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https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/minnesota-billboards-trump/
|
Has a group affiliated with the Republican party put up billboards in Minnesota that oppose Trump?
|
Dan MacGuill
|
01/05/2018
|
[
"The billboards are real, but the so-called Republican group has an interesting donor behind it."
] |
An eye-catching billboard in the state of Minnesota caused some controversy in the early days of January 2018. Purportedly sponsored by "Republicans for Honesty in Government," the billboard showed a photograph of President Donald Trump accompanied by the words "Big Mistake." billboard We received several inquiries from readers about the authenticity of the billboard, and whether it was actually produced by Republicans. The billboard is real, as is another similar one found elsewhere in Minnesota. However, the group behind it"Republicans for Honesty in Government"is run by a Democratic donor and businessman in the state, suggesting there is more to the campaign than meets the eye. On 2 January 2018, the left-wing Facebook page Occupy Democrats posted a photo of the billboard, along with a message emphasizing the apparent party affiliation of its sponsors: photo REPUBLICANS erected this billboard in Minnesota...speaks volumes about the current state of our Liar-in-Chief's presidency, doesn't it? That post was shared almost 25,000 times within three days. The photo appears to have originally been posted to Facebook in October 2017 by Rosemary Rocco, who said the billboard was located along U.S. Route 52, in the state's second congressional district, which includes parts of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Wabasha County. She wrote: posted Seen on MN Highway 52 south-CD2! Proof there are Republicans who care about our country. Note the disclaimer on the billboard. This is what country first looks like. Earlier in October, a Reddit user posted another photograph of a billboard bearing a photograph of Trump along with the word "Clueless." It was also purported to have been erected by the same group. photograph According to records held by the Minnesota Secretary State, Republicans for Honesty in Government was first registered as a non-profit corporation in Minnesota in 2006, as reported by the regional news web site Bluestem Prairie. Its registered agent is Robert Johnson, founder and director of the Minnesota real estate investment firm AEI Capital. records Bluestem Prairie AEI Capital Republicans for Honesty in Government shares its address with that of AEI Capital. The group was dissolved in 2009, but was reinstated in March 2017. However, despite being the man behind a non-profit organization that labels itself Republican, Johnson is a prolific donor to Democratic candidates and the Minnesota branch of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party (DFL). Federal Election Commission records show that a "Robert P. Johnson," "Robert Johnson" or "Bob Johnson" at "AEI Fund Management" or related company names in Minnesota has donated a total of $43,830.50 in federal campaign funding since 2004. All of it went to DFL and Democratic candidates or political action committees. records Johnson told the Minnesota news web site GoMN that he had leaned towards the Republican party in the past, but switched allegiances after what the web site described as a shift to the right within the GOP. GoMN "My political position was staked out decades ago and has not changed," he told GoMN. "What has changed is the positions of the parties and their platforms." Federal Election Commission records show that in 1980, Johnson did donate $500 to the Minnesota Independent-Republican Finance Committee, his only non-Democratic federal election donation. records However, Johnson registered "Republicans for Honesty in Government" in 2006, two years after he began donating exclusively to Democratic and DFL candidates, including $7,000 to former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, and more than $10,000 to the Minnesota DFL party. $7,000 We asked Johnson questions about his involvement with Republicans for Honesty in Government, his party affiliation, his political donations, and the purpose of the billboards. We did not receive a response. He told GoMN that the billboards were intended to provoke Minnesotans to think more carefully about their electoral choices"to maybe rub their chin metaphorically a little bit and wonder, what kind of decisions are we making?" Sorenson, Sally Jo. "Is Billboard on Highway 52 for Real?; Or, Who Are Those 'Republicans for Honesty in Government'".
Bluestem Prairie. 2 January 2018. McLaughlin, Shaymus. "Who is the Group Behind the Donald Trump 'BIG MISTAKE' Billboard?"
GoMN. 3 January 2018.
|
[
"profit"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1mMKoUrAzeCbjIJ1XUghtD5nU3BUqRon0"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/PaladinCornelia/status/947526821637009408"
],
"sentence": "An eye-catching billboard in the state of Minnesota caused some controversy in the early days of January 2018. Purportedly sponsored by \"Republicans for Honesty in Government,\" the billboard showed a photograph of President Donald Trump accompanied by the words \"Big Mistake.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/photos/a.517901514969574.1073741825.346937065399354/1864871886939190/?type=3&theater"
],
"sentence": "On 2 January 2018, the left-wing Facebook page Occupy Democrats posted a photo of the billboard, along with a message emphasizing the apparent party affiliation of its sponsors:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/rrocco3/posts/1555993847801665"
],
"sentence": "The photo appears to have originally been posted to Facebook in October 2017 by Rosemary Rocco, who said the billboard was located along U.S. Route 52, in the state's second congressional district, which includes parts of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Wabasha County. She wrote:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/767unn/sponsored_by_republicans_for_honesty_in_government/"
],
"sentence": "Earlier in October, a Reddit user posted another photograph of a billboard bearing a photograph of Trump along with the word \"Clueless.\" It was also purported to have been erected by the same group. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://mblsportal.sos.state.mn.us/Business/SearchDetails?filingGuid=d2ddff0e-8ed4-e011-a886-001ec94ffe7f",
"https://www.bluestemprairie.com/bluestemprairie/2018/01/is-billboard-on-highway-52-for-real-or-who-are-those-republicans-for-honest-government.html",
"https://aeifunds.com/management.html"
],
"sentence": "According to records held by the Minnesota Secretary State, Republicans for Honesty in Government was first registered as a non-profit corporation in Minnesota in 2006, as reported by the regional news web site Bluestem Prairie. Its registered agent is Robert Johnson, founder and director of the Minnesota real estate investment firm AEI Capital. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&min_date=01%2F01%2F2017&max_date=01%2F04%2F2018&contributor_state=MN&contributor_employer=aei"
],
"sentence": "Federal Election Commission records show that a \"Robert P. Johnson,\" \"Robert Johnson\" or \"Bob Johnson\" at \"AEI Fund Management\" or related company names in Minnesota has donated a total of $43,830.50 in federal campaign funding since 2004. All of it went to DFL and Democratic candidates or political action committees."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.gomn.com/news/who-is-the-group-behind-the-donald-trump-big-mistake-billboard"
],
"sentence": "Johnson told the Minnesota news web site GoMN that he had leaned towards the Republican party in the past, but switched allegiances after what the web site described as a shift to the right within the GOP. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=1980&min_date=01%2F01%2F1979&max_date=12%2F31%2F1980&contributor_state=MN&contributor_employer=aei"
],
"sentence": "Federal Election Commission records show that in 1980, Johnson did donate $500 to the Minnesota Independent-Republican Finance Committee, his only non-Democratic federal election donation."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2004&min_date=01%2F01%2F2003&max_date=12%2F31%2F2004&contributor_state=MN&contributor_employer=aei"
],
"sentence": "However, Johnson registered \"Republicans for Honesty in Government\" in 2006, two years after he began donating exclusively to Democratic and DFL candidates, including $7,000 to former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, and more than $10,000 to the Minnesota DFL party. "
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/minnesota-billboards-trump/
|
Was it a Republican organization responsible for putting up billboards in Minnesota that were critical of Trump?
|
Dan MacGuill
|
01/05/2018
|
[
"The billboards are real, but the so-called Republican group has an interesting donor behind it."
] |
An eye-catching billboard in the state of Minnesota caused some controversy in the early days of January 2018. Purportedly sponsored by "Republicans for Honesty in Government," the billboard showed a photograph of President Donald Trump accompanied by the words "Big Mistake." billboard We received several inquiries from readers about the authenticity of the billboard, and whether it was actually produced by Republicans. The billboard is real, as is another similar one found elsewhere in Minnesota. However, the group behind it"Republicans for Honesty in Government"is run by a Democratic donor and businessman in the state, suggesting there is more to the campaign than meets the eye. On 2 January 2018, the left-wing Facebook page Occupy Democrats posted a photo of the billboard, along with a message emphasizing the apparent party affiliation of its sponsors: photo REPUBLICANS erected this billboard in Minnesota...speaks volumes about the current state of our Liar-in-Chief's presidency, doesn't it? That post was shared almost 25,000 times within three days. The photo appears to have originally been posted to Facebook in October 2017 by Rosemary Rocco, who said the billboard was located along U.S. Route 52, in the state's second congressional district, which includes parts of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Wabasha County. She wrote: posted Seen on MN Highway 52 south-CD2! Proof there are Republicans who care about our country. Note the disclaimer on the billboard. This is what country first looks like. Earlier in October, a Reddit user posted another photograph of a billboard bearing a photograph of Trump along with the word "Clueless." It was also purported to have been erected by the same group. photograph According to records held by the Minnesota Secretary State, Republicans for Honesty in Government was first registered as a non-profit corporation in Minnesota in 2006, as reported by the regional news web site Bluestem Prairie. Its registered agent is Robert Johnson, founder and director of the Minnesota real estate investment firm AEI Capital. records Bluestem Prairie AEI Capital Republicans for Honesty in Government shares its address with that of AEI Capital. The group was dissolved in 2009, but was reinstated in March 2017. However, despite being the man behind a non-profit organization that labels itself Republican, Johnson is a prolific donor to Democratic candidates and the Minnesota branch of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party (DFL). Federal Election Commission records show that a "Robert P. Johnson," "Robert Johnson" or "Bob Johnson" at "AEI Fund Management" or related company names in Minnesota has donated a total of $43,830.50 in federal campaign funding since 2004. All of it went to DFL and Democratic candidates or political action committees. records Johnson told the Minnesota news web site GoMN that he had leaned towards the Republican party in the past, but switched allegiances after what the web site described as a shift to the right within the GOP. GoMN "My political position was staked out decades ago and has not changed," he told GoMN. "What has changed is the positions of the parties and their platforms." Federal Election Commission records show that in 1980, Johnson did donate $500 to the Minnesota Independent-Republican Finance Committee, his only non-Democratic federal election donation. records However, Johnson registered "Republicans for Honesty in Government" in 2006, two years after he began donating exclusively to Democratic and DFL candidates, including $7,000 to former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, and more than $10,000 to the Minnesota DFL party. $7,000 We asked Johnson questions about his involvement with Republicans for Honesty in Government, his party affiliation, his political donations, and the purpose of the billboards. We did not receive a response. He told GoMN that the billboards were intended to provoke Minnesotans to think more carefully about their electoral choices"to maybe rub their chin metaphorically a little bit and wonder, what kind of decisions are we making?" Sorenson, Sally Jo. "Is Billboard on Highway 52 for Real?; Or, Who Are Those 'Republicans for Honesty in Government'".
Bluestem Prairie. 2 January 2018. McLaughlin, Shaymus. "Who is the Group Behind the Donald Trump 'BIG MISTAKE' Billboard?"
GoMN. 3 January 2018.
|
[
"investment"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1VT9-KeIMEr1UgV0w1ObBq62wSIPaU4hu"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/PaladinCornelia/status/947526821637009408"
],
"sentence": "An eye-catching billboard in the state of Minnesota caused some controversy in the early days of January 2018. Purportedly sponsored by \"Republicans for Honesty in Government,\" the billboard showed a photograph of President Donald Trump accompanied by the words \"Big Mistake.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/photos/a.517901514969574.1073741825.346937065399354/1864871886939190/?type=3&theater"
],
"sentence": "On 2 January 2018, the left-wing Facebook page Occupy Democrats posted a photo of the billboard, along with a message emphasizing the apparent party affiliation of its sponsors:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/rrocco3/posts/1555993847801665"
],
"sentence": "The photo appears to have originally been posted to Facebook in October 2017 by Rosemary Rocco, who said the billboard was located along U.S. Route 52, in the state's second congressional district, which includes parts of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Wabasha County. She wrote:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/767unn/sponsored_by_republicans_for_honesty_in_government/"
],
"sentence": "Earlier in October, a Reddit user posted another photograph of a billboard bearing a photograph of Trump along with the word \"Clueless.\" It was also purported to have been erected by the same group. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://mblsportal.sos.state.mn.us/Business/SearchDetails?filingGuid=d2ddff0e-8ed4-e011-a886-001ec94ffe7f",
"https://www.bluestemprairie.com/bluestemprairie/2018/01/is-billboard-on-highway-52-for-real-or-who-are-those-republicans-for-honest-government.html",
"https://aeifunds.com/management.html"
],
"sentence": "According to records held by the Minnesota Secretary State, Republicans for Honesty in Government was first registered as a non-profit corporation in Minnesota in 2006, as reported by the regional news web site Bluestem Prairie. Its registered agent is Robert Johnson, founder and director of the Minnesota real estate investment firm AEI Capital. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&min_date=01%2F01%2F2017&max_date=01%2F04%2F2018&contributor_state=MN&contributor_employer=aei"
],
"sentence": "Federal Election Commission records show that a \"Robert P. Johnson,\" \"Robert Johnson\" or \"Bob Johnson\" at \"AEI Fund Management\" or related company names in Minnesota has donated a total of $43,830.50 in federal campaign funding since 2004. All of it went to DFL and Democratic candidates or political action committees."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.gomn.com/news/who-is-the-group-behind-the-donald-trump-big-mistake-billboard"
],
"sentence": "Johnson told the Minnesota news web site GoMN that he had leaned towards the Republican party in the past, but switched allegiances after what the web site described as a shift to the right within the GOP. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=1980&min_date=01%2F01%2F1979&max_date=12%2F31%2F1980&contributor_state=MN&contributor_employer=aei"
],
"sentence": "Federal Election Commission records show that in 1980, Johnson did donate $500 to the Minnesota Independent-Republican Finance Committee, his only non-Democratic federal election donation."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2004&min_date=01%2F01%2F2003&max_date=12%2F31%2F2004&contributor_state=MN&contributor_employer=aei"
],
"sentence": "However, Johnson registered \"Republicans for Honesty in Government\" in 2006, two years after he began donating exclusively to Democratic and DFL candidates, including $7,000 to former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, and more than $10,000 to the Minnesota DFL party. "
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ice-bucket-challenge/
|
President Obama and the Ice Bucket Challenge
|
David Mikkelson
|
08/19/2014
|
[
"Did President Obama refuse to participate in the ALS Association's 'Ice Bucket Challenge'?"
] |
Claim: President Obama refused to participate in the ALS Association's "Ice Bucket Challenge." Example: [Collected via e-mail, August 2014] Tea Party.net posted on Facebook that President Obama refuse to take the ice bucket challenge from an 86 year old woman who did take the challenge. Is that true and how did this 86 year old lady submit her challenge to the White House to begin with, etc. Is is also true that the original challenge was either do the ice bucket or contribute 100 dollars to your favorite charity compared to the way it is going around now? Origins: In August 2014 the online world was hit with the "Ice Bucket Challenge," a playful competition that encouraged netizens to douse themselves with buckets of ice water, and challenge others to do the same, Ice Bucket Challenge as a method of raising awareness and donations for the ALS Association (ALSA) a national non-profit organization that provides services to persons with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrigs Disease) and helps to fund research into the disease. As of mid-August 2014, ALSA was reporting it had surpassed $10 million in "Ice Bucket" donations. ALS Association reporting As described on ALSA's web page about the "Ice Bucket Challenge," that phenomenon seeks both to raise awareness of ALS (through people actively taking the challenge of dumping buckets of ice water on their heads and posting videos of their activity on the Internet) and to raise funds for ALS research (through donations provided by those who prefer making financial contributions rather than dousing themselves with ice-cold water): The challenge involves people getting doused with buckets of ice water on video, posting that video to social media, then nominating others to do the same, all in an effort to raise ALS awareness. Those who refuse to take the challenge are asked to make a donation to the ALS charity of their choice. One of those who accepted the "Ice Bucket Challenge" was 86-year-old Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who took part in a mass challenge event on 10 August 2014 involving numerous members of the Kennedy clan and others, then challenged President Obama to do the same, declaring "Welcome to Cape Cod, President Obama. I nominate you": challenge event The White House responded by stating that President Obama's contribution would be financial rather than participatory: responded The President appreciates Mrs. Kennedy thinking of him for the challenge though his contribution to this effort will be monetary. The President [will] be making a donation to an ALS charity this week. Did President Obama therefore "refuse" to take the "Ice Bucket Challenge"? If one considers the whole essence of the challenge to be pouring ice water over one's head to raise awareness of ALS, then perhaps so. But, as described on the ALSA web site, the challenge also involves raising donations for ALS research from those who decline to participate in the "dousing yourself with ice water" portion and are instead asked "to make a donation to the ALS charity of their choice," and President Obama honored the spirit of the challenge by agreeing to the latter aspect. Last updated: 19 August 2014
|
[
"profit"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=11AvrMzCn0dcpognONf_qyT0pvjMiNCTg"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.alsa.org/news/archive/ice-bucket-challenge.html"
],
"sentence": "Origins: In August 2014 the online world was hit with the \"Ice Bucket Challenge,\" a playful competition that encouraged netizens to douse themselves with buckets of ice water, and challenge others to do the same, "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.alsa.org/about-us/",
"https://www.alsa.org/news/archive/ice-bucket-donations-surpass.html"
],
"sentence": "as a method of raising awareness and donations for the ALS Association (ALSA) a national non-profit organization that provides services to persons with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrigs Disease) and helps to fund research into the disease. As of mid-August 2014, ALSA was reporting it had surpassed $10 million in \"Ice Bucket\" donations."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/08/ethel_kennedy_takes_the_ice_bucket_challenge_video"
],
"sentence": "One of those who accepted the \"Ice Bucket Challenge\" was 86-year-old Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who took part in a mass challenge event on 10 August 2014 involving numerous members of the Kennedy clan and others, then challenged President Obama to do the same, declaring \"Welcome to Cape Cod, President Obama. I nominate you\":"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/mviser/status/499188844533911552"
],
"sentence": "The White House responded by stating that President Obama's contribution would be financial rather than participatory:"
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2013/sep/27/robert-reich/robert-reich-says-under-sanctions-iran-suffering-3/
|
Under economic sanctions, now Iran is suffering 30 percent inflation, 20 percent unemployment.
|
Becky Bowers
|
09/27/2013
|
[] |
An Iranian president says hesready to resolvethe nations nuclear standoff with the West what gives? Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich gives at least partial credit to economic pain orchestrated by the United States and international allies. While the United States must still be very cautious, he saidon ABCsThis Week, one of the big lessons here is that economic sanctions do seem to work. Right now Iran is suffering 30 percent inflation, 20 percent unemployment, he told a roundtable including CNNs Newt Gingrich, ABCs Jonathan Karl and PBS Gwen Ifill. I mean this nation is hurting and our economic sanctions, because we've been patient with them, because we have actually rounded up almost every other nation to support us, have had a huge impact. Is Iran suffering such high inflation and unemployment under economic sanctions? Tumbling oil exports Now, economic sanctions are nothing new for Iran, which hasfaced U.S. sanctionssince its 1979 Islamic revolution. But the pressure has been rising. Other nations have joined in sanctions since 2006 in response to Irans efforts to develop a nuclear weapon,according to a report by Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service, which provides nonpartisan analysis to Congress. Oil exports, which fund nearly half of Irans government spending, have fallen by about half since 2011, from about 2.5 million barrels a day to about 1.25 million. The drop has been driven, Katzman says, by a European Union embargo and U.S. pressure on Iranian oil customers. Iran also lost access to the international banking system. The combination has caused a sharp drop in the value of Irans currency, the rial, Katzman says. Meanwhile, sanctions helped trigger a recession thats driving up unemployment. Has that meant 30 percent inflation, 20 percent unemployment, as Reich told ABC viewers? Theres not a simple answer. Inflation estimates range from30 percent to 70 percent. Official unemployment statistics, meanwhile, are out of date, and outside experts question their accuracy, anyway. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development dont have up-to-date figures for Iranian unemployment. Still, Reichs in range. Gary Hufbauer, a former U.S. Treasury official and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who has studied sanctions for 30 years, said Reichs numbers seem reasonable. Heres how the Congressional Research Service put it in June: Inflation: 30 percent plus, according to Iran Central Bank in May 2013, but believed to be over 50 percent by outside experts. Unemployment rate: Official rate is 15.3 percent as of the end of 2011, but outside experts believe the rate is higher. Reich pointed us to news articles from theAssociated Pressand energy news siteOilPrice.com which offer some support for his numbers while highlighting the uncertainty. The Associated Press reported in June inflation over 30 percent, though it cited a 14 percent unemployment rate. OilPrices.com noted Sept. 19 that analysts outside the country found that unemployment rate impossible to believe, and quoted an estimate from Mehrdad Emadi, an Iranian-born economic adviser to the European Union, of more than 20 percent. (The OilPrices.com report echoes a Reuters report from thesame day.) So reasonable seems like a fair assessment for Reichs numbers. We should also note theres not universal agreement on the size of sanctions role in all that financial pain, which experts also attribute to Iransfiscal management. Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley with a background in economics, told PolitiFact it just makes sense unemployment and inflation would follow a slash in oil exports. The typical consequence for a nation dependent on exports when those exports are cut is high inflation and high unemployment, he said. Michael Malloy, a professor at the University of the Pacifics McGeorge School of Law who specializes in banking regulation and economic sanctions, told PolitiFact it's likely to be a much more complicated picture. Our ruling Reich told ABC viewers that under economic sanctions, now Iran is suffering 30 percent inflation and 20 percent unemployment. Irans own statistics arent widely trusted and international organizations dont have recent unemployment figures. But those numbers fall within a broad range of expert estimates cited by news reports and the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. Its worth noting that Irans economic struggle has been exacerbated by its own economic policies and other factors, not just sanctions. Still, theres good evidence theyve had a huge impact, as Reich said. We rate his claim Mostly True.
|
[
"National",
"Economy",
"Foreign Policy",
"Pundits"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/27/world/middleeast/irans-president-calls-on-israel-to-join-nuclear-treaty.html"
],
"sentence": "An Iranian president says hesready to resolvethe nations nuclear standoff with the West what gives?"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/09/this-week-transcript-rep-peter-king-and-tyler-hicks/"
],
"sentence": "While the United States must still be very cautious, he saidon ABCsThis Week, one of the big lessons here is that economic sanctions do seem to work."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS20871.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Now, economic sanctions are nothing new for Iran, which hasfaced U.S. sanctionssince its 1979 Islamic revolution. But the pressure has been rising."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS20871.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Other nations have joined in sanctions since 2006 in response to Irans efforts to develop a nuclear weapon,according to a report by Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service, which provides nonpartisan analysis to Congress."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS20871.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Inflation estimates range from30 percent to 70 percent. Official unemployment statistics, meanwhile, are out of date, and outside experts question their accuracy, anyway."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/04/iran-supreme-leader-tells-presidential-candidates-it-wrong-to-appease-west/"
],
"sentence": "Reich pointed us to news articles from theAssociated Pressand energy news siteOilPrice.com which offer some support for his numbers while highlighting the uncertainty."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/us-iran-unemployment-idUSBRE88I0TA20120919"
],
"sentence": "The Associated Press reported in June inflation over 30 percent, though it cited a 14 percent unemployment rate. OilPrices.com noted Sept. 19 that analysts outside the country found that unemployment rate impossible to believe, and quoted an estimate from Mehrdad Emadi, an Iranian-born economic adviser to the European Union, of more than 20 percent. (The OilPrices.com report echoes a Reuters report from thesame day.)"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/10/us-iran-election-economy-analysis-idUSBRE95905I20130610"
],
"sentence": "We should also note theres not universal agreement on the size of sanctions role in all that financial pain, which experts also attribute to Iransfiscal management."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sasha-obama-just-crashed-her-expensive-new-car-into-a-lake/
|
Did Sasha Obama Crash Her Expensive New Car Into a Lake?
|
Dan Evon
|
12/29/2017
|
[
"A fake news article wants you to hate former First Daughter Sasha Obama."
] |
On 21 December 2017, the web site DefenseUSA.site published a fake news article claiming that Sasha Obama had crashed a Bugatti Veyron into a lake: published When Barack Obama bought his daughter Sasha a used Bugatti Veyron for Christmas, she apparently loved the new car so much that she immediately took it for a spin. Unfortunately, that car didnt last long. The former President* put his hard-earned speaking fees to work getting the car for his daughter, but it quickly became a $1.1 million piece of fish food when she picked up her friends and promptly crashed it into a lake. There is no truth to this story. We found no credible reports of Sasha Obama receiving a Bugatti Veyron for Christmas, let alone crashing it into a lake. The DefenseUSA.site does not appear to carry a readily available disclaimer labeling its content fiction. However, there were several ways to tell that this story was just another piece of fake news (besides the dodgy URL). For one, the web site claimed that Sasha Obama had crashed her car into "Lake Hope, about 32 miles outside of Washington, D.C." This lake does not exist. There is a Lake Hope in Ohio, but we couldn't find any body of water with that name in the D.C. area. The article linked to a credible news outlet (though it failed to point to a D.C. paper, choosing instead an Indiana publication, the Washington Times Herald) to give the impression that the information about Sasha Obama's alleged crash came from a genuine news report. However, the link led to the Washington Times Herald's front page, rather than a specific article, and the (giant, all-caps) quoted material is nowhere to be found on the paper's web site: Washington Times Herald page Lastly, the story's featured photograph actually shows a Bugati Veyron that a man drove into a lake in October 2009 as part of an insurance fraud scheme. insurance fraud Ballaban, Michael. "The Guy Who Crashed a Bugatti Into a Lake Has Been Sentenced to a Year in Federal Prison."
Jalopnik. 15 December 2015.
|
[
"insurance"
] |
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],
"sentence": "On 21 December 2017, the web site DefenseUSA.site published a fake news article claiming that Sasha Obama had crashed a Bugatti Veyron into a lake:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washtimesherald.com",
"https://www.washtimesherald.com"
],
"sentence": "The article linked to a credible news outlet (though it failed to point to a D.C. paper, choosing instead an Indiana publication, the Washington Times Herald) to give the impression that the information about Sasha Obama's alleged crash came from a genuine news report. However, the link led to the Washington Times Herald's front page, rather than a specific article, and the (giant, all-caps) quoted material is nowhere to be found on the paper's web site: "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://jalopnik.com/the-guy-who-crashed-a-bugatti-into-a-lake-has-been-sent-1748158995"
],
"sentence": "Lastly, the story's featured photograph actually shows a Bugati Veyron that a man drove into a lake in October 2009 as part of an insurance fraud scheme. "
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tax-defund/
|
Will 2014 Tax Refunds Be Delayed Until October 2015?
|
David Mikkelson
|
10/01/2014
|
[
"Will the payment of federal tax refunds for 2014 be delayed until October 2015?"
] |
Claim: The payment of federal tax refunds for 2014 will be delayed until October 2015. Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2014] Is this true that refunds for 2014 will be delayed until October of 2015? Origins: On 29 September 2014, the National Report published an article positing that the payment of federal tax refunds for 2014 would be delayed until October 2015: article Normally when you file your taxes whatever money is owed back to you is quickly repaid. The process of getting your money back has been made even quicker in recent years through the use of E-file and direct deposit of Federal tax rebates. But starting in 2015 Federal tax refunds for the 2014 fiscal year are going to take longer for Americans to receive. A lot longer. The deadline to have your Federal taxes filed will remain April 15th, but under new directives issued to the IRS no refunds are to be issued before October 15th, 2015. This means that early filers who normally receive their refunds around the beginning of February will have to wait an additional 7 months longer than normal to get the money owed to them. The National Report article used fabricated quotes from White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and politician Rand Paul to make it appear like an authentic news story. Although there is no truth to the claim that 2014 tax refunds will be delayed until 2015, nearly 10,000 people had shared the article on Facebook within days of its publication. The National Report is a fake news site whose (since removed) disclaimer page notes that: disclaimer National Report is a news and political satire web publication, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All news articles contained within National Report are fiction, and presumably fake news. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental. In addition to the IRS tax refund delay article, the site has published posts like "IRS Plans to Target Leprechauns Next," "Boy Scouts Announce Boobs Merit Badge," and "New CDC Study Indicates Pets of Gay Couples Worse at Sports, Better at Fashion Than Pets of Straight Couples." Last updated: 1 October 2014
|
[
"taxes"
] |
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://nationalreport.net/2014-federal-tax-refunds-delayed-october-2015/"
],
"sentence": "Origins: On 29 September 2014, the National Report published an article positing that the payment of federal tax refunds for 2014 would be delayed until October 2015:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"/politics/graphics/disclaimer.jpg"
],
"sentence": "The National Report is a fake news site whose (since removed) disclaimer page notes that:"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/750-cash-app-facebook-instagram/
|
Avoid These $750 Cash App Scams on Facebook and Instagram
|
Jordan Liles
|
01/27/2022
|
[
"We found dozens of the scams within seconds, all with a simple search."
] |
On Jan. 27, 2022, a reader sent in a tip about a Facebook ad (and likely on Instagram as well) that promised $750 in Cash App rewards for free. The Facebook page was named Kjguyrt. It had been created only a few days before: Facebook ad Kjguyrt The page claimed to be a dry cleaning company. This was not true. One user who realized it was a scam commented: "Take your stupid f*cking advertising and stick it up your ass." commented After a few seconds of some simple searching on Facebook, we were able to uncover a seemingly endless number of more posts, groups, and events that promoted a similar $750 Cash App scam. Most of them appeared to lead to brief surveys in Google Docs or on sites.google.com pages before ultimately asking users for personal identifiable information (PII). Such scams have a chance of eventually leading to phishing, identity theft, or other harmful outcomes. No one was genuinely giving away $750 on Cash App for free on Facebook or Instagram. This one from a page named Flash Reward had been around since at least May 2021: This one Many of the scams led to surveys before ultimately asking for personal information. Meanwhile, some of the pages we found put the scam in the name: $750 Cash App. This one led to scams on WhatsApp: $750 Cash App Facebook and WhatsApp are both owned by Meta. One of the Facebook groups we discovered was named Cash App/PAYPAL BLESSINGS. It had more than 13,000 members. In the rules for the group, it said: "This group is for BLESSINGS only no scams." However, we only found scams. Cash App/PAYPAL BLESSINGS One of the posts from a Facebook user named Stash Account, which had nothing to do with the real finance app, posted in the group: "If you haven't gotten Help Drop Tag Names & Check Balance, I am Legit Limited Time." One of the posts "I am legit" is never a good sign. The Stash Account person responded to hundreds of people with the scam in a comment that looked like this: "Let's claim your reward here." No thanks. This other Facebook group was named CashApp $750 and placed its scam links in the "About" section of the page: CashApp $750 It's unclear why these Facebook groups were allowed to exist seeing as they were so easy to find. On top of Facebook accounts, pages, and groups all being involved in the $750 Cash App scams, also including Instagram posts, we found well over 600 Facebook events that had been created for the ruse. There were likely many more. However, our Google Chrome browser window couldn't handle loading any further listings, as it was already so much information for the tab to handle at once. well over 600 Facebook events Here's a sample of what a few of the Facebook events looked like. We looked into the Facebook events to see if they differed from the way the scam operated on pages and in groups. From what we saw, it looked like they, too, initially led to surveys that eventually ended up asking for PII. We previously reported on similar scams that offered $750 in Cash App that impersonated talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Some of those accounts appeared to still be active as of late January. reported It's unclear why these $750 Cash App scams were allowed to thrive on Facebook and Instagram when they were so easy to hunt down. We recommend that readers stay far away from any social media posts or ads that promise free money. For further reading, we recently infiltrated a cryptocurrency scam on Facebook. It wasn't difficult to find our way into the scam. However, what was unexpected was the fact that Facebook took no action on the scam despite the fact that we contacted the company's media relations team by email. It, too, was still active at the end of January. infiltrated a cryptocurrency scam
|
[
"finance"
] |
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}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/k9Wj9",
"https://archive.ph/6V0yn"
],
"sentence": "On Jan. 27, 2022, a reader sent in a tip about a Facebook ad (and likely on Instagram as well) that promised $750 in Cash App rewards for free. The Facebook page was named Kjguyrt. It had been created only a few days before:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2022/01/kjguyrt-cash-app-scam.jpg"
],
"sentence": " The page claimed to be a dry cleaning company. This was not true."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/lPZMr"
],
"sentence": "One user who realized it was a scam commented: \"Take your stupid f*cking advertising and stick it up your ass.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/PYOjS"
],
"sentence": "This one from a page named Flash Reward had been around since at least May 2021:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2022/01/flash-reward-750-cash-app-scam.jpg"
],
"sentence": " Many of the scams led to surveys before ultimately asking for personal information."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/1Aze8"
],
"sentence": "Meanwhile, some of the pages we found put the scam in the name: $750 Cash App. This one led to scams on WhatsApp:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2022/01/750-cash-app-app-page.jpg"
],
"sentence": " Facebook and WhatsApp are both owned by Meta."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/9gSfM"
],
"sentence": "One of the Facebook groups we discovered was named Cash App/PAYPAL BLESSINGS. It had more than 13,000 members. In the rules for the group, it said: \"This group is for BLESSINGS only no scams.\" However, we only found scams."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/7e5aA"
],
"sentence": "One of the posts from a Facebook user named Stash Account, which had nothing to do with the real finance app, posted in the group: \"If you haven't gotten Help Drop Tag Names & Check Balance, I am Legit Limited Time.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2022/01/stash-account-post.jpg"
],
"sentence": " \"I am legit\" is never a good sign."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2022/01/stash-account-comment.jpg"
],
"sentence": " \"Let's claim your reward here.\" No thanks."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/dUuDD"
],
"sentence": "This other Facebook group was named CashApp $750 and placed its scam links in the \"About\" section of the page:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2022/01/cashapp-750-guy-group.jpg"
],
"sentence": " It's unclear why these Facebook groups were allowed to exist seeing as they were so easy to find."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/search/events/?q=payment%20from%20cash%20app%20750"
],
"sentence": "On top of Facebook accounts, pages, and groups all being involved in the $750 Cash App scams, also including Instagram posts, we found well over 600 Facebook events that had been created for the ruse. There were likely many more. However, our Google Chrome browser window couldn't handle loading any further listings, as it was already so much information for the tab to handle at once."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2022/01/cash-app-750-events.jpg"
],
"sentence": " Here's a sample of what a few of the Facebook events looked like."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ellen-degeneres-cash-app/"
],
"sentence": "We previously reported on similar scams that offered $750 in Cash App that impersonated talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Some of those accounts appeared to still be active as of late January."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/01/17/crypto-scam-facebook-messenger/"
],
"sentence": "For further reading, we recently infiltrated a cryptocurrency scam on Facebook. It wasn't difficult to find our way into the scam. However, what was unexpected was the fact that Facebook took no action on the scam despite the fact that we contacted the company's media relations team by email. It, too, was still active at the end of January."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/blackburn-white-power/
|
Do Pics Show Blackburn Flashing 'White Power Sign' in US Senate?
