Fentanyl Seizures at the U.S.-Mexico Border

One of the more common deceptions is what we call the "True, but ..." claim. The statement is true, but it's misleading because it lacks context. 

Take, for example, Rep. Elise Stefanik's tweet about fentanyl seizures at the southern border.

Stefanik, who replaced Rep. Liz Cheney as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, tweeted: "Over 800 pounds of fentanyl were seized at our Southern Border in October. This is Biden’s Border Crisis." 

It's true that more than 800 pounds of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, were seized at the border in October. But that's down slightly from more than 1,000 pounds in October 2020, when Donald Trump was president. 

And, as FactCheck.org staff writer D'Angelo Gore reports, the vast majority of the fentanyl was confiscated at legal ports of entry -- not from people illegally crossing the border. 

Some Republicans argue that an increase in fentanyl seized means that more of the drug is getting into the U.S. undetected. No one knows that for sure, because there are no comprehensive data on the total amount smuggled into the country.

However, if seizing more fentanyl before it gets to Americans does indicate a “border crisis,” the seizure data show the problem preceded Biden.

Stefanik isn't the only one to have posted tweets misleadingly linking fentanyl seizures to Biden's immigration policies. D'Angelo found that other GOP lawmakers and officials made similar claims on Twitter -- before, and after, his story was published.

For more, see "Analyzing Republican Attacks on Biden for Increase in Fentanyl Seized." 

Reader: People Who Get Johnson & Johnson Vaccine at Elevated Risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Is this correct?

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: We answer your question, among other places, in our item “How safe are the vaccines?”

In that item, we write:

On July 13, the FDA added warnings to fact sheets on the J&J vaccine about an observed increased risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks nerve cells. Most people who develop GBS fully recover, although some have permanent nerve damage and the condition can be fatal.

As of Nov. 24, there have been around 268 preliminary reports of GBS after more than 16.4 million J&J vaccine doses that have been administered. Most cases have occurred around two weeks post-vaccination and in males, primarily those 50 years of age and older.

Our item covers reports of other adverse events, too. It is one of a series of questions that we answer about COVID-19. 

Wrapping Up

Here's what else we've got for you this week:

• "Post Makes Unfounded Claims About Omicron ‘Symptoms’ and COVID-19 Vaccines": Scientists are still learning about the omicron variant’s ability to spread or cause severe illness and the effectiveness of the current COVID-19 vaccines in fighting it. But a Facebook post misleadingly claims to list seven “symptoms” of the new variant, then suggests they are caused by the vaccines. The list actually refers to complications of COVID-19. Two of the listed conditions are rare adverse events associated with the vaccines.
• "Researchers Studying Whether Mouthwashes Can Reduce Viral Load, COVID-19 Transmission": In a Dec. 8 town hall meeting, Sen. Ron Johnson may have left a misleading impression in saying “standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus.” In the laboratory, some mouthwashes have been shown to block infectivity or suppress SARS-CoV-2, but studies involving people using mouthwash are not conclusive. Researchers are continuing to study the matter. 
• "Post Comes to Premature Conclusions About COVID-19 Omicron Variant Severity": It’s not known yet whether the omicron variant causes more or less severe COVID-19 than the delta variant, although some preliminary indications suggest omicron infections might be milder. A Facebook post nevertheless claims, without evidence, that the “toxicity” of omicron is 5 times higher than delta and that its mortality rate is higher. 
• "Biden’s Wage Claims: Mostly Malarkey": President Joe Biden has been saying “wages are up” and rising “faster than inflation.” While weekly paychecks have indeed gotten larger since he became president, they have not kept pace with inflation. 
• "Pope Francis Continues to be Active, Despite Rumors of Declining Health": Unfounded speculation is spreading online that the pope is near death. There is no credible evidence that the pope, who remains active, is terminally ill. The viral claim is based on a single news story published Dec. 6 by Newsmax, which attributed the information to an unidentified Vatican source. No other publication has reported it.  

• "Publicación en Facebook difunde información falsa sobre ‘desintoxicación’ tras la vacuna": Ningún proceso de “desintoxicación” puede revertir la vacunación, dicen los expertos médicos. Sin embargo, un mensaje en las redes sociales difunde la falsa afirmación de que un baño con bórax puede “remover” la vacuna contra el COVID-19. El baño puede eliminar algunos fluidos del cuerpo, pero no las moléculas asociadas con las vacunas, nos dijo un toxicólogo. 
• "La vicegobernadora electa de Virginia, Winsome Sears, distorsiona los hechos sobre las vacunas contra el COVID-19": En una entrevista en el programa “State of the Union” de CNN, la vicegobernadora electa de Virginia, Winsome Sears, difundió información errónea sobre las vacunas contra el COVID-19 que hemos desmentido anteriormente.