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An update from FactCheck.org


** The Worst Whoppers of 2024
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This is our last newsletter of 2024, and we're ending the year by featuring our annual whoppers list, which includes the biggest falsehoods that we heard in the past 12 months.

President-elect Donald Trump, who has been on each whoppers list since 2015, was also responsible for several claims in this year's roundup, including multiple false statements about immigration.

Perhaps his worst whopper, made during the September presidential debate, was his claim that Haitian immigrants were “eating the dogs” and “eating the cats” of people who live in Springfield, Ohio. Trump's claim was similar to one his running mate, Vice President-elect JD Vance, made a day earlier in a post on X.

Another head scratcher cited by our staff: President Joe Biden, who inherited an annual inflation rate of 1.4% in January 2021, falsely claiming -- more than once -- that the rate of inflation "was 9% when I came to office."

We also couldn't get over Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who, while criticizing the conservative Project 2025 playbook, wrongly claimed that it called for "tracking all pregnancies” and would require people “to register with a new federal agency” upon getting pregnant. Project 2025 says no such thing.

To see all the claims that made our list, which could have been so much longer, read "Whoppers of 2024 ([link removed]) ."
FUNDRAISING UPDATE
As of Dec. 19, we have received 185 contributions for a total of $14,875 during our annual fundraising drive, which began Dec. 3 and will end Dec. 31. If you would like to join our fight against misinformation, you can make a credit card donation ([link removed]) online or mail a check to FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center, 202 S. 36th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104-3806. Checks can be made payable to “The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania” with a note in the memo field indicating the donation is for FactCheck.org.
FEATURED FACT
Redistricting is based on the decennial census, which counts the nation’s population every 10 years. The site All About Redistricting reports that legislatures in 39 states primarily control congressional redistricting, with most able to approve redistricted maps through a majority vote in each legislative chamber. Nine draw federal districts through independent commissions. Redistricting creates opportunities for gerrymandering, or the redrawing of electoral districts to favor a political party. Read more ([link removed]) .
WORTHY OF NOTE

At the end of the year, Eugene Kiely, who has been with FactCheck.org for over 14 years, including 12 as director, is retiring. Sigh.
Under Eugene, we launched SciCheck in 2015, joined Meta's fact-checking initiative in 2016, began Spanish translations of our work in 2021, and forged numerous other media partnerships that helped us expand our reach and increase our impact. He has been an amazing leader and colleague, and we hope that you will join us in thanking him and wishing him well in his retirement.

And don't worry! FactCheck.org will remain in great hands.

Eugene will be succeeded as director by Managing Editor Lori Robertson, who has been with FactCheck.org for more than 17 years. In addition, Deputy Managing Editor Robert Farley, who has 13-plus years at FactCheck.org, will assume the title of deputy director.


Happy holidays!
REPLY ALL

Reader: Is the federal government selling off unused border wall materials?

FactCheck.org Staff Writer D'Angelo Gore: The Department of Defense already has transferred or sold the unused border wall materials, as required by federal law.

Section 2890 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 ([link removed]) stipulated that the defense secretary submit a plan to Congress on how the DoD planned to use, transfer or donate any excess border wall materials that were purchased. The department said its plan was submitted to Congress in March, and the materials have been distributed or disposed of in accordance with that plan.

In a statement ([link removed]) to reporters earlier this month, a defense official said:

"Since enactment of the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December 2023, the Department of Defense has been in the process of disposing of excess border wall construction materials in accordance with Section 2890 of that statute. Through our reutilization, transfer, and donation process, nearly 60% of those materials were transferred to authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California. The remaining 40% was sold to GOVPLANET under a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024. The material currently being sold through GOVPLANET online auctions no longer belongs to the U.S. Government, and DoD has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of material it no longer owns."

GovPlanet ([link removed]) is a company that buys excess government supplies and then sells the products through public auctions.


** Wrapping Up
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Here's what else we've got for you this week:
* "Where Trump’s Picks for EPA, Interior and Energy Stand on Climate Change ([link removed]) ": We reviewed what each of President-elect Donald Trump’s presumptive nominees to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy have said about climate change and the environment.

* "What We Know About the Drones ([link removed]) ": On Dec. 17, four federal agencies said they followed up more than 5,000 reported drone sightings and determined that they were lawful private and law enforcement drones and other aircraft “mistakenly reported as drones.” The agencies said the drones do not pose a security threat.

* "Congress Not Proposing to Give Itself 40% Raise ([link removed]) ": Elon Musk, who has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead a committee to ferret out government waste, wrongly posted to X that members of Congress are trying to vote themselves a 40% raise. The maximum possible raise in 2025 would be 3.8%, not 40%.

* "Speaker Johnson’s Partisan Spin on Gerrymandering in the 2024 Election ([link removed]) ": House Speaker Mike Johnson was spinning the facts when he claimed Republicans would have won a larger majority in the House in the 2024 election if not for Democrats’ gerrymandering of districts. The net effect of redistricting did not give the Democrats a large advantage, experts told us, with most of them saying the Republicans benefited more than Democrats.

* "Gun Charges Against Hunter Biden Didn’t Come from 1994 Crime Bill ([link removed]) ": President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden from serving time for gun- and tax-related crimes. But contrary to claims on social media, Hunter Biden’s gun charges did not stem from a 1994 “crime bill authored” by then-Sen. Joe Biden.

* "Posts Wrongly Conflate U.S.-China Prisoner Swap with Biden’s Recent Pardons ([link removed]) ": President Joe Biden granted pardons and commutations to more than 1,500 individuals on Dec. 12. Social media posts wrongly claim those pardoned included a Chinese national, Shanlin Jin, imprisoned for child pornography. Jin was granted clemency as part of a prisoner swap last month that freed three Americans held for years in China.

Y lo que publicamos en español ([link removed]) (English versions are accessible in each story):
* "Grandes falsedades del 2024 ([link removed]) ": Nuestro resumen anual de las peores falsedades del año.

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