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** FactCheck.org's Weekly Update
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March 7, 2020
** SciCheck
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Trump’s Misplaced Blame on Obama for Coronavirus Tests ([link removed]) Posted on Friday, March 6th, 2020
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Amid criticism over his administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that he had to overcome an Obama-era Food and Drug Administration “rule” to more quickly provide diagnostic tests to the American people. Experts, however, told us no such formal regulation was ever implemented under the previous administration.
** FactCheck Posts
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FactChecking Trump’s Scranton Town Hall ([link removed]) Posted on Friday, March 6th, 2020
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At a town hall event in the swing state of Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump made several false and misleading claims, some of which we have repeatedly debunked before.
The Facts on Trump’s Travel Restrictions ([link removed]) Posted on Friday, March 6th, 2020
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President Donald Trump has made a number of misleading statements about his decision on Jan. 31 to impose travel restrictions related to the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Trump and the Coronavirus Death Rate ([link removed]) Posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2020
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The World Health Organization says that 3.4% of reported COVID-19 patients worldwide have died – a global fatality figure that President Donald Trump dismissed as “a false number.” It’s not a false number, although experts say Trump has a point that the fatality rate may ultimately be quite a bit less than 3.4%.
Democrats’ Misleading Coronavirus Claims ([link removed]) Posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020
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Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration’s response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right.
Trump and the ‘New Hoax’ ([link removed]) Posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020
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President Donald Trump accused the Democrats of “politicizing” the new coronavirus, calling it “their new hoax.” Even after Trump explained his remarks, some Democrats — including Mike Bloomberg — continued to wrongly accuse Trump of describing the coronavirus as a “hoax.”
Biden Admits He Was ‘Stopped,’ Not ‘Arrested,’ in South Africa ([link removed]) Posted on Monday, March 2nd, 2020
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In recent interviews, former Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged that he was wrong to say he was “arrested” while trying to visit Nelson Mandela in South Africa. He was actually “stopped” and briefly “detained,” Biden said.
** Debunking False Stories
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O’Rourke Endorsement Triggers False Posts on Biden’s Gun Policy ([link removed]) Posted on Friday, March 6th, 2020
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Beto O’Rourke’s endorsement of Joe Biden has been used as fuel for misinformation about the former vice president’s gun control policy. If elected president, Biden did not say he is “coming for your guns.”
Coronavirus Prank Falsely Tells of Workplace, School Closings ([link removed]) Posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2020
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Facebook posts, evidently intended as a prank, erroneously claim that the government — or specific states such as Michigan or Florida — has mandated that employers and schools close for two weeks in response to the coronavirus. No such announcement has been made.
Viral Posts Misrepresent California Primary Results ([link removed]) Posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2020
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Viral posts falsely claim President Donald Trump received more votes in the California primary than the top two Democratic candidates combined. Unofficial totals show that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden received 1,842,471 votes; Trump received 1,486,415.
Article Falsely Reports on Health of Pope Francis ([link removed]) Posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2020
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An article circulating on social media claims without evidence that Pope Francis and two of his aides have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Vatican has said the pope has a cold, “with no symptoms related to other pathologies.”
Social Posts Share Fake Schumer Tweet ([link removed]) Posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2020
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Posts on Facebook falsely claim to show screenshots of two tweets by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer about the U.S. coronavirus response. Schumer didn’t post the supposed tweet criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to bar travelers from China.
COVID-19 Tests Don’t Cost Over $3,000 ([link removed]) Posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020
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A meme with the false claim that “[t]he US is charging over $3,000 per test” for patients who may have COVID-19 has been circulating on social media. For now, the two agencies authorized to test for the illness are not billing patients.
Image Altered to Show KKK Members with Trump Sign ([link removed]) Posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020
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A doctored image on social media shows members of the KKK carrying a Trump-Pence campaign banner. The original image, which predates President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign by several years, does not.
Cattle Vaccine Not Related to 2019 Novel Coronavirus ([link removed]) Posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020
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Viral Facebook posts use a photo of a vaccine for cows to falsely suggest that the novel coronavirus isn’t actually new, alleging it is proof of “how much the media controls people.” The cattle vaccine has nothing to do with the COVID-19 virus.
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