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FactCheck.org's Weekly Update

August 15, 2020

SciCheck

Trump’s Missteps on COVID-19 Mortality Posted on Wednesday, August 12th, 2020

President Donald Trump exaggerated Americans’ comparative success battling the coronavirus, falsely saying in a press briefing that the U.S. per capita death rate is lower than “most” of Western Europe. He also claimed a 9% decrease in COVID-19 fatalities over the past week, but the data do not show such a decline.

FactCheck Posts

Trump Campaign Exaggerates Potential for Mail-In Voting Fraud After Election Posted on Friday, August 14th, 2020

The Trump campaign claims there’s a potential for “massive fraud” in Nevada because the Postal Service doesn’t postmark the state’s prepaid return ballot envelopes. That’s false. USPS policy is to postmark all ballots.

Trump Proves Biden Right on USPS Funding, Mail-In Ballots Posted on Friday, August 14th, 2020

In late June, Joe Biden claimed President Donald Trump “wants to cut off money for the post office so they cannot deliver mail-in ballots.” At the time, we wrote that Biden had no evidence of Trump’s ulterior motive — but now he does. 

FactChecking Sen. Kamala Harris Posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2020

As a former 2020 presidential candidate, Sen. Kamala Harris — now presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate — was on our fact-checking radar this election cycle. Here’s a rundown of the claims we addressed.

FactChecking Trump’s Weekend Press Briefings Posted on Monday, August 10th, 2020

President Donald Trump made several false, misleading and exaggerated claims in press briefings he held Aug. 7 and 8 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

FactCheck Mailbag

Mailbag: COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution Posted on Friday, August 14th, 2020

A reader sent us a comment about our article on distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The article reviewed the Trump administration’s distribution plans.

Debunking False Stories

Viral Chart Distorts Human Trafficking Statistics Posted on Friday, August 14th, 2020

A popular bar graph on social media claims to show that the number of human trafficking arrests skyrocketed under President Donald Trump, compared to those under former President Barack Obama. But the chart misleads by using cherry-picked and, in some cases, faulty numbers.

Harris Hasn’t Called Biden a ‘Racist’ or a ‘Rapist’ Posted on Friday, August 14th, 2020

Contrary to claims in viral internet posts, Sen. Kamala Harris did not call former Vice President Joe Biden a “racist” or a “rapist.” Rather, she has been critical of Biden’s position on busing to integrate schools and comments he made about segregationist senators, and she has said that she believed women who accused Biden of making them feel uncomfortable.

Facebook Post Makes Baseless Claim About Bill Gates’ Family Ties Posted on Thursday, August 13th, 2020

A Facebook post makes the baseless claim that Bill Gates’ mother was related to Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The post also shows an image of a young man who is misidentified as Gates.

Face Masks Don’t Cause Legionnaires’ Disease Posted on Wednesday, August 12th, 2020

A viral social media post is spreading the falsehood that wearing a face mask to slow the spread of COVID-19 could cause Legionnaires’ disease. But Legionnaires’ disease is caused by bacteria that festers mostly in warm, standing water, not in human saliva.

Kamala Harris Is Eligible to Serve as President Posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2020

Kamala Harris, former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate, is eligible to serve as U.S. president, contrary to the false claims of viral posts on Facebook. Her mother is from India and her father from Jamaica — but Harris was born in Oakland, California.

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