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** FactCheck.org's Weekly Update
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March 21, 2020
** SciCheck
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Biden, Trump Wrong About WHO Coronavirus Tests ([link removed]) Posted on Friday, March 20th, 2020
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Following a flawed rollout of test kits in the U.S. for the new coronavirus, former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump have given inaccurate information related to the diagnostic tests distributed by the World Health Organization.
Q&A on the Coronavirus Pandemic ([link removed]) Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
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We answer some key questions about what is known so far about the outbreak and the virus.
Trump Misrepresents Google Coronavirus Website ([link removed]) Posted on Monday, March 16th, 2020
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President Donald Trump and other officials misleadingly suggested that tech behemoth Google was working on a screening website that large numbers of Americans could use to see if they should be tested for the new coronavirus. The website, however, is actually a project of Google’s sister company Verily and is initially limited to the San Francisco Bay Area.
** FactCheck Posts
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Contrary to Trump’s Claim, A Pandemic Was Widely Expected at Some Point ([link removed]) Posted on Friday, March 20th, 2020
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At a White House briefing March 19, President Donald Trump said, “Nobody knew there’d be a pandemic or an epidemic of this proportion.” But that’s simply not the case.
Dems Misconstrue Trump Budget Remarks ([link removed]) Posted on Friday, March 20th, 2020
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After President Trump said, “I don’t know anything about” the disbanding of a White House pandemic response office, the Democrats claimed that he “lied” and pointed to Trump’s earlier remarks about “some of the people we cut” as evidence. But those remarks were in response to a question about proposed budget cuts — not the anti-pandemic team in question.
Trump Gets Ahead of Himself on COVID-19 Therapies ([link removed]) Posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
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President Donald Trump left the misleading impression that two drugs were “approved” for use in treating the new coronavirus and were available for “immediate delivery.”
Trump’s Statements About the Coronavirus ([link removed]) Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
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President Donald Trump said on March 17, “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.” While it’s not possible to know what Trump “felt,” there’s no doubt that Trump had minimized the threat of the new coronavirus for weeks in statement after statement.
A Guide to Our Coronavirus Coverage ([link removed]) Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020
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We launched a new Coronavirus Coverage page to help readers navigate our website and more easily find the articles they want to read.
Video: The Biden-Sanders Debate ([link removed]) Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020
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In this video, we review three claims from the first head-to-head presidential primary debate between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
** Debunking False Stories
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Article Misquotes Clyburn on Ending Democratic Primary ([link removed]) Posted on Friday, March 20th, 2020
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Rep. James Clyburn has called on the Democratic National Committee to cancel presidential primary debates to avoid damaging attacks on the eventual nominee. Clyburn did not say, as a conservative website falsely claimed, that he wanted to protect Joe Biden “from saying something that he ‘cannot overcome.'”
Death Quote Wrongly Attributed to Trump ([link removed]) Posted on Friday, March 20th, 2020
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Social media posts are spreading a quote falsely attributed to President Donald Trump about the coronavirus. He didn’t say, “People are dying who have never died before.” But Ernest Hemingway did.
False Claim That Pelosi Withheld Coronavirus Funds Over Abortion ([link removed]) Posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
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A viral Facebook post falsely claims that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “wouldn’t release 8.5 billion for Coronavirus without abortion funding.” A House bill providing $8.3 billion in relief was already signed into law. The “abortion funding” claim is a distortion of a separate debate over a different bill.
Trump Didn’t Tweet Threat to Withhold Relief from Critics ([link removed]) Posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
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Facebook and Instagram users are sharing a fake tweet attributed to President Donald Trump that suggests the president’s critics won’t get direct government payments to ease the financial burden of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prank Posts Mislead on Direct Government Payments for Coronavirus ([link removed]) Posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
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The Trump administration has proposed providing direct payments to some U.S. citizens, beginning April 6, to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus. But a prank post circulating on Facebook falsely states that the government is sending out checks every week and claim forms are already available.
No ‘Huge Red Flag That Fraud Occurred’ in Mass. Primary ([link removed]) Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
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A misleading tweet uses a faulty interpretation of exit polling in Massachusetts and incomplete reporting on two other races to claim there were irregularities in Super Tuesday elections.
Viral Posts Falsely Align Viruses to Election Years ([link removed]) Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
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Viral posts on social media claim COVID-19 is no worse than other outbreaks that have occurred in “every election year,” suggesting that the new coronavirus is being “hyped” to hurt President Donald Trump. But most of the dates cited to defend those conclusions about previous outbreaks are misleading or incorrect.
Video Doesn’t Show ‘#ElectionFraud’ in Illinois ([link removed]) Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020
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Social media posts claim that a video clip is evidence of “#ElectionFraud.” The clip actually shows a standard newsroom rehearsal ahead of the Illinois primaries.
False Claims of Nationwide Lockdown for COVID-19 ([link removed]) Posted on Monday, March 16th, 2020
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The National Security Council is warning Americans of a “FAKE” rumor circulating on social media that falsely claims President Donald Trump will impose a nationwide “mandatory quarantine.”
Gargling Water With Salt Won’t ‘Eliminate’ Coronavirus ([link removed]) Posted on Monday, March 16th, 2020
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A viral image circulating online is falsely advising social media users that gargling water with salt or vinegar “eliminates” the coronavirus. There is currently “no specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the new coronavirus,” according to the World Health Organization.
** Articles
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FactChecking the March Democratic Debate ([link removed]) Posted on Monday, March 16th, 2020
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While debating 6 feet apart due to the coronavirus outbreak, the two leading contenders offered competing versions of the facts on several key issues.
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