|
Dan Evon
|
04/11/2022
|
[
"A seemingly inadvertent hand gesture received some social media attention after it was shared out of context. "
] |
In April 2022, a picture was circulated on social media that supposedly showed U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., making a "white power" gesture during a Senate hearing or vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court. This example was shared on Twitter: While the photograph is real, it was not taken during a hearing or vote on Jackson's confirmation, and there's no evidence that Blackburn was intentionally "throwing a white power sign" with her hand. The picture appears to have been taken from video footage of an April 7, 2022, Senate Armed Services Committee hearing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley. Blackburn posted a video of herself questioning these officials to her own Twitter account. The hand position above can be seen around the 1:30 mark of the following video. While what is more generally known in the U.S. as the "OK" hand symbol has truly been adopted (or co-opted) by some white supremacists, not every instance of this gesture is necessarily related to a hateful ideology. In most cases, the OK symbol simply means "OK." The same gesture has also been used as part of a game and by Kappa Alpha Psi, a Black fraternity that was formed in 1911. In other cases, someone might rest their hand in this position without any thought or meaning behind it. "OK" hand symbol adopted (or co-opted) by some white supremacists, used as part of a game Kappa Alpha Psi, a Black fraternity that was formed in 1911 When we watched the entirety of the six-minute-long video of Blackburn's questioning, it seemed most plausible that Blackburn's hand position falls into the latter category: a random, momentary hand movement without any meaning behind it. Blackburn's questioning Washington Post reported But as the first Black woman nominated to the high court, Jackson also bears certain burdens that have become evident during her confirmation hearings. She has been subjected to questioning from some Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee that has been explicitly or implicitly all about race. She has been asked about critical race theory and the history of Americas slaveholding past and whether she has been too lenient in her sentencing as a trial judge issues that are cultural flash points in todays caustic political debate but the first two of which have little to do with the actual work of the Supreme Court. During Jackson's hearing, Blackburn asked the judge to define the word "woman" and accused Jackson of being an advocate for judges to consider critical race theory when considering sentencing. Blackburn voted against Jackson's nomination along with all but three of her Republican colleagues. woman judges to consider critical race theory When this image was shared with the false claim that it showed Blackburn during Jackson's hearing, some social media users may have been primed to believe that Blackburn was acting out of some sort of racial malice. This, in turn, made it seem plausible, to some, that Blackburn was flashing a white power sign. But the image shown above was taken at an entirely different Senate hearing, one that was far less racially charged. The claim that Blackburn made a white power gesture at Jackson's confirmation hearing (or vote) is false. While this is a real image of Blackburn, it comes from a different Senate hearing and no evidence has been provided to suggest that this was anything other than an inadvertent hand position. Analysis | Jackson Endures Questioning with Racial Overtones from GOP Senators. Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/23/jackson-endures-questioning-with-racial-overtones-gop-senators/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2022. Democrats Dilemma: Back Bidens Pentagon Budget or Supersize It. POLITICO, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/05/biden-pentagon-defense-budget-00022928. Accessed 11 Apr. 2022. Fact Check-Photo of Sen. Marsha Blackburn Was Not Captured at Justices Brown Confirmation. Reuters, 11 Apr. 2022. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-blackburn-miscaptioned-idUSL2N2W913W. Phillips, Steve. Ketanji Brown Jackson Hearing Reveals Republicans Racist Fears. The Guardian, 25 Mar. 2022. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/25/ketanji-brown-jackson-hearing-reveals-republicans-racist-fears. Remarks by President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Senates Historic, Bipartisan Confirmation of Judge Jackson to Be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The White House, 8 Apr. 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/04/08/remarks-by-president-biden-vice-president-harris-and-judge-ketanji-brown-jackson-on-the-senates-historic-bipartisan-confirmation-of-judge-jackson-to-be-an-associate-justice-of-the-supreme-court/. Top Biden Defense Officials Admit Administration Was Wrong To Share Intelligence With Chinese. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, 7 Apr. 2022, https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2022/4/top-biden-defense-officials-admit-administration-was-wrong-to-share-intelligence-with-chinese.
|
[
"budget"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1z4kXVags68a4pYuaQOnJIkCr63RmMdKp"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2022/04/marsha-blackburn-white-power-false.jpg"
],
"sentence": "While the photograph is real, it was not taken during a hearing or vote on Jackson's confirmation, and there's no evidence that Blackburn was intentionally \"throwing a white power sign\" with her hand. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/roger-stone-proud-boys/",
"https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/okay-hand-gesture",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/new-hand-sign-used-teens-acquire-drugs/",
"https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ferguson-missouri-ron-johnson-gang-kappa-alpha-psi"
],
"sentence": "While what is more generally known in the U.S. as the \"OK\" hand symbol has truly been adopted (or co-opted) by some white supremacists, not every instance of this gesture is necessarily related to a hateful ideology. In most cases, the OK symbol simply means \"OK.\" The same gesture has also been used as part of a game and by Kappa Alpha Psi, a Black fraternity that was formed in 1911. In other cases, someone might rest their hand in this position without any thought or meaning behind it. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC1NAZR_i4o"
],
"sentence": "When we watched the entirety of the six-minute-long video of Blackburn's questioning, it seemed most plausible that Blackburn's hand position falls into the latter category: a random, momentary hand movement without any meaning behind it."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2022/03/24/marsha-blackburn-asked-ketanji-jackson-define-woman-science/7152439001/",
"https://wset.com/news/local/ap-fact-check-republicans-distort-ketanji-brown-jacksons-record-on-crime-dc-department-of-corrections-josh-hawley-marsha-blackburn-justice-department-congressional-research-service"
],
"sentence": "During Jackson's hearing, Blackburn asked the judge to define the word \"woman\" and accused Jackson of being an advocate for judges to consider critical race theory when considering sentencing. Blackburn voted against Jackson's nomination along with all but three of her Republican colleagues."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/was-hillary-clinton-offered-a-plea-deal-in-server-investigation-in-august-2017/
|
Was Hillary Clinton Offered a Plea Deal in August 2017?
|
Kim LaCapria
|
08/10/2017
|
[
"A single source claimed that Hillary Clinton was offered a plea deal after the Justice Department reopened an investigation into her server."
] |
On 8 August 2017, NewsMax author Ed Klein published an article ("Hillary's Plea Bargain") heavily insinuating that Hillary Clinton had been quietly offered a plea bargain due to the Justice Department's belief that the former candidate was prosecutable on "a number of counts." That claim rested on a solitary anonymous source, purportedly a "Clinton lawyer." That designator was not further qualified or explained, and it seems contradictory that a lawyer purportedly working on Clinton's behalf would leak such a potentially damaging tidbit about his client to the author of several anti-Clinton books. Klein claimed that "discussion" of a plea took place in July 2017 between the unnamed lawyer and "a high-ranking Justice Department" official: The Justice Department has reopened the investigation of Hillary Clinton's mishandling of classified material on her private email system while she was secretary of state, and is considering offering her a plea bargain if she will agree to plead guilty to charges of breaking the law, according to a Clinton attorney ... During the exploratory talks with the prosecutor, the Clinton attorney was told that despite former FBI Director James Comey's decision last July not to prosecute Hillary, the Justice Department has reexamined the email case and believes there are ample grounds for prosecuting Hillary on a number of counts. Under the Justice Department's plea offer, Hillary would be required to sign a document admitting that she committed a prosecutable crime. In return, the DOJ would agree not to bring charges against Hillary in connection with the email probe. Also as part of the agreement, the Justice Department would not proceed with an investigation of Hillary's pay to play deals with foreign governments and businessmen who contributed to the Clinton Foundation or who paid Bill Clinton exorbitant speaking fees. The article concluded with a stipulation that the source had "cautioned that normally a plea is offered by a prosecutor only upon arraignment," whereas Clinton had not been charged with any crime. No other news reports we located carried a version of the claim that was not sourced from Klein's article, and his Twitter header suggests that he is perhaps emotionally invested in the prospect of Clinton's theoretical indictment: header Despite doubling down on his remarks about the Clinton investigation, there seemed to be a discrepancy in communication, because after the article was published, he told [America Talks Lives Miranda] Khan that the Department of Justice was considering reopening it, not that they had reopened it. They are seriously thinking of reopening this investigation and therefore if she doesnt take the plea agreement, which I agree with you, she almost certainly wont, I think they will then proceed with this investigation and this is going to drag on for a long time and in a way balance the investigation thats going on with President Donald Trump and his campaign advisers regarding so-called collusion with the Russians. The outlet was far from the first to take issue with Klein's sourcing and attribution. In 2012, Politico reported: reported On the other hand, his Clinton book was strewn with serious factual errors, truncated and distorted quotes, and the overall themes don't gibe with any other serious accounts of Clinton's life. The disdain for Klein's previous efforts haven't necessarily broken along political lines. Of the same tome, conservative New York Post columnist John Podhoretz said in 2005: said Curious and revealing. Because if any book in recent memory reads as though it has been written out of greed a greedy hunger to separate millions of conservative book buyers from their hard-earned 25 bucks it is Ed Klein's "The Truth About Hillary." This is one of the most sordid volumes I've ever waded through. Thirty pages into it, I wanted to take a shower. Sixty pages into it, I wanted to be decontaminated. And 200 pages into it, I wanted someone to drive stakes through my eyes so I wouldn't have to suffer through another word. It's June 2005. Hillary Clinton has been a major public figure in the United States for nearly 15 years. Somehow I imagine that if, indeed, she had "embraced" lesbianism "as a revolutionary concept" during her college years years that have been written about exhaustively we would have heard about it before now ... We also probably would have heard by now that Bill Clinton learned Hillary was pregnant with Chelsea by reading about it in an Arkansas newspaper. This detail is offered up by a single source an "investment banker from New York" in the course of a story about how Bill "raped" Hillary while on vacation in Bermuda in 1979. Coupled with the claim was a second assertion that Clinton never bothered to inform her husband she was pregnant. In 2005, Klein (in his own words) "dial[ed] back" during an interview about the passage on C-SPAN2, essentially retracting the claim in its entirety: interview HOST: OK. Is it true that Bill Clinton found out that his wife was expecting by reading the newspaper? KLEIN: Yes. HOST: Tell us a little bit more about that. KLEIN: Well, let me actually dial back. HOST: All right. KLEIN: I suspect that Bill Clinton knew that his wife was pregnant since she was pregnant for three months by the time the announcement came out. But it is true that the announcement was not made in the names of Governor and Mrs. Clinton or Governor and Ms. Rodham as she was then known, but was made in her name alone, and that she made the announcement and Bill Clinton said to my source, whom he was speaking to on the phone, "Guess what, you'll never you'll never believe this, but I'm sitting here reading that Hillary has announced she's pregnant." That's how he found out that she HOST: The announcement had been made. KLEIN: The announcement had been made. In 2014, The Guardian reviewed a subsequent Clinton book, Blood Feud: reviewed On a sunny afternoon in May last year, we are told, Hillary Clinton gathered six girlfriends from Wellesley's class of 1969 for a boozy lunch at Le Jardin du Roi, a bistro near her home in Chappaqua, New York. Recently liberated from the State Department, Clinton is said to have let loose on her erstwhile boss, accusing President Obama of having no hand on the fucking tiller. Klein discloses breathlessly that the wines had been carefully chosen by Roi, the owner of the restaurant, and that Roi waited on Hillary personally and prepared a special vegan dish for her after the former first lady told him that she was trying to lose weight. There is, however, a problem with this centrepiece of Blood Feuds prologue. Le Jardin du Roi was not named after the backyard of a man called Roi. It means The Garden of the King, or The Kings Garden in French. Its just the name of the restaurant, a puzzled staff member told the Guardian when reached by telephone. The name of the man who owns the restaurant is Joe. This is not the first glaring factual error to have made its way into Kleins reporting. It is not even the first time a mistake has been made in the very first anecdote of one of his books ... Two publishing industry sources familiar with the situation confirmed a report by BuzzFeed [in 2014] that Blood Feud had been dropped by its original publisher, William Morrow, because the content did not pass a vetting by in-house lawyers. When youre at an imprint of HarperCollins, which is part of NewsCorp, they take that stuff very seriously, and they check all of your sources and notes and they want to know where you got stuff, said one. Klein's suggestion that Hillary Clinton was to be indicted and had already been offered a plea deal quickly travelled through hyperpartisan corners of the Internet, but a number of criticisms of Klein's relationships with facts and sources have dogged his work from at least 2005, with numerous prominent conservative journalists among his most vocal critics. Klein, Ed. "Hillary's Plea Bargain."
NewsMax. 8 August 2017. Podhoretz, John. "Smear For Profit."
New York Post. 22 June 2005. Swaine, Jon. "Edward Klein: The Difference Between The Truth And A Lie."
The Guardian. 14 July 2014. Taylor, Sarah. "Report: Hillary Clinton Email Investigation Reopened Clinton Purportedly Offered Plea Deal."
The Blaze. 9 August 2017. Thrush, Glenn. "Ed Klein's Obama Book Debuts At #1 On Times List -- Knocks Caro To #2."
Politico. 24 May 2012.
|
[
"investment"
] |
[
{
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1dceG4ko7NEMFepnLP0I4NWh0Xoj_w0c_"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.is/I0R0W"
],
"sentence": "The article concluded with a stipulation that the source had \"cautioned that normally a plea is offered by a prosecutor only upon arraignment,\" whereas Clinton had not been charged with any crime. No other news reports we located carried a version of the claim that was not sourced from Klein's article, and his Twitter header suggests that he is perhaps emotionally invested in the prospect of Clinton's theoretical indictment:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politico.com/blogs/politico44/2012/05/ed-kleins-obama-book-debuts-at-1-on-times-list-knocks-caro-to-2-124515"
],
"sentence": "The outlet was far from the first to take issue with Klein's sourcing and attribution. In 2012, Politico reported:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://web.archive.org/web/20060418220703/https://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/48801.htm"
],
"sentence": "Of the same tome, conservative New York Post columnist John Podhoretz said in 2005:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2005/06/28/klein-vs-his-own-book-author-backed-off-claim-a/133415"
],
"sentence": "Coupled with the claim was a second assertion that Clinton never bothered to inform her husband she was pregnant. In 2005, Klein (in his own words) \"dial[ed] back\" during an interview about the passage on C-SPAN2, essentially retracting the claim in its entirety:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jul/14/edward-klein-blood-feud-difference-between-truth-and-lie"
],
"sentence": "In 2014, The Guardian reviewed a subsequent Clinton book, Blood Feud:"
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/wheres-the-outrage/
|
Where's the Outrage - Alisa Wilson
|
David Mikkelson
|
04/30/2009
|
[
"Letter to the 'Wall Steet Journal' responds to a 'Where's the Outrage?' editorial?"
] |
Claim: Letter to the Wall Steet Journal responds to a "Where's the Outrage?" editorial. CORRECTLY ATTRIBUTED Example: [Collected via e-mail, April 2009] This letter was sent to the Wall Street Journal on August 8, 2008 by Alisa Wilson, Ph.D. Of Beverly Hills, CA, in response to the Wall Street Journal article titled "Where's The Outrage?" that appeared July 31, 2008. Really. I can tell you where the outrage is. The outrage is here, in this middle-aged, well-educated, upper-middle class woman. The outrage is here, but I have no representation, no voice. The outrage is here, but no one is listening for who am I? I am not a billionaire like George Soros that can fund an entire political movement. I am not a celebrity like Barbra Streisand that can garner the attention of the press to promote political candidates. I am not a film maker like Michael Moore or Al Gore that can deliver misleading movies to the public. The outrage is here, but unlike those with money or power, I don't know how to reach those who feel similarly in order to effect change. Why am I outraged? I am outraged that my country, the United States of America, is in a state of moral and ethical decline. There is no right or wrong anymore, just what's fair. Is it fair that millions of Americans who overreached and borrowed more than they could afford are now being bailed out by the government and lending institutions to stave off foreclosure? Why shouldn't these people be made to pay the consequences for their poor judgment? When my husband and I purchased our home, we were careful to purchase only what we could afford. Believe me, there are much larger, much nicer homes that I would have loved to have purchased. But, taking responsibility for my behavior and my life, I went with the house that we could afford, not the house that we could not afford. The notion of personal responsibility has all but died in our country. I am outraged, that the country that welcomed my mother as an immigrant from Hitler's Nazi Germany and required that she and her family learn English now allows itself to be overrun with illegal immigrants and worse, caters to those illegal immigrants. I am outraged that my hard-earned taxes help support those here illegally. That the Los Angeles Public School District is in such disarray that I felt it incumbent to send my child to private school, that every time I go to the ATM, I see "do you want to continue in English or Spanish?", that every time I call the bank, the phone company, or similar business, I hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish". WHY? This is America, our common language is English and attempts to promote a bi- or multi-lingual society are sure to fail and to marginalize those who cannot communicate in English. I am outraged at our country's weakness in the face of new threats on American traditions from Muslims. Just this week, Tyson's Food negotiated with its union to permit Muslims to have Eid-al-Fitr as a holiday instead of Labor Day. What am I missing? Yes, there is a large Somali Muslim population working at the Tyson's plant in Tennessee. Tennessee, last I checked, is still part of the United States. If Muslims want to live and work here they should be required to live and work by our American Laws and not impose their will on our long history. In the same week, Random House announced that they had indefinitely delayed the publication of The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, a book about the life of Mohammed's wife, Aisha due to fear of retribution and violence by Muslims. When did we become a nation ruled by fear of what other immigrant groups want? It makes me so sad to see large corporations cave rather than stand proudly on the principles that built this country. I am outraged because appeasement has never worked as a political policy, yet appeasing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is exactly what we are trying to do. An excellent article, also published recently in the Wall Street Journal, went through over 20 years of history and why talking with Iran has been and will continue to be ineffective. Yet talk, with a madman no less, we continue to do. Have we so lost our moral compass and its ability to detect evil that we will not go in and destroy Iran 's nuclear program? Would we rather wait for another Holocaust for the Jews one which they would be unlikely to survive? When does it end? As if the battle for good and evil isn't enough, now come the Environmentalists who are so afraid of global warming that they want to put a Bag tax on grocery bags in California; to eliminate Mylar balloons; to establish something as insidious as the recycle police in San Francisco. I do my share for the environment: I recycle, I use water wisely, I installed an energy efficient air conditioning unit. But when and where does the lunacy stop? Ahmadinejad wants to wipe Israel off the map, the California economy is being overrun by illegal immigrants, and the United States of America no longer knows right from wrong, good from evil.. So what does California do? Tax grocery bags. So, America , although I can tell you where the outrage is, this one middle-aged, well-educated, upper middle class woman is powerless to do anything about it. I don't even feel like my vote counts because I am so outnumbered by those who disagree with me. Alisa Wilson, Ph.D.Beverly Hills, California Origins: On 31 July 2008, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial by Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Public Affairs, entitled "Where's the Outrage? Really." The gist of Mr. Brooks' commentary was to note that"virtually every group in the [U.S.] population [was] less angry" in 2008 than in 1996 with the exception of those who identify themselves as "very liberal," and to question why "folks outside their ranks (including moderate liberals) are failing so miserably to muster up much rage in the current environment." editorial In response to Mr. Brooks' opinion piece, Beverly Hills, California, resident Dr. Alisa Wilson penned the above-quoted letter, which was submitted to (but not published by) the Wall Street Journal. As Dr. Wilson told us: a) I did indeed write that letter in August 2008. Please note, however, that although I submitted the letter to the Wall Street Journal, the Wall Street Journal did not publish my letter. b) The thoughts and sentiments in that article are my own, but apparently have resonated with many people. c) I have seen some people in the "blog-o-sphere" question whether I am a real person. Yes, indeed, I exist. Last updated: 19 May 2009
|
[
"economy"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://online.wsj.com/article/SB121746010408198765.html"
],
"sentence": "Origins: On 31 July 2008, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial by Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Public Affairs, entitled \"Where's the Outrage? Really.\" The gist of Mr. Brooks' commentary was to note that\"virtually every group in the [U.S.] population [was] less angry\" in 2008 than in 1996 with the exception of those who identify themselves as \"very liberal,\" and to question why \"folks outside their ranks (including moderate liberals) are failing so miserably to muster up much rage in the current environment.\""
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pregnant-wife-oven/
|
Did Pregnant Wife Find Something in Oven After Husband Left Her?
|
Jordan Liles
|
12/30/2021
|
[
"We flipped through a 50-page slideshow article to find answers."
] |
In late December 2021, a strange online advertisement claimed that a pregnant woman found something in the oven after her husband left her. It read: "He Left Pregnant Wife. Weeks Later, She Opens Oven." A variation of the ad also said: "Husband Leaves 36 Weeks Pregnant Wife, She Finds This In Oven." The ad in question. The words "pregnant" and "oven" together often refer to the phrase "bun in the oven." However, this was about the oven in her kitchen. Upon clicking the ad, we were led to a 50-page slideshow article with the headline: "After Her Husband Left Her, She Saw Something in the Oven that Changed Her Life." The first page read as follows: article Her face flushed as she stared at the monitor. Was she, in fact, looking at her own house? Three men appeared out of nowhere. When Amanda saw this, she felt shame, anger, and fear. She had no idea who they were and had not invited them. The camera then panned to the disorganized kitchen. She realized the men were involved. One of them walked up to the oven and opened the door without warning. She let out a shriek when she saw what was inside. She couldnt believe she was in this situation. What was happening? The story didn't contain any last names, location details, and lacked other information that news articles typically feature. We initially believed it was all perhaps made up for "entertainment purposes" as we had seen with other such stories in the past. other stories However, the story of the pregnant wife and the oven turned out to be true, despite the extra inclusion of a bit of dramatization and several unrelated pictures. In April 2015, a radio show in Australia had quite a surprise for a woman who was about 36 weeks along in her pregnancy. She was identified only with her first name, Amanda, while on "The Kyle & Jackie O Show" on KIIS 1065 in Sydney. The Kyle & Jackie O Show It was true that her husband had recently left her after the couple had tried for around three years to conceive a child. The radio program surprised her with six months of cleaning services, three months of food, $4,000 in baby gifts, and a $1,000 baby photography voucher. "Is there anything else left? Let's check the oven," Jackie O said. Inside the oven was $10,000 in Australian cash to help with the pregnant woman's mortgage. "I can't tell you how much that means," Amanda said. "That means I don't have to move right now." The entire reveal was posted on the radio show's YouTube channel: posted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi1asdrFdqwIn sum, it was true that a pregnant wife whose husband left her found something in her oven: money. Amanda did not open the oven herself, nor did "three men" appear on the video monitor. However, the core of the claim was from a real story. Snopes debunks a wide range of content, and online advertisements are no exception. Misleading ads often lead to obscure websites that host lengthy slideshow articles with lots of pages. It's called advertising "arbitrage." The advertiser's goal is to make more money on ads displayed on the slideshow's pages than it cost to show the initial ad that lured them to it. Feel free to submit ads to us, and be sure to include a screenshot of the ad and the link to where the ad leads. submit ads to us
|
[
"mortgage"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=18PFriy_p0W6Q1QqZaiucCai-b_JD7e4o"
}
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2021/12/pregnant-wife-oven.jpg"
],
"sentence": " The ad in question."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.articlesmansion.com/worldwide/oven-ta/"
],
"sentence": "Upon clicking the ad, we were led to a 50-page slideshow article with the headline: \"After Her Husband Left Her, She Saw Something in the Oven that Changed Her Life.\" The first page read as follows:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/woman-files-divorce-photo/",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/woman-leaves-house-to-neighbor/"
],
"sentence": "The story didn't contain any last names, location details, and lacked other information that news articles typically feature. We initially believed it was all perhaps made up for \"entertainment purposes\" as we had seen with other such stories in the past."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.kiis1065.com.au/shows/kyle-jackie-o/"
],
"sentence": "In April 2015, a radio show in Australia had quite a surprise for a woman who was about 36 weeks along in her pregnancy. She was identified only with her first name, Amanda, while on \"The Kyle & Jackie O Show\" on KIIS 1065 in Sydney."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi1asdrFdqw"
],
"sentence": "The entire reveal was posted on the radio show's YouTube channel:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/contact"
],
"sentence": "Snopes debunks a wide range of content, and online advertisements are no exception. Misleading ads often lead to obscure websites that host lengthy slideshow articles with lots of pages. It's called advertising \"arbitrage.\" The advertiser's goal is to make more money on ads displayed on the slideshow's pages than it cost to show the initial ad that lured them to it. Feel free to submit ads to us, and be sure to include a screenshot of the ad and the link to where the ad leads."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/muslim-family-day/
|
Is Six Flags Closing Their Theme Parks to the Public to Host 'Muslim Family Day?'
|
Kim LaCapria
|
10/16/2015
|
[
"Six Flags theme parks host a number of different events every year. "
] |
In September and October 2015, a flyer for an event called "Muslim Family Day" (most commonly specific to an 11 October 2015 event at the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park) began circulating among social media users. Many tweets and Facebook comments indicated users were unfamiliar with Muslim Family Day, its scope, or its purpose. According to the event's web site, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) began organizing Muslim Family Day outings across the United States in 2000: web site This event was first held at Six Flags Great Adventure, NJ, in September 2000. The event was immediately a huge success. The tragic events of 9/11 that resulted in the loss of thousands of innocent lives, also affected this event directly. The chief organizer, Tariq Amanullah, who worked on the 96th floor of WTC, Tower 2, passed away. The team was unable to come together again till year 2004, when the event came back bigger than ever before. In 2015, ICNA organized at least two Muslim Family Day events at Six Flags theme parks. On 14 September 2015, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, was reserved for the event, as shown by a flyer available on the park's web site: Great Adventure flyer The 11 October 2015 Muslim Family Day at Six Flags Over Georgia was listed on the park's web site along with several other separate private events held there, such as "Math and Science Day," "Physics Day," "Relay for Life American Cancer Society Luminara Ceremony," and the "Scream Out Loud LGBT Pride Party": Muslim Family Day listed Six Flags Over Georgia will host Muslim Friends and Family Day, a private event in the Picnic Pavilions, presented by ICNA, Sunday, October 11, 2015. During this private event, Muslims and their friends, families, and all guests will be able to enjoy Halal foods, open-air bazaars featuring Muslim merchants, congressional prayers, informative lectures, our thrilling roller coasters and a stream of Islamic nasheed. Buy your tickets below, or enter promo code muslim on our website. Among rumors circulating on social media were claims that Six Flags locations were "closed" to non-Muslims on Muslim Family Day events, or that Christians were denied permission to organize similar events: denied WTF is this??! #SixFlagsBaltimore CLOSED TODAY TO ALL NON MUSLIMS! #RT AND SPREAD THE WORD #BoycottSixFlags#BREAKINGpic.twitter.com/btDYRKaywI #SixFlagsBaltimore #RT #BoycottSixFlags #BREAKING pic.twitter.com/btDYRKaywI Anonymous (@exposes_racism) September 19, 2015 September 19, 2015 Six Flags Baltimore is closed to non-Muslims on September 19! FUCK Six Flags and FUCK the Muslim Family Day! Dr. Frank Corleone (@DaGodfather907) September 18, 2015 September 18, 2015 Both inferences were misleading. Muslim Family Day is one of several private events organized by a variety of groups at Six Flags locations across the United States; when a group pays to rent a Six Flags park for a private event, it's up to that group to determine how to distribute tickets for the event. Moreover, most Six Flags parks have a "Religious Group Events" page, and Six Flags St. Louis, for example, features a description geared towards attracting private events for Christian groups: page Six Flags is the place for friends, fellowship and fun. Whether youre looking for a way to bring your church community together in a new and thrilling setting or celebrating with your youth group after a mission trip, Six Flags provides entertainment for guests of all ages. We offer a variety of programs that can enhance your visit to the park including concerts by the hottest names in Christian talent and catered options in our private picnic grove. If youre looking for a special way to celebrate, host a Sunday service at Six Flags. We offer a variety of venues and amenities, giving you the unique opportunity to combine your praise time and play time. Six Flags St. Louis will make your visit to the park one that your church members will be talking about all year long. The wording appears to be part of a general Six Flags template, as a nearly identical page was found on the web site for Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. One such upcoming event slated for that venue is the 7 November 2015 "Life Teen Catholic Youth Rally," and a flyer [PDF] for an August 2015 event at Six Flags St. Louis definitively answers the question of when "Christian Family Day" would be held by the amusement park chain: Magic Mountain event PDF In addition, there was "Christian Family Night" at Magic Mountain on 11 September 2015 (and a Hallelujah Jubilee the following day), a Christian music festival at Six Flags over Washington, D.C. in August 2015 [PDF], an April 2015 Christian Concert Weekend, and a Christian Fellowship Day hosted at Six Flags Over Georgia in July 2015. Many of the Christian-themed Six Flags events prior to July 2015 were subsequently archived and can no longer be accessed (so those events are likely just a handful of many that have occurred over the years). Christian Family Night Hallelujah Jubilee PDF Christian Concert hosted So while it's true that at least three Six Flags parks hosted a Muslim Family Day in 2015, many more Christian-themed private events have been held at the chain's parks (and contrary to some rumors, no "uproar" of "offended Muslims" has sought to stop them or threatened a boycott). Muslim Family Day (like any other private event) is for ticket-holders only, but non-Muslims who wished to attend were neither prohibited from doing so nor "banned" from the parks. Each Six Flags location features a page inviting groups to book religious events, and those pages primarily focus on Christian groups, churches, and organizations in their wording.
|
[
"loss"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1w27xEbliz560__bpUr21HMQFKpz6reYx"
},
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1JB5JPNHQDi6D67KoOIWrDZydlK_BU_53"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.muslimfamilyday.com/"
],
"sentence": "Many tweets and Facebook comments indicated users were unfamiliar with Muslim Family Day, its scope, or its purpose. According to the event's web site, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) began organizing Muslim Family Day outings across the United States in 2000:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://6flags.icnanj.org/",
"https://6flags.icnanj.org/flyer/"
],
"sentence": "In 2015, ICNA organized at least two Muslim Family Day events at Six Flags theme parks. On 14 September 2015, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, was reserved for the event, as shown by a flyer available on the park's web site:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/MuslimFamilyDay/",
"https://www.sixflags.com/whitewater/special-events/celebration/muslim-friends-and-family-day"
],
"sentence": "The 11 October 2015 Muslim Family Day at Six Flags Over Georgia was listed on the park's web site along with several other separate private events held there, such as \"Math and Science Day,\" \"Physics Day,\" \"Relay for Life American Cancer Society Luminara Ceremony,\" and the \"Scream Out Loud LGBT Pride Party\":"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.donotlink.com/h0xi"
],
"sentence": "Among rumors circulating on social media were claims that Six Flags locations were \"closed\" to non-Muslims on Muslim Family Day events, or that Christians were denied permission to organize similar events:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/hashtag/SixFlagsBaltimore?src=hash",
"https://twitter.com/hashtag/RT?src=hash",
"https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoycottSixFlags?src=hash",
"https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash",
"https://t.co/btDYRKaywI"
],
"sentence": "WTF is this??! #SixFlagsBaltimore CLOSED TODAY TO ALL NON MUSLIMS! #RT AND SPREAD THE WORD #BoycottSixFlags#BREAKINGpic.twitter.com/btDYRKaywI"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/exposes_racism/status/645298992662872064"
],
"sentence": " Anonymous (@exposes_racism) September 19, 2015"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/DaGodfather907/status/644931460718161920"
],
"sentence": "Six Flags Baltimore is closed to non-Muslims on September 19! FUCK Six Flags and FUCK the Muslim Family Day! Dr. Frank Corleone (@DaGodfather907) September 18, 2015"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.sixflags.com/stlouis/group-sales/religious-organizations"
],
"sentence": "Both inferences were misleading. Muslim Family Day is one of several private events organized by a variety of groups at Six Flags locations across the United States; when a group pays to rent a Six Flags park for a private event, it's up to that group to determine how to distribute tickets for the event. Moreover, most Six Flags parks have a \"Religious Group Events\" page, and Six Flags St. Louis, for example, features a description geared towards attracting private events for Christian groups:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/group-sales/religious-organizations",
"https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/special-events/special-group-event/life-teen",
"https://www.sixflags.com/sites/default/files/2015_christian_family_day_order_form.pdf"
],
"sentence": "The wording appears to be part of a general Six Flags template, as a nearly identical page was found on the web site for Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. One such upcoming event slated for that venue is the 7 November 2015 \"Life Teen Catholic Youth Rally,\" and a flyer [PDF] for an August 2015 event at Six Flags St. Louis definitively answers the question of when \"Christian Family Day\" would be held by the amusement park chain:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/special-events/special-group-event/christian-family-night",
"https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/special-events/concert/hallelujah-jubilee",
"https://www.sixflags.com/sites/default/files/sfa_2015_the_rock_christian_event.pdf",
"https://www.sixflags.com/training/special-events/christian-concert-weekend",
"https://events.cbs46.com/Six_Flags_Christian_Fellowship/320401132.html"
],
"sentence": "In addition, there was \"Christian Family Night\" at Magic Mountain on 11 September 2015 (and a Hallelujah Jubilee the following day), a Christian music festival at Six Flags over Washington, D.C. in August 2015 [PDF], an April 2015 Christian Concert Weekend, and a Christian Fellowship Day hosted at Six Flags Over Georgia in July 2015. Many of the Christian-themed Six Flags events prior to July 2015 were subsequently archived and can no longer be accessed (so those events are likely just a handful of many that have occurred over the years)."
