terrorist organizations | February 26, 2025
Joe Biden Enact domestic terrorism law No new law enacted, but official strategy heightens focus on domestic terrorism | January 5, 2022
Donald Trump Keep Guantanamo Bay Detention Center open Trump signs order keeping Guantanamo prison open | January 31, 2018
Donald Trump Call for an international conference to defeat ISIS Trump’s counterterrorism efforts include continued global coalition meetings, but no new conference | July 15, 2020
Donald Trump Develop a plan to defeat ISIS in 30 days Experts say Trump deserves some credit for ISIS decline, but it’s not completely defeated | July 15, 2020
Donald Trump Close parts of the Internet where ISIS is Trump didn’t close parts of the internet to ISIS | January 15, 2021
Barack Obama We will crush al-Qaida Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliates still growing | April 2, 2015
Barack Obama Stop al Qaida prison recruitment A slow expansion of policies begun under George W. Bush | November 20, 2012
Barack Obama Convene a summit on preventing nuclear terrorism Two summits on preventing nuclear terrorism held, one scheduled for 2014 | November 15, 2012
Barack Obama Appoint a White House Coordinator for Nuclear Security White House nuclear security coordinator was installed in January | December 10, 2009
Barack Obama Revise the Patriot Act to increase oversight on government surveillance More oversight, but limits not ironclad | October 12, 2016
Barack Obama Restrict warrantless wiretaps Some limits on warrantless wiretaps but loopholes remain | November 18, 2016
