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** Our Annual Fundraising Appeal
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It is that time of year when we ask for you to help support fact-based reporting on major public policy issues.

This year, we have brought you reports on the Capitol riot, including a same-day fact-checking article ([link removed]) of then President Donald Trump’s falsehood-filled speech at the rally that preceded the riot. We also launched SciCheck’s COVID-19/Vaccination Project ([link removed]) and have greatly expanded our coverage of COVID-19 misinformation.

We now provide COVID-19 articles and videos in Spanish. We also created a “COVID-19 Misconceptions” page in English ([link removed]) and Spanish ([link removed]) that groups our COVID-19 articles by category of deception, making it easier to find what you are looking for.

This year also marked a shift in power in Washington, and we have brought you reports on the new Democratic president ([link removed]) and the Democratic-controlled Congress and their agenda – including fact-checking articles on such issues as the bipartisan infrastructure law, the partisan Build Back Better Act and the new administration’s response to COVID-19.

In 2022, we will continue to cover all of those ongoing issues – plus bring you coverage of the key House and Senate races that will decide control of Congress.

But we cannot do it — at least for very long — without your help.

FactCheck.org started with a founding grant from the Annenberg Foundation and has received funding over the years from other foundations, too. (See “Our Funding ([link removed]) ” page, which discloses any contribution of $1,000 or more.) But your donations have extended the life of FactCheck.org, allowing us to diversify our funding sources and continue to bring you the kind of fact-based reporting you have come to expect.

We started accepting individual contributions from our readers in 2010 and our last fiscal year was our best year ever. We received 2,629 gifts from individual donors totaling $208,990 – mostly in small amounts. The median contribution was $25.

So please consider a donation to FactCheck.org.

Your support will help offset the cost of some of our most important projects, including our 2022 election coverage and our undergraduate fellowship program ([link removed]) . In 2022, we will retain the services of an ad-tracking service that will provide us with TV and digital ads for all House and Senate races. We will also train a new class of undergraduate University of Pennsylvania students, who will learn how to monitor political claims, conduct research using the best evidence and write fact-checking articles. Your donations will help fund both key programs.

If you would like to make a contribution, credit card donations may be made through our “Donate” page ([link removed]) , which is maintained by the University of Pennsylvania. If you prefer to give by check, send 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.

FactCheck.org is a project of the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. The University of Pennsylvania is a 501(c)(3) organization, and your contribution is deductible from U.S. federal income taxes to the full extent allowed by law.

Thank you for all of your support. Have a happy holiday, and a safe and healthy new year.
HOW WE KNOW
In claiming that the mRNA vaccines "dramatically increase" inflammation of the cardiac muscle, Dr. Steven R. Gundry said he used the PULS Cardiac Test to measure protein biomarkers. FactCheck.org reporter Catalina Jaramillo interviewed the man who helped developed that test, Dr. Douglas S. Harrington, a pathologist, who told her that the test results have been misinterpreted. “It is not proof that people should not get vaccines. What it should be interpreted as is proof that the vaccine works,” he said. Read more ([link removed]) .
FEATURED FACT
Since President Joe Biden took office in January, paychecks have gone up, but so has inflation. What has it meant for rank-and-file workers? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees — who make up 81% of the private sector workforce — were 4.1% larger in November than they were in January. But the purchasing power of those paychecks was 2.8% less due to rising prices. Read more ([link removed]) .
WORTHY OF NOTE
FactCheck.org Managing Editor Lori Robertson regularly discusses our work on the public radio show “Conversations on Health Care,” which is broadcast in New York City, Washington, D.C., and other major markets.

On Dec. 13, Lori discussed social media claims about the buffer Tris, or tromethamine, which has been added to the Pfizer's reformulated pediatric vaccine to increase the stability of the product, allowing it to remain at refrigerator temperatures for longer. Social media posts, however, misleadingly suggest that the ingredient was added to prevent heart attacks in children.

To listen to the broadcast, click here ([link removed]) . Her report on the Pfizer pediatric vaccine begins at the 23:45 minute mark.

For more information about Pfizer's pediatric COVID-19 vaccine see "Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine Formulation Tweaked to Improve Stability ([link removed]) " and "A Guide to Pfizer/BioNTech’s Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids 5-11 ([link removed]) ."
REPLY ALL

Reader: Did [Sen. Dianne] Feinstein say "All vets are mentally ill in some way"?

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely:
No. This is an old distortion that I wrote about more than eight years ago! But misinformation never dies on the internet.

You are referring to a comment Feinstein made at a March 7, 2013, Senate hearing on her legislation at the time, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013. At the hearing, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas offered an amendment that would have exempted military veterans from the assault weapons ban.

Feinstein expressed concern about a blanket exemption for all veterans, citing post-traumatic stress disorder as a concern. She did not say all veterans are mentally ill or suffer from PTSD or that all veterans should not own guns. "I would be happy to sit down with you again and see if we could work something out but I think we have to– if you’re going to do this — find a way that veterans who are incapacitated for one reason or another mentally don’t have access to this kind of weapon," she told Cornyn.

For more see "Twisting Feinstein’s Words on Military Vets ([link removed]) ."


** Wrapping Up
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Here's what else we've got for you this week:
* "No Credible Evidence COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines ‘Dramatically Increase’ Heart Attack Risk, Contrary to Flawed Abstract ([link removed]) ": The COVID-19 vaccines administered in the U.S. are not known to increase the risk of heart attack. But social media posts are misinterpreting an abstract in an American Heart Association journal as proof that the vaccine kills. The publisher later issued an “expression of concern” about the abstract “until a suitable correction can be published.”
* "Doctor Makes False Claim About Stillbirths in Canadian Hospitals ([link removed]) ": The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant people, and the World Health Organization says the vaccines are safe for them. Yet online articles cite a Canadian doctor who falsely claims that the vaccines have caused an unusually high number of stillbirths in Canadian hospitals. A hospital representative told us there was “no truth to this claim.”
* "The Whoppers of 2021 ([link removed]) ": COVID-19 misinformation, election fraud whoppers and false claims by and about the new administration dominate our annual list of the most egregious falsehoods of the year.

Y lo que publicamos en español ([link removed]) (English versions are accessible in each story):
* "Publicación brinda información falsa sobre ‘síntomas’ de ómicron y vacunas contra el COVID-19 ([link removed]) ": Los científicos aún estudian la capacidad de la variante ómicron para propagarse o causar enfermedades severas y la efectividad de las vacunas disponibles contra el COVID-19 para combatirla. Pero un mensaje en Facebook afirma engañosamente que la nueva variante provoca siete “síntomas” y luego sugiere que son causados por las vacunas. La lista en realidad se refiere a complicaciones asociadas al COVID-19. Dos de los síntomas son inusuales efectos secundarios de las vacunas.
* "Mensajes en redes sociales tergiversan antiguo tuit de Biden sobre restricción de viajes ([link removed]) ": El 26 de noviembre el presidente Joe Biden restringió viajes desde ocho naciones africanas para frenar la propagación de la variante ómicron. Comentaristas conservadores han citado tendenciosamente un tuit de Biden del año pasado para decir que él criticó “la misma prohibición de viajes” implementada por el entonces presidente Donald Trump. Pero ese tuit era sobre un decreto migratorio de Trump dirigido a países de mayoría musulmana.

Have a question about COVID-19 and the vaccines? Visit our SciCheck page ([link removed]) for answers. It's available in Spanish ([link removed]) , too.
Donate to Support Our Work ([link removed])

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