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dems-ukraine-trump-investigate/
|
Did Dems Write to Ukrainians in 2018 Asking Them to 'Investigate Trump'?
|
Alex Kasprak
|
09/27/2019
|
[
"Three Democratic senators reached out to Yuriy Lutsenko, the prosecutor general of Ukraine, in May 2018. "
] |
Revelations came to light in fall 2019 that U.S. President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate current Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden and his son. In response, the presidents defenders have highlighted a May 4, 2018, letter signed by three Democratic senators to Yuriy Lutsenko, the prosecutor general of Ukraine (a similar role to the U.S. attorney general), as evidence that claims of improper behavior are misplaced. The letter was notably described by Washington Post columnist Marc Theisen as betraying a double standard. have highlighted letter notably described This sentiment was amplified by several media outlets, as well as a viral tweet (retweeted by Donald Trump Jr.) from the Twitter account Comfortably Smug, which according to BuzzFeed News is run by a Republican political consultant and deliberate spreader of false information: retweeted run by Several reasons exist why the above tweet and associated sentiment are incorrect and misleading. At the top of that list is the fact that the letter in question did not concern a request to investigate Trump, nor did it request the opening of any investigation. letter Instead, it requested information on why Ukrainian special prosecutor Serhiy Horbatyuk (who serves in a special prosecutor role charged with investigating corruption cases linked to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich) had been prohibited from issuing subpoenas for evidence or interviewing witnesses in four existing investigations into former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort. Manafort, prior to joining the Trump campaign, had worked as a political consultant for Yanukovich and his political party. The four investigations involved money that flowed either to Manafort for this consulting work or to a law firm working with Manafort and others to improve Yanukovichs image in the West. They did not involve Trump. consultant law firm The three Democratic senators then-Foreign Affairs Committee members Robert Menendez, Dick Durbin, and Patrick Leahy were responding to a May 2, 2018, New York Times report that the four Manafort investigations in Ukraine were specifically singled out from a docket of nearly 3,000 corruption cases in Horbatyuks portfolio to be blocked from issuing subpoenas and interviewing witnesses. U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in his charge to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, was investigating Manafort in part because of concerns that he owed substantial funds to Russian oligarchs as a result of this consulting work, potentially giving them leverage over him as he ran Trump's campaign. The reason Ukrainian officials impeded the investigation was no secret, according to the Times it was to placate the Trump administration, which opposed the Mueller probe: report as a result according Volodymyr Ariev, a member of Parliament who is an ally of [now former] President Petro O. Poroshenko, readily acknowledged that the intention in Kiev was to put investigations into Mr. Manaforts activities in the long-term box. In every possible way, we will avoid irritating the top American officials, Mr. Ariev said in an interview. We shouldnt spoil relations with the administration. These discussions came at a complicated time for Ukraine, a country that has been fighting Russian aggression and that had been in the process of securing arms from the United States. The decision to halt the investigations by an anti-corruption prosecutor was handed down as the Trump administration was finalizing plans to sell the country sophisticated anti-tank missiles, called Javelins, the Times reported. reported Far from requesting an investigation, the senators requested answers to three specific questions from a specific Ukrainian government official: specific questions Manafort broadly admitted to involvement in activities related to those four Ukrainian probes via a September 2018 guilty plea. admitted Even ignoring the allegedly implied quid pro quo in the Trump-Zelensky call, a comparison between the senators request for information from the chief Ukrainian law enforcement official and Trumps requests of Zelensky is problematic. As senators on the Committee on Foreign Relations, which not only provides oversight for arms deals but also general oversight of Americas relationships with its allies, Menendez, Durbin, and Leahy were acting within their constitutional rights and obligations as official representatives of the U.S. government with oversight responsibility over the executive branch. for arms deals constitutional rights Conversely, in his July 25 phone call with Zelensky, Trump explicitly requested that the Ukrainian president meet with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani an unelected private citizen without a security clearance or oversight from anyone but Trump to initiate investigations into a disparate set of claims whose sole unifying feature is that they concern Trumps political rivals: the Democratic National Committee and the Biden family. disparate set of claims Because the letter at issue did not actually demand an investigation into Trump or even compel initiation of any investigation, we rank the claim that Democrats asked Ukraine to investigate Trump in 2018 as false. DailyWire.com. Double Standard: Senate Democrats Asked Ukraine To Help Them Investigate Trump.
25 September 2019. Pollack, Joel B. Democrats Wrote to Ukraine in May 2018, Demanding It Investigate Trump.
Breitbart News.   24 September 2019. foreign.senate.gov. Letter to Yuriy Lutsenko.
4 May 2018. Thiessen, Marc A. Democrats Double Standard on Ukraine.
The Washington Post. 24 September 2019. Stuef, Jack. The Man Behind @ComfortablySmug, Hurricane Sandy's Worst Twitter Villain.
BuzzFeed News. 30 October 2012. Kramer, Andrew E. Ukraine, Seeking U.S. Missiles, Halted Cooperation With Mueller Investigation.
The New York Times. 2 May 2018. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 1:17:cr-00201-ABJ #423 Statement of the Offenses and Other Acts.
14 September 2018. WhiteHouse.gov. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation: President Zelenskyy of Spain
24 September 2019. Congressional Research Service. Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process.
Updated 14 August 2019. Graham, David, A.. Trumps Incriminating Conversation With the Ukrainian President.
The Atlantic. 25 September 2019. Vogel, Kenneth and Matthew Goldstein. How Skadden, the Giant Law Firm, Got Entangled in the Mueller Investigation.
The New York Times. 24 February 2019.
|
[
"funds"
] |
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.fo/BTMsV",
"https://archive.fo/D7LoR",
"https://foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/5-4-18%20Menendez%20joint%20letter%20to%20General%20Prosecutor%20of%20Ukraine%20on%20Mueller%20investigation.pdf",
"https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1177197685167853571",
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/24/democrats-investigation-might-do-more-hurt-biden-than-trump/"
],
"sentence": "Revelations came to light in fall 2019 that U.S. President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate current Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden and his son. In response, the presidents defenders have highlighted a May 4, 2018, letter signed by three Democratic senators to Yuriy Lutsenko, the prosecutor general of Ukraine (a similar role to the U.S. attorney general), as evidence that claims of improper behavior are misplaced. The letter was notably described by Washington Post columnist Marc Theisen as betraying a double standard."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1177185096971018241",
"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jackstuef/the-man-behind-comfortablysmug-hurricane-sandys"
],
"sentence": "This sentiment was amplified by several media outlets, as well as a viral tweet (retweeted by Donald Trump Jr.) from the Twitter account Comfortably Smug, which according to BuzzFeed News is run by a Republican political consultant and deliberate spreader of false information:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/5-4-18%20Menendez%20joint%20letter%20to%20General%20Prosecutor%20of%20Ukraine%20on%20Mueller%20investigation.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Several reasons exist why the above tweet and associated sentiment are incorrect and misleading. At the top of that list is the fact that the letter in question did not concern a request to investigate Trump, nor did it request the opening of any investigation."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883491-Paul-Manafort-Statement-of-Offense-Guilty-Plea.html",
"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/24/us/politics/skadden-law-firm-mueller-investigation.html"
],
"sentence": "Instead, it requested information on why Ukrainian special prosecutor Serhiy Horbatyuk (who serves in a special prosecutor role charged with investigating corruption cases linked to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich) had been prohibited from issuing subpoenas for evidence or interviewing witnesses in four existing investigations into former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort. Manafort, prior to joining the Trump campaign, had worked as a political consultant for Yanukovich and his political party. The four investigations involved money that flowed either to Manafort for this consulting work or to a law firm working with Manafort and others to improve Yanukovichs image in the West. They did not involve Trump."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-mueller-manafort-missiles.html",
"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/24/us/politics/skadden-law-firm-mueller-investigation.html",
"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-mueller-manafort-missiles.html"
],
"sentence": "The three Democratic senators then-Foreign Affairs Committee members Robert Menendez, Dick Durbin, and Patrick Leahy were responding to a May 2, 2018, New York Times report that the four Manafort investigations in Ukraine were specifically singled out from a docket of nearly 3,000 corruption cases in Horbatyuks portfolio to be blocked from issuing subpoenas and interviewing witnesses. U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in his charge to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, was investigating Manafort in part because of concerns that he owed substantial funds to Russian oligarchs as a result of this consulting work, potentially giving them leverage over him as he ran Trump's campaign. The reason Ukrainian officials impeded the investigation was no secret, according to the Times it was to placate the Trump administration, which opposed the Mueller probe:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-mueller-manafort-missiles.html"
],
"sentence": "These discussions came at a complicated time for Ukraine, a country that has been fighting Russian aggression and that had been in the process of securing arms from the United States. The decision to halt the investigations by an anti-corruption prosecutor was handed down as the Trump administration was finalizing plans to sell the country sophisticated anti-tank missiles, called Javelins, the Times reported."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/5-4-18%20Menendez%20joint%20letter%20to%20General%20Prosecutor%20of%20Ukraine%20on%20Mueller%20investigation.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Far from requesting an investigation, the senators requested answers to three specific questions from a specific Ukrainian government official:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4883491-Paul-Manafort-Statement-of-Offense-Guilty-Plea.html"
],
"sentence": "Manafort broadly admitted to involvement in activities related to those four Ukrainian probes via a September 2018 guilty plea."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL31675.pdf",
"https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei"
],
"sentence": "As senators on the Committee on Foreign Relations, which not only provides oversight for arms deals but also general oversight of Americas relationships with its allies, Menendez, Durbin, and Leahy were acting within their constitutional rights and obligations as official representatives of the U.S. government with oversight responsibility over the executive branch."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/what-the-transcript-of-trumps-insane-call-with-the-ukrainian-president-showed/598780/"
],
"sentence": "Conversely, in his July 25 phone call with Zelensky, Trump explicitly requested that the Ukrainian president meet with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani an unelected private citizen without a security clearance or oversight from anyone but Trump to initiate investigations into a disparate set of claims whose sole unifying feature is that they concern Trumps political rivals: the Democratic National Committee and the Biden family."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coconuts-kill-more-sharks/
|
Do Falling Coconuts Kill More People Than Sharks Each Year?
|
Alex Kasprak
|
05/30/2017
|
[
"This factoid has been repeated so often it might as well be true, but \"research\" on which it is based is a press release for a travel agency with remarkably comprehensive health insurance coverage."
] |
A popular trope used by those seeking to recast the shark as a misunderstood beast is to compare the risk sharks pose to humans to the purported risk posed by ripening coconuts. These sweet-tasting, nutrient-rich tree nuts the logic goes kill more people by falling out of trees than do sharks. This is an ostensibly simple question to investigate, as it requires knowing only two things: the annual death rate from unprovoked shark attacks and the annual death rate from falling coconuts. trope The annual death rate from sharks is pretty straightforward. The University of Florida runs a comprehensive database of shark attacks and fatalities: The International Shark Attack File. According to their research, there has been an average of six deaths annually over the past decade. research Problems emerge, however, when one tries to get a handle on how many people die each year as a direct result of injuries sustained by falling coconuts. The most commonly cited figure is that 150 people die each year from falling coconuts. No published research, however, has come up with any reliable estimate of this statistic whatsoever. Perhaps ironically, it appears that this number, as well, gained a sense of legitimacy from the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File, when a researcher there quoted the statistic in a press release for a local event: press release "Falling coconuts kill 150 people worldwide each year, 15 times the number of fatalities attributable to sharks," said George Burgess, Director of the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File and a noted shark researcher. "The reality is that, on the list of potential dangers encountered in aquatic recreation, sharks are right at the bottom of the list," said Burgess, who was one of three scientists participating Tuesday in a National Sea Grant College Program and NOAA Fisheries sponsored press briefing on sharks and the risks of shark attacks at the National Press Club. Investigating the specific claim of 150 coconut deaths each year, syndicated skeptic column The Straight Dope reached out to Burgess in 2002 to ask what his source was for that statistic, and discovered that, ultimately, it came from a British travel-insurance firm named Club Direct: reached out When I called Burgess, he told me he had gotten this statistic off the Internet specifically, from a widely reported press release from the British travel-insurance firm Club Direct, saying that "holidaymakers hit by falling coconuts will be guaranteed full cover under their travel insurance policy. The news follows reports from Queensland, Australia, that coconut trees are being uprooted by local councils fearful of being sued for damages by people injured by coconuts. 'Coconuts kill around 150 people worldwide each year, which makes them about ten times more dangerous than sharks,' says Brent Escott, managing director of Club Direct." According to the column, this press release also cited a 1984 study from the Journal of Trauma titled "Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts". That study the recipient of a 2001 Ig Nobel award for research that "cannot or should not be replicated" did not set out to calculate the global annual death rate from falling coconuts, however. Instead, using simple physics and four years of data collected from a remote Papua New Guinean hospital, it sought to demonstrate that the risk to human health from falling coconuts was a real one. From a physics standpoint, the paper argued: 1984 study recipient If a coconut weighing 2 kg falls 25 meters onto a person's head, the impact velocity is 80 km/hr. The decelerating force on the head will vary depending on whether a direct or glancing blow is received. The distance in which the coconut is decelerated is also an important factor. Thus an infant's head lying on the ground would receive a much greater force than that received by the head of a standing adult, that dropped as it was struck. For a stopping distance of 5cm and a direct blow, the force would be 1,000 kg. From a number of fatalities standpoint, however, the data did not actually directly identify a single fatality, though it did anecdotally report one death: Nine trauma admissions resulted from falling coconuts during the 4-year study period; during this time a total of 355 trauma cases were admitted. Thus 2.5% of trauma admissions were caused by falling coconuts. Injuries were to the back, shoulders, or head. [...] The health worker who referred Patient 1 for craniotomy informed us about another person in the same village who had died instantly a few years earlier when struck on the head by a falling coconut. While it might perhaps be possible to use this limited data to come up with a rough global estimate, no study has actually attempted to do this with systematic methodology. As such, there is no way to debunk the claim with 100 percent certainty. We can say, though, that newspaper reports of death from falling coconuts are far more sparse than reports of death from shark attacks. A 1973 article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin detailed the tragic death of a 2-year old girl struck by a large number of falling coconuts on a beach, while claiming that as far as they could tell, this was the first newspaper report of such an incident in the area: Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 28 July 1973. Credit: Newspapers.com The fact that this 1973 story has been cited decades after the fact (for example from a 1999 edition of the Honolulu Advertiser below), at least superficially reinforces the notion that death from falling coconut is a rare (but real) occurrence: The Honolulu Advertiser. 14 January 1997. Credit: Newspapers.com We rank this as unproven because accurate, published estimates on the global annual rate of death from falling coconut do not yet exist. Given the dearth of firsthand accounts of death from falling coconut, however, it seems unlikely that they pose more of a threat to human health than do sharks even if death from either event is extremely unlikely. Turnbull, Leslie. "How to Avoid Being Eaten by a Shark."
This Week. 29 May 2017. Florida Museum. "International Shark Attack File"
Accessed 30 May 2017. UniSci. "Falling Coconuts Kill More People Than Shark Attacks."
Accessed 30 May 2017. Barss, Peter. "Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts."
Journal of Trauma. November 1984. Improbable Research. "Portrait of an Ig Winner: Dr. Barss."
Accessed 30 May 2017. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. "Baby Dies After Being Hit by Falling Cluster of Coconuts."
28 July 1973. The Honolulu Advertiser. "Coconut Danger in Park."
14 January 1997.
|
[
"insurance"
] |
[
{
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1klZzPt9fbxSLlVf7VehxjFs3QMZE5gh9"
},
{
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1tM2Pti8Pniuj_aZMJ4JQ9oNB9afz4Y11"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://theweek.com/articles/650647/how-avoid-being-eaten-by-shark"
],
"sentence": "A popular trope used by those seeking to recast the shark as a misunderstood beast is to compare the risk sharks pose to humans to the purported risk posed by ripening coconuts. These sweet-tasting, nutrient-rich tree nuts the logic goes kill more people by falling out of trees than do sharks. This is an ostensibly simple question to investigate, as it requires knowing only two things: the annual death rate from unprovoked shark attacks and the annual death rate from falling coconuts."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fish/isaf/home/"
],
"sentence": "The annual death rate from sharks is pretty straightforward. The University of Florida runs a comprehensive database of shark attacks and fatalities: The International Shark Attack File. According to their research, there has been an average of six deaths annually over the past decade."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.is/aAnvw"
],
"sentence": "Problems emerge, however, when one tries to get a handle on how many people die each year as a direct result of injuries sustained by falling coconuts. The most commonly cited figure is that 150 people die each year from falling coconuts. No published research, however, has come up with any reliable estimate of this statistic whatsoever. Perhaps ironically, it appears that this number, as well, gained a sense of legitimacy from the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File, when a researcher there quoted the statistic in a press release for a local event:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2405/are-150-people-killed-each-year-by-falling-coconuts"
],
"sentence": "Investigating the specific claim of 150 coconut deaths each year, syndicated skeptic column The Straight Dope reached out to Burgess in 2002 to ask what his source was for that statistic, and discovered that, ultimately, it came from a British travel-insurance firm named Club Direct:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6502774",
"https://www.improbable.com/2008/06/01/portrait-of-an-ig-winner-dr-barss/"
],
"sentence": "According to the column, this press release also cited a 1984 study from the Journal of Trauma titled \"Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts\". That study the recipient of a 2001 Ig Nobel award for research that \"cannot or should not be replicated\" did not set out to calculate the global annual death rate from falling coconuts, however. Instead, using simple physics and four years of data collected from a remote Papua New Guinean hospital, it sought to demonstrate that the risk to human health from falling coconuts was a real one. From a physics standpoint, the paper argued:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/uploads/2017/05/Screen-Shot-2017-05-30-at-12.01.12-PM.png"
],
"sentence": " Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 28 July 1973. Credit: Newspapers.com"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/uploads/2017/05/parkcoconutdanger.jpg"
],
"sentence": " The Honolulu Advertiser. 14 January 1997. Credit: Newspapers.com"
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/european-union-gag-order-on-revealing-muslim-terrorists-religion/
|
European Union Gag Order On Revealing Muslim Terrorists' Religion
|
Arturo Garcia
|
11/18/2016
|
[
"A group headed by John Bolton said an anti-racism task force blamed the press for anti-Islam violence."
] |
In November 2016, rumors began to swirl that the European Union had ordered the media not to report when terrorism suspects were Muslim, presumably because of pressure from Islamic groups. The stories were mostly fueled like the headlines such as the one reproduced above, which appears to have been taken from an 18 November 2016 post by the Gatestone Institute: post The institute is headed up by John R. Bolton, a Fox News contributor and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who is reportedly under consideration by President-elect Donald Trump as his secretary of state. reportedly The headline, in turn, was similar to one published by the conservative Daily Mail in Britain on 5 October 2016: the conservative Daily Mail The allegation is taken from a report published a day earlier by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), which was commissioned by the Council of Europe to monitor human rights abuses. However, Bolton's group failed to note that the council is a separate organization from the European Union, and it issued a recommendation, not a mandate. earlier ECRI Both the Mail and the institute portray the report as pinning the blame on the media for an increase in hate crimes and hate speech across the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2016. As the latter group puts it: The ECRI report establishes a direct causal link between some tough headlines in British tabloids and the security of the Muslims in the UK. In other words, the British press is allegedly inciting readers to commit "Islamophobic" acts against Muslims. Criticism of the report centered around this passage: ECRI regrets that a way has not been found to establish an independent press regulator and that, as a result, certain tabloids continue to publish offensive material, as indicated above. ECRI urges the media to take stock of the importance of responsible reporting, not only to avoid perpetuating prejudice and biased information, but also to avoid harm to targeted persons or vulnerable groups. ECRI considers that, in light of the fact that Muslims are increasingly under the spotlight as a result of recent ISIS-related terrorist acts around the world, fuelling prejudice against Muslims shows a reckless disregard, not only for the dignity of the great majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom, but also for their safety. In this context, it draws attention to a recent study by Teesside University suggesting that where the media stress the Muslim background of perpetrators of terrorist acts, and devote significant coverage to it, the violent backlash against Muslims is likely to be greater than in cases where the perpetrators motivation is downplayed or rejected in favour of alternative explanations. The Teesside study, which covered the period between March 2014 and February 2015, found that instances of anti-Muslim violence in Europe and Australia increased in the seven-day period immediately after terror attacks, compared to the seven days before. However, that report also stated that there were fewer Islamophobic incidents in Australia following the attack on a Sydney shopping mall in December 2014, pointing out that the reporting focused on the attacker's history of mental instability and not his religion. study, attack While the ECRI did call for an "independent press regulator," it also stated that it did not want government officials "encroaching on [media outlets'] editorial independence the need to ensure that reporting does not contribute to creating an atmosphere of hostility and rejection towards various minority ethnic groups." It also said that media practices in the UK had already been criticized in the Leveson Inquiry, a government probe that took place after revelations that News International (owned by Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch) engaged in phone-hacking and other dubious practices. Inquiry, From the ECRI report: The Leveson Report, published in November 2012, pointed out that certain parts of the press ride roughshod over others, both individuals and the public at large, without any justifiable public interest, and that a significant number of news stories fail to meet standards of integrity and propriety and reflect a culture of recklessness in prioritising sensational stories, almost irrespective of the harm these may cause and the rights of those who would be affected. It also noted a significant and reckless disregard for accuracy. The report stated that the Press Complaints Commission was not independent and had failed its purpose, and recommended replacing it with a new, independent, self-regulatory body established by statute, with the dual roles of promoting high standards of journalism and protecting the rights of individuals, and with a range of sanctions available to it. Bolton's organization also failed to note that the ECRI's report contained 23 recommendations for the U.K. government, covering not only how to deal with Islamophobia, but ways to integrate refugees arriving to England and Northern Ireland, as well as Romani groups. recommendations Mamou, Yves. "Council of Europe Recommends British Press NOT Report when Terrorists are Muslims." Gatestone Institute. 18 November 2016. Conway, Madeline. "Bolton calls regime change the 'only long-term solution' in Iran." Politico. 17 November 2016. Dathan, Matt. "European human rights chiefs order the British press NOT to reveal when terrorists are Muslims in crackdown on freedom of speech." The Daily Mail. 5 October 2016. European Commission against Racism and Intolerance. "ECRI Report on the United Kingdom (Fifth Monitoring Cycle)." Coe.int. 4 October 2016. Teesside University. "New report reveals a rise in anti-Muslim hostility in Britain following acts of terrorism around the world." www.tees.ac.uk. 18 June 2015.
|
[
"interest"
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[
{
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},
{
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1NGQPwEgE2zdE7P0sssnnvrHz0vL9QdLV"
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9190/media-censorship-muslims-terrorists"
],
"sentence": "The stories were mostly fueled like the headlines such as the one reproduced above, which appears to have been taken from an 18 November 2016 post by the Gatestone Institute:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/john-bolton-iran-regime-change-231586"
],
"sentence": "The institute is headed up by John R. Bolton, a Fox News contributor and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who is reportedly under consideration by President-elect Donald Trump as his secretary of state."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3823706/European-human-rights-chiefs-orders-British-press-NOT-reveal-terrorists-Muslims.html"
],
"sentence": "The headline, in turn, was similar to one published by the conservative Daily Mail in Britain on 5 October 2016:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/Country-by-country/United_Kingdom/GBR-CbC-V-2016-038-ENG.pdf",
"https://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/default_en.asp"
],
"sentence": "The allegation is taken from a report published a day earlier by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), which was commissioned by the Council of Europe to monitor human rights abuses. However, Bolton's group failed to note that the council is a separate organization from the European Union, and it issued a recommendation, not a mandate."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.tees.ac.uk/sections/news/pressreleases_story.cfm?story_id=4967",
"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-security-idUSKBN0JS0WX20141216"
],
"sentence": "The Teesside study, which covered the period between March 2014 and February 2015, found that instances of anti-Muslim violence in Europe and Australia increased in the seven-day period immediately after terror attacks, compared to the seven days before. However, that report also stated that there were fewer Islamophobic incidents in Australia following the attack on a Sydney shopping mall in December 2014, pointing out that the reporting focused on the attacker's history of mental instability and not his religion."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140122145147/http:/www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/"
],
"sentence": "While the ECRI did call for an \"independent press regulator,\" it also stated that it did not want government officials \"encroaching on [media outlets'] editorial independence the need to ensure that reporting does not contribute to creating an atmosphere of hostility and rejection towards various minority ethnic groups.\" It also said that media practices in the UK had already been criticized in the Leveson Inquiry, a government probe that took place after revelations that News International (owned by Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch) engaged in phone-hacking and other dubious practices."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/Library/PressReleases/GBR-PR-V-2016-226-EN.asp"
],
"sentence": "Bolton's organization also failed to note that the ECRI's report contained 23 recommendations for the U.K. government, covering not only how to deal with Islamophobia, but ways to integrate refugees arriving to England and Northern Ireland, as well as Romani groups."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/poll-watchers-2020-election/
|
Were Poll Watchers 'Thrown Out' of Vote Counting Rooms?
|
Jessica Lee
|
11/19/2020
|
[
"In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, the Trump campaign spread this rumor in fundraising emails but walked it back in court."
] |
Voting in the 2020 U.S. Election may be over, but the misinformation keeps on ticking. Never stop fact-checking. Follow our post-election coverage here. here In mid-November 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump's reelection campaign sent supporters fundraising emails saying poll workers were thrown out of rooms where elections officials were counting ballots in the presidential election. (Read more fact checks like this one here.) Donald Trump here "Large numbers of poll watchers were thrown out of vote counting rooms in many key battleground states," claimed a Nov. 17 email obtained by Snopes. Separately, the Trump campaign sent supporters another fundraising email that claimed Republican poll watchers were not "thrown out" but prohibited from entering ballot-processing rooms altogether, suggesting that the alleged lack of surveillance benefited President-elect Joe Biden. Joe Biden The best description of this situation is widespread, nationwide voter fraud, of which this is a part," Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, said of the alleged conspiracy by Democrats, without citing any evidence. Rudy Giulian Together, the emails and Giuliani's statement claimed that some unidentified person, or a group of people, ordered Republican poll workers to leave ballot-counting rooms, or to not enter them in the first place essentially breaking laws that allow for poll observers to monitor the elections process on behalf of a political party or candidate. Before we unpack those allegations, let us explain about whom we're talking. whom Every state allows some form of "poll watching" or "election observing," by means of which political parties or candidates appoint volunteers to monitor polling sites for fairness on Election Day. Additionally, states train and certify nonpartisan poll watchers to keep an eye out for any voting issues. Rules governing both types of poll watching, especially to combat any voter harassment or intimidation, vary state by state, and apply to poll watchers regardless of their political affiliation. intimidation "State rules vary on who can be a poll watcher, how many are allowed at polling places or local elections offices, and how they must conduct themselves inside the office or precinct," according to The Associated Press. The Associated Press The Trump campaign alleged poll watchers were blocked from doing their jobs "in many key battleground states," though it did not, in its emails, pinpoint one or more locations where this supposedly occurred. Giuliani, however, claimed Democrats in cities including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Phoenix were behind the alleged conspiracy to undermine Trump's reelection. No poll watchers with the Democratic party raised issues with the 2020 election. For more details about the Trump campaign's allegations, we referred to the campaign's lawsuits challenging various aspects of the presidential election to determine where, exactly, the campaign believed citizen monitors were wrongfully kicked out of ballot-processing rooms. lawsuits At least two legal complaints in Pennsylvania and Michigan involved Republican poll watchers. However, on Nov. 17, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled distancing regulations at polling sites were "reasonable" in that they allowed poll monitors to see what was happening, as prescribed by state law. (You can read that decision here.) The high court's ruling countered an earlier decision by a lower court that sided with the Trump campaign. here Days before that decision, U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond asked a Trump campaign lawyer during a court hearing if poll watchers were allowed in the room where election workers were processing mail-in ballots in Philadelphia. Theres a nonzero number of people in the room, campaign lawyer Jerome Marcus replied, acknowledging that Trump representatives were indeed present despite the campaign's messaging. Additionally, Republican poll watchers in Michigan's Wayne County filed a lawsuit alleging fraud during absentee ballot counting at a Detroit convention center. That litigation sought to halt the state's vote certification process. But two judges found no evidence to support the accusations and allowed the process of certifying votes to proceed, finalizing the state's voter tallies. finalizing the state's voter tallies Of separate lawsuits, The Associated Press reported: reported "Other lawsuits claimed poll watchers were temporarily denied access in some locations, but there has been no evidence to back it up. Nor was there evidence of votes being miscounted out of political bias. And most of the litigation alleging this has been dismissed." In other words, there was no evidence of any person or entity blocking poll watchers' access to polling sites on Election Day, no matter their presidential candidate of choice. Additionally, there were no reports of someone, or a group of people, "throwing out" poll observers from rooms to which election laws guarantee them the right, as of this report. Those conclusions do not eliminate the possibility that poll watchers at some (or many) sites across the country were asked to follow distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and avoid distracting voters. However, there's no proof of such requests being part of a nefarious scheme to help Trump or Biden, or any political cause. COVID-19 We should note here: The emails about poll observers from Trump's campaign asked supporters to chip in to a so-called "Official Election Defense Fund" or "Election Defense Task Force," both of which the campaign framed as costly initiatives involving ballot recounts or various lawsuits to challenge Biden's win. But according to Brendan Fischer, director of the federal reform program at Campaign Legal Center, the average donor's money was not covering those expenses. Rather, people were giving their money to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, where contributions are divided between Trump's committees and the Republican National Committee. Brendan Fischer Republican National Committee "Small donors who give to Trump thinking they are financing an 'official election defense fund' are in fact helping pay down the Trump campaigns debt or funding his post-presidential political operation," Fischer tweeted. tweeted In sum, no evidence showed poll watchers were removed or prohibited from rooms were ballots were being counted in the Biden-Trump race, even though physical distancing rules may have affected the monitoring. In fact, one Republican lawyer representing Trump provided evidence to the contrary and acknowledged Republican poll watchers in Philadelphia were indeed allowed in ballot counting rooms. For those reasons, we rate this claim
|
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"debt"
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/collections/snopes-fact-checks-the-2020-us-election-live/"
],
"sentence": "Voting in the 2020 U.S. Election may be over, but the misinformation keeps on ticking. Never stop fact-checking. Follow our post-election coverage here."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/collections/2020-election-claims-on-trump/",
"https://www.snopes.com/collections/trump-campaign-fundraising-emails/"
],
"sentence": "In mid-November 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump's reelection campaign sent supporters fundraising emails saying poll workers were thrown out of rooms where elections officials were counting ballots in the presidential election. (Read more fact checks like this one here.)"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/collections/2020-election-claims-on-biden/"
],
"sentence": "Separately, the Trump campaign sent supporters another fundraising email that claimed Republican poll watchers were not \"thrown out\" but prohibited from entering ballot-processing rooms altogether, suggesting that the alleged lack of surveillance benefited President-elect Joe Biden."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/giuliani-quotes-trump-case/"
],
"sentence": "The best description of this situation is widespread, nationwide voter fraud, of which this is a part,\" Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, said of the alleged conspiracy by Democrats, without citing any evidence."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/11/16/why-poll-watcher-complaints-dont-amount-to-fraud/"
],
"sentence": "Before we unpack those allegations, let us explain about whom we're talking."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/11/03/what-voter-intimidation-looks-like/"
],
"sentence": "Rules governing both types of poll watching, especially to combat any voter harassment or intimidation, vary state by state, and apply to poll watchers regardless of their political affiliation."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-united-states-1ffc3216dd9c751031bcf83cf17c518f"
],
"sentence": "\"State rules vary on who can be a poll watcher, how many are allowed at polling places or local elections offices, and how they must conduct themselves inside the office or precinct,\" according to The Associated Press."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-files-election-lawsuits-michigan-pennsylvania-alleging-lack/story?id=74032924"
],
"sentence": "For more details about the Trump campaign's allegations, we referred to the campaign's lawsuits challenging various aspects of the presidential election to determine where, exactly, the campaign believed citizen monitors were wrongfully kicked out of ballot-processing rooms."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Supreme/out/J-116-2020mo%20-%20104608159120049033.pdf?cb=1"
],
"sentence": "However, on Nov. 17, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled distancing regulations at polling sites were \"reasonable\" in that they allowed poll monitors to see what was happening, as prescribed by state law. (You can read that decision here.) The high court's ruling countered an earlier decision by a lower court that sided with the Trump campaign."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-local-elections-michigan-64c18e12e0d409d9629871cda3c07293"
],
"sentence": "Additionally, Republican poll watchers in Michigan's Wayne County filed a lawsuit alleging fraud during absentee ballot counting at a Detroit convention center. That litigation sought to halt the state's vote certification process. But two judges found no evidence to support the accusations and allowed the process of certifying votes to proceed, finalizing the state's voter tallies."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://apnews.com/article/why-poll-watcher-complaint-not-fraud-9ac60f20604f5aadbeaa8d5bee598a4a"
],
"sentence": "Of separate lawsuits, The Associated Press reported:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tag/covid-19/"
],
"sentence": "Those conclusions do not eliminate the possibility that poll watchers at some (or many) sites across the country were asked to follow distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and avoid distracting voters. However, there's no proof of such requests being part of a nefarious scheme to help Trump or Biden, or any political cause."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/11/13/trump-fundraising-pac-recount/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=wp_opinions",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/rnc-chairwoman-deleted-tweet/"
],
"sentence": "But according to Brendan Fischer, director of the federal reform program at Campaign Legal Center, the average donor's money was not covering those expenses. Rather, people were giving their money to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, where contributions are divided between Trump's committees and the Republican National Committee. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/brendan_fischer/status/1326335316077240320"
],
"sentence": "\"Small donors who give to Trump thinking they are financing an 'official election defense fund' are in fact helping pay down the Trump campaigns debt or funding his post-presidential political operation,\" Fischer tweeted."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/62-degree-celsius-kuwait-tree-fire/
|
Did 62°C Temperatures in Kuwait Cause Trees to Burst into Flames?
|
Dan Evon
|
08/07/2017
|
[
"Despite a series of images showing melted street lights and trees on fire, the temperature in Kuwait has not reached 143.6F."
