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FactCheck.org's Weekly Update

July 4, 2020

FactCheck Posts

Giuliani’s Misleading Attack on de Blasio and Crime Posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2020

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani misleadingly contrasted his mayoral record on crime with a recent spike in murders under Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, citing the uptick as evidence that Democratic mayors are “a danger to their people.”

Trump’s Baseless Attacks on Times, Post Reporting on Russia Probe Posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2020

President Donald Trump has attacked reporting on the Russia investigation by the New York Times and the Washington Post as “fake news,” asserting — along with his press secretary — that the news organizations should return the Pulitzer Prizes they received in 2018 for their work.

Trump’s False Military Equipment Claim Posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2020

President Donald Trump has falsely claimed his administration invested “$2.5 trillion in all of the greatest equipment in the world” for the military. That’s approximately the total for defense budgets from 2017 to 2020, but the cost of purchasing new military equipment was 20% of that.

COVID-19 Cases and Deaths, By the Numbers Posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2020

Noting that the United States accounts for about one-quarter of global COVID-19 cases and deaths, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the U.S. has “the worst record of any country in the world.” While the U.S. has the most confirmed cases and deaths by a wide margin, it does not have the most in either category on a per-capita basis.

Debunking False Stories

Video Presents Flawed Test on Masks, Oxygen Levels Posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2020

A viral video questions the safety of face masks by using a gas detector to purportedly show that masks result in dangerous oxygen levels for the wearer. But experts — and the company that makes the gas detector — say the video’s test is scientifically flawed.

Popular Facebook Post Was Not Written by Tennis Star Posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2020

A viral Facebook post whose author expresses frustration with COVID-19, racial and political divisions, and other topics is falsely attributed to tennis star Serena Williams. It was actually written by another Facebook user with the same name.

Viral Post Falsely Attributes ‘Shadow Government’ Claim to Krauthammer Posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2020

A Christian blogger writing for The Daily Jot accused former President Barack Obama in 2017 of running a “shadow government.” The blog post has been recirculating lately on social media, but it is falsely attributed to the late Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer.

Painting of Children in Masks Isn’t a 1994 Airport Mural Posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2020

Viral posts wrongly claim that a painting depicting children in face masks was created as a mural for the Denver airport in 1994 — and baselessly suggest the COVID-19 pandemic was planned. The painting is not at the airport, and is not from 1994.

Meme Misrepresents Florida Surgeon General’s Position on Face Masks Posted on Monday, June 29th, 2020

Amid a surge in Florida’s COVID-19 cases, a Facebook meme dated June 24 falsely claims the state’s surgeon general recommended that people stop wearing face masks. The surgeon general actually issued an advisory two days earlier saying everyone in Florida “should wear face coverings in any setting where social distancing is not possible.”

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