Each day Media Bias Fact Check selects and publishes fact checks from around the world. We only utilize fact-checkers that are either a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) or have been verified as credible by MBFC. Further, we review each fact check for accuracy before publishing. We fact-check the fact-checkers and let you know their bias. When appropriate, we explain the rating and/or offer our own rating if we disagree with the fact-checker. (D. Van Zandt)
Claim Codes: Red = Fact Check on a Right Claim, Blue = Fact Check on a Left Claim, Black = Not Political/Conspiracy/Pseudoscience/Other
Fact Checker bias rating Codes: Red = Right-Leaning, Green = Least Biased, Blue = Left-Leaning, Black = Unrated by MBFC
| FALSE | Claim by Joe Biden (D): The “average federal income tax” paid by the richest Americans is “8%. … If you’re a cop, a teacher, a firefighter, union worker, you probably pay two to three times that.”
PolitiFact rating: False (Today, the richest Americans pay an effective tax rate of more than 20% on the income the government counts under the current tax code. Among households earning $50,000 to $100,000 a year — a category that would include most of the rank-and-file taxpayers Biden mentioned — the vast majority paid effective tax rates of between zero and 15%, which is not two to three times the rate that the richest pay.) |
| FALSE | Claim via Social Media: California is going to have to burn more fossil fuels to create the electricity so they can charge their electric cars so they can “go green”.
Lead Stories rating: False (The California Department of Energy said this claim was false, and that the state is committed to ensuring energy reliability during its clean energy transition.) Fact Check: California Is NOT Using More Fossil Fuels To Go Green |
| BLATANT LIE |
Claim via Viral Image: Anthony Bourdain and Chris Cornell were killed while working on a documentary about “widespread pedophilia.”
Politifact rating: Pants on Fire (Anthony Bourdain and other people named in this post weren’t connected to a proposed documentary film called “The Silent Children,” a spokesperson for the project has said, and they weren’t killed because of it. ) No, Anthony Bourdain and other celebrities weren’t killed while working on a film about pedophilia |
| BLATANT LIE |
Claim via Social Media: Screengrabs prove Google censored Hunter Biden iCloud leaks.
Newsweek rating: False (The disclaimer used by Google was introduced to warn users about new and trending stories which may not have been verified by a wide range of sources. Searching for the topic still provides relevant, if not authenticated, results.) Fact Check: Do Screengrabs Prove Google Censored Hunter Biden iCloud Leaks? |
| TRUE | Claim by Greg Abbott (R): Texas’ public high school graduation rate is at 90% overall.
Politifact rating: True (Gov. Greg Abbott is right the Texas graduation rate is 90%. That statistic comes from Texas Education Agency 2020 data.) Greg Abbott is right that Texas’ high school graduation rate is 90% |
| FALSE | (International: United Kingdom): Claim by The Daily Sceptic: More than twice as many Americans have lost a household member to a Covid vaccine injury as have lost one to Covid.
Full Fact rating: False (Covid-19 has killed over one million people in the United States. Only a small number of deaths have been reported following vaccination, and a CDC study has found no link between reported deaths and receiving two vaccine doses.) Covid-19 vaccines have not killed twice as many people as the virus – Full Fact |
Disclaimer: We are providing links to fact checks by third-party fact-checkers. If you do not agree with a fact check, please directly contact the source of that fact check.