] |
In July 2017, social media users shared videos and images of burning trees and melting streetlights, the purported results of a record-breaking heatwave in Kuwait during which temperatures soared to 62 Celsius (143.6 Fahrenheit). First of all, a 62 Celsius day has never been recorded. The highest temperature on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization, was 56.7C (134F) on 10 July 1913 in Furnace Creek, California. The highest temperature in Kuwait, 54C, was recorded in Mitrabah in July 2016. Although the footage of trees burning is likely real, the claim that these fires were caused by 62 Celsius temperatures is unfounded. temperature recorded The weather in Kuwait hovered around 50C during July 2017: hovered The web site Frontnews.eu shared one of the most popular videos of this claim, showing a tree burning on the side of the road along with the report that the temperature had reached 62C in Kuwait: shared In Kuwait, the air temperature in some places reached 62 degrees Celsius in an open area where there is no shadow. Users of social networks share videos of burning trees, bushes, and also note that because of the heat, gasoline in the car tanks exploded. This video was actually shot in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, and captured a palm tree that was struck by lightning, as the website alweeam.com reported (translated by Google Translate and edited for clarity): actually Madinah struck A thunderbolt struck a palm tree on the famous Sultana Street in Madinah. Following the heavy rains in the region today and some of its provinces, the fire broke out in the entire palm before the civil defense fire brigade began its work. A video clip was documented by a citizen. The burning process started gradually with the burning palm tree, and quickly spread to the whole of the surrounding area, causing danger to the firefighters before the fire brigade put out the fire in the palm and the surrounding trees. . . A second video purported to show a plant burning due to Kuwait's high temperatures: Although this video was shot in Kuwait, we found no evidence to suggest that the plant burst into flame solely because of high air temperatures. Local news reports (translated by Google Translate and edited for clarity) noted the cause of the fire was unknown: reports Firefighters extinguished a fire in a number of trees on the first ring road near the Martyr's Park. In the details, a report was sent to the operating room stating that a fire broke out on the first ring road. The Shuwaikh industrial fire station was called and the fire was extinguished. Firefighters are currently investigating. . . . A photograph of a melting traffic light also appeared alongside the claim about the high temperatures: alongside Although this image was taken in Kuwait, it dated back to 2013 and showed a street light that reportedly melted due to a nearby car fire. 2013 reportedly One final image was circulated as "evidence" that temperatures had reached 62C in Kuwait: According to the Kuwait Times, however, this image was manipulated. Meteorologist Adel Al-Saadoun, head of the Fintas Weather Observatory, explained that the temperature has never reached 62C in Kuwait and that such reports were just "fake news": explained Do not believe in fake news, warned meteorologist Adel Al-Saadoun, head of the Fintas Weather Observatory, as he debunked social media reports that temperatures in Kuwait reached 62 degrees. It is fake news not true, Saadoun told Kuwait Times. Kuwait has only recorded temperatures of a maximum of 52 degrees centigrade. Never in history has the temperature in Kuwait reached 62. As we speak now, the temperature is 49 degrees Celsius (at 2 pm yesterday), but people have been posting images of 54, 56 degrees the temperature inside the car is higher, but not as per our weather monitoring system. Saadoun said the mercury will continue to rise in the next few days till the end of July, but by the beginning of August, the heat will start subsiding. This has been the usual weather in Kuwait. This period is called the summer solstice. This is the period when the sun is right next to us up there, and we expect such weather in July, he said. World Meteorological Organization. "High Temperatures and Extreme Weather Continue."
7 July 2017. Chand, Eudore. "Shrubs, Palm in GCC on Fire Due to Heat? Watch Videos."
Emirates 247. 7 August 2017. Garcia, Ben. "62 Degrees Centigrade Temperature Untrue, Fake News."
Kuwait Times. 2 July 2017.
|
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-meteorological-organization-global-weather-climate-extremes-archive",
"https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/high-temperatures-and-extreme-weather-continue"
],
"sentence": "First of all, a 62 Celsius day has never been recorded. The highest temperature on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization, was 56.7C (134F) on 10 July 1913 in Furnace Creek, California. The highest temperature in Kuwait, 54C, was recorded in Mitrabah in July 2016. Although the footage of trees burning is likely real, the claim that these fires were caused by 62 Celsius temperatures is unfounded."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/KUXX0021:1:KU"
],
"sentence": "The weather in Kuwait hovered around 50C during July 2017:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://frontnews.eu/news/en/9870/In-Kuwait-temperature-reaches-62-degrees"
],
"sentence": "The web site Frontnews.eu shared one of the most popular videos of this claim, showing a tree burning on the side of the road along with the report that the temperature had reached 62C in Kuwait:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.emiratesnews247.com/roadside-shrubs-palm-tree-gcc-catch-fire-due-heat-watch-videos/",
"https://www.emirates4you.ae/2304-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%82-%D9%8A%D8%B6%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D9%86%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A8-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9.html",
"https://www.alraimedia.com/ar/article/last/2017/07/29/781149/nr/nc"
],
"sentence": "This video was actually shot in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, and captured a palm tree that was struck by lightning, as the website alweeam.com reported (translated by Google Translate and edited for clarity):"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.alraimedia.com/ar/article/last/2017/07/29/781149/nr/nc"
],
"sentence": "Although this video was shot in Kuwait, we found no evidence to suggest that the plant burst into flame solely because of high air temperatures. Local news reports (translated by Google Translate and edited for clarity) noted the cause of the fire was unknown:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/JournalsCunt/status/883093771386277889"
],
"sentence": "A photograph of a melting traffic light also appeared alongside the claim about the high temperatures:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/1hfat3/this_is_why_the_traffic_light_melted/",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=f33PkAMNwTc"
],
"sentence": "Although this image was taken in Kuwait, it dated back to 2013 and showed a street light that reportedly melted due to a nearby car fire."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://news.kuwaittimes.net/website/62-degrees-centigrade-temperature-untrue-fake-news/"
],
"sentence": "According to the Kuwait Times, however, this image was manipulated. Meteorologist Adel Al-Saadoun, head of the Fintas Weather Observatory, explained that the temperature has never reached 62C in Kuwait and that such reports were just \"fake news\":"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/insulin-pennies-a-day-trump/
|
Will a Trump Order Drop Insulin Price to 'Pennies A Day'?
|
Jessica Lee
|
07/30/2020
|
[
"The president described it as a \"massive cost savings,\" but the fine print of his executive order lacked specifics."
] |
Sitting in front of a mock pharmacy and flanked by people in white lab coats, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on July 24, 2020, that he framed as end-all solutions for Americans who struggle to pay high premium prices for prescription drugs. Of one of the directives, specifically, Trump told a crowd of supporters and reporters at the ceremony: told Under this order, the price of insulin for affected patients will come down to just pennies a day pennies a day from numbers that you werent even able to think about. Its a massive cost savings. News outlets such as The New York Times and Washington Post described the signing event like it was largely symbolic, since the executive orders are unlikely to take effect this year, if at all (we explain more below). The New York Times Washington Post Meanwhile, at least two conservative media sources, Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire and CNSNews which claims to balance "liberal bias" in mainstream news with its coverage reported on the president's pledge to slash prescription prices at face value, and highlighted the above-mentioned quote by Trump regarding insulin. Daily Wire CNSNews published the story, "Trump Says Executive Order Will Drop the Price of Insulin Down to Pennies a Day," which mainly quoted the president verbatim, and numerous Snopes readers reached out to us to investigate the claim's accuracy. Namely, diabetic patients wondered whether they would indeed pay less for insulin syringes or insulin cartridges for their pens or pumps because of the president. story pens According to a Congressional analysis in September 2019, insulin averaged $34.75 per dose in the U.S. a total that's almost 2.5 times higher than the average price in other countries. First, we'll lay out what was unequivocally true: Trump issued Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications during the July 24, 2020, signing event, and that directive authorized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make certain changes regarding the cost of EpiPens for Americans with severe allergies and the cost of insulin for those who suffer from diabetes, specifically. It stated: Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications Department of Health and Human Services EpiPens The price of insulin in the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade. ... While Americans with diabetes and severe allergic reactions may have access to affordable insulin and injectable epinephrine through commercial insurance or Federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, many Americans still struggle to purchase these products. Medicare Medicaid Here's some more context: Medicare, the federal program that covers the majority of Americans over age 65 and those with disabilities, offers plans that help diabetic patients cover the cost of some insulin products. Meanwhile, policies for Medicaid, the government-run health insurance system for low-income people, vary state by state variances that include whether or not the program covers the cost of diabetic enrollees' insulin, or to what extent. state by state Trump's directive pertained to "federally qualified health centers" (FQHC), which are about 1,400 community health care clinics nationwide that treat low-income patients on sliding fee scales and purchase discounted drugs from pharmaceutical companies under an existing federal program, known as 340B. The July 2020 executive order was worded like this: federally qualified health centers 1,400 340B In other words, the president's order requires participants of the 340B Program to offer insulin at greatly reduced prices to patients with no or little insurance coverage, without providing specifics on how or when the change would take effect. Advisory Board, a news site for health care providers, said in a statement: "Only patients with low incomes; those with high cost-sharing requirements for insulin or epinephrine; those with high, unmet deductibles; and/or those without health insurance would be eligible for the discount." A news release from the HHS said: statement news release This will increase access to life-saving insulin and epinephrine for the patients who face especially high costs among the 28 million patients who visit FQHCs every year, over six million of whom are uninsured. For perspective, about 34.2 million Americans had diabetes as of 2018, which represented about 10.5 percent of the population, according to the American Diabetes Association. So, hypothetically, if the same proportion of people had diabetes within the FQHC population of 28 million patients (a total reported by the HHS), then Trump's executive order could help about 2.9 million people, depending on whether their insurance already covers the treatment. American Diabetes Association So to recap, in regard to the claim in question, it was true to state Trump signed an executive order in July 2020 that aimed to make it easier for low-income diabetic patients to pay for insulin. But nowhere in the federal document did the presidential administration explain its plan for implementing the change, nor the level to which insulin prices would drop. There was no proof that the order would allow any American to someday pay "pennies a day" on the protein hormone. We should note here: In addition to that previously explained executive order, a separate directive signed by Trump on July 24, 2020, touched on a yet-to-be-finalized initiative by the White House to relax international drug importation rules and added insulin to a list of prescription medications that can be imported from Canada. The president characterized that directive, too, as a positive step for people who want lower insulin costs. separate directive yet-to-be-finalized And that brings us to our final point: Much of what Trump celebrated in the July 2020 executive orders had been proposed by his administration prior to the signing ceremony but stalled amid opposition from pharmaceutical companies and political barriers. "[None] of these ideas put forth are new, or in fact any more implementable than before, especially without congressional action, an investor told FeircePharma, a trade publication for the pharmaceutical industry. FeircePharma For instance, in May 2020, Trump unveiled a plan to cap the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients at $35 per month beginning in 2021 (even that initiative would cost patients more than "pennies a day"). But as of this writing, it was unclear exactly how that directive would roll out, and when or if qualifying seniors with diabetes would notice a price difference. The Washington Post reported on July 24, 2020: May 2020 Washington Post The moves [by Trump] are largely symbolic because the orders are unlikely to take effect anytime soon, if they do so at all, because the power to implement drug pricing policy through executive order is limited. Voters will not see an impact before the November elections, and the drug industry is sure to challenge them in court. A couple days after the July signing ceremony, for example, Politico reported that representatives of major drug lobbies refused to meet with the president to discuss one of the four executive orders: a non-specific and controversial proposal to link Medicare payments for certain medicines to lower costs that people pay in other countries. After that refusal on industry leaders' part, investors told MarketWatch that the executive orders were "largely campaign fodder" and "come without the necessary force to meaningfully change prices in the U.S." Politico reported meet controversial MarketWatch In sum, while it was truthful to claim Trump issued an executive order in July 2020 that was intended to lower the price of insulin for some Americans, it was misleading to claim that all diabetic patients would save money as a result of the directive the directive only targeted low-income patients who are uninsured or underinsured and seek help from certain federal community health providers. Additionally, it was unclear as of this report when, if at all, that group would actually reap the benefit of the cost savings, and the estimated amount of such was unknown. It would be wrong to state based on available evidence that the executive order alone would drive down prices to "pennies a day." For those reasons, we rate this claim a "Mixture" of truth and falsehoods. White House. "Executive Order On Access To Affordable Life-saving Medications".
24 July 2020. White House. "Executive Order On Lowering Prices For Patients by Eliminating Kickbacks To Middlemen".
24 July 2020. White House. "Executive Order On Increasing Drug Importation To Lower Prices For American Patients".
24 July 2020. White House. "Remarks By President Trump At Signing Of Executive Orders On Lowering Drug Prices".
24 July 2020. Sanger-Katz, Margot. "As He Woos Drugmakers On Virus, Trump Demands Drug Price Controls".
New York Times. 24 July 2020. Arter, Melanie. "Trump Says Executive Order Will Drop the Price of Insulin Down to Pennies a Day".
CNSNews. 24 July 2020. National Conference of State Legislatures. "Diabetes Health Coverage: State Laws And Programs".
10 January 2016. HHS.gov. "Trump Administration Announces Historic Action To Lower Drug Prices For Americans".
24 July 2020. American Diabetes Association. "Statistics About Diabetes".
Accessed 30 July 2020. White House. "Executive Order On Increasing Drug Importation To Lower Prices For American Patients".
24 July 2020. Luhby, Tami. "Trump Administration Proposes Allowing Imports Of Certain Drugs From Canada".
CNN. 18 December 2019. O'Donnell, Carl. "Explainer: Trump's Plan To Cut Drug Prices".
Reuters. 27 July 2020. Abutaleb, Yasmeen and Josh Dawsey. "Trump Signs Executive Orders Aimed At Lowering Drug Prices In Largely Symbolic Move".
Washington Post. 24 July 2020. Cohen, Joshua. "Trump's Executive Orders On Drug Pricing Contain Caveats And Limitations".
Forbes. 25 July 2020. Ways And Means Committee Staff. "A Painful Pill To Swallow: U.S. Vs. International Prescription Drug Prices".
September 2019. Reklaitis, Victor. "Trump's Meeting With Pharma Execs Called Off, As Analysts Say His Moves On Drug Prices Lack Bite". Prestigiacomo, Amanda. "Trump Issues Executive Orders To Slash Insulin, EpiPen Prices; End 'Global Freeloading'.
The Daily Wire. 27 July 2020.
|
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-signing-executive-orders-lowering-drug-prices/"
],
"sentence": "Sitting in front of a mock pharmacy and flanked by people in white lab coats, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on July 24, 2020, that he framed as end-all solutions for Americans who struggle to pay high premium prices for prescription drugs. Of one of the directives, specifically, Trump told a crowd of supporters and reporters at the ceremony:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/us/politics/trump-drug-prices-coronavirus.html",
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/24/trump-expected-sign-drug-pricing-executive-orders-friday-angering-pharma/"
],
"sentence": "News outlets such as The New York Times and Washington Post described the signing event like it was largely symbolic, since the executive orders are unlikely to take effect this year, if at all (we explain more below)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.dailywire.com/"
],
"sentence": "Meanwhile, at least two conservative media sources, Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire and CNSNews which claims to balance \"liberal bias\" in mainstream news with its coverage reported on the president's pledge to slash prescription prices at face value, and highlighted the above-mentioned quote by Trump regarding insulin."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cnsnews.com/article/washington/melanie-arter/trump-says-executive-order-will-drop-price-insulin-down-pennies",
"https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/insulin/art-20050970"
],
"sentence": "CNSNews published the story, \"Trump Says Executive Order Will Drop the Price of Insulin Down to Pennies a Day,\" which mainly quoted the president verbatim, and numerous Snopes readers reached out to us to investigate the claim's accuracy. Namely, diabetic patients wondered whether they would indeed pay less for insulin syringes or insulin cartridges for their pens or pumps because of the president."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-access-affordable-life-saving-medications/",
"https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/07/24/trump-administration-announces-historic-action-lower-drug-prices-americans.html",
"https://www.epipen.com/en"
],
"sentence": "First, we'll lay out what was unequivocally true: Trump issued Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications during the July 24, 2020, signing event, and that directive authorized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make certain changes regarding the cost of EpiPens for Americans with severe allergies and the cost of insulin for those who suffer from diabetes, specifically. It stated:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.medicare.gov/",
"https://www.medicaid.gov/"
],
"sentence": "The price of insulin in the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade. ... While Americans with diabetes and severe allergic reactions may have access to affordable insulin and injectable epinephrine through commercial insurance or Federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, many Americans still struggle to purchase these products."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/diabetes-health-coverage-state-laws-and-programs.aspx"
],
"sentence": "Here's some more context: Medicare, the federal program that covers the majority of Americans over age 65 and those with disabilities, offers plans that help diabetic patients cover the cost of some insulin products. Meanwhile, policies for Medicaid, the government-run health insurance system for low-income people, vary state by state variances that include whether or not the program covers the cost of diabetic enrollees' insulin, or to what extent."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.hrsa.gov/opa/eligibility-and-registration/health-centers/fqhc/index.html",
"https://blog.definitivehc.com/how-many-fqhcs-are-there",
"https://www.hrsa.gov/opa/index.html"
],
"sentence": "Trump's directive pertained to \"federally qualified health centers\" (FQHC), which are about 1,400 community health care clinics nationwide that treat low-income patients on sliding fee scales and purchase discounted drugs from pharmaceutical companies under an existing federal program, known as 340B. The July 2020 executive order was worded like this:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/07/27/executive-orders",
"https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/07/24/trump-administration-announces-historic-action-lower-drug-prices-americans.html"
],
"sentence": "In other words, the president's order requires participants of the 340B Program to offer insulin at greatly reduced prices to patients with no or little insurance coverage, without providing specifics on how or when the change would take effect. Advisory Board, a news site for health care providers, said in a statement: \"Only patients with low incomes; those with high cost-sharing requirements for insulin or epinephrine; those with high, unmet deductibles; and/or those without health insurance would be eligible for the discount.\" A news release from the HHS said:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.diabetes.org/resources/statistics/statistics-about-diabetes"
],
"sentence": "For perspective, about 34.2 million Americans had diabetes as of 2018, which represented about 10.5 percent of the population, according to the American Diabetes Association. So, hypothetically, if the same proportion of people had diabetes within the FQHC population of 28 million patients (a total reported by the HHS), then Trump's executive order could help about 2.9 million people, depending on whether their insurance already covers the treatment."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-increasing-drug-importation-lower-prices-american-patients/",
"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/health/drug-prices-imports-canada.html"
],
"sentence": "We should note here: In addition to that previously explained executive order, a separate directive signed by Trump on July 24, 2020, touched on a yet-to-be-finalized initiative by the White House to relax international drug importation rules and added insulin to a list of prescription medications that can be imported from Canada. The president characterized that directive, too, as a positive step for people who want lower insulin costs."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/fiercepharmapolitics-trump-s-drug-pricing-executive-orders-won-t-bring-real-change-experts"
],
"sentence": "And that brings us to our final point: Much of what Trump celebrated in the July 2020 executive orders had been proposed by his administration prior to the signing ceremony but stalled amid opposition from pharmaceutical companies and political barriers. \"[None] of these ideas put forth are new, or in fact any more implementable than before, especially without congressional action, an investor told FeircePharma, a trade publication for the pharmaceutical industry."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-reducing-cost-insulin-improving-healthcare-nations-seniors/",
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/24/trump-expected-sign-drug-pricing-executive-orders-friday-angering-pharma/"
],
"sentence": "For instance, in May 2020, Trump unveiled a plan to cap the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients at $35 per month beginning in 2021 (even that initiative would cost patients more than \"pennies a day\"). But as of this writing, it was unclear exactly how that directive would roll out, and when or if qualifying seniors with diabetes would notice a price difference. The Washington Post reported on July 24, 2020:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/27/drugmakers-trump-meeting-canceled-382847",
"https://insidehealthpolicy.com/daily-news/white-house-cancels-meeting-pharma-tuesday-about-executive-order?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter",
"https://twitter.com/PhRMA/status/1287827989795876865",
"https://www.marketwatch.com/"
],
"sentence": "A couple days after the July signing ceremony, for example, Politico reported that representatives of major drug lobbies refused to meet with the president to discuss one of the four executive orders: a non-specific and controversial proposal to link Medicare payments for certain medicines to lower costs that people pay in other countries. After that refusal on industry leaders' part, investors told MarketWatch that the executive orders were \"largely campaign fodder\" and \"come without the necessary force to meaningfully change prices in the U.S.\" "
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/insulin-pennies-a-day-trump/
|
Will an order from Trump result in a reduction of insulin prices to just a few cents per day?
|
Jessica Lee
|
07/30/2020
|
[
"The president described it as a \"massive cost savings,\" but the fine print of his executive order lacked specifics."
] |
Sitting in front of a mock pharmacy and flanked by people in white lab coats, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on July 24, 2020, that he framed as end-all solutions for Americans who struggle to pay high premium prices for prescription drugs. Of one of the directives, specifically, Trump told a crowd of supporters and reporters at the ceremony: told Under this order, the price of insulin for affected patients will come down to just pennies a day pennies a day from numbers that you werent even able to think about. Its a massive cost savings. News outlets such as The New York Times and Washington Post described the signing event like it was largely symbolic, since the executive orders are unlikely to take effect this year, if at all (we explain more below). The New York Times Washington Post Meanwhile, at least two conservative media sources, Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire and CNSNews which claims to balance "liberal bias" in mainstream news with its coverage reported on the president's pledge to slash prescription prices at face value, and highlighted the above-mentioned quote by Trump regarding insulin. Daily Wire CNSNews published the story, "Trump Says Executive Order Will Drop the Price of Insulin Down to Pennies a Day," which mainly quoted the president verbatim, and numerous Snopes readers reached out to us to investigate the claim's accuracy. Namely, diabetic patients wondered whether they would indeed pay less for insulin syringes or insulin cartridges for their pens or pumps because of the president. story pens According to a Congressional analysis in September 2019, insulin averaged $34.75 per dose in the U.S. a total that's almost 2.5 times higher than the average price in other countries. First, we'll lay out what was unequivocally true: Trump issued Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications during the July 24, 2020, signing event, and that directive authorized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make certain changes regarding the cost of EpiPens for Americans with severe allergies and the cost of insulin for those who suffer from diabetes, specifically. It stated: Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications Department of Health and Human Services EpiPens The price of insulin in the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade. ... While Americans with diabetes and severe allergic reactions may have access to affordable insulin and injectable epinephrine through commercial insurance or Federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, many Americans still struggle to purchase these products. Medicare Medicaid Here's some more context: Medicare, the federal program that covers the majority of Americans over age 65 and those with disabilities, offers plans that help diabetic patients cover the cost of some insulin products. Meanwhile, policies for Medicaid, the government-run health insurance system for low-income people, vary state by state variances that include whether or not the program covers the cost of diabetic enrollees' insulin, or to what extent. state by state Trump's directive pertained to "federally qualified health centers" (FQHC), which are about 1,400 community health care clinics nationwide that treat low-income patients on sliding fee scales and purchase discounted drugs from pharmaceutical companies under an existing federal program, known as 340B. The July 2020 executive order was worded like this: federally qualified health centers 1,400 340B In other words, the president's order requires participants of the 340B Program to offer insulin at greatly reduced prices to patients with no or little insurance coverage, without providing specifics on how or when the change would take effect. Advisory Board, a news site for health care providers, said in a statement: "Only patients with low incomes; those with high cost-sharing requirements for insulin or epinephrine; those with high, unmet deductibles; and/or those without health insurance would be eligible for the discount." A news release from the HHS said: statement news release This will increase access to life-saving insulin and epinephrine for the patients who face especially high costs among the 28 million patients who visit FQHCs every year, over six million of whom are uninsured. For perspective, about 34.2 million Americans had diabetes as of 2018, which represented about 10.5 percent of the population, according to the American Diabetes Association. So, hypothetically, if the same proportion of people had diabetes within the FQHC population of 28 million patients (a total reported by the HHS), then Trump's executive order could help about 2.9 million people, depending on whether their insurance already covers the treatment. American Diabetes Association So to recap, in regard to the claim in question, it was true to state Trump signed an executive order in July 2020 that aimed to make it easier for low-income diabetic patients to pay for insulin. But nowhere in the federal document did the presidential administration explain its plan for implementing the change, nor the level to which insulin prices would drop. There was no proof that the order would allow any American to someday pay "pennies a day" on the protein hormone. We should note here: In addition to that previously explained executive order, a separate directive signed by Trump on July 24, 2020, touched on a yet-to-be-finalized initiative by the White House to relax international drug importation rules and added insulin to a list of prescription medications that can be imported from Canada. The president characterized that directive, too, as a positive step for people who want lower insulin costs. separate directive yet-to-be-finalized And that brings us to our final point: Much of what Trump celebrated in the July 2020 executive orders had been proposed by his administration prior to the signing ceremony but stalled amid opposition from pharmaceutical companies and political barriers. "[None] of these ideas put forth are new, or in fact any more implementable than before, especially without congressional action, an investor told FeircePharma, a trade publication for the pharmaceutical industry. FeircePharma For instance, in May 2020, Trump unveiled a plan to cap the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients at $35 per month beginning in 2021 (even that initiative would cost patients more than "pennies a day"). But as of this writing, it was unclear exactly how that directive would roll out, and when or if qualifying seniors with diabetes would notice a price difference. The Washington Post reported on July 24, 2020: May 2020 Washington Post The moves [by Trump] are largely symbolic because the orders are unlikely to take effect anytime soon, if they do so at all, because the power to implement drug pricing policy through executive order is limited. Voters will not see an impact before the November elections, and the drug industry is sure to challenge them in court. A couple days after the July signing ceremony, for example, Politico reported that representatives of major drug lobbies refused to meet with the president to discuss one of the four executive orders: a non-specific and controversial proposal to link Medicare payments for certain medicines to lower costs that people pay in other countries. After that refusal on industry leaders' part, investors told MarketWatch that the executive orders were "largely campaign fodder" and "come without the necessary force to meaningfully change prices in the U.S." Politico reported meet controversial MarketWatch In sum, while it was truthful to claim Trump issued an executive order in July 2020 that was intended to lower the price of insulin for some Americans, it was misleading to claim that all diabetic patients would save money as a result of the directive the directive only targeted low-income patients who are uninsured or underinsured and seek help from certain federal community health providers. Additionally, it was unclear as of this report when, if at all, that group would actually reap the benefit of the cost savings, and the estimated amount of such was unknown. It would be wrong to state based on available evidence that the executive order alone would drive down prices to "pennies a day." For those reasons, we rate this claim a "Mixture" of truth and falsehoods. White House. "Executive Order On Access To Affordable Life-saving Medications".
24 July 2020. White House. "Executive Order On Lowering Prices For Patients by Eliminating Kickbacks To Middlemen".
24 July 2020. White House. "Executive Order On Increasing Drug Importation To Lower Prices For American Patients".
24 July 2020. White House. "Remarks By President Trump At Signing Of Executive Orders On Lowering Drug Prices".
24 July 2020. Sanger-Katz, Margot. "As He Woos Drugmakers On Virus, Trump Demands Drug Price Controls".
New York Times. 24 July 2020. Arter, Melanie. "Trump Says Executive Order Will Drop the Price of Insulin Down to Pennies a Day".
CNSNews. 24 July 2020. National Conference of State Legislatures. "Diabetes Health Coverage: State Laws And Programs".
10 January 2016. HHS.gov. "Trump Administration Announces Historic Action To Lower Drug Prices For Americans".
24 July 2020. American Diabetes Association. "Statistics About Diabetes".
Accessed 30 July 2020. White House. "Executive Order On Increasing Drug Importation To Lower Prices For American Patients".
24 July 2020. Luhby, Tami. "Trump Administration Proposes Allowing Imports Of Certain Drugs From Canada".
CNN. 18 December 2019. O'Donnell, Carl. "Explainer: Trump's Plan To Cut Drug Prices".
Reuters. 27 July 2020. Abutaleb, Yasmeen and Josh Dawsey. "Trump Signs Executive Orders Aimed At Lowering Drug Prices In Largely Symbolic Move".
Washington Post. 24 July 2020. Cohen, Joshua. "Trump's Executive Orders On Drug Pricing Contain Caveats And Limitations".
Forbes. 25 July 2020. Ways And Means Committee Staff. "A Painful Pill To Swallow: U.S. Vs. International Prescription Drug Prices".
September 2019. Reklaitis, Victor. "Trump's Meeting With Pharma Execs Called Off, As Analysts Say His Moves On Drug Prices Lack Bite". Prestigiacomo, Amanda. "Trump Issues Executive Orders To Slash Insulin, EpiPen Prices; End 'Global Freeloading'.
The Daily Wire. 27 July 2020.
|
[
"income"
] |
[
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-signing-executive-orders-lowering-drug-prices/"
],
"sentence": "Sitting in front of a mock pharmacy and flanked by people in white lab coats, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on July 24, 2020, that he framed as end-all solutions for Americans who struggle to pay high premium prices for prescription drugs. Of one of the directives, specifically, Trump told a crowd of supporters and reporters at the ceremony:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/us/politics/trump-drug-prices-coronavirus.html",
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/24/trump-expected-sign-drug-pricing-executive-orders-friday-angering-pharma/"
],
"sentence": "News outlets such as The New York Times and Washington Post described the signing event like it was largely symbolic, since the executive orders are unlikely to take effect this year, if at all (we explain more below)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.dailywire.com/"
],
"sentence": "Meanwhile, at least two conservative media sources, Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire and CNSNews which claims to balance \"liberal bias\" in mainstream news with its coverage reported on the president's pledge to slash prescription prices at face value, and highlighted the above-mentioned quote by Trump regarding insulin."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cnsnews.com/article/washington/melanie-arter/trump-says-executive-order-will-drop-price-insulin-down-pennies",
"https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/insulin/art-20050970"
],
"sentence": "CNSNews published the story, \"Trump Says Executive Order Will Drop the Price of Insulin Down to Pennies a Day,\" which mainly quoted the president verbatim, and numerous Snopes readers reached out to us to investigate the claim's accuracy. Namely, diabetic patients wondered whether they would indeed pay less for insulin syringes or insulin cartridges for their pens or pumps because of the president."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-access-affordable-life-saving-medications/",
"https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/07/24/trump-administration-announces-historic-action-lower-drug-prices-americans.html",
"https://www.epipen.com/en"
],
"sentence": "First, we'll lay out what was unequivocally true: Trump issued Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications during the July 24, 2020, signing event, and that directive authorized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make certain changes regarding the cost of EpiPens for Americans with severe allergies and the cost of insulin for those who suffer from diabetes, specifically. It stated:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.medicare.gov/",
"https://www.medicaid.gov/"
],
"sentence": "The price of insulin in the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade. ... While Americans with diabetes and severe allergic reactions may have access to affordable insulin and injectable epinephrine through commercial insurance or Federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, many Americans still struggle to purchase these products."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/diabetes-health-coverage-state-laws-and-programs.aspx"
],
"sentence": "Here's some more context: Medicare, the federal program that covers the majority of Americans over age 65 and those with disabilities, offers plans that help diabetic patients cover the cost of some insulin products. Meanwhile, policies for Medicaid, the government-run health insurance system for low-income people, vary state by state variances that include whether or not the program covers the cost of diabetic enrollees' insulin, or to what extent."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.hrsa.gov/opa/eligibility-and-registration/health-centers/fqhc/index.html",
"https://blog.definitivehc.com/how-many-fqhcs-are-there",
"https://www.hrsa.gov/opa/index.html"
],
"sentence": "Trump's directive pertained to \"federally qualified health centers\" (FQHC), which are about 1,400 community health care clinics nationwide that treat low-income patients on sliding fee scales and purchase discounted drugs from pharmaceutical companies under an existing federal program, known as 340B. The July 2020 executive order was worded like this:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/07/27/executive-orders",
"https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/07/24/trump-administration-announces-historic-action-lower-drug-prices-americans.html"
],
"sentence": "In other words, the president's order requires participants of the 340B Program to offer insulin at greatly reduced prices to patients with no or little insurance coverage, without providing specifics on how or when the change would take effect. Advisory Board, a news site for health care providers, said in a statement: \"Only patients with low incomes; those with high cost-sharing requirements for insulin or epinephrine; those with high, unmet deductibles; and/or those without health insurance would be eligible for the discount.\" A news release from the HHS said:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.diabetes.org/resources/statistics/statistics-about-diabetes"
],
"sentence": "For perspective, about 34.2 million Americans had diabetes as of 2018, which represented about 10.5 percent of the population, according to the American Diabetes Association. So, hypothetically, if the same proportion of people had diabetes within the FQHC population of 28 million patients (a total reported by the HHS), then Trump's executive order could help about 2.9 million people, depending on whether their insurance already covers the treatment."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-increasing-drug-importation-lower-prices-american-patients/",
"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/health/drug-prices-imports-canada.html"
],
"sentence": "We should note here: In addition to that previously explained executive order, a separate directive signed by Trump on July 24, 2020, touched on a yet-to-be-finalized initiative by the White House to relax international drug importation rules and added insulin to a list of prescription medications that can be imported from Canada. The president characterized that directive, too, as a positive step for people who want lower insulin costs."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/fiercepharmapolitics-trump-s-drug-pricing-executive-orders-won-t-bring-real-change-experts"
],
"sentence": "And that brings us to our final point: Much of what Trump celebrated in the July 2020 executive orders had been proposed by his administration prior to the signing ceremony but stalled amid opposition from pharmaceutical companies and political barriers. \"[None] of these ideas put forth are new, or in fact any more implementable than before, especially without congressional action, an investor told FeircePharma, a trade publication for the pharmaceutical industry."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-reducing-cost-insulin-improving-healthcare-nations-seniors/",
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/24/trump-expected-sign-drug-pricing-executive-orders-friday-angering-pharma/"
],
"sentence": "For instance, in May 2020, Trump unveiled a plan to cap the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients at $35 per month beginning in 2021 (even that initiative would cost patients more than \"pennies a day\"). But as of this writing, it was unclear exactly how that directive would roll out, and when or if qualifying seniors with diabetes would notice a price difference. The Washington Post reported on July 24, 2020:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/27/drugmakers-trump-meeting-canceled-382847",
"https://insidehealthpolicy.com/daily-news/white-house-cancels-meeting-pharma-tuesday-about-executive-order?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter",
"https://twitter.com/PhRMA/status/1287827989795876865",
"https://www.marketwatch.com/"
],
"sentence": "A couple days after the July signing ceremony, for example, Politico reported that representatives of major drug lobbies refused to meet with the president to discuss one of the four executive orders: a non-specific and controversial proposal to link Medicare payments for certain medicines to lower costs that people pay in other countries. After that refusal on industry leaders' part, investors told MarketWatch that the executive orders were \"largely campaign fodder\" and \"come without the necessary force to meaningfully change prices in the U.S.\" "
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/insulin-pennies-a-day-trump/
|
Could a directive from Trump reduce the cost of insulin to just a few cents daily?
|
Jessica Lee
|
07/30/2020
|
[
"The president described it as a \"massive cost savings,\" but the fine print of his executive order lacked specifics."
