Fact Checking

MBFC’s Daily Vetted Fact Checks for 08/19/2024

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Media Bias Fact Check selects and publishes fact checks from around the world. We only utilize fact-checkers who 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

MOSTLY TRUE	Claim by Pete Buttigieg (D): Gov. Tim Walz delivered paid family leave in Minnesota but “Republicans are blocking” a Biden-Harris proposal. PolitiFact rating: Mostly True (Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill in 2023 that provides paid family leave starting in January 2026. President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better proposal initially included four weeks of paid family leave, but Sen. Joe Manchin, then a Democrat, objected to the bill. Without Republican support, that doomed the bill. The legislation that became the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act did not include family leave.) Fact-checking Buttigieg’s claim that Walz provided Minn. paid leave as GOP blocks US policy
BLATANT LIE	Claim via Social Media: Patent US5676977A is for AIDS, patent US8835624B1 is for H1N1, patents US7897744B2 and US8506968B2 are for SARS Health Feedback rating: Inaccurate (Several of the listed patents aren’t patents for viruses or aren’t even patents at all. For example, one is for an unproven method for curing AIDS, while another is for a molecule that binds to the swine flu virus.) Facebook reel misinterprets patents for proposed therapies and vaccines as patents for viruses
MISLEADING	Claim via Social Media: Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance was born James Donald Bowman but has since changed his name three times. Snopes rating: Misleading (All is true, but he changed his name only 2 times.) JD Vance Was Born James Donald Bowman But Changed His Name 3 Times?
BLATANT LIE	Claim via Social Media: AIPAC supported Ilhan Omar’s primary race opponent. USA Today rating: False (Both the committee, more commonly known as AIPAC, and a spokesperson for Samuels said the group was not involved in the race. Samuels does not appear on the organization’s list of supported candidates.) AIPAC not involved in Omar’s Minnesota primary\| Fact check
BLATANT LIE	Claim by Donald Trump (R): Vice President Kamala Harris supports “mass amnesty and citizenship” for “all illegals … even criminals.” FactCheck.org rating: False (The Trump campaign pointed to past proposals that Harris has supported, but none would have done that.) Trump’s False and Misleading Claims about Harris’ Record on Crime Donald Trump Rating
FALSE	(International: New Zealand): New Zealand’s Pandemic Plan gives police power to restrain citizens for forced vaccination. Australian Associated Press rating: False (NZ’s Bill of Rights Act prevents any forced medical procedure.) No, NZ police can’t forcibly vaccinate under pandemic plan