View this email in your browser ([link removed])
An update from FactCheck.org
Photo by Tom Brenner/AFP via Getty Images


** A Pay-for that Doesn’t Pay for the Bill
------------------------------------------------------------

News articles have described the newly elected ([link removed]) House speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson, as little known. If fact-checking is any gauge, that’s about right.

We had written about Johnson only once before he became speaker. (In 2019, during House hearings about special counsel Robert S. Mueller’s report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Johnson said, “President Trump cooperated fully with the investigation.” As we wrote ([link removed]) , the Mueller report contradicts that.)

This week, we fact-checked Johnson again.

In an interview with Fox News, he said a Republican bill to provide aid for Israel would have “pay-fors in it.”

“We’re not just going to print money and send it overseas,” Johnson said, citing a concern about “our fiscal stability.”

But, as Managing Editor Lori Robertson writes, the legislation would increase the deficit, not pay for itself, according to multiple budget experts.

The bill calls for $14.3 billion in spending to respond to the attacks in Israel and proposes “budgetary offsets” by rescinding the same amount of funding to the Internal Revenue Service. Reducing the IRS’ ability to collect taxes that are owed would lower revenues and therefore increase deficits.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that taking back the IRS funding would increase deficits by $12.5 billion over 10 years. Steve Ellis, president of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, said the IRS provision was “a recipe for fiscal recklessness.”

Republicans have objected to the additional IRS funding, which was part of a Democratic law passed last year.

The House passed ([link removed]) the Israel aid bill on Nov. 2. It now goes to the Democratic-controlled Senate.

See Lori’s full story for more: “IRS Funding Cut Doesn’t Offset Israel Aid in GOP Bill ([link removed]) .”
HOW WE KNOW
When President Joe Biden repeatedly made claims about semiconductor industry jobs, we turned ([link removed]) to the Semiconductor Industry Association, a trade group, to find out more about average salaries. In a 2021 report, the group said the average salary for the U.S. industry was $170,000 in 2020. For those without any college experience, the wage premium was more than $40,000.
FEATURED FACT
Puerto Rico became a sovereignty of the U.S. after the Spanish American War in 1898. The island officially became a U.S. territory in 1917, and its residents became U.S. citizens. However, the roughly 3.3. million residents of the island cannot vote in general elections for president — though they can in primaries — and they have no voting representation in Congress. Read more ([link removed]) .
WORTHY OF NOTE
This week, the Annenberg Public Policy Center, our parent organization at the University of Pennsylvania, released the results of a new survey that found confidence in vaccines in the U.S. has declined.

According to the latest Annenberg Science and Public Health Knowledge survey, conducted in early October, the percentage of American adults who think U.S.-approved vaccines are safe dropped to 71% from 77% in April 2021. In that same two-and-a-half-year period, the percentage who don’t think vaccines approved in the U.S. are safe grew from 9% to 16%.

The survey also found that more people accept misinformation about vaccines and COVID-19 -- despite, APPC said, the efforts of news organizations, public health officials, scientists and fact-checkers.

For more, read the policy center's press release ([link removed]) on the survey.
REPLY ALL

Reader: I keep seeing people posting to stay away from Starbucks because their union supports Hamas. Can you please let me know?

FactCheck.org Staff Writer D'Angelo Gore: After Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, attacked Israel on Oct. 7, a social media account belonging to Starbucks Workers United ([link removed]) , a group organizing Starbucks baristas at hundreds of store locations, posted a pro-Palestinian message.

The post on X, the old Twitter, said, "Solidarity with Palestine!" The message did not mention Hamas, but it was attached to another X user's post of a video said to depict "Gaza Resistance tearing down the israeli occupation fence erected on the border."

On Oct. 11, Starbucks, the corporation, responded with a statement ([link removed]) criticizing the post from Starbucks Workers United.

"To be clear: We unequivocally condemn these acts of terrorism, hate and violence, and disagree with the statements and views expressed by Workers United and its members. Workers United’s words and actions belong to them, and them alone," part of the corporation's statement said.

Starbucks Workers United is part of Workers United ([link removed]) , a Philadelphia-based union that is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union.

The corporate Starbucks is now suing Workers United for trademark infringement, arguing in an Oct. 18 complaint ([link removed]) that "inflammatory and misleading communications" posted by Starbucks Workers United "have led, among other things, to property damage, threats, and calls for a boycott against Starbucks." Starbucks said customers were confused because the group uses the company's name and a similar logo.

In a counter lawsuit filed ([link removed]) the same day, Workers United said the post in question "was not authorized by the leadership of Workers United or Starbucks Workers United, and it was deleted after approximately 30-40 minutes." Workers United also argued that Starbucks falsely implied that the union expressed support for "terrorism, hate and violence," although Workers United had shared ([link removed]) an Oct. 10 post from the SEIU president condemning antisemitism and violence in Israel and Palestine.

Then, on Oct. 20, Starbucks Workers United posted an official statement on social ([link removed]) media ([link removed]) that further explained its support for Palestine.

"Members of Starbucks Workers United Stand in Solidarity with the Palestinian People's Right to Self-Determination," the statement reads.

It adds, in part: "We are opposed to violence, and each death occurring as the result of violence is a tragedy. We absolutely condemn antisemitism and Islamaphobia. Our union's members endorse the comprehensive statement of support from Jewish Voice for Peace, which provides powerful context on why we all must stand in solidarity with Palestinians. This statement reflects the diversity of our campaign; we are a union with Jewish, Palestinian, and Muslim workers."

The statement ([link removed]) from Jewish Voice for Peace, which describes itself as the "largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world," is available on its website. The statement called the "massacres committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians ... horrific war crimes," but it also criticized the Israeli government's response to the attacks.


** Wrapping Up
------------------------------------------------------------

Here's what else we've got for you this week:
* "Posts Falsely Claim FDA ‘Required’ to Take mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines off Market Due to Adulteration ([link removed]) ": As with many medical products, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines may contain trace amounts of residual DNA from the manufacturing process. It is not considered adulteration, and the Food and Drug Administration is not “required” to pull the vaccines from the market, contrary to viral claims online.

* "Pro-Trump PAC Spars with DeSantis over Puerto Rican Statehood ([link removed]) ": A pro-Donald Trump super PAC and Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign are both spinning the facts about support for Puerto Rican statehood.

* "Online Video Misrepresents Putin Speech Commemorating WWII Victory ([link removed]) ": An online video shows Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing a 2021 military rally commemorating the triumph over Nazism in World War II. But an Instagram post sharing the video falsely claims Putin is shown announcing “help to Palestine” in the current war between Israel and Hamas.

Do you like FactCheck.Weekly? Share it with a friend! They can subscribe here ([link removed]) .
Donate to Support Our Work ([link removed])

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
We'll show up in your inbox every Friday with this fact-focused rundown. But you can message us any day of the week with questions or comments: [email protected].
Copyright © 2023 FactCheck.org, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
FactCheck.org
Annenberg Public Policy Center
202 S. 36th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3806

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed][UNIQID]&c=ff9a7620f9&utm_source=FactCheck.org&utm_campaign=63a7f010cb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_11_02_02_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-63a7f010cb-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D)
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed][UNIQID]&c=ff9a7620f9&utm_source=FactCheck.org&utm_campaign=63a7f010cb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_11_02_02_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-63a7f010cb-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D)
.

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
FactCheck.org: A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania . 202 S 36th St. . Philadelphia, Pa 19104 . USA