] |
Sitting in front of a mock pharmacy and flanked by people in white lab coats, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on July 24, 2020, that he framed as end-all solutions for Americans who struggle to pay high premium prices for prescription drugs. Of one of the directives, specifically, Trump told a crowd of supporters and reporters at the ceremony: told Under this order, the price of insulin for affected patients will come down to just pennies a day pennies a day from numbers that you werent even able to think about. Its a massive cost savings. News outlets such as The New York Times and Washington Post described the signing event like it was largely symbolic, since the executive orders are unlikely to take effect this year, if at all (we explain more below). The New York Times Washington Post Meanwhile, at least two conservative media sources, Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire and CNSNews which claims to balance "liberal bias" in mainstream news with its coverage reported on the president's pledge to slash prescription prices at face value, and highlighted the above-mentioned quote by Trump regarding insulin. Daily Wire CNSNews published the story, "Trump Says Executive Order Will Drop the Price of Insulin Down to Pennies a Day," which mainly quoted the president verbatim, and numerous Snopes readers reached out to us to investigate the claim's accuracy. Namely, diabetic patients wondered whether they would indeed pay less for insulin syringes or insulin cartridges for their pens or pumps because of the president. story pens According to a Congressional analysis in September 2019, insulin averaged $34.75 per dose in the U.S. a total that's almost 2.5 times higher than the average price in other countries. First, we'll lay out what was unequivocally true: Trump issued Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications during the July 24, 2020, signing event, and that directive authorized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make certain changes regarding the cost of EpiPens for Americans with severe allergies and the cost of insulin for those who suffer from diabetes, specifically. It stated: Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications Department of Health and Human Services EpiPens The price of insulin in the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade. ... While Americans with diabetes and severe allergic reactions may have access to affordable insulin and injectable epinephrine through commercial insurance or Federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, many Americans still struggle to purchase these products. Medicare Medicaid Here's some more context: Medicare, the federal program that covers the majority of Americans over age 65 and those with disabilities, offers plans that help diabetic patients cover the cost of some insulin products. Meanwhile, policies for Medicaid, the government-run health insurance system for low-income people, vary state by state variances that include whether or not the program covers the cost of diabetic enrollees' insulin, or to what extent. state by state Trump's directive pertained to "federally qualified health centers" (FQHC), which are about 1,400 community health care clinics nationwide that treat low-income patients on sliding fee scales and purchase discounted drugs from pharmaceutical companies under an existing federal program, known as 340B. The July 2020 executive order was worded like this: federally qualified health centers 1,400 340B In other words, the president's order requires participants of the 340B Program to offer insulin at greatly reduced prices to patients with no or little insurance coverage, without providing specifics on how or when the change would take effect. Advisory Board, a news site for health care providers, said in a statement: "Only patients with low incomes; those with high cost-sharing requirements for insulin or epinephrine; those with high, unmet deductibles; and/or those without health insurance would be eligible for the discount." A news release from the HHS said: statement news release This will increase access to life-saving insulin and epinephrine for the patients who face especially high costs among the 28 million patients who visit FQHCs every year, over six million of whom are uninsured. For perspective, about 34.2 million Americans had diabetes as of 2018, which represented about 10.5 percent of the population, according to the American Diabetes Association. So, hypothetically, if the same proportion of people had diabetes within the FQHC population of 28 million patients (a total reported by the HHS), then Trump's executive order could help about 2.9 million people, depending on whether their insurance already covers the treatment. American Diabetes Association So to recap, in regard to the claim in question, it was true to state Trump signed an executive order in July 2020 that aimed to make it easier for low-income diabetic patients to pay for insulin. But nowhere in the federal document did the presidential administration explain its plan for implementing the change, nor the level to which insulin prices would drop. There was no proof that the order would allow any American to someday pay "pennies a day" on the protein hormone. We should note here: In addition to that previously explained executive order, a separate directive signed by Trump on July 24, 2020, touched on a yet-to-be-finalized initiative by the White House to relax international drug importation rules and added insulin to a list of prescription medications that can be imported from Canada. The president characterized that directive, too, as a positive step for people who want lower insulin costs. separate directive yet-to-be-finalized And that brings us to our final point: Much of what Trump celebrated in the July 2020 executive orders had been proposed by his administration prior to the signing ceremony but stalled amid opposition from pharmaceutical companies and political barriers. "[None] of these ideas put forth are new, or in fact any more implementable than before, especially without congressional action, an investor told FeircePharma, a trade publication for the pharmaceutical industry. FeircePharma For instance, in May 2020, Trump unveiled a plan to cap the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients at $35 per month beginning in 2021 (even that initiative would cost patients more than "pennies a day"). But as of this writing, it was unclear exactly how that directive would roll out, and when or if qualifying seniors with diabetes would notice a price difference. The Washington Post reported on July 24, 2020: May 2020 Washington Post The moves [by Trump] are largely symbolic because the orders are unlikely to take effect anytime soon, if they do so at all, because the power to implement drug pricing policy through executive order is limited. Voters will not see an impact before the November elections, and the drug industry is sure to challenge them in court. A couple days after the July signing ceremony, for example, Politico reported that representatives of major drug lobbies refused to meet with the president to discuss one of the four executive orders: a non-specific and controversial proposal to link Medicare payments for certain medicines to lower costs that people pay in other countries. After that refusal on industry leaders' part, investors told MarketWatch that the executive orders were "largely campaign fodder" and "come without the necessary force to meaningfully change prices in the U.S." Politico reported meet controversial MarketWatch In sum, while it was truthful to claim Trump issued an executive order in July 2020 that was intended to lower the price of insulin for some Americans, it was misleading to claim that all diabetic patients would save money as a result of the directive the directive only targeted low-income patients who are uninsured or underinsured and seek help from certain federal community health providers. Additionally, it was unclear as of this report when, if at all, that group would actually reap the benefit of the cost savings, and the estimated amount of such was unknown. It would be wrong to state based on available evidence that the executive order alone would drive down prices to "pennies a day." For those reasons, we rate this claim a "Mixture" of truth and falsehoods. White House. "Executive Order On Access To Affordable Life-saving Medications".
24 July 2020. White House. "Executive Order On Lowering Prices For Patients by Eliminating Kickbacks To Middlemen".
24 July 2020. White House. "Executive Order On Increasing Drug Importation To Lower Prices For American Patients".
24 July 2020. White House. "Remarks By President Trump At Signing Of Executive Orders On Lowering Drug Prices".
24 July 2020. Sanger-Katz, Margot. "As He Woos Drugmakers On Virus, Trump Demands Drug Price Controls".
New York Times. 24 July 2020. Arter, Melanie. "Trump Says Executive Order Will Drop the Price of Insulin Down to Pennies a Day".
CNSNews. 24 July 2020. National Conference of State Legislatures. "Diabetes Health Coverage: State Laws And Programs".
10 January 2016. HHS.gov. "Trump Administration Announces Historic Action To Lower Drug Prices For Americans".
24 July 2020. American Diabetes Association. "Statistics About Diabetes".
Accessed 30 July 2020. White House. "Executive Order On Increasing Drug Importation To Lower Prices For American Patients".
24 July 2020. Luhby, Tami. "Trump Administration Proposes Allowing Imports Of Certain Drugs From Canada".
CNN. 18 December 2019. O'Donnell, Carl. "Explainer: Trump's Plan To Cut Drug Prices".
Reuters. 27 July 2020. Abutaleb, Yasmeen and Josh Dawsey. "Trump Signs Executive Orders Aimed At Lowering Drug Prices In Largely Symbolic Move".
Washington Post. 24 July 2020. Cohen, Joshua. "Trump's Executive Orders On Drug Pricing Contain Caveats And Limitations".
Forbes. 25 July 2020. Ways And Means Committee Staff. "A Painful Pill To Swallow: U.S. Vs. International Prescription Drug Prices".
September 2019. Reklaitis, Victor. "Trump's Meeting With Pharma Execs Called Off, As Analysts Say His Moves On Drug Prices Lack Bite". Prestigiacomo, Amanda. "Trump Issues Executive Orders To Slash Insulin, EpiPen Prices; End 'Global Freeloading'.
The Daily Wire. 27 July 2020.
|
[
"insurance"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=16mQ37vuZLo2UOGwAn1GeaMv9pSxJPdQv"
},
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1yZh-ssRkzhsL201i6GJ-OpLyTjzYbqjC"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-signing-executive-orders-lowering-drug-prices/"
],
"sentence": "Sitting in front of a mock pharmacy and flanked by people in white lab coats, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on July 24, 2020, that he framed as end-all solutions for Americans who struggle to pay high premium prices for prescription drugs. Of one of the directives, specifically, Trump told a crowd of supporters and reporters at the ceremony:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/us/politics/trump-drug-prices-coronavirus.html",
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/24/trump-expected-sign-drug-pricing-executive-orders-friday-angering-pharma/"
],
"sentence": "News outlets such as The New York Times and Washington Post described the signing event like it was largely symbolic, since the executive orders are unlikely to take effect this year, if at all (we explain more below)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.dailywire.com/"
],
"sentence": "Meanwhile, at least two conservative media sources, Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire and CNSNews which claims to balance \"liberal bias\" in mainstream news with its coverage reported on the president's pledge to slash prescription prices at face value, and highlighted the above-mentioned quote by Trump regarding insulin."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cnsnews.com/article/washington/melanie-arter/trump-says-executive-order-will-drop-price-insulin-down-pennies",
"https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/insulin/art-20050970"
],
"sentence": "CNSNews published the story, \"Trump Says Executive Order Will Drop the Price of Insulin Down to Pennies a Day,\" which mainly quoted the president verbatim, and numerous Snopes readers reached out to us to investigate the claim's accuracy. Namely, diabetic patients wondered whether they would indeed pay less for insulin syringes or insulin cartridges for their pens or pumps because of the president."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-access-affordable-life-saving-medications/",
"https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/07/24/trump-administration-announces-historic-action-lower-drug-prices-americans.html",
"https://www.epipen.com/en"
],
"sentence": "First, we'll lay out what was unequivocally true: Trump issued Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications during the July 24, 2020, signing event, and that directive authorized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make certain changes regarding the cost of EpiPens for Americans with severe allergies and the cost of insulin for those who suffer from diabetes, specifically. It stated:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.medicare.gov/",
"https://www.medicaid.gov/"
],
"sentence": "The price of insulin in the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade. ... While Americans with diabetes and severe allergic reactions may have access to affordable insulin and injectable epinephrine through commercial insurance or Federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, many Americans still struggle to purchase these products."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/diabetes-health-coverage-state-laws-and-programs.aspx"
],
"sentence": "Here's some more context: Medicare, the federal program that covers the majority of Americans over age 65 and those with disabilities, offers plans that help diabetic patients cover the cost of some insulin products. Meanwhile, policies for Medicaid, the government-run health insurance system for low-income people, vary state by state variances that include whether or not the program covers the cost of diabetic enrollees' insulin, or to what extent."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.hrsa.gov/opa/eligibility-and-registration/health-centers/fqhc/index.html",
"https://blog.definitivehc.com/how-many-fqhcs-are-there",
"https://www.hrsa.gov/opa/index.html"
],
"sentence": "Trump's directive pertained to \"federally qualified health centers\" (FQHC), which are about 1,400 community health care clinics nationwide that treat low-income patients on sliding fee scales and purchase discounted drugs from pharmaceutical companies under an existing federal program, known as 340B. The July 2020 executive order was worded like this:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/07/27/executive-orders",
"https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/07/24/trump-administration-announces-historic-action-lower-drug-prices-americans.html"
],
"sentence": "In other words, the president's order requires participants of the 340B Program to offer insulin at greatly reduced prices to patients with no or little insurance coverage, without providing specifics on how or when the change would take effect. Advisory Board, a news site for health care providers, said in a statement: \"Only patients with low incomes; those with high cost-sharing requirements for insulin or epinephrine; those with high, unmet deductibles; and/or those without health insurance would be eligible for the discount.\" A news release from the HHS said:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.diabetes.org/resources/statistics/statistics-about-diabetes"
],
"sentence": "For perspective, about 34.2 million Americans had diabetes as of 2018, which represented about 10.5 percent of the population, according to the American Diabetes Association. So, hypothetically, if the same proportion of people had diabetes within the FQHC population of 28 million patients (a total reported by the HHS), then Trump's executive order could help about 2.9 million people, depending on whether their insurance already covers the treatment."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-increasing-drug-importation-lower-prices-american-patients/",
"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/health/drug-prices-imports-canada.html"
],
"sentence": "We should note here: In addition to that previously explained executive order, a separate directive signed by Trump on July 24, 2020, touched on a yet-to-be-finalized initiative by the White House to relax international drug importation rules and added insulin to a list of prescription medications that can be imported from Canada. The president characterized that directive, too, as a positive step for people who want lower insulin costs."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/fiercepharmapolitics-trump-s-drug-pricing-executive-orders-won-t-bring-real-change-experts"
],
"sentence": "And that brings us to our final point: Much of what Trump celebrated in the July 2020 executive orders had been proposed by his administration prior to the signing ceremony but stalled amid opposition from pharmaceutical companies and political barriers. \"[None] of these ideas put forth are new, or in fact any more implementable than before, especially without congressional action, an investor told FeircePharma, a trade publication for the pharmaceutical industry."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-reducing-cost-insulin-improving-healthcare-nations-seniors/",
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/24/trump-expected-sign-drug-pricing-executive-orders-friday-angering-pharma/"
],
"sentence": "For instance, in May 2020, Trump unveiled a plan to cap the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients at $35 per month beginning in 2021 (even that initiative would cost patients more than \"pennies a day\"). But as of this writing, it was unclear exactly how that directive would roll out, and when or if qualifying seniors with diabetes would notice a price difference. The Washington Post reported on July 24, 2020:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/27/drugmakers-trump-meeting-canceled-382847",
"https://insidehealthpolicy.com/daily-news/white-house-cancels-meeting-pharma-tuesday-about-executive-order?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter",
"https://twitter.com/PhRMA/status/1287827989795876865",
"https://www.marketwatch.com/"
],
"sentence": "A couple days after the July signing ceremony, for example, Politico reported that representatives of major drug lobbies refused to meet with the president to discuss one of the four executive orders: a non-specific and controversial proposal to link Medicare payments for certain medicines to lower costs that people pay in other countries. After that refusal on industry leaders' part, investors told MarketWatch that the executive orders were \"largely campaign fodder\" and \"come without the necessary force to meaningfully change prices in the U.S.\" "
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/andrew-cuomo-pay-raise/
|
Did Gov. Cuomo Just Get a $71,000 Pay Raise?
|
David Mikkelson
|
05/20/2020
|
[
"The New York governor was one of several state officials who were voted substantial, phased-in pay raises recommended by a compensation committee."
] |
Snopes is still fighting an infodemic of rumors and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and you can help. Find out what we've learned and how to inoculate yourself against COVID-19 misinformation. Read the latest fact checks about the vaccines. Submit any questionable rumors and advice you encounter. Become a Founding Member to help us hire more fact-checkers. And, please, follow the CDC or WHO for guidance on protecting your community from the disease. fighting Find out Read Submit Become a Founding Member CDC WHO During the coronavirus pandemic of spring 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York remained at the top of the news cycle for two reasons: His state saw by far the largest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and his daily press briefings were a staple of television news coverage of the crisis. The New York governor was also praised as a model of political leadership during an emergency by those who were highly critical of President Donald Trump and his handling of the U.S. federal response to COVID-19. largest number During that period, a meme circulated via social media stating that Cuomo had recently requested and been granted a $71,000 pay raise that made him the highest-paid governor in the U.S., and that this activity had taken place "while most NYers were sleeping": It was true that Cuomo had been granted a pay raise that would make him (at least temporarily) the highest-paid governor of any state. But that pay adjustment had been recommended and enacted a year earlier (i.e., in 2019, not 2020), the $71,000 increase was phased in across the span of three years (rather than given all at once), and the matter involved multiple recommendations and approvals from state authorities (largely given because the governor's salary not increased since 1999) which were openly publicized and not hidden from New York residents. On April 1, 2019, both houses of the New York Legislature (Assembly and Senate) approved a pay hike that would increase Cuomo's compensation from $179,500 to $200,000 in 2019, $225,000 in 2020, and $250,000 in 2021. In terms of base salary, that raise created the potential for Cuomo to become the nation's highest-paid governor in 2020, out-earning Gov. Gavin Newsom of California (assuming that no other state raised its chief executive's pay to a higher level before then). Gov. Gavin Newsom The gubernatorial pay hike was one of several salary increases that had been recommended back in December 2018 by the New York State Compensation Committee, which "after months of research and public hearings," advocated substantial pay raises for multiple high-level state officers -- many of whom would, like the governor, would see phased pay increases eventually garnering them well over $200,000 per year: recommended A four-member committee has recommended substantial pay raises for members of the state Legislature, the governor, lieutenant governor, state comptroller and state attorney general. The New York State Compensation Committee consisting of current and former New York state and New York City comptrollers unveiled their recommendations Monday, December 10, 2018, after months of research and public hearings. The Compensation Committee recommends that, starting on Jan. 1 of 2019, state legislators will receive an annual salary of $110,000. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, lawmakers will receive an annual salary of $120,000 and their outside income would be capped at $18,000, which 15 percent of their legislative pay. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, lawmakers would receive $130,000 a year and their outside income would be capped at $19,500, which is 15 percent of their legislative pay. This would be the long-term compensation for state legislators moving forward. The Compensation Committee is also recommending pay increases for the governor, who would receive an annual salary of $250,000 after a three-year phase-in; the lieutenant governor, who would receive $220,000 after a three-year phase-in; and an annual salary of $220,000 for both the state comptroller and state attorney general after a phase-in period. Executive branch commissioners and department heads would also receive pay raises under the plan, with Tier A commissioners making $220,000 after a three-year phase-in. As the New York Post reported, some legislators "grumbled that the [pay raise] measure was thrown in at the last minute" while they were working overtime to pass a state budget, but Cuomo and others defended it by noting that the compensation committee's recommendations had been published and accepted months earlier: reported Because the governor cant sign off on his own pay hike, the raise required legislative action. The state Senate approved the increase at 2:45 a.m. and the Assembly acted a few hours later. Some lawmakers grumbled that the measure was thrown in at the last minute, while they were grappling with the new $175.5 billion state budget. The salary adjustments were done last December by the pay commission which publicized and put out a report, which was accepted by the legislature, Cuomo said. That was published and discussed in December, so theres nothing new on that. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) backed up Cuomo. It has a fiscal component to it, so theres always the realization to do it, Heastie told reporters. We felt that all the statewide officials were able to get raises ... the governor and the lieutenant governors salaries arent fixed by statute, they have to be done by a concurrent resolution between the Assembly and the Senate and thats the reason why they were done. Gormley, James. "Pay Committee Recommends $50,000 Annual Salary Increase for Lawmakers."
Legislative Gazette. 11 December 2018. Davis, Dominic-Madori and Marguerite Ward. "Here's the Salary of Every Governor in All 50 US States."
Business Insider. 20 April 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Coronavirus Disease 2019 -- Cases in the U.S."
Accessed 20 May 2020. Feis, Aaron. "Andrew Cuomo to Become the Highest-Paid Governor in the US."
New York Post. 1 April 2019. Hogan, Bernadette. "Andrew Cuomo Defends His Huge Pay Raise."
New York Post. 2 April 2019.
|
[
"income"
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{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1cjgcnEFXEnmobrqNh1gf_6ZcgnsQkCOp"
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/2020/03/20/snopes-on-covid-19-fact-checking/",
"https://www.snopes.com/news/2021/03/11/one-year-covid-infodemic/",
"https://www.snopes.com/tag/covid-19-vaccines/",
"https://www.snopes.com/contact/",
"https://www.snopes.com/projects/founding-members/",
"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html",
"https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019"
],
"sentence": "Snopes is still fighting an infodemic of rumors and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and you can help. Find out what we've learned and how to inoculate yourself against COVID-19 misinformation. Read the latest fact checks about the vaccines. Submit any questionable rumors and advice you encounter. Become a Founding Member to help us hire more fact-checkers. And, please, follow the CDC or WHO for guidance on protecting your community from the disease. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html"
],
"sentence": "During the coronavirus pandemic of spring 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York remained at the top of the news cycle for two reasons: His state saw by far the largest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and his daily press briefings were a staple of television news coverage of the crisis. The New York governor was also praised as a model of political leadership during an emergency by those who were highly critical of President Donald Trump and his handling of the U.S. federal response to COVID-19."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.businessinsider.com/governor-salary-by-state-2018-1"
],
"sentence": "On April 1, 2019, both houses of the New York Legislature (Assembly and Senate) approved a pay hike that would increase Cuomo's compensation from $179,500 to $200,000 in 2019, $225,000 in 2020, and $250,000 in 2021. In terms of base salary, that raise created the potential for Cuomo to become the nation's highest-paid governor in 2020, out-earning Gov. Gavin Newsom of California (assuming that no other state raised its chief executive's pay to a higher level before then)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://legislativegazette.com/pay-committee-recommends-50000-annual-salary-increase-for-lawmakers/"
],
"sentence": "The gubernatorial pay hike was one of several salary increases that had been recommended back in December 2018 by the New York State Compensation Committee, which \"after months of research and public hearings,\" advocated substantial pay raises for multiple high-level state officers -- many of whom would, like the governor, would see phased pay increases eventually garnering them well over $200,000 per year:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://nypost.com/2019/04/02/andrew-cuomo-defends-his-huge-pay-raise/"
],
"sentence": "As the New York Post reported, some legislators \"grumbled that the [pay raise] measure was thrown in at the last minute\" while they were working overtime to pass a state budget, but Cuomo and others defended it by noting that the compensation committee's recommendations had been published and accepted months earlier:"
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/andrew-cuomo-pay-raise/
|
Has Governor Cuomo recently received a $71,000 salary increase?
|
David Mikkelson
|
05/20/2020
|
[
"The New York governor was one of several state officials who were voted substantial, phased-in pay raises recommended by a compensation committee."
] |
Snopes is still fighting an infodemic of rumors and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and you can help. Find out what we've learned and how to inoculate yourself against COVID-19 misinformation. Read the latest fact checks about the vaccines. Submit any questionable rumors and advice you encounter. Become a Founding Member to help us hire more fact-checkers. And, please, follow the CDC or WHO for guidance on protecting your community from the disease. fighting Find out Read Submit Become a Founding Member CDC WHO During the coronavirus pandemic of spring 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York remained at the top of the news cycle for two reasons: His state saw by far the largest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and his daily press briefings were a staple of television news coverage of the crisis. The New York governor was also praised as a model of political leadership during an emergency by those who were highly critical of President Donald Trump and his handling of the U.S. federal response to COVID-19. largest number During that period, a meme circulated via social media stating that Cuomo had recently requested and been granted a $71,000 pay raise that made him the highest-paid governor in the U.S., and that this activity had taken place "while most NYers were sleeping": It was true that Cuomo had been granted a pay raise that would make him (at least temporarily) the highest-paid governor of any state. But that pay adjustment had been recommended and enacted a year earlier (i.e., in 2019, not 2020), the $71,000 increase was phased in across the span of three years (rather than given all at once), and the matter involved multiple recommendations and approvals from state authorities (largely given because the governor's salary not increased since 1999) which were openly publicized and not hidden from New York residents. On April 1, 2019, both houses of the New York Legislature (Assembly and Senate) approved a pay hike that would increase Cuomo's compensation from $179,500 to $200,000 in 2019, $225,000 in 2020, and $250,000 in 2021. In terms of base salary, that raise created the potential for Cuomo to become the nation's highest-paid governor in 2020, out-earning Gov. Gavin Newsom of California (assuming that no other state raised its chief executive's pay to a higher level before then). Gov. Gavin Newsom The gubernatorial pay hike was one of several salary increases that had been recommended back in December 2018 by the New York State Compensation Committee, which "after months of research and public hearings," advocated substantial pay raises for multiple high-level state officers -- many of whom would, like the governor, would see phased pay increases eventually garnering them well over $200,000 per year: recommended A four-member committee has recommended substantial pay raises for members of the state Legislature, the governor, lieutenant governor, state comptroller and state attorney general. The New York State Compensation Committee consisting of current and former New York state and New York City comptrollers unveiled their recommendations Monday, December 10, 2018, after months of research and public hearings. The Compensation Committee recommends that, starting on Jan. 1 of 2019, state legislators will receive an annual salary of $110,000. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, lawmakers will receive an annual salary of $120,000 and their outside income would be capped at $18,000, which 15 percent of their legislative pay. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, lawmakers would receive $130,000 a year and their outside income would be capped at $19,500, which is 15 percent of their legislative pay. This would be the long-term compensation for state legislators moving forward. The Compensation Committee is also recommending pay increases for the governor, who would receive an annual salary of $250,000 after a three-year phase-in; the lieutenant governor, who would receive $220,000 after a three-year phase-in; and an annual salary of $220,000 for both the state comptroller and state attorney general after a phase-in period. Executive branch commissioners and department heads would also receive pay raises under the plan, with Tier A commissioners making $220,000 after a three-year phase-in. As the New York Post reported, some legislators "grumbled that the [pay raise] measure was thrown in at the last minute" while they were working overtime to pass a state budget, but Cuomo and others defended it by noting that the compensation committee's recommendations had been published and accepted months earlier: reported Because the governor cant sign off on his own pay hike, the raise required legislative action. The state Senate approved the increase at 2:45 a.m. and the Assembly acted a few hours later. Some lawmakers grumbled that the measure was thrown in at the last minute, while they were grappling with the new $175.5 billion state budget. The salary adjustments were done last December by the pay commission which publicized and put out a report, which was accepted by the legislature, Cuomo said. That was published and discussed in December, so theres nothing new on that. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) backed up Cuomo. It has a fiscal component to it, so theres always the realization to do it, Heastie told reporters. We felt that all the statewide officials were able to get raises ... the governor and the lieutenant governors salaries arent fixed by statute, they have to be done by a concurrent resolution between the Assembly and the Senate and thats the reason why they were done. Gormley, James. "Pay Committee Recommends $50,000 Annual Salary Increase for Lawmakers."
Legislative Gazette. 11 December 2018. Davis, Dominic-Madori and Marguerite Ward. "Here's the Salary of Every Governor in All 50 US States."
Business Insider. 20 April 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Coronavirus Disease 2019 -- Cases in the U.S."
Accessed 20 May 2020. Feis, Aaron. "Andrew Cuomo to Become the Highest-Paid Governor in the US."
New York Post. 1 April 2019. Hogan, Bernadette. "Andrew Cuomo Defends His Huge Pay Raise."
New York Post. 2 April 2019.
|
[
"income"
] |
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{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1lVtEKOJ-QygLfXi2q-1YWqTs9QWldqH7"
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"sentence": "Snopes is still fighting an infodemic of rumors and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and you can help. Find out what we've learned and how to inoculate yourself against COVID-19 misinformation. Read the latest fact checks about the vaccines. Submit any questionable rumors and advice you encounter. Become a Founding Member to help us hire more fact-checkers. And, please, follow the CDC or WHO for guidance on protecting your community from the disease. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html"
],
"sentence": "During the coronavirus pandemic of spring 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York remained at the top of the news cycle for two reasons: His state saw by far the largest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and his daily press briefings were a staple of television news coverage of the crisis. The New York governor was also praised as a model of political leadership during an emergency by those who were highly critical of President Donald Trump and his handling of the U.S. federal response to COVID-19."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.businessinsider.com/governor-salary-by-state-2018-1"
],
"sentence": "On April 1, 2019, both houses of the New York Legislature (Assembly and Senate) approved a pay hike that would increase Cuomo's compensation from $179,500 to $200,000 in 2019, $225,000 in 2020, and $250,000 in 2021. In terms of base salary, that raise created the potential for Cuomo to become the nation's highest-paid governor in 2020, out-earning Gov. Gavin Newsom of California (assuming that no other state raised its chief executive's pay to a higher level before then)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://legislativegazette.com/pay-committee-recommends-50000-annual-salary-increase-for-lawmakers/"
],
"sentence": "The gubernatorial pay hike was one of several salary increases that had been recommended back in December 2018 by the New York State Compensation Committee, which \"after months of research and public hearings,\" advocated substantial pay raises for multiple high-level state officers -- many of whom would, like the governor, would see phased pay increases eventually garnering them well over $200,000 per year:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://nypost.com/2019/04/02/andrew-cuomo-defends-his-huge-pay-raise/"
],
"sentence": "As the New York Post reported, some legislators \"grumbled that the [pay raise] measure was thrown in at the last minute\" while they were working overtime to pass a state budget, but Cuomo and others defended it by noting that the compensation committee's recommendations had been published and accepted months earlier:"
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2017/mar/16/peter-roskam/rep-roskam-gdp-growth-obama/
|
The past (Obama) administration was the first administration that never had a whole year of 3 percent growth.
|
Kevin Hoffman
|
03/16/2017
|
[] |
Speaking at an event in Chicago earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., was talking tax policy and the economy when he pointed to lackluster economic growth that occurred under former President Barack Obama. The past (Obama) administration was the first administration that never had a whole year of 3 percent growth, Roskam said during a March 6speechat the City Club of Chicago. Its an oft-cited figure Republicans tend to throw around to highlight the weak economic recovery throughout Obamas presidency, but does the data back it up? A familiar claim Roskams claim lacks some specifics, particularly the type of growth and time frame he was referring to in his speech. David Pasch, the Wheaton Republicans communications director, provided a link to data compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis showing both the annual and quarterly percentage change in real gross domestic product, or GDP, which is the total value of goods and services provided in the country. While annual figures on GDP growth date back to the Herbert Hoover administration and the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the federal government did not start trackingquarterly growthuntil 1947. Considering the time frame for which this annual data is available, its safe to assume Roskam was referring to economic growth since the Hoover administration. In fact, Roskams claim is quite similar to a statement Donald Trump made during a campaign speech in October, which wasfact-checkedby our colleague Joshua Gillin at PolitiFact Florida. As was the case with Trumps claim, Roskam is right when he says that year-over-year GDP growth never topped 3 percent while Obama was in office. But as Princeton University economist Alan Blinder told PolitiFact at the time, looking at annual data can be misleading because it doesnt provide context or account for historical factors that affect economic growth, such as recessions and global crises. For example, Hoover came into office on the cusp of the Great Depression, and Obama took over during the tail end of the Great Recession and amid instability in the Middle East. Thats one of the main reasons why economists suggest looking at the percentage change in GDP by quarters, rather than growth in a single calendar year. When PolitiFact Florida fact-checked Trump saying Obama was the first president in modern history not to have a single year of 3 percent growth, data for the third and fourth quarters of 2016 was not yet available. But now it is. GDP growth in 2016 and the Obama years According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the percentage change in GDP growth during the third and fourth quarters of the last year of Obamas final term was 3.5 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively, resulting in an average growth rate of 1.6 percent for 2016. That was down 1 percentage point from 2015 when GDP grew by 2.6 percent, which marked the best year for average growth under Obama. Typically, economic growth in the first quarter of a new presidency is attributed to the previous administration, meaning former President George W. Bush gets credit for the 5.4 percent contraction in the economy during the first three months of 2009. As for the remainder of Obamas time in office, quarterly GDP growth averaged 2.0 percent, or 1.5 percent when averaging out annual figures. But if the data is used to compare one quarter to the same quarter from a year ago, there were two periods during Obamas tenure in which growth exceeded 3 percent. Between the third quarters of 2009 and 2010, GDP growth was about 3.1 percent; and between the first quarters of 2014 and 2015, the economy grew by 3.3 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. With the way Roskam refers to growth, however, Obama indeed was the first president who did not achieve more than 3 percent growth in GDP. Average growth under Bush Sr., was 2.1 percent; 3.9 percent for Bill Clinton; 2.3 percent for George H.W. Bush; and 3.5 percent for Ronald Reagan. The highest annual growth on record occurred in 1942 during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, when GDP grew by a staggering 18.9 percent as the United States entered World War II and ramped up production following the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Our ruling Roskam said the Obama administration was the first administration that never had a whole year of 3 percent growth. While Roskams claim is accurate when based on annual GDP growth figures between 2009 and 2016, there are other ways to look at the data, such as from one quarter to the same in the previous year. Doing so reveals economic growth has surpassed 3 percent during two periods of Obamas presidency. We rate Roskams claim Mostly True.
|
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"Economy",
"Illinois"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": "The past (Obama) administration was the first administration that never had a whole year of 3 percent growth, Roskam said during a March 6speechat the City Club of Chicago."
},
{
"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": "While annual figures on GDP growth date back to the Herbert Hoover administration and the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the federal government did not start trackingquarterly growthuntil 1947."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/31/donald-trump/trumps-claim-about-weak-economic-growth-under-obam/"
],
"sentence": "In fact, Roskams claim is quite similar to a statement Donald Trump made during a campaign speech in October, which wasfact-checkedby our colleague Joshua Gillin at PolitiFact Florida."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/you-dont-know-jack-daniels/
|
You Don't Know Jack Daniel's
|
David Mikkelson
|
10/24/2015
|
[
"Jack Daniel's isn't giving away free cases of whiskey for their 125th anniversary. It's a survey scam."
] |
Claim: Jack Daniel's is giving away a limited number of free cases of whiskey to Facebook users who like and share a post. Example: [Collected via e-mail and Twitter, October 2015] Going all over my page that Jack Daniels is giving away whiskey.....better hurry only 190 left Origins:In October2015, links began circulating on Facebook promisingusers a free case of Jack Daniel's whiskey as a celebration of the brand's 125th anniversary: The embedded links involved a variety of URLs, some of which included entirely unrelated scam-bait terms like "iTunes" and "Apple." Users who clicked through to claim their purported free case of Jack Daniel's were routed to a pagereading "Jack Daniels is Giving FREE Cases of Whiskey to celebrate 125th Anniversary (190 Cartons Remaining)," which clonedthe style of Facebook-based content (but was hosted on a non-Facebook URL): As noted, URLs visible in the posts didn't point to any credible domains or sites linked to Jack Daniel's. By now,most social media users are familiar withsurvey scams: Kohl's, Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's, Kroger, Best Buy, Macy's, Olive Garden, Publix, Target, and Walmart are among retailers used asbait by scammers(seeking personal information and valuable page likes from Facebook users). Kohl's Costco Home Depot Lowe's Kroger Best Buy Macy's Olive Garden Publix Target Walmart scammers A July 2014 article from the Better Business Bureauillustrated how folks might spot and avoid bad actors utilizing the reputations of brands on social media: article Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization. Scammers can also make links look like they lead to legitimate websites and emails appear to come from a different sender. Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure there's a link to their privacy policy. When in doubt, do a quick web search. If the survey is a scam, you may find alerts or complaints from other consumers. The organization's real website may have further information. Watch out for a reward that's too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses can afford to give away $50 gift cards for completing a few questions. Last updated: 24 October 2015 Originally published: 24 October 2015
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],
"sentence": "By now,most social media users are familiar withsurvey scams: Kohl's, Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's, Kroger, Best Buy, Macy's, Olive Garden, Publix, Target, and Walmart are among retailers used asbait by scammers(seeking personal information and valuable page likes from Facebook users)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.bbb.org/blog/2014/07/customer-survey-scam-lures-victims-with-gift-card/"
],
"sentence": "A July 2014 article from the Better Business Bureauillustrated how folks might spot and avoid bad actors utilizing the reputations of brands on social media:"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/100k-for-600-stimulus-checks/
|
Did Members of Congress Each Make $100K While Debating $600 Stimulus Checks?
|
Alex Kasprak
|
12/23/2020
|
[
"Members of Congress make $174,000 per year."
] |
Snopes is still fighting an infodemic of rumors and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and you can help. Find out what we've learned and how to inoculate yourself against COVID-19 misinformation. Read the latest fact checks about the vaccines. Submit any questionable rumors and advice you encounter. Become a Founding Member to help us hire more fact-checkers. And, please, follow the CDC or WHO for guidance on protecting your community from the disease. fighting Find out Read Submit Become a Founding Member CDC WHO On Dec. 21 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Its aim was to merge a COVID-19 relief bill with the annual appropriations bill that allocates funds for the federal government. For COVID-19 relief, the bill authorized a one-time payment of $600 to most Americans an amount criticized as inadequate compared to the economic suffering it seeks to mitigate. passed most Americans criticized One popular tweet expressing this frustration asserted that each member of "Congress made almost $100,000 during the time they were arguing whether or not we deserved $600." popular tweet The veracity of this statement depends at least in part on how the assertion is specifically defined, but in general it is factually defensible. Members of Congress both senators and representatives each get paid $174,000 per year. What remains to be defined is the amount of time they spent "arguing" over the bill that provided a $600 stimulus check. $174,000 per year In our view, it is fair to say that the fight for a second stimulus check began the moment after the CARES Act (which included authorization of a $1200 stimulus payment) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. There was bipartisan recognition that this massive spending bill would be insufficient to combat the economic problems caused by COVID-19. "The minute were done with phase three," Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman Roy Blunt said to The Hill on March 27, referring to the CARES act, "well start talking about phase four because all of us know that phase three cant have included everything that needs to be included. For Democrats, this explicitly included a desire for further direct payments to individual American citizens. Even before CARES officially became law, on March 25, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN, "We'll get more direct payments in another bill." CARES Act said told CNN The "fight" over these direct payments, then, started as the first checks were authorized. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 was approved and sent to the president for his signature (or potential veto) on Dec. 21, 2020. potential veto Dec. 21, 2020 Using these endpoints, the period of time "during" which this debate occurred would be 269 days. This represents 74% of the year. The most straightforward solution to the question would be to take 74% of the annual $174,000 salary. By this math, each lawmaker made at least $128,760 "during" the time it took the bill to pass. 269 days $128,760 More restricted definitions might argue for a shorter time period of debate or argue that only days in which Congress was in session should count. The fact that politicians were talking about a second check even before CARES act was signed, however, makes that argument a hard sell. Because debates surrounding COVID-19 stimulus are not limited to session days, the latter argument does not make much sense either. As such, a simple approach that looks only at the amount of time it took members of Congress to pass a second bill suggests earnings of over $100,000 each, leading us to rank the claim in session
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"hrefs": [
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"sentence": "Snopes is still fighting an infodemic of rumors and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and you can help. Find out what we've learned and how to inoculate yourself against COVID-19 misinformation. Read the latest fact checks about the vaccines. Submit any questionable rumors and advice you encounter. Become a Founding Member to help us hire more fact-checkers. And, please, follow the CDC or WHO for guidance on protecting your community from the disease. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/116-2020/s289",
"https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/12/23/stimulus-checks-who-doesnt-get-stimulus-check-covid-19-relief-package/4013736001/",
"https://www.chron.com/coronavirus/article/second-stimulus-check-Twitter-reacts-Congress-15813882.php"
],
"sentence": "On Dec. 21 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Its aim was to merge a COVID-19 relief bill with the annual appropriations bill that allocates funds for the federal government. For COVID-19 relief, the bill authorized a one-time payment of $600 to most Americans an amount criticized as inadequate compared to the economic suffering it seeks to mitigate."
},
{
"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": "One popular tweet expressing this frustration asserted that each member of \"Congress made almost $100,000 during the time they were arguing whether or not we deserved $600.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.senate.gov/CRSpubs/9c14ec69-c4e4-4bd8-8953-f73daa1640e4.pdf"
],
"sentence": "The veracity of this statement depends at least in part on how the assertion is specifically defined, but in general it is factually defensible. Members of Congress both senators and representatives each get paid $174,000 per year. What remains to be defined is the amount of time they spent \"arguing\" over the bill that provided a $600 stimulus check."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares",
"https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/489946-lawmakers-already-planning-more-coronavirus-stimulus-after-2t-package",
"https://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2003/25/sitroom.02.html"
],
"sentence": "In our view, it is fair to say that the fight for a second stimulus check began the moment after the CARES Act (which included authorization of a $1200 stimulus payment) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. There was bipartisan recognition that this massive spending bill would be insufficient to combat the economic problems caused by COVID-19. \"The minute were done with phase three,\" Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman Roy Blunt said to The Hill on March 27, referring to the CARES act, \"well start talking about phase four because all of us know that phase three cant have included everything that needs to be included. For Democrats, this explicitly included a desire for further direct payments to individual American citizens. Even before CARES officially became law, on March 25, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN, \"We'll get more direct payments in another bill.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-bill.html",
"https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/116-2020/s289"
],
"sentence": "The \"fight\" over these direct payments, then, started as the first checks were authorized. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 was approved and sent to the president for his signature (or potential veto) on Dec. 21, 2020."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=days+between+March+27+2020+and+December+21+2020",
"https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=74%25+of+174%2C000"
],
"sentence": "Using these endpoints, the period of time \"during\" which this debate occurred would be 269 days. This represents 74% of the year. The most straightforward solution to the question would be to take 74% of the annual $174,000 salary. By this math, each lawmaker made at least $128,760 \"during\" the time it took the bill to pass."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.congress.gov/days-in-session"
],
"sentence": "More restricted definitions might argue for a shorter time period of debate or argue that only days in which Congress was in session should count. The fact that politicians were talking about a second check even before CARES act was signed, however, makes that argument a hard sell. Because debates surrounding COVID-19 stimulus are not limited to session days, the latter argument does not make much sense either. As such, a simple approach that looks only at the amount of time it took members of Congress to pass a second bill suggests earnings of over $100,000 each, leading us to rank the claim "
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/feb/04/rick-scott/scott-credits-tax-cuts-floridas-growing-tax-revenu/
|
We've cut taxes 50 times and look what has happened to our revenues. They've grown.
|
Joshua Gillin
|
02/04/2016
|
[] |
Gov. Rick Scotts $1 billion tax-cut request is giving the Florida Legislature plenty to chew on, especially after state economists warned that revenues wont be as high as once thought. Scott wantsa range of cuts, including a reduction in the sales tax on commercial rents and a $770 million break for manufacturers and retailers by getting rid of their corporate income tax. Despite concerns over how the size of his request will affect the budget, Scott was confident the math makes it an easy decision for lawmakers. We have plenty of money to be able to do tax cuts, Scott saidJan. 20, 2016, after state economists warned tax revenues would be less than previously estimated. Let's look at history. We've cut taxes 50 times and look what has happened to our revenues. They've grown. Scott hasused this linerepeatedly inrecent weeks. We wondered whether revenues have continued to grow even as Tallahassee has passed tax changes over recent years. Revenue roundup Scotts line about 50 tax cuts is a talking point that just keeps on growing. We have rated claims about him cutting24 tax cuts,40 tax cuts, andmore than 40 tax cuts,Half True, because Scott counted many small tax changes for specific industries as overall tax cuts. Whats new this time around, in a nutshell, are 16 provisions passed in 2015, most of which were part of a$429 million tax-cut package. The full list is largely comprised of esoteric tax credits (mostly for businesses), changes in unemployment compensation and sales tax holidays. There also was a rate reduction on the Communications Services Tax on cellphone and cable servicethat amounts to about $21 per $100 on a billand a $60,000 cap on taxes for boat repairs. Several of those may help businesses, but really dont often do much for everyday Floridians, especially if they needed to collect unemployment. Many times, local governments may raise taxes to make up for their own lost revenue. In short, its arguable whether all of those qualify as tax cuts, but they did have an impact on how many tax dollars the state brought in. Economists told us, however, that while you can project how much year-over-year revenues may be changed from cuts, its tough to attribute any concrete economic growth to those changes. Because of overall economic growth, tax revenues have been rising since Scott became governor as the state was climbing out of the Great Recession. We surveyed several years of general revenue, which is funded by taxes and fees and can be used by the Legislature for any purpose, alongside the state's rate of economic growth. Fiscal year General revenue Growth rate 2008-09 $21 billion -12.8 percent 2009-10 $21.5 billion 2.4 percent 2010-11 $22.55 billion 4.8 percent 2011-12* $23.6 billion 4.7 percent 2012-13 $25.3 billion 7.2 percent 2013-14 $26.2 billion 3.5 percent 2014-15 $27.7 billion 5.7 percent 2015-16 $28.4 billion 2.1 percent State economist Amy Baker noted that even with Floridas economy growing, that growth rate is currently below the states historical average, and the cumulative effects of prior tax changes are eating into revenues more than expected. State budget forecasters have announced that tax revenues will come in at$400 million less than previously expected. Scotts office has rejected those figures in pursuit of his biggest round of tax cuts, saying the Legislature has plenty of money to play with. But while its apparent that revenues have gone up even as Scotts tax changes have been implemented, experts said its tough to directly link them. They said there are three main reasons Floridas revenues have grown during the nationwide recovery: Population growth, rising property values and overall inflation. More than 1 million people have moved to Florida since 2010, property values are recovering from the housing bust, and inflation makes tax collections go up as costs go up. Basically, more people are paying more taxes on things that cost more. Norton Francis, senior research associate with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said that despite being thethird-largest state, the growth rate for Floridas tax revenues has started tolag behind the national average. What you need to look at is, are (tax revenues) growing more than they used to? Norton asked. It could be that its come back as a whole, but its hard to pin that to a tax cut. Our ruling Scott said, We've cut taxes 50 times and look what has happened to our revenues. They've grown. Scott has a debatable definition of tax cuts, but the states tax revenues have increased since he took office. Economists told us it would be difficult to attribute growth specifically to tax changes. The national economic recovery, population growth, higher property values and inflation are the major factors for the states growth. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. We rate it Mostly True.
|
[
"State Budget",
"Taxes",
"Florida"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/gov-rick-scott-will-seek-1b-in-tax-cuts-from-florida-legislature/2252750"
],
"sentence": "Scott wantsa range of cuts, including a reduction in the sales tax on commercial rents and a $770 million break for manufacturers and retailers by getting rid of their corporate income tax. Despite concerns over how the size of his request will affect the budget, Scott was confident the math makes it an easy decision for lawmakers."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/a-predicted-400-million-drop-in-revenue-could-scuttle-gov-rick-scotts-tax/2262140"
],
"sentence": "We have plenty of money to be able to do tax cuts, Scott saidJan. 20, 2016, after state economists warned tax revenues would be less than previously estimated. Let's look at history. We've cut taxes 50 times and look what has happened to our revenues. They've grown."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://floridapolitics.com/archives/200583-casino-workers-rally-with-rick-scott-for-seminole-compact-renewal"
],
"sentence": "Scott hasused this linerepeatedly inrecent weeks. We wondered whether revenues have continued to grow even as Tallahassee has passed tax changes over recent years."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/jun/03/rick-scott/rick-scott-claims-24-tax-cuts-florida-2011/"
],
"sentence": "Scotts line about 50 tax cuts is a talking point that just keeps on growing. We have rated claims about him cutting24 tax cuts,40 tax cuts, andmore than 40 tax cuts,Half True, because Scott counted many small tax changes for specific industries as overall tax cuts."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/fl-florida-legislature-tax-cuts-20150615-story.html"
],
"sentence": "Whats new this time around, in a nutshell, are 16 provisions passed in 2015, most of which were part of a$429 million tax-cut package. The full list is largely comprised of esoteric tax credits (mostly for businesses), changes in unemployment compensation and sales tax holidays. There also was a rate reduction on the Communications Services Tax on cellphone and cable servicethat amounts to about $21 per $100 on a billand a $60,000 cap on taxes for boat repairs."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/a-predicted-400-million-drop-in-revenue-could-scuttle-gov-rick-scotts-tax/2262140"
],
"sentence": "State budget forecasters have announced that tax revenues will come in at$400 million less than previously expected. Scotts office has rejected those figures in pursuit of his biggest round of tax cuts, saying the Legislature has plenty of money to play with."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-232.html"
],
"sentence": "Norton Francis, senior research associate with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said that despite being thethird-largest state, the growth rate for Floridas tax revenues has started tolag behind the national average."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/icelandic-dracula-fanfic/
|
Did an Old Icelandic Translation of 'Dracula' Turn Out To Be 'Fan Fiction'?
|
Dan MacGuill
|
05/19/2021
|
[
"A brief descent into the dark and murky origins of \"Powers of Darkness\" a distinctly Nordic take on Bram Stoker's classic novel."
] |
In 2021, the story behind a 120-year-old Icelandic version of the classic novel "Dracula" captured the imaginations of social media users, who enthusiastically shared the following summary, originally posted by the Twitter account @ihmerst: shared "Someone translated Dracula into Icelandic and it took over 100 years for anyone to point out he just made a fanfic-rewrite of what he wanted the story to be." "Dracula," written by Irish novelist Bram Stoker and first published in 1897, has come to be regarded as a classic work in the genres of horror and Gothic fiction and helped popularize vampire folklore in the English-speaking world. It has also inspired a vibrant field of academic research into the social and cultural themes upon which the novel touches, as well as the life of Stoker and the origins of "Dracula." academic research One particularly fascinating point of interest involves the existence of alternative versions of the novel, published in Icelandic and Swedish around the turn of the 20th century. The description posted by @ihmerst contained a measure of truth, but oversimplified what is a complicated and unfinished area of research. The photograph contained in @ihmerst's tweet showed a snapshot of the introduction to Hans Corneel de Roos' 2017 English translation of "Makt Myrkranna" ("Powers of Darkness"), the Icelandic book in question. It was written by journalist Valdimar smundsson, first serialized in his newspaper Fjallkonan in 1900, and later published as a book which, remarkably, included a preface attributed to Stoker himself. 2017 English translation serialized A more clearly legible version of de Roos' introduction can be viewed below: Up until the 2010s, "Makt Myrkranna" remained untranslated from Icelandic and was presumed to be simply a shortened translation of Stoker's original English text. However, de Roos discovered that the plot of the book differed drastically from that of "Dracula," including new characters, more explicit sexual themes and imagery, and a significant shift in style away from the epistolary (letter-writing) format of the original. In 2014, de Roos described "Makt Myrkranna" as the first translation of "Dracula" and speculated that, in light of elements contained in Stoker's preface, the Irish writer himself may have endorsed "Makt Myrkranna" or even collaborated with smundsson on it. described De Roos' findings made waves in the world of "Dracula" scholarship, and when he published the English translation of "Makt Myrkranna" in 2017, it attracted mainstream news coverage around the world. mainstream news coverage However, the publicity surrounding de Roos' findings prompted yet another plot twist, as it were. In 2017, the Swedish fantasy writer Rickard Berghorn recognized in the title of the Icelandic text, "Makt Myrkranna," a clear similarity with the title of a Swedish translation of Stoker's novel "Mrkrets makter," which also translates as "Powers of Darkness." Berghorn made two startling discoveries: first, that serialized versions of "Mrkrets makter" had been published in Swedish newspapers beginning in 1899 (that is, before the Icelandic text was published); and second, that the Swedish versions also constituted a radical departure from Stoker's 1897 novel, rather than a straightforward translation. two startling discoveries Since 2017, something of a consensus has emerged that, rather than constituting a modified and embellished version of "Dracula," based on the original English text, smundsson's Icelandic text was in fact a modified translation of earlier Swedish texts. As a result, @ihmerst's claim that "someone translated 'Dracula' into Icelandic" should now be regarded as outdated and inaccurate. consensus has emerged However, some key questions remain. Who wrote the preface to "Powers of Darkness," which was included in both the Swedish and Icelandic texts and attributed, perhaps fraudulently, to Stoker? Was Stoker even aware in advance of the Swedish text (and subsequent Icelandic text), much less involved in its creation? What was the identity of the unnamed Swedish newspaper editor responsible for "Mrkrets makter"? Was the Swedish text simply "fan fiction" an unauthorized alternative version of "Dracula" masquerading as a translation or could it have been based on a much earlier draft of Stoker's own novel? perhaps fraudulently much earlier draft Jarlath Killeen, head of the School of English at Trinity College Dublin (which Stoker himself attended), and an expert in Gothic and Victorian Irish and British literature, has edited and written several books and articles on Stoker and "Dracula." He told Snopes that scholars were continuing to research and debate those questions and others, but the precise origins of the Nordic texts remained "very unclear and very murky," for now. expert
|
[
"interest"
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[
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"hrefs": [
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"sentence": "In 2021, the story behind a 120-year-old Icelandic version of the classic novel \"Dracula\" captured the imaginations of social media users, who enthusiastically shared the following summary, originally posted by the Twitter account @ihmerst:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=dracula&acc=off&wc=on&fc=off&group=none&refreqid=search%3A1cdc5b751c90305d7c60d9f46ecd4b5b"
],
"sentence": "\"Dracula,\" written by Irish novelist Bram Stoker and first published in 1897, has come to be regarded as a classic work in the genres of horror and Gothic fiction and helped popularize vampire folklore in the English-speaking world. It has also inspired a vibrant field of academic research into the social and cultural themes upon which the novel touches, as well as the life of Stoker and the origins of \"Dracula.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.powersofdarkness.com/",
"https://archive.is/0lSfj"
],
"sentence": "The photograph contained in @ihmerst's tweet showed a snapshot of the introduction to Hans Corneel de Roos' 2017 English translation of \"Makt Myrkranna\" (\"Powers of Darkness\"), the Icelandic book in question. It was written by journalist Valdimar smundsson, first serialized in his newspaper Fjallkonan in 1900, and later published as a book which, remarkably, included a preface attributed to Stoker himself. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://web.archive.org/web/20210128070017/https://www.mysterious-journeys.com/pdf/letter-feb-2014.pdf"
],
"sentence": "In 2014, de Roos described \"Makt Myrkranna\" as the first translation of \"Dracula\" and speculated that, in light of elements contained in Stoker's preface, the Irish writer himself may have endorsed \"Makt Myrkranna\" or even collaborated with smundsson on it. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.is/23MVq",
"https://archive.is/8POzq",
"https://web.archive.org/web/20210519192332/https://qz.com/quartzy/1151430/the-mystery-of-the-sexy-icelandic-cousin-to-bram-stokers-dracula/"
],
"sentence": "De Roos' findings made waves in the world of \"Dracula\" scholarship, and when he published the English translation of \"Makt Myrkranna\" in 2017, it attracted mainstream news coverage around the world."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://web.archive.org/web/20190106155030/https://weirdwebzine.com/draculitz.html"
],
"sentence": "Berghorn made two startling discoveries: first, that serialized versions of \"Mrkrets makter\" had been published in Swedish newspapers beginning in 1899 (that is, before the Icelandic text was published); and second, that the Swedish versions also constituted a radical departure from Stoker's 1897 novel, rather than a straightforward translation. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://web.archive.org/web/20190906005134/https://www.diacronia.ro/ro/indexing/details/A27309/pdf",
"https://web.archive.org/web/20210519200448/https://vamped.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HansDeRoos-WadstroemCase-v17-25May2018-for-W-D-Day.pdf",
"https://web.archive.org/web/20190106155030/https://weirdwebzine.com/draculitz.html"
],
"sentence": "Since 2017, something of a consensus has emerged that, rather than constituting a modified and embellished version of \"Dracula,\" based on the original English text, smundsson's Icelandic text was in fact a modified translation of earlier Swedish texts. As a result, @ihmerst's claim that \"someone translated 'Dracula' into Icelandic\" should now be regarded as outdated and inaccurate. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://web.archive.org/web/20210519200448/https://vamped.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HansDeRoos-WadstroemCase-v17-25May2018-for-W-D-Day.pdf",
"https://web.archive.org/web/20190106155030/https://weirdwebzine.com/draculitz.html"
],
"sentence": "However, some key questions remain. Who wrote the preface to \"Powers of Darkness,\" which was included in both the Swedish and Icelandic texts and attributed, perhaps fraudulently, to Stoker? Was Stoker even aware in advance of the Swedish text (and subsequent Icelandic text), much less involved in its creation? What was the identity of the unnamed Swedish newspaper editor responsible for \"Mrkrets makter\"? Was the Swedish text simply \"fan fiction\" an unauthorized alternative version of \"Dracula\" masquerading as a translation or could it have been based on a much earlier draft of Stoker's own novel?"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.tcd.ie/English/staff/academic-staff/jarlath-killeen.php"
],
"sentence": "Jarlath Killeen, head of the School of English at Trinity College Dublin (which Stoker himself attended), and an expert in Gothic and Victorian Irish and British literature, has edited and written several books and articles on Stoker and \"Dracula.\" He told Snopes that scholars were continuing to research and debate those questions and others, but the precise origins of the Nordic texts remained \"very unclear and very murky,\" for now. "
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2013/aug/28/mark-harris-wisc/mark-harris-says-he-lowered-spending-and-debt-and-/
|
Ive got the spending down, Ive got the debt down a little bit, Ive got the reserves up.
|
Dave Umhoefer
|
08/28/2013
|
[] |
Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris, a Democratmulling a run for governorin 2014, contends that his private-sector experience would put the state on a better course. Making the media rounds thissummer, the former bank trust officer has gently criticized Gov. Scott Walker and other Republicans for what he views as overly exuberant tax cuts and borrowing. Harris, as you might expect, thinks his own record on fiscal issues is more responsible. Ive got the spending down, Ive got the debt down a little bit, Ive got the reserves up, Harristold journalist Mike Goushaon WISN-TVs Upfront show July 21, 2013. Harris was first elected county executive in 2005 and previously served as mayor of Oshkosh and on the Oshkosh City Council and Winnebago County Board. He has worked as a certified public accountant in Michigan and Indiana, was a lawyer in Indiana, and worked as a trust officer and vice president at Associated Trust Company in Oshkosh from 1995 until 2005. With Harris pledging to decide on running by Labor Day, we thought it was the right time to check the books on his claims. Heres what we found: Reserves Average year-end reserves are up considerably in the Harris era, compared with the final four budget years of his predecessor, county financial records show. Under Harris, the county often has kept reserves in excess of its goal of having a cushion totalling one month of the countys annual spending. The average annual reserve is up more than 50% on average, and in 2012 reserves swelled to nearly two months of spending, prompting the county to suspend new borrowing in 2013. The increase in unrestricted reserves has not been a steady march, but the trend is clear. Spending Harris pointed us to numbers showing that the 2013 adopted county budget set operating spending at 1 percent less than the 2005 budget -- the last one adopted before his election. We confirmed those figures, and found a four-year trend of declining or flat expenditures from 2010-13, so Harris has some backup. The countys finance director, Charles Orenstein, told us savings came in part from reining in fringe benefit costs, consolidation and efficiency moves in county facilities, and savings on court and jail costs through technology. But, looking more broadly, the spending trend lines look like a roller-coaster ride. Spending went up in Harris first four years. In fact, only in 2013 could Harris make the claim that spending is lower compared with when he came in. In every other year but this one under Harris, the countys annual spending total was higher than in the last pre-Harris budget. Harris acknowledges that Walkers curbs on collective bargaining saved the county money, but he contends that state aid cuts offset most if not all of the savings, at least in 2012. The countys property tax levy has increased 24 percent in eight years under Harris as aid from other levels of government -- a category including the state -- fell off markedly, county budget records show. The property tax levy has fallen the last two years amid tight property tax caps imposed by Walker. Debt Harris said he got the countys debt down a little. Yes and no. Harris notes that Winnebago Countys outstanding general-obligation debt totalled $59.6 million at year-end 2012, down from $63 million in December 2004, months before he took office in April 2005. In noting that, he uses 2005 as his first year and 2004 as the baseline year. His numbers are correct, and defensible to a point. But, under the countys capital improvement process, many debt-funded capital projects would have received approval before Harris took office. So both the previous county executive and Harris can claim an influence on the outstanding debt level in 2005. Keeping that in mind, if you instead use 2005 as the baseline year, Harris debt claim fails. Debt added up to $57 million in 2005, slightly lower than the mark under Harris in 2012. Harris claim, though, is on target by two other measures, average annual debt per capita, and average annual debt in raw dollars. In general, this is a difficult area to judge because huge projects -- a new nursing home built on Harris watch, for instance -- spike borrowing in certain years. The Credit Game One final issue. Harris credited himself for driving the fiscal trends. But he acknowledged that the County Board deserves some credit as well. And two veteran Winnebago County Board leaders, David Albrecht and Patrick Brennand, told us that former County Executive Jane Van De Hey and others also helped instill a cautious approach to spending. Theres also the effect of the state budget, which helped the county drive down costs while also cutting aid to the county. Our rating Harris said, Ive got the spending down, Ive got the debt down a little bit, Ive got the reserves up. He was referring to his tenure as Winnebago County executive from April 2005 to the present. He makes the best case on reserves, which clearly have risen. Spending is down when viewed narrowly. The debt burden has dropped by some measures but not by all. Harris deserves some credit for the trends, but not all. We rate his claim Mostly True.
|
[
"County Budget",
"County Government",
"Debt",
"State Budget",
"Taxes",
"Wisconsin"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/winnebago-county-exec-says-hes-leaning-toward-democratic-run-for-governor-b9978874z1-220240181.html"
],
"sentence": "Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris, a Democratmulling a run for governorin 2014, contends that his private-sector experience would put the state on a better course."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.wiseye.org/videoplayer/vp.html?sid=10215"
],
"sentence": "Making the media rounds thissummer, the former bank trust officer has gently criticized Gov. Scott Walker and other Republicans for what he views as overly exuberant tax cuts and borrowing."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.wisn.com/politics/upfront/Harris-considering-governor-s-race/-/10057538/21083628/-/ndsk42/-/index.html"
],
"sentence": "Ive got the spending down, Ive got the debt down a little bit, Ive got the reserves up, Harristold journalist Mike Goushaon WISN-TVs Upfront show July 21, 2013."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2012/jun/25/gerry-connolly/rep-gerry-connolly-says-reagan-raised-taxes-during/
|
Ronald Reagan raised taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.
|
Nancy Madsen
|
06/25/2012
|
[] |
U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th, recently invoked the name of Ronald Reagan to drum up support for raising taxes for a new stimulus program.During a June 5floor speech, Connolly lamented the refusal of House Republican leaders to allow the American Jobs Act to come up for a vote. The bill, proposed by President Barack Obama, calls for $447 billion over 10 years to pay for infrastructure and school improvements, new job training programs, unemployment insurance, and temporary tax cuts for working families and small businesses.The stimulus would be funded by levying taxes on corporations and people earning more than $1 million a year.Connolly said the House, in considering the legislation, should ask, What would Ronald Reagan do?Many Republicans decried the use of additional revenue to help offset any increase in national debt, Connolly said. Apparently, they forgot that when faced with rising deficits, Ronald Reagan looked to revenue increases, broadening the tax base, closing loopholes and raising taxes. Yes, he raised taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.Did the Gipper really raise taxes during five years of his presidency? We checked.Lets start by noting that if you recall Reagan as tax cutter, your memory is good. Reagan campaigned in 1980 on reducing taxes. During his administration, the top income tax rate decreased from 70 percent in 1981 to 28 percent in 1986.But to combat a rising deficit and debt burden, Reagan also approved increased taxes.In 1982, The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act raised taxes by $37.5 billion per year, and the Highway Revenue Act raised the gasoline tax by $3.3 billion.In 1983, Reagan signed off on legislation to raise payroll taxes and tax Social Security benefits for some higher earners.In 1984, the Deficit Reduction Act included increases in taxes on estates and distilled spirits and ended some business tax breaks, to the tune of $18 billion per year.In 1985, Reagan signed legislation making permanent a 16-cent federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes, then worth about $2.4 billion a year.In 1986, the Tax Reform Act lowered the top income tax bracket from 50 percent to 28 percent. To pay for the reductions, however, the legislation closed a number of tax loopholes.In 1987, Reagan signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act that extended the telephone excise tax and eliminated a real estate tax deduction loophole.So its accurate to say Reagan increased levies during five years of his administration, but theres a caveat: The overall tax burden on businesses and individuals went down during his presidency.We examined data from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center that computes the nations tax revenues as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product -- the total of all goods and services produced.When Reagan took office in 1981, federal taxes were 19.6 percent of GDP, the highest level since World War II. That figure dropped to 17.3 percent during his first term and rose to 18.2 percent at the end of his second term.For comparison, federal tax revenues for this fiscal year are estimated at 15.8 percent of GDP.Reagans efforts to cut top income tax rates at the same time he was increasing defense spending created strain, and the federal debt rose from $994 billion at the start of his first term to almost $2.9 trillion at the end. As a result, Reagan was willing to accept and sometimes promote proposals that would close loopholes and create a broader tax base, according to C. Eugene Steuerle, who organized the Treasury Department's 1984-86 tax reform effort and is now a fellow at the Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center.This April, President Barack Obama said Reagan understood repeatedly that when the deficit started to get out of control, that for him to make a deal, he would have to propose both spending cuts and tax increases. PolitiFact National rated the claimMostly True, noting that Reagan did not repeatedly propose increases but agreed to tax hikes put forth by Congress.Our rulingConnolly said Reagan, as president raised taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. Reagan did, in fact, sign off on at least one tax increase during each of those years.Some of the increases were modest in scope. And its important to note that overall U.S. taxes, when measured as a portion of the nations GDP, went down during Reagans presidency.But theres no doubt that Reagan was willing to cut budget deals that included raising revenues. We rate Connollys statement True.
|
[
"Deficit",
"Taxes",
"Virginia"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jrYJp1IVAmU"
],
"sentence": "U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th, recently invoked the name of Ronald Reagan to drum up support for raising taxes for a new stimulus program.During a June 5floor speech, Connolly lamented the refusal of House Republican leaders to allow the American Jobs Act to come up for a vote. The bill, proposed by President Barack Obama, calls for $447 billion over 10 years to pay for infrastructure and school improvements, new job training programs, unemployment insurance, and temporary tax cuts for working families and small businesses.The stimulus would be funded by levying taxes on corporations and people earning more than $1 million a year.Connolly said the House, in considering the legislation, should ask, What would Ronald Reagan do?Many Republicans decried the use of additional revenue to help offset any increase in national debt, Connolly said. Apparently, they forgot that when faced with rising deficits, Ronald Reagan looked to revenue increases, broadening the tax base, closing loopholes and raising taxes. Yes, he raised taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.Did the Gipper really raise taxes during five years of his presidency? We checked.Lets start by noting that if you recall Reagan as tax cutter, your memory is good. Reagan campaigned in 1980 on reducing taxes. During his administration, the top income tax rate decreased from 70 percent in 1981 to 28 percent in 1986.But to combat a rising deficit and debt burden, Reagan also approved increased taxes.In 1982, The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act raised taxes by $37.5 billion per year, and the Highway Revenue Act raised the gasoline tax by $3.3 billion.In 1983, Reagan signed off on legislation to raise payroll taxes and tax Social Security benefits for some higher earners.In 1984, the Deficit Reduction Act included increases in taxes on estates and distilled spirits and ended some business tax breaks, to the tune of $18 billion per year.In 1985, Reagan signed legislation making permanent a 16-cent federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes, then worth about $2.4 billion a year.In 1986, the Tax Reform Act lowered the top income tax bracket from 50 percent to 28 percent. To pay for the reductions, however, the legislation closed a number of tax loopholes.In 1987, Reagan signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act that extended the telephone excise tax and eliminated a real estate tax deduction loophole.So its accurate to say Reagan increased levies during five years of his administration, but theres a caveat: The overall tax burden on businesses and individuals went down during his presidency.We examined data from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center that computes the nations tax revenues as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product -- the total of all goods and services produced.When Reagan took office in 1981, federal taxes were 19.6 percent of GDP, the highest level since World War II. That figure dropped to 17.3 percent during his first term and rose to 18.2 percent at the end of his second term.For comparison, federal tax revenues for this fiscal year are estimated at 15.8 percent of GDP.Reagans efforts to cut top income tax rates at the same time he was increasing defense spending created strain, and the federal debt rose from $994 billion at the start of his first term to almost $2.9 trillion at the end. As a result, Reagan was willing to accept and sometimes promote proposals that would close loopholes and create a broader tax base, according to C. Eugene Steuerle, who organized the Treasury Department's 1984-86 tax reform effort and is now a fellow at the Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center.This April, President Barack Obama said Reagan understood repeatedly that when the deficit started to get out of control, that for him to make a deal, he would have to propose both spending cuts and tax increases. PolitiFact National rated the claimMostly True, noting that Reagan did not repeatedly propose increases but agreed to tax hikes put forth by Congress.Our rulingConnolly said Reagan, as president raised taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. Reagan did, in fact, sign off on at least one tax increase during each of those years.Some of the increases were modest in scope. And its important to note that overall U.S. taxes, when measured as a portion of the nations GDP, went down during Reagans presidency.But theres no doubt that Reagan was willing to cut budget deals that included raising revenues. We rate Connollys statement True."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lowes-coupon-scam/
|
Lowe's $150 Anniversary Coupon Scam
|
David Mikkelson
|
05/21/2015
|
[
"Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization."
] |
In late 2019, social media users began seeing posts touting that "LOWES has announced that everyone who shares this link will be sent a $150 coupon for its anniversary TODAY ONLY": This coupon offer was fake, just another iteration of similar scams that have made the online rounds several times before. In May 2015, a fraudulent offer for $100 Lowe's coupons started circulating on Facebook. The message linked Facebook users to a fraudulent web site adorned with the Lowe's logo, and instructed them to follow a simple set of instructions: Scams like these require users to pass the fake coupon on to their Facebook friends, which widens the pool of potential victims. Next, they direct people to fill out a simple survey, which seems like a harmless task but is used to coax sensitive information such as email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth and credit card numbers out of victims. Finally, users who complete the survey will never receive a free Lowe's gift card but instead will likely sign up for difficult-to-cancel "Reward Offers" or have their personal information used for nefarious purposes. The Better Business Bureau provides these three tips to identify scams on Facebook: Facebook Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization. Scammers can also make links look like they lead to legitimate websites and emails appear to come from a different sender.Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure there's a link to their privacy policy. Watch out for a reward that's too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses can afford to give away $50 gift cards for completing a few questions. Lowe's also posted a warning about this scam on their Facebook page: Facebook In April 2017, two years after we first debunked the initial coupon scam, a new version of it appeared, taking in unsuspecting Facebookers yet again: Those who clicked on this image on Facebook were taken to a page with a dubious URL& (in this case, https://www.lowes.com-holdit.us/?sfpzbJt) and asked to take a simple survey and then to "like" and "share" the page: Needless to say, anyone who attempted to redeem these coupons at Lowe's will be unsuccessful (and probably a little embarrassed), and if they have followed the online instructions, they have set themselves and their friends on social media up for, at best, a like-farming scam. A simple racket, certainly, but an effective one. scam
|
[
"banking"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1cHp8biqd_3hAPjM740c7wwC4V0KbZfqB"
},
{
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1s60R-RN-iEnMmgy1Yny9cy8eXGF0kUbR"
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1yhzDD3r1mqYc_W7rpI8z7MewYkqW0iHr"
},
{
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1FygtQg5S9z7npmo0bFYtDovD3_yYf8sN"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.bbb.org/blog/2014/07/customer-survey-scam-lures-victims-with-gift-card/"
],
"sentence": "The Better Business Bureau provides these three tips to identify scams on Facebook:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/lowes"
],
"sentence": "Lowe's also posted a warning about this scam on their Facebook page:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/death-hoaxes-like-farming/"
],
"sentence": "Needless to say, anyone who attempted to redeem these coupons at Lowe's will be unsuccessful (and probably a little embarrassed), and if they have followed the online instructions, they have set themselves and their friends on social media up for, at best, a like-farming scam. A simple racket, certainly, but an effective one."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lowes-coupon-scam/
|
Scam involving a $150 anniversary coupon from Lowe's
|
David Mikkelson
|
05/21/2015
|
[
"Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization."
] |
In late 2019, social media users began seeing posts touting that "LOWES has announced that everyone who shares this link will be sent a $150 coupon for its anniversary TODAY ONLY": This coupon offer was fake, just another iteration of similar scams that have made the online rounds several times before. In May 2015, a fraudulent offer for $100 Lowe's coupons started circulating on Facebook. The message linked Facebook users to a fraudulent web site adorned with the Lowe's logo, and instructed them to follow a simple set of instructions: Scams like these require users to pass the fake coupon on to their Facebook friends, which widens the pool of potential victims. Next, they direct people to fill out a simple survey, which seems like a harmless task but is used to coax sensitive information such as email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth and credit card numbers out of victims. Finally, users who complete the survey will never receive a free Lowe's gift card but instead will likely sign up for difficult-to-cancel "Reward Offers" or have their personal information used for nefarious purposes. The Better Business Bureau provides these three tips to identify scams on Facebook: Facebook Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization. Scammers can also make links look like they lead to legitimate websites and emails appear to come from a different sender.Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure there's a link to their privacy policy. Watch out for a reward that's too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses can afford to give away $50 gift cards for completing a few questions. Lowe's also posted a warning about this scam on their Facebook page: Facebook In April 2017, two years after we first debunked the initial coupon scam, a new version of it appeared, taking in unsuspecting Facebookers yet again: Those who clicked on this image on Facebook were taken to a page with a dubious URL& (in this case, https://www.lowes.com-holdit.us/?sfpzbJt) and asked to take a simple survey and then to "like" and "share" the page: Needless to say, anyone who attempted to redeem these coupons at Lowe's will be unsuccessful (and probably a little embarrassed), and if they have followed the online instructions, they have set themselves and their friends on social media up for, at best, a like-farming scam. A simple racket, certainly, but an effective one. scam
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"sentence": "Lowe's also posted a warning about this scam on their Facebook page:"
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"sentence": "Needless to say, anyone who attempted to redeem these coupons at Lowe's will be unsuccessful (and probably a little embarrassed), and if they have followed the online instructions, they have set themselves and their friends on social media up for, at best, a like-farming scam. A simple racket, certainly, but an effective one."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lowes-coupon-scam/
|
Scam involving a fake $150 anniversary coupon from Lowe's.
|
David Mikkelson
|
05/21/2015
|
[
"Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization."
] |
In late 2019, social media users began seeing posts touting that "LOWES has announced that everyone who shares this link will be sent a $150 coupon for its anniversary TODAY ONLY": This coupon offer was fake, just another iteration of similar scams that have made the online rounds several times before. In May 2015, a fraudulent offer for $100 Lowe's coupons started circulating on Facebook. The message linked Facebook users to a fraudulent web site adorned with the Lowe's logo, and instructed them to follow a simple set of instructions: Scams like these require users to pass the fake coupon on to their Facebook friends, which widens the pool of potential victims. Next, they direct people to fill out a simple survey, which seems like a harmless task but is used to coax sensitive information such as email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth and credit card numbers out of victims. Finally, users who complete the survey will never receive a free Lowe's gift card but instead will likely sign up for difficult-to-cancel "Reward Offers" or have their personal information used for nefarious purposes. The Better Business Bureau provides these three tips to identify scams on Facebook: Facebook Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization. Scammers can also make links look like they lead to legitimate websites and emails appear to come from a different sender.Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure there's a link to their privacy policy. Watch out for a reward that's too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses can afford to give away $50 gift cards for completing a few questions. Lowe's also posted a warning about this scam on their Facebook page: Facebook In April 2017, two years after we first debunked the initial coupon scam, a new version of it appeared, taking in unsuspecting Facebookers yet again: Those who clicked on this image on Facebook were taken to a page with a dubious URL& (in this case, https://www.lowes.com-holdit.us/?sfpzbJt) and asked to take a simple survey and then to "like" and "share" the page: Needless to say, anyone who attempted to redeem these coupons at Lowe's will be unsuccessful (and probably a little embarrassed), and if they have followed the online instructions, they have set themselves and their friends on social media up for, at best, a like-farming scam. A simple racket, certainly, but an effective one. scam
|
[
"banking"
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},
{
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"sentence": "Needless to say, anyone who attempted to redeem these coupons at Lowe's will be unsuccessful (and probably a little embarrassed), and if they have followed the online instructions, they have set themselves and their friends on social media up for, at best, a like-farming scam. A simple racket, certainly, but an effective one."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ari-fleischer-covid/
|
Did Ari Fleischer Compare Showing ID to Get Vaccinated to Voter ID Laws?
|
Bethania Palma
|
03/11/2021
|
[
"The former White House press secretary's apples-to-oranges tweet compared two unrelated things."
] |
Snopes is still fighting an infodemic of rumors and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and you can help. Find out what we've learned and how to inoculate yourself against COVID-19 misinformation. Read the latest fact checks about the vaccines. Submit any questionable rumors and advice you encounter. Become a Founding Member to help us hire more fact-checkers. And, please, follow the CDC or WHO for guidance on protecting your community from the disease. fighting Find out Read Submit Become a Founding Member CDC WHO In early March 2021, Ari Fleischer, a media commentator who served as White House press secretary for former U.S. President George W. Bush, said on Twitter that New York's requirement that residents show ID before getting a COVID-19 vaccine was just as "sensible" as requiring people to show identification to vote . said a COVID-19 vaccine hurdles require We can verify that Fleischer's tweet is real, while also pointing out that Fleischer is attempting to create an equivalency between two different issues when none exists. The state of New York is vaccinating residents in a phased rollout because of limited vaccine supply. Therefore, residents must make appointments to receive their shots and provide documentation showing that they are the person with the appointment, and that they are eligible for the vaccine during a given phase, based on factors like age and and type of employment. The elderly, along with essential workers and health care employees, have been prioritized. phased Voting, on the other hand, is a completely different issue. Voting is a constitutional right that forms the basis of the U.S. system of government. Unlike COVID-19 vaccines, access to voting isn't limited on the supply side so much as it is controlled by legislators who have the power to either make the process easier or more difficult. Access to voting, especially for demographic groups that have been historically excluded from it, has been an ongoing flashpoint in American politics. The issue gained new urgency in the wake of the November 2020 election, when a disinformation campaign pushed by former President Donald Trump falsely alleging widespread voter fraud incited a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Since then, Trump's fellow Republican legislators in many states have rushed to create new requirements for voters. Although they argue such laws are necessary to prevent voter fraud, critics point out such fraud is rare. rushed rare Advocates for expanded voter access argue that voter ID laws are a voter suppression tactic because, as the American Civil Liberties Union states: states Many Americans do not have one of the forms of identification states [deem] acceptable for voting. These voters are disproportionately low-income, racial and ethnic minorities, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Such voters more frequently have difficulty obtaining ID, because they cannot afford or cannot obtain the underlying documents that are a prerequisite to obtaining government-issued photo ID card.
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"sentence": "In early March 2021, Ari Fleischer, a media commentator who served as White House press secretary for former U.S. President George W. Bush, said on Twitter that New York's requirement that residents show ID before getting a COVID-19 vaccine was just as \"sensible\" as requiring people to show identification to vote ."
},
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"sentence": "The state of New York is vaccinating residents in a phased rollout because of limited vaccine supply. Therefore, residents must make appointments to receive their shots and provide documentation showing that they are the person with the appointment, and that they are eligible for the vaccine during a given phase, based on factors like age and and type of employment. The elderly, along with essential workers and health care employees, have been prioritized."
},
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"hrefs": [
"https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/georgia-republicans-are-pushing-dozens-election-integrity-bills-black-voters-n1259687",
"https://www.vox.com/2020/1/16/21067110/missouri-voter-id-supreme-court-priorities-usa-state"
],
"sentence": "Since then, Trump's fellow Republican legislators in many states have rushed to create new requirements for voters. Although they argue such laws are necessary to prevent voter fraud, critics point out such fraud is rare."
},
{
"hrefs": [
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"sentence": "Advocates for expanded voter access argue that voter ID laws are a voter suppression tactic because, as the American Civil Liberties Union states:"
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-goblin-king-returns/
|
Is the Jim Henson Company Making Labyrinth 2?
|
David Mikkelson
|
11/13/2014
|
[
"Is the Jim Henson Company producing a 'reboot' of, a sequel to, or a continuation of, 1986's 'Labyrinth'? The answer is unclear."
] |
Claim: The Jim Henson Company has announced development of a sequel to the 1986 film Labyrinth. Example: [Collected via email, November 2013] "Labyrinth 2 return of the goblin king is rumored to be released soon but I can't find a release date anywhere and it's floating around facebook like wild fire.. Is this a rumor? or can all of the Jim Henson lovers of the world get stoked about the upcoming Labyrinth 2?!" Origins: On 9 October 2014, a rumor began circulating via social media that the Jim Henson Company was working on Labyrinth 2, a sequel to the 1986 film Labyrinth. The rumor stemmed from an article published by Variety about Billy Crystal's joining the cast of another Jim Henson project, Which Witch. At the end of the article, author Davy McNary mentioned the Henson company also had several other projects in the works: article It's also working on a quartet of legacy titles in the Henson library a Fraggle Rock movie that's been in development at New Regency; a sequel to 1982's The Dark Crystal; a sequel to 1986's Labyrinth; and a movie based on the Emmet Otter character. Variety updated the article on 13 October 2014 to clarify the above-quoted sentence: Henson Co. is working on a project based on Labyrinth, but it is not a sequel. But that correction didn't kill the rumor, because in November 2014 a fake movie poster for Labyrinth 2 started circulating on the internet: That movie poster was a private mockup for the not-in-the-works Labyrinth 2 created by artist Ruben Ireland which went viral shortly after it was published by Slash Film on 11 November 2014 in an article titled "Cool Stuff: Movie Posters for Sequels That Never Happened." article In January 2016, Variety reported that Sony had closed a deal with the Jim Henson Co. to produce what was described as a Labyrinth "reboot" (rather than a sequel): Sony is developing a reboot of "Labyrinth," the final movie directed by Jim Henson, and has closed a deal with the Jim Henson Co. to produce the film with Sony's TriStar division. Lisa Henson of the Henson Co. will produce the project. "Guardians of the Galaxy" co-writer Nicole Perlman will write the script. The original musical fantasy movie, released in 1986, starred a 15-year-old Jennifer Connelly as the protagonist who has to navigate a maze to save her infant brother, who had been kidnapped by a goblin king played by David Bowie, who recorded five songs for the film. Tri-Star's Nicole Brown will oversee the new "Labyrinth" for the studio. However, EW then confusingly reported that "the new 'Labyrinth' film will be a sequel to the original, not a reboot." reported Shortly afterwards, screenwriter Nicole Perlman fostered even more uncertainty when she tweeted to say that "no one is remaking 'Labyrinth'" and suggested that a "continuation" of the film was in the works: Guys, please don't fall for all the clickbait. No one is remaking "Labyrinth." That movie is perfect as it is. Nicole Perlman (@Uncannygirl) January 24, 2016 January 24, 2016 Labyrinth is my favorite film from childhood, so I share your concerns that any continuation of the world be handled with love and respect. Nicole Perlman (@Uncannygirl) January 23, 2016 January 23, 2016 Henson Co & I started talking in late 2014, so the timing of these rumors is so upsetting. I would never seek to profit from Bowie's death. Nicole Perlman (@Uncannygirl) January 23, 2016 January 23, 2016 So what's next in the Labyrinth realm: a sequel, a reboot, or a continuation? The answer remains unclear. The original Labyrinth was something of a box office bust when it was released in 1986 but has built a cult following over the years thanks to Jim Henson's amazing puppetry and a flamboyant performance by the Goblin King, David Bowie: bust Last updated: 6 February 2016 Lussier, Germain. "Movie Posters for Sequels That Never Happened." Slash Film. 11 November 2014. McNary, David. "Billy Crystal Joins Henson Co.'s 'Which Witch.'" Variety. 9 October 2014. McNary, David. "Sony Rebooting Jim Henson's 'Labyrinth.'" Variety. 22 January 2016.
|
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[
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],
"sentence": "Origins: On 9 October 2014, a rumor began circulating via social media that the Jim Henson Company was working on Labyrinth 2, a sequel to the 1986 film Labyrinth. The rumor stemmed from an article published by Variety about Billy Crystal's joining the cast of another Jim Henson project, Which Witch. At the end of the article, author Davy McNary mentioned the Henson company also had several other projects in the works:"
},
{
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],
"sentence": "That movie poster was a private mockup for the not-in-the-works Labyrinth 2 created by artist Ruben Ireland which went viral shortly after it was published by Slash Film on 11 November 2014 in an article titled \"Cool Stuff: Movie Posters for Sequels That Never Happened.\" "
},
{
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"https://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/22/labyrinth-reboot-guardians-galaxy-writer"
],
"sentence": "However, EW then confusingly reported that \"the new 'Labyrinth' film will be a sequel to the original, not a reboot.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": " Nicole Perlman (@Uncannygirl) January 24, 2016"
},
{
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],
"sentence": " Nicole Perlman (@Uncannygirl) January 23, 2016"
},
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"sentence": " Nicole Perlman (@Uncannygirl) January 23, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=labyrinth.htm"
],
"sentence": "The original Labyrinth was something of a box office bust when it was released in 1986 but has built a cult following over the years thanks to Jim Henson's amazing puppetry and a flamboyant performance by the Goblin King, David Bowie: "
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/may/15/facebook-posts/yes-payments-dairy-farmers-have-dropped-even-retai/
|
(Retail) milk has gone up 7.5% since this time last year. The price farmers are paid has dropped 23%.
|
Eric Litke
|
05/15/2020
|
[
"This post oversimplifies the system a bit, since only about 30% of milk produced in the U.S. is sold in liquid form., But the numbers cited here are close to the latest national data., Payments to farmers have dropped because those are determined through a complex system that incorporates geography, commodity prices and how the milk is used., And retail milk prices have steadily risen since the start of 2019."
] |
The coronavirus pandemic has been especially unkind to the already staggering dairy industry. Plunging demand from restaurants and schools and an inability to quickly shift processing to meet new categories of demand has left farmers dumping milk on a massive scale. But at least milk prices are going up, right? Thats not exactly a help, one dairy farmer said in a widely-shared Facebook post. The price consumers pay at retail for a gallon of milk has gone up 7.5% since this time last year, Pennsylvania farmer Greg Hemsarth said in aMay 2, 2020, postthat was shared more than 3,500 times. The price farmers are paid has dropped 23%. Figure that one out. This post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about ourpartnership with Facebook). Are farmers really getting paid less even as retail milk prices go up? Lets dive into the data behind this dairy dichotomy. For starters, connecting any pair of dots to explain milk pricing is tricky. This post referenced liquid milk prices, but only 30% of the milk produced in the U.S. is actually sold in liquid form, said Michael Nepveux, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation. While we may see fluid milk flying off grocery shelves and wonder why farmers are having to dump milk, it must be remembered that many of these other products rely heavily on the foodservice and restaurant sector, he said. And farmers pricing is part of a system that is complex to say the least. RELATED:Are bottling limitations on liquid milk to blame for milk dumping? Nepveux spent nearly 2,000 words and a handful of charts detailing how pricing works ina primer the Farm Bureauposted in June 2019. It started this way: Theres an old adage in the dairy industry that only five people in the world know how milk is priced in the U.S. and four of them are dead. Milk payments to farmers are influenced by commodity prices, geography and whether the milk is being used for liquid sales, yogurt, cheese, butter, etc. We started with Hemsarth himself. Though the numbers in the post are stated generally, he told PolitiFact Wisconsin he was actually referring only to his own observations. Hemsarth was comparing the price of milk at a grocer in Bloomsburg, Penn., to a picture he took of the milk case a year prior. And he was looking at payments he received for milk he sold compared to a year ago. Given the generic wording and wide sharing of this post, most readers likely assumed it referenced some broader dataset, at either the state or national level. So lets check those datapoints. National data shows the trend Hemsarth highlighted isnt confined to his corner of the world. Prices paid to farmers have dropped even as retail prices rose. The retail price for a gallon of milk averaged $3.27 in April, according to thelatest datafrom the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thats up 9.6% from the April 2019 mark ($2.98). Data provided by Dairy Management Inc., a group funded by farmers to help increase sales of dairy products, shows a nearly identical comparison. They reported a national average of $3.11 as of mid-April, compared to $2.83 a year prior. Thats an increase of 9.9%. A state-level breakdown showed a year-over-year increase in all but one state. The largest jump was in Ohio more than 28%. Pennsylvania prices increased 9.5%, and Wisconsin was up 8.7%. So, on that part of the equation, the post was in the ballpark actually understating the magnitude of the retail increase nationally. On the farm payment side, Hemsarth reported a milk payment drop of 23%. The Farm Bureau, using U.S. Department of Agriculture data, reported a 21.1% drop in the price paid to farmers in May 2020 compared to May 2019. Nepveux said that is based on Class 1 fluid milk, the highest valued class of milk. A month earlier, in April, farmers were seeing payments 5.6% higher than the year prior. May is the first month where 2020 was lower than that month in 2019, though prices have fallen each month since December. May milk prices dropped because the formula relies heavily on commodity prices, and those dropped sharply in April, Nepveux said. A viral Facebook post said retail milk prices are up 7.5% from last year while the price paid to farmers dropped 23%. The farmer who provided these numbers was just referencing payments for the milk he sold and prices at a local grocer, but the trends are in line with what we see nationally. Nationwide, retail milk prices in April were up nearly 10% from the prior year, while the price paid to farmers dropped sharply in May to about 21% below the prior year. The comparison oversimplifies things a bit, since the majority of milk produced in the U.S. isnt sold in liquid form. And the specific numbers arent exactly right. But the general point is. We rate this Mostly True.
|
[
"Economy",
"Wisconsin"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/greg.hemsarth/posts/3176666599030382"
],
"sentence": "The price consumers pay at retail for a gallon of milk has gone up 7.5% since this time last year, Pennsylvania farmer Greg Hemsarth said in aMay 2, 2020, postthat was shared more than 3,500 times. The price farmers are paid has dropped 23%. Figure that one out."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/help/1952307158131536?helpref=related"
],
"sentence": "This post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about ourpartnership with Facebook)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/apr/10/facebook-posts/are-bottling-limitations-liquid-milk-blame-milk-du/"
],
"sentence": "RELATED:Are bottling limitations on liquid milk to blame for milk dumping?"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fb.org/market-intel/how-milk-is-priced-in-federal-milk-marketing-orders-a-primer"
],
"sentence": "Nepveux spent nearly 2,000 words and a handful of charts detailing how pricing works ina primer the Farm Bureauposted in June 2019. It started this way: Theres an old adage in the dairy industry that only five people in the world know how milk is priced in the U.S. and four of them are dead."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/APU0000709112?data_tool=XGtable"
],
"sentence": "The retail price for a gallon of milk averaged $3.27 in April, according to thelatest datafrom the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thats up 9.6% from the April 2019 mark ($2.98)."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/last-photo-queen-mongolia/
|
Does Photo Show Last Queen of Mongolia Before Execution?
|
Jordan Liles
|
01/25/2022
|
[
"A viral tweet and a Reddit post on r/pics purported to show \"the last photo of the last queen of Mongolia, just before she was killed in 1938.\""
] |
A viral tweet posted on Jan. 23, 2022, claimed to show "the last photo taken of Genepil, the last Queen of Mongolia, moments before she was executed as part of the Stalinist repressions in Mongolia in 1938." In our research, we soon found that this caption was inaccurate. tweet The picture in question showed two men pointing guns at a woman in a field: The tweet was shared tens of thousands of times. The first picture on the left side of the tweet was not in question. According to various sources, the close-up photograph was believed to perhaps show Genepil posing in Mongolia in the 1920s. (We also found references to the notion that her appearance inspired the costume design for the character Queen Amidala in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.") various sources references notion Two days after the viral tweet, a Reddit user posted the same photograph of the men with pointed guns and claimed it showed "The last photo of the last queen of Mongolia, just before she was killed in 1938": posted same photograph The Reddit thread was upvoted nearly 50,000 times in the first few hours after it was posted. One Reddit user asked in a comment: "Do you have a source for this photo that you could share? I don't think I've ever seen this photo of Genepil. Very interesting." comment Twitter and Reddit users mentioned a Wikipedia entry for Genepil as their source. The Wikipedia page cited two sources for the line that mentioned her death. They were watson.ch (German) and ugluu.mn (Mongolian). Neither of these two sources mentioned the picture of the two men pointing guns at a woman who was said to be Genepil. Wikipedia entry for Genepil watson.ch ugluu.mn Buried deep in the replies to the viral tweet was a clue. "Sources claim it's from a movie called ' ,'" @pacific_blues tweeted. After we did a little digging, we found that the tweet was correct. tweeted Without this tip, we may not have found the answer to debunk the claim from Reddit and Twitter. We found the full version of the Mongolian-language film on Facebook. According to the closing credits, it was released in the year 2000 and appeared to have been shot in Mongolia. The title, " ," was roughly translated to mean, "The Last Queen of the King." The picture that was said to be "the last photo of the last queen of Mongolia" was simply a screenshot from the 1:55:24 mark in the movie: on Facebook This scene takes place at the end of " ." The three characters continue walking into the direction of the sun before the movie fades to black. The character is not shot onscreen. According to a synopsis on mongol-kino.mn, the story was indeed about Genepil. Roughly translated into English, it reads: "A historical tragedy about the last emperor of Mongolia, Genenpil, the queen of the 8th Jebtsundamba. The last emperor, Eight Bogd Tseenpil, was renamed the Great Fairy and renamed Genenpil." (Several references described her as a former queen consort, which may have been more accurate.) mongol-kino.mn Jet Set Times previously published that Genepil was believed to have been "shot and killed at the age of 33 when she was five months pregnant" after being "charged with conspiring with the Japanese." She and her father were executed, according to the reporting. (We were unable to definitively confirm various details about her life, as her name didn't appear to show up in many history books.) published In sum, no, a viral picture did not show the last photograph before the last queen of Mongolia was executed in 1938. While records do show that Genepil was killed in 1938, the photograph in question was a screenshot from a movie that was released in the year 2000.
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"sentence": "The first picture on the left side of the tweet was not in question. According to various sources, the close-up photograph was believed to perhaps show Genepil posing in Mongolia in the 1920s. (We also found references to the notion that her appearance inspired the costume design for the character Queen Amidala in \"Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.\")"
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"sentence": "Twitter and Reddit users mentioned a Wikipedia entry for Genepil as their source. The Wikipedia page cited two sources for the line that mentioned her death. They were watson.ch (German) and ugluu.mn (Mongolian). Neither of these two sources mentioned the picture of the two men pointing guns at a woman who was said to be Genepil."
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},
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"sentence": " This scene takes place at the end of \" .\" The three characters continue walking into the direction of the sun before the movie fades to black. The character is not shot onscreen."
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"sentence": "According to a synopsis on mongol-kino.mn, the story was indeed about Genepil. Roughly translated into English, it reads: \"A historical tragedy about the last emperor of Mongolia, Genenpil, the queen of the 8th Jebtsundamba. The last emperor, Eight Bogd Tseenpil, was renamed the Great Fairy and renamed Genenpil.\" (Several references described her as a former queen consort, which may have been more accurate.)"
},
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"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": "Jet Set Times previously published that Genepil was believed to have been \"shot and killed at the age of 33 when she was five months pregnant\" after being \"charged with conspiring with the Japanese.\" She and her father were executed, according to the reporting. (We were unable to definitively confirm various details about her life, as her name didn't appear to show up in many history books.)"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/new-jersey-couple-explosion/
|
Was a New Jersey Couple Killed in an Explosion 'Set to Testify' Against Hillary Clinton?
|
Arturo Garcia
|
07/10/2018
|
[
"Conspiracy-peddling web sites seized on a fatal explosion as a means to push more dubious stories."
] |
Within 24 hours of the deaths of a New Jersey couple, dubious web sites seized on the tragedy as fodder for their latest round of conspiracy theory-driven content. On 7 July 2018, 72-year-old Carole Paladino and her 73-year-old husband Jon Paladino were killed when their Newfield, New Jersey, home exploded. killed The next day conspiracy-minded sites, citing "4Chan and 8Chan users," published stories promoting the claim that Carole Paladino, a retired school nurse, was "due to testify" in a grand jury investigation against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: The dubious alleged connection here is a two-year old controversy over Mylan Pharmaceuticals (who donated somewhere between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation) having increased the price of EpiPens by more than 400% over the course of several years -- something Hillary Clinton herself criticized the company over: controversy Over the last several years, Mylan Pharmaceuticals has increased the price of EpiPens by more than 400%. Theyre now charging up to $600 for a two-EpiPen set that must be replaced every 12-18 months. This both increases out-of-pocket costs for families and first responders, and contributes to higher premiums for all Americans and their employers, Clinton said in a statement released to reporters by her campaign. Thats outrageous and its just the latest troubling example of a company taking advantage of its consumers ... [I]ts wrong when drug companies put profits ahead of patients, raising prices without justifying the value behind them Given that John Paladino worked at a funeral home and Carole Paladino was a retired school nurse, it's unlikely that either of them would have been testifying before a grand jury about the operations of a large pharmaceutical company. Moreover, prosecutors in Gloucester County have told news outlets (and reiterated to us) that foul play is not suspected in the Paladinos' deaths, so any "news" story attempting to link their demise to a deliberate and furtive criminal plot to keep the couple from testifying against Hillary Clinton is merely another iteration of the "Clinton body bag" rumor that has been disseminated online since Clinton's husband, Bill, was president back in the 1990s. outlets Clinton body bag Melamed, Samantha et al. "Two Dead in New Jersey House Explosion: 'It Was a Huge Ball of Fire.'"
Philadelphia Inquirer. 7 July 2018. Everett, Rebecca. "Retired School Nurse, Husband Killed in Earth-Shaking House Explosion."
NJ.com. 7 July 2018.
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],
"sentence": "On 7 July 2018, 72-year-old Carole Paladino and her 73-year-old husband Jon Paladino were killed when their Newfield, New Jersey, home exploded."
},
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"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": "The dubious alleged connection here is a two-year old controversy over Mylan Pharmaceuticals (who donated somewhere between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation) having increased the price of EpiPens by more than 400% over the course of several years -- something Hillary Clinton herself criticized the company over:"
},
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],
"sentence": "Given that John Paladino worked at a funeral home and Carole Paladino was a retired school nurse, it's unlikely that either of them would have been testifying before a grand jury about the operations of a large pharmaceutical company. Moreover, prosecutors in Gloucester County have told news outlets (and reiterated to us) that foul play is not suspected in the Paladinos' deaths, so any \"news\" story attempting to link their demise to a deliberate and furtive criminal plot to keep the couple from testifying against Hillary Clinton is merely another iteration of the \"Clinton body bag\" rumor that has been disseminated online since Clinton's husband, Bill, was president back in the 1990s."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/snapchat-facial-recognition/
|
Is Snapchat Building a Facial Recognition Database for the Feds?
|
David Emery
|
07/26/2017
|
[
"Online conspiracy theorists claim Snapchat's image filter feature called \"Lenses\" is covertly amassing a database of users' faces to share with law enforcement agencies."
] |
One of the more whimsical messaging options offered by Snapchat a social media app for mobile devices introduced in 2011 is the ability to personalize selfies in real time and share them instantly with other users, a feature that has at once contributed to the app's immense popularity (Snapchat boasts an estimated 166 million users daily) and raised privacy concerns among some of its customers. Snapchat's rotating toolbox of image filters, called Lenses, enables users to manipulate photos and videos to humorous effect, as seen in these examples shared publicly on Instagram by celebrity Snapchatter Chrissy Teigen: Cute and innocent though it may appear, the feature has become the target of conspiracy theorists claiming that Snapchat's corporate owner, Snap Inc., uses it to collect facial recognition data which it allegedly stores and shares with law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and CIA. We've found examples of such rumors dating back to Fall 2015 (soon after the Lenses feature was officially rolled out): you guys are all swooning over the snapchat filters... And The FBI is getting the most extensive facial recognition library ever TEENWOLF (@TEENWOLFREMIX) October 3, 2015 October 3, 2015 It wasn't until April of the following year that the rumors reached takeoff speed, however, thanks largely to a tweet composed by hip hop artist, songwriter, and unabashed flat-earth theorist B.o.B to his roughly two million followers: tweet flat-earth when you realize all the snap chat filters are really building a facial recognition database ? B.o.B (@bobatl) April 16, 2016 April 16, 2016 In May 2016, with civil cases already pending against Facebook and Google alleging unauthorized use of facial recognition technology, a class action lawsuit was filed by two Snapchat users in Illinois complaining that the app violated their rights under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to obtain adequate permission before gathering and storing their "biometric identifiers and biometric information". lawsuit BIPA The company flatly denied it: denied Contrary to the claims of this frivolous lawsuit, we are very careful not to collect, store, or obtain any biometric information or identifiers about our community. The class action suit was eventually dismissed in favor of arbitration in September 2016, but as of this writing the case remains unresolved. Crucial to Snapchat's defense is their position, as stated in the Privacy Center of the company's web site, that the app relies on object recognition, not facial recognition, to make Lenses work: arbitration stated Have you ever wondered how Lenses make your eyes well up with tears or rainbows come out your mouth? Some of the magic behind Lenses is object recognition. Object recognition is an algorithm designed to understand the general nature of things that appear in an image. It lets us know that a nose is a nose or an eye is an eye. But object recognition isnt the same as facial recognition. While Lenses can recognize faces in general, they can't recognize a specific face. If it's true that Lenses can't recognize (i.e., identify) specific faces, then the claim that the app produces anything qualifying as a "biometric identifier" under Illinois law is seriously in doubt. (The district judge in Illinois overseeing the Google facial recognition case previously defined "biometric identifier" as "a set of biology-based measurements ... used to identify a person.) case As to the wider claim that Snapchat is building a "facial recognition database," the distinction between object and facial recognition, at minimum, places a burden of proof on those trumpeting the claim to show that the app is capable of identifying specific faces in the first place. If this explanation (provided by the web site Vox) of how the software works is accurate, Snapchat doesn't need to be able to identify specific faces to accomplish the task. It has to recognize a face as a face, and identify the parts of a face as the nose, eyes, ears, chin, etc., but it doesn't have to recognize who the face belongs to: this Moreover, Snapchat's Privacy Policy states that the company neither collects nor permanently stores user-created content (meaning photos and videos) let alone preserves such items in a database: states Snapchat lets you capture what its like to live in the moment. On our end, that means that we automatically delete the content of your Snaps (the photo and video messages that you send your friends) from our servers after we detect that a Snap has been opened by all recipients or has expired. And although the policy further acknowledges that Snap Inc. may share users' personal information "to comply with any valid legal process, governmental request, or applicable law, rule, or regulation" (and transparency reports show that the company has indeed complied with such requests in the past), they can't grant the FBI (or any other agency) access to a "facial recognition database" that doesn't exist. reports Some rumors die hard, however. An updated variant that cropped up in early 2017 brought two new claims to the mix: one, that the FBI literally created Snapchat's image filtering software (and alleged facial recognition database); and two, that there is a smoking gun to prove it namely U.S. patent #9396354: granted According to an analysis by Sophos' Naked Security blogger Alison Booth, the patent proposes using facial recognition software to identify individual subjects in photos, whereupon the latter would be modified and/or their distribution restricted in accordance with the subjects' pre-established privacy settings. analysis There is a catch. Implementation of the process would, of course, require amassing a facial recognition database. "For facial recognition to work," writes Booth, "Snapchat would need to store images of all users that sign up to the feature as a reference image to compare photos against." So, there it is a "facial recognition database" of the sort conspiracy theorists have been going on about since 2015, except that Snapchat has not, to date, implemented such a feature (a fact we were able to confirm with the company), nor is there evidence that the FBI (or any other law enforcement agency) was involved in creating it, nor does the patent itself mention sharing facial recognition data with government entities. Despite finding no legitimate basis for the claim that Snapchat is currently engaged in collecting, storing, or sharing facial recognition data on its users, we do not wish to downplay the increasing prevalence of facial recognition technology in both commercial and government applications, nor the privacy issues this raises. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) articulated some of these issues in a statement announcing the release of a 2015 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the privacy implications of the technology: report The newly released report raises serious concerns about how companies are collecting, using, and storing our most sensitive personal information. I believe that all Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, which is why it's important that, at the very least, the tech industry adopts strong, industry-wide standards for facial recognition technology. But what we really need are federal standards that address facial recognition privacy by enhancing our consumer privacy framework. The tech industry has yet to address these concerns to the satisfaction of consumer privacy watchdogs, however, nor has Congress made progress toward establishing the federal standards Franken called for. Thus far, issue has been dealt with primarily in the court system via cases such as the aforementioned BIPA class action lawsuits against Facebook and Google. watchdogs lawsuits One of the ironies of the false alarms about Snapchat's alleged sharing of facial recognition data with the FBI is that the agency already maintains a biometric data network comprising the facial images of more than 117 million Americans (about half the U.S. adult population, and growing), mostly drawn from state DMV databases and other non-criminal sources. A 2016 report by the Georgetown Law Center for Privacy and Technology warned that the technology is both error-prone, with a disproportionate impact on communities of color, and almost totally unregulated. already report disproportionate In testimony before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing chaired by Sen. Franken in 2012, Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Jennifer Lynch urged Congress to act sooner rather than later to protect the biometric privacy of all Americans: testimony Face recognition and its accompanying privacy concerns are not going away. Given this, it is imperative that government act now to limit unnecessary biometrics collection; instill proper protections on data collection, transfer, and search; ensure accountability; mandate independent oversight; require appropriate legal process before government collection; and define clear rules for data sharing at all levels. This is important to preserve the democratic and constitutional values that are bedrock to American society. Booth, Alison. "Snapchat Turns Facial Recognition Technology on Its Head."
Naked Security. 20 July 2016. Danley-Greiner, Kristin. "Snapchat Defends Procedures After Facial Recognition Class Action."
Legal Newsline. 2 September 2016. Garvie, Clare et al. "The Perpetual Line-up: Unregulated Police Face Recognition in America."
Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology. 18 October 2016. Graham, Meg. "Illinois Biometrics Lawsuits May Help Define Rules for Facebook, Google."
Chicago Tribune. 13 January 2017. Korte, Amy. "Federal Court in Illinois Rules Biometric Privacy Lawsuit Against Google Can Proceed."
Illinois Policy. 8 March 2017. Maass, Dave. "Memo to the DOJ: Facial Recognition's Threat to Privacy Is Worse than Anyone Thought."
Electronic Frontier Foundation. 18 October 2016. Mathies, Daven. "The Incredible Underlying Technology of Snapchat's Selfie Lenses."
Digital Trends. 1 July 2016. Nelson, Steven. "Half of U.S. Adults Are in Police Facial Recognition Networks."
US News & World Report. 18 October 2016. Roberts, Jeff John. "Tech Industry's Facial Recognition Plan Bashed by Privacy Groups."
Fortune. 16 June 2016. Thielman, Sam. "FBI Using Vast Public Photo Data and Iffy Facial Recognition Tech to Find Criminals."
The Guardian. 15 June 2016. Trujillo, Mario. "Facial Recognition Quietly Taking Hold."
The Hill. 1 August 2015. Welinder, Yana. "EFF Urges Congress to Protect Privacy in Face Recognition."
Electronic Frontier Foundation. 18 July 2012. Yakowicz, Will. "Snapchat Sued Under Illinois Biometric Information Usage Law."
Inc. 18 July 2016. Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Testimony of Jennifer Lynch to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law."
18 July 2012. Google. "Patent: Apparatus and Method for Automated Privacy Protection in Distributed Images - US 9396354 B1."
19 July 2016. Government Accounting Office. "Facial Recognition Technology: Commercial Uses, Privacy Issues, and Applicable Federal Law."
20 June 2015. U.S. Senate. "Sen. Franken: New Report on Facial Recognition Technology Highlights Lack of Privacy Standards."
30 July 2015. U.S. Senate. "Sen. Franken Releases Extensive Report Detailing Concerns with FBI Facial Recognition Program."
15 June 2016.
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"sentence": " TEENWOLF (@TEENWOLFREMIX) October 3, 2015"
},
{
"hrefs": [
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"https://www.livescience.com/24310-flat-earth-belief.html"
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"sentence": "It wasn't until April of the following year that the rumors reached takeoff speed, however, thanks largely to a tweet composed by hip hop artist, songwriter, and unabashed flat-earth theorist B.o.B to his roughly two million followers:"
},
{
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],
"sentence": " B.o.B (@bobatl) April 16, 2016"
},
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"https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3004&ChapterID=57"
],
"sentence": "In May 2016, with civil cases already pending against Facebook and Google alleging unauthorized use of facial recognition technology, a class action lawsuit was filed by two Snapchat users in Illinois complaining that the app violated their rights under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to obtain adequate permission before gathering and storing their \"biometric identifiers and biometric information\"."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://legalnewsline.com/stories/510995812-snapchat-defends-procedures-after-facial-recognition-class-action"
],
"sentence": "The company flatly denied it:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.lexislegalnews.com/articles/10898/snapchat-biometrics-class-complaint-dismissed-in-favor-of-arbitration",
"https://www.snap.com/en-US/privacy/our-approach/"
],
"sentence": "The class action suit was eventually dismissed in favor of arbitration in September 2016, but as of this writing the case remains unresolved. Crucial to Snapchat's defense is their position, as stated in the Privacy Center of the company's web site, that the app relies on object recognition, not facial recognition, to make Lenses work:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.illinoispolicy.org/federal-court-in-illinois-rules-biometric-privacy-lawsuit-against-google-can-proceed/"
],
"sentence": "If it's true that Lenses can't recognize (i.e., identify) specific faces, then the claim that the app produces anything qualifying as a \"biometric identifier\" under Illinois law is seriously in doubt. (The district judge in Illinois overseeing the Google facial recognition case previously defined \"biometric identifier\" as \"a set of biology-based measurements ... used to identify a person.)"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc2aJxnmzh0"
],
"sentence": "As to the wider claim that Snapchat is building a \"facial recognition database,\" the distinction between object and facial recognition, at minimum, places a burden of proof on those trumpeting the claim to show that the app is capable of identifying specific faces in the first place. If this explanation (provided by the web site Vox) of how the software works is accurate, Snapchat doesn't need to be able to identify specific faces to accomplish the task. It has to recognize a face as a face, and identify the parts of a face as the nose, eyes, ears, chin, etc., but it doesn't have to recognize who the face belongs to:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snap.com/en-US/privacy/privacy-policy/"
],
"sentence": "Moreover, Snapchat's Privacy Policy states that the company neither collects nor permanently stores user-created content (meaning photos and videos) let alone preserves such items in a database:"
},
{
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"https://www.snap.com/en-US/privacy/transparency/"
],
"sentence": "And although the policy further acknowledges that Snap Inc. may share users' personal information \"to comply with any valid legal process, governmental request, or applicable law, rule, or regulation\" (and transparency reports show that the company has indeed complied with such requests in the past), they can't grant the FBI (or any other agency) access to a \"facial recognition database\" that doesn't exist."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/07/20/snapchat-turns-facial-recognition-technology-on-its-head/"
],
"sentence": "According to an analysis by Sophos' Naked Security blogger Alison Booth, the patent proposes using facial recognition software to identify individual subjects in photos, whereupon the latter would be modified and/or their distribution restricted in accordance with the subjects' pre-established privacy settings."
},
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},
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},
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}
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false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/snapchat-facial-recognition/
|
Is Snapchat creating a database that uses facial recognition technology for government agencies?
|
David Emery
|
07/26/2017
|
[
"Online conspiracy theorists claim Snapchat's image filter feature called \"Lenses\" is covertly amassing a database of users' faces to share with law enforcement agencies."
] |
One of the more whimsical messaging options offered by Snapchat a social media app for mobile devices introduced in 2011 is the ability to personalize selfies in real time and share them instantly with other users, a feature that has at once contributed to the app's immense popularity (Snapchat boasts an estimated 166 million users daily) and raised privacy concerns among some of its customers. Snapchat's rotating toolbox of image filters, called Lenses, enables users to manipulate photos and videos to humorous effect, as seen in these examples shared publicly on Instagram by celebrity Snapchatter Chrissy Teigen: Cute and innocent though it may appear, the feature has become the target of conspiracy theorists claiming that Snapchat's corporate owner, Snap Inc., uses it to collect facial recognition data which it allegedly stores and shares with law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and CIA. We've found examples of such rumors dating back to Fall 2015 (soon after the Lenses feature was officially rolled out): you guys are all swooning over the snapchat filters... And The FBI is getting the most extensive facial recognition library ever TEENWOLF (@TEENWOLFREMIX) October 3, 2015 October 3, 2015 It wasn't until April of the following year that the rumors reached takeoff speed, however, thanks largely to a tweet composed by hip hop artist, songwriter, and unabashed flat-earth theorist B.o.B to his roughly two million followers: tweet flat-earth when you realize all the snap chat filters are really building a facial recognition database ? B.o.B (@bobatl) April 16, 2016 April 16, 2016 In May 2016, with civil cases already pending against Facebook and Google alleging unauthorized use of facial recognition technology, a class action lawsuit was filed by two Snapchat users in Illinois complaining that the app violated their rights under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to obtain adequate permission before gathering and storing their "biometric identifiers and biometric information". lawsuit BIPA The company flatly denied it: denied Contrary to the claims of this frivolous lawsuit, we are very careful not to collect, store, or obtain any biometric information or identifiers about our community. The class action suit was eventually dismissed in favor of arbitration in September 2016, but as of this writing the case remains unresolved. Crucial to Snapchat's defense is their position, as stated in the Privacy Center of the company's web site, that the app relies on object recognition, not facial recognition, to make Lenses work: arbitration stated Have you ever wondered how Lenses make your eyes well up with tears or rainbows come out your mouth? Some of the magic behind Lenses is object recognition. Object recognition is an algorithm designed to understand the general nature of things that appear in an image. It lets us know that a nose is a nose or an eye is an eye. But object recognition isnt the same as facial recognition. While Lenses can recognize faces in general, they can't recognize a specific face. If it's true that Lenses can't recognize (i.e., identify) specific faces, then the claim that the app produces anything qualifying as a "biometric identifier" under Illinois law is seriously in doubt. (The district judge in Illinois overseeing the Google facial recognition case previously defined "biometric identifier" as "a set of biology-based measurements ... used to identify a person.) case As to the wider claim that Snapchat is building a "facial recognition database," the distinction between object and facial recognition, at minimum, places a burden of proof on those trumpeting the claim to show that the app is capable of identifying specific faces in the first place. If this explanation (provided by the web site Vox) of how the software works is accurate, Snapchat doesn't need to be able to identify specific faces to accomplish the task. It has to recognize a face as a face, and identify the parts of a face as the nose, eyes, ears, chin, etc., but it doesn't have to recognize who the face belongs to: this Moreover, Snapchat's Privacy Policy states that the company neither collects nor permanently stores user-created content (meaning photos and videos) let alone preserves such items in a database: states Snapchat lets you capture what its like to live in the moment. On our end, that means that we automatically delete the content of your Snaps (the photo and video messages that you send your friends) from our servers after we detect that a Snap has been opened by all recipients or has expired. And although the policy further acknowledges that Snap Inc. may share users' personal information "to comply with any valid legal process, governmental request, or applicable law, rule, or regulation" (and transparency reports show that the company has indeed complied with such requests in the past), they can't grant the FBI (or any other agency) access to a "facial recognition database" that doesn't exist. reports Some rumors die hard, however. An updated variant that cropped up in early 2017 brought two new claims to the mix: one, that the FBI literally created Snapchat's image filtering software (and alleged facial recognition database); and two, that there is a smoking gun to prove it namely U.S. patent #9396354: granted According to an analysis by Sophos' Naked Security blogger Alison Booth, the patent proposes using facial recognition software to identify individual subjects in photos, whereupon the latter would be modified and/or their distribution restricted in accordance with the subjects' pre-established privacy settings. analysis There is a catch. Implementation of the process would, of course, require amassing a facial recognition database. "For facial recognition to work," writes Booth, "Snapchat would need to store images of all users that sign up to the feature as a reference image to compare photos against." So, there it is a "facial recognition database" of the sort conspiracy theorists have been going on about since 2015, except that Snapchat has not, to date, implemented such a feature (a fact we were able to confirm with the company), nor is there evidence that the FBI (or any other law enforcement agency) was involved in creating it, nor does the patent itself mention sharing facial recognition data with government entities. Despite finding no legitimate basis for the claim that Snapchat is currently engaged in collecting, storing, or sharing facial recognition data on its users, we do not wish to downplay the increasing prevalence of facial recognition technology in both commercial and government applications, nor the privacy issues this raises. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) articulated some of these issues in a statement announcing the release of a 2015 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the privacy implications of the technology: report The newly released report raises serious concerns about how companies are collecting, using, and storing our most sensitive personal information. I believe that all Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, which is why it's important that, at the very least, the tech industry adopts strong, industry-wide standards for facial recognition technology. But what we really need are federal standards that address facial recognition privacy by enhancing our consumer privacy framework. The tech industry has yet to address these concerns to the satisfaction of consumer privacy watchdogs, however, nor has Congress made progress toward establishing the federal standards Franken called for. Thus far, issue has been dealt with primarily in the court system via cases such as the aforementioned BIPA class action lawsuits against Facebook and Google. watchdogs lawsuits One of the ironies of the false alarms about Snapchat's alleged sharing of facial recognition data with the FBI is that the agency already maintains a biometric data network comprising the facial images of more than 117 million Americans (about half the U.S. adult population, and growing), mostly drawn from state DMV databases and other non-criminal sources. A 2016 report by the Georgetown Law Center for Privacy and Technology warned that the technology is both error-prone, with a disproportionate impact on communities of color, and almost totally unregulated. already report disproportionate In testimony before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing chaired by Sen. Franken in 2012, Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Jennifer Lynch urged Congress to act sooner rather than later to protect the biometric privacy of all Americans: testimony Face recognition and its accompanying privacy concerns are not going away. Given this, it is imperative that government act now to limit unnecessary biometrics collection; instill proper protections on data collection, transfer, and search; ensure accountability; mandate independent oversight; require appropriate legal process before government collection; and define clear rules for data sharing at all levels. This is important to preserve the democratic and constitutional values that are bedrock to American society. Booth, Alison. "Snapchat Turns Facial Recognition Technology on Its Head."
Naked Security. 20 July 2016. Danley-Greiner, Kristin. "Snapchat Defends Procedures After Facial Recognition Class Action."
Legal Newsline. 2 September 2016. Garvie, Clare et al. "The Perpetual Line-up: Unregulated Police Face Recognition in America."
Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology. 18 October 2016. Graham, Meg. "Illinois Biometrics Lawsuits May Help Define Rules for Facebook, Google."
Chicago Tribune. 13 January 2017. Korte, Amy. "Federal Court in Illinois Rules Biometric Privacy Lawsuit Against Google Can Proceed."
Illinois Policy. 8 March 2017. Maass, Dave. "Memo to the DOJ: Facial Recognition's Threat to Privacy Is Worse than Anyone Thought."
Electronic Frontier Foundation. 18 October 2016. Mathies, Daven. "The Incredible Underlying Technology of Snapchat's Selfie Lenses."
Digital Trends. 1 July 2016. Nelson, Steven. "Half of U.S. Adults Are in Police Facial Recognition Networks."
US News & World Report. 18 October 2016. Roberts, Jeff John. "Tech Industry's Facial Recognition Plan Bashed by Privacy Groups."
Fortune. 16 June 2016. Thielman, Sam. "FBI Using Vast Public Photo Data and Iffy Facial Recognition Tech to Find Criminals."
The Guardian. 15 June 2016. Trujillo, Mario. "Facial Recognition Quietly Taking Hold."
The Hill. 1 August 2015. Welinder, Yana. "EFF Urges Congress to Protect Privacy in Face Recognition."
Electronic Frontier Foundation. 18 July 2012. Yakowicz, Will. "Snapchat Sued Under Illinois Biometric Information Usage Law."
Inc. 18 July 2016. Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Testimony of Jennifer Lynch to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law."
18 July 2012. Google. "Patent: Apparatus and Method for Automated Privacy Protection in Distributed Images - US 9396354 B1."
19 July 2016. Government Accounting Office. "Facial Recognition Technology: Commercial Uses, Privacy Issues, and Applicable Federal Law."
20 June 2015. U.S. Senate. "Sen. Franken: New Report on Facial Recognition Technology Highlights Lack of Privacy Standards."
30 July 2015. U.S. Senate. "Sen. Franken Releases Extensive Report Detailing Concerns with FBI Facial Recognition Program."
15 June 2016.
|
[
"accountability"
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"sentence": " TEENWOLF (@TEENWOLFREMIX) October 3, 2015"
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"sentence": " B.o.B (@bobatl) April 16, 2016"
},
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"https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3004&ChapterID=57"
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"sentence": "In May 2016, with civil cases already pending against Facebook and Google alleging unauthorized use of facial recognition technology, a class action lawsuit was filed by two Snapchat users in Illinois complaining that the app violated their rights under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to obtain adequate permission before gathering and storing their \"biometric identifiers and biometric information\"."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://legalnewsline.com/stories/510995812-snapchat-defends-procedures-after-facial-recognition-class-action"
],
"sentence": "The company flatly denied it:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.lexislegalnews.com/articles/10898/snapchat-biometrics-class-complaint-dismissed-in-favor-of-arbitration",
"https://www.snap.com/en-US/privacy/our-approach/"
],
"sentence": "The class action suit was eventually dismissed in favor of arbitration in September 2016, but as of this writing the case remains unresolved. Crucial to Snapchat's defense is their position, as stated in the Privacy Center of the company's web site, that the app relies on object recognition, not facial recognition, to make Lenses work:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.illinoispolicy.org/federal-court-in-illinois-rules-biometric-privacy-lawsuit-against-google-can-proceed/"
],
"sentence": "If it's true that Lenses can't recognize (i.e., identify) specific faces, then the claim that the app produces anything qualifying as a \"biometric identifier\" under Illinois law is seriously in doubt. (The district judge in Illinois overseeing the Google facial recognition case previously defined \"biometric identifier\" as \"a set of biology-based measurements ... used to identify a person.)"
},
{
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"sentence": "As to the wider claim that Snapchat is building a \"facial recognition database,\" the distinction between object and facial recognition, at minimum, places a burden of proof on those trumpeting the claim to show that the app is capable of identifying specific faces in the first place. If this explanation (provided by the web site Vox) of how the software works is accurate, Snapchat doesn't need to be able to identify specific faces to accomplish the task. It has to recognize a face as a face, and identify the parts of a face as the nose, eyes, ears, chin, etc., but it doesn't have to recognize who the face belongs to:"
},
{
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],
"sentence": "Moreover, Snapchat's Privacy Policy states that the company neither collects nor permanently stores user-created content (meaning photos and videos) let alone preserves such items in a database:"
},
{
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"https://www.snap.com/en-US/privacy/transparency/"
],
"sentence": "And although the policy further acknowledges that Snap Inc. may share users' personal information \"to comply with any valid legal process, governmental request, or applicable law, rule, or regulation\" (and transparency reports show that the company has indeed complied with such requests in the past), they can't grant the FBI (or any other agency) access to a \"facial recognition database\" that doesn't exist."
},
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},
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"https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-10-18/half-of-us-adults-are-in-police-facial-recognition-networks",
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"https://www.aclu.org/letter/coalition-letter-department-justice-civil-rights-division-calling-investigation-disparate"
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},
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}
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false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/snapchat-facial-recognition/
|
Is Snapchat creating a database of facial recognition for the government?
|
David Emery
|
07/26/2017
|
[
"Online conspiracy theorists claim Snapchat's image filter feature called \"Lenses\" is covertly amassing a database of users' faces to share with law enforcement agencies."
] |
One of the more whimsical messaging options offered by Snapchat a social media app for mobile devices introduced in 2011 is the ability to personalize selfies in real time and share them instantly with other users, a feature that has at once contributed to the app's immense popularity (Snapchat boasts an estimated 166 million users daily) and raised privacy concerns among some of its customers. Snapchat's rotating toolbox of image filters, called Lenses, enables users to manipulate photos and videos to humorous effect, as seen in these examples shared publicly on Instagram by celebrity Snapchatter Chrissy Teigen: Cute and innocent though it may appear, the feature has become the target of conspiracy theorists claiming that Snapchat's corporate owner, Snap Inc., uses it to collect facial recognition data which it allegedly stores and shares with law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and CIA. We've found examples of such rumors dating back to Fall 2015 (soon after the Lenses feature was officially rolled out): you guys are all swooning over the snapchat filters... And The FBI is getting the most extensive facial recognition library ever TEENWOLF (@TEENWOLFREMIX) October 3, 2015 October 3, 2015 It wasn't until April of the following year that the rumors reached takeoff speed, however, thanks largely to a tweet composed by hip hop artist, songwriter, and unabashed flat-earth theorist B.o.B to his roughly two million followers: tweet flat-earth when you realize all the snap chat filters are really building a facial recognition database ? B.o.B (@bobatl) April 16, 2016 April 16, 2016 In May 2016, with civil cases already pending against Facebook and Google alleging unauthorized use of facial recognition technology, a class action lawsuit was filed by two Snapchat users in Illinois complaining that the app violated their rights under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to obtain adequate permission before gathering and storing their "biometric identifiers and biometric information". lawsuit BIPA The company flatly denied it: denied Contrary to the claims of this frivolous lawsuit, we are very careful not to collect, store, or obtain any biometric information or identifiers about our community. The class action suit was eventually dismissed in favor of arbitration in September 2016, but as of this writing the case remains unresolved. Crucial to Snapchat's defense is their position, as stated in the Privacy Center of the company's web site, that the app relies on object recognition, not facial recognition, to make Lenses work: arbitration stated Have you ever wondered how Lenses make your eyes well up with tears or rainbows come out your mouth? Some of the magic behind Lenses is object recognition. Object recognition is an algorithm designed to understand the general nature of things that appear in an image. It lets us know that a nose is a nose or an eye is an eye. But object recognition isnt the same as facial recognition. While Lenses can recognize faces in general, they can't recognize a specific face. If it's true that Lenses can't recognize (i.e., identify) specific faces, then the claim that the app produces anything qualifying as a "biometric identifier" under Illinois law is seriously in doubt. (The district judge in Illinois overseeing the Google facial recognition case previously defined "biometric identifier" as "a set of biology-based measurements ... used to identify a person.) case As to the wider claim that Snapchat is building a "facial recognition database," the distinction between object and facial recognition, at minimum, places a burden of proof on those trumpeting the claim to show that the app is capable of identifying specific faces in the first place. If this explanation (provided by the web site Vox) of how the software works is accurate, Snapchat doesn't need to be able to identify specific faces to accomplish the task. It has to recognize a face as a face, and identify the parts of a face as the nose, eyes, ears, chin, etc., but it doesn't have to recognize who the face belongs to: this Moreover, Snapchat's Privacy Policy states that the company neither collects nor permanently stores user-created content (meaning photos and videos) let alone preserves such items in a database: states Snapchat lets you capture what its like to live in the moment. On our end, that means that we automatically delete the content of your Snaps (the photo and video messages that you send your friends) from our servers after we detect that a Snap has been opened by all recipients or has expired. And although the policy further acknowledges that Snap Inc. may share users' personal information "to comply with any valid legal process, governmental request, or applicable law, rule, or regulation" (and transparency reports show that the company has indeed complied with such requests in the past), they can't grant the FBI (or any other agency) access to a "facial recognition database" that doesn't exist. reports Some rumors die hard, however. An updated variant that cropped up in early 2017 brought two new claims to the mix: one, that the FBI literally created Snapchat's image filtering software (and alleged facial recognition database); and two, that there is a smoking gun to prove it namely U.S. patent #9396354: granted According to an analysis by Sophos' Naked Security blogger Alison Booth, the patent proposes using facial recognition software to identify individual subjects in photos, whereupon the latter would be modified and/or their distribution restricted in accordance with the subjects' pre-established privacy settings. analysis There is a catch. Implementation of the process would, of course, require amassing a facial recognition database. "For facial recognition to work," writes Booth, "Snapchat would need to store images of all users that sign up to the feature as a reference image to compare photos against." So, there it is a "facial recognition database" of the sort conspiracy theorists have been going on about since 2015, except that Snapchat has not, to date, implemented such a feature (a fact we were able to confirm with the company), nor is there evidence that the FBI (or any other law enforcement agency) was involved in creating it, nor does the patent itself mention sharing facial recognition data with government entities. Despite finding no legitimate basis for the claim that Snapchat is currently engaged in collecting, storing, or sharing facial recognition data on its users, we do not wish to downplay the increasing prevalence of facial recognition technology in both commercial and government applications, nor the privacy issues this raises. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) articulated some of these issues in a statement announcing the release of a 2015 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the privacy implications of the technology: report The newly released report raises serious concerns about how companies are collecting, using, and storing our most sensitive personal information. I believe that all Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, which is why it's important that, at the very least, the tech industry adopts strong, industry-wide standards for facial recognition technology. But what we really need are federal standards that address facial recognition privacy by enhancing our consumer privacy framework. The tech industry has yet to address these concerns to the satisfaction of consumer privacy watchdogs, however, nor has Congress made progress toward establishing the federal standards Franken called for. Thus far, issue has been dealt with primarily in the court system via cases such as the aforementioned BIPA class action lawsuits against Facebook and Google. watchdogs lawsuits One of the ironies of the false alarms about Snapchat's alleged sharing of facial recognition data with the FBI is that the agency already maintains a biometric data network comprising the facial images of more than 117 million Americans (about half the U.S. adult population, and growing), mostly drawn from state DMV databases and other non-criminal sources. A 2016 report by the Georgetown Law Center for Privacy and Technology warned that the technology is both error-prone, with a disproportionate impact on communities of color, and almost totally unregulated. already report disproportionate In testimony before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing chaired by Sen. Franken in 2012, Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Jennifer Lynch urged Congress to act sooner rather than later to protect the biometric privacy of all Americans: testimony Face recognition and its accompanying privacy concerns are not going away. Given this, it is imperative that government act now to limit unnecessary biometrics collection; instill proper protections on data collection, transfer, and search; ensure accountability; mandate independent oversight; require appropriate legal process before government collection; and define clear rules for data sharing at all levels. This is important to preserve the democratic and constitutional values that are bedrock to American society. Booth, Alison. "Snapchat Turns Facial Recognition Technology on Its Head."
Naked Security. 20 July 2016. Danley-Greiner, Kristin. "Snapchat Defends Procedures After Facial Recognition Class Action."
Legal Newsline. 2 September 2016. Garvie, Clare et al. "The Perpetual Line-up: Unregulated Police Face Recognition in America."
Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology. 18 October 2016. Graham, Meg. "Illinois Biometrics Lawsuits May Help Define Rules for Facebook, Google."
Chicago Tribune. 13 January 2017. Korte, Amy. "Federal Court in Illinois Rules Biometric Privacy Lawsuit Against Google Can Proceed."
Illinois Policy. 8 March 2017. Maass, Dave. "Memo to the DOJ: Facial Recognition's Threat to Privacy Is Worse than Anyone Thought."
Electronic Frontier Foundation. 18 October 2016. Mathies, Daven. "The Incredible Underlying Technology of Snapchat's Selfie Lenses."
Digital Trends. 1 July 2016. Nelson, Steven. "Half of U.S. Adults Are in Police Facial Recognition Networks."
US News & World Report. 18 October 2016. Roberts, Jeff John. "Tech Industry's Facial Recognition Plan Bashed by Privacy Groups."
Fortune. 16 June 2016. Thielman, Sam. "FBI Using Vast Public Photo Data and Iffy Facial Recognition Tech to Find Criminals."
The Guardian. 15 June 2016. Trujillo, Mario. "Facial Recognition Quietly Taking Hold."
The Hill. 1 August 2015. Welinder, Yana. "EFF Urges Congress to Protect Privacy in Face Recognition."
Electronic Frontier Foundation. 18 July 2012. Yakowicz, Will. "Snapchat Sued Under Illinois Biometric Information Usage Law."
Inc. 18 July 2016. Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Testimony of Jennifer Lynch to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law."
18 July 2012. Google. "Patent: Apparatus and Method for Automated Privacy Protection in Distributed Images - US 9396354 B1."
19 July 2016. Government Accounting Office. "Facial Recognition Technology: Commercial Uses, Privacy Issues, and Applicable Federal Law."
20 June 2015. U.S. Senate. "Sen. Franken: New Report on Facial Recognition Technology Highlights Lack of Privacy Standards."
30 July 2015. U.S. Senate. "Sen. Franken Releases Extensive Report Detailing Concerns with FBI Facial Recognition Program."
15 June 2016.
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"sentence": " TEENWOLF (@TEENWOLFREMIX) October 3, 2015"
},
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},
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"sentence": " B.o.B (@bobatl) April 16, 2016"
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"https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3004&ChapterID=57"
],
"sentence": "In May 2016, with civil cases already pending against Facebook and Google alleging unauthorized use of facial recognition technology, a class action lawsuit was filed by two Snapchat users in Illinois complaining that the app violated their rights under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to obtain adequate permission before gathering and storing their \"biometric identifiers and biometric information\"."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://legalnewsline.com/stories/510995812-snapchat-defends-procedures-after-facial-recognition-class-action"
],
"sentence": "The company flatly denied it:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.lexislegalnews.com/articles/10898/snapchat-biometrics-class-complaint-dismissed-in-favor-of-arbitration",
"https://www.snap.com/en-US/privacy/our-approach/"
],
"sentence": "The class action suit was eventually dismissed in favor of arbitration in September 2016, but as of this writing the case remains unresolved. Crucial to Snapchat's defense is their position, as stated in the Privacy Center of the company's web site, that the app relies on object recognition, not facial recognition, to make Lenses work:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.illinoispolicy.org/federal-court-in-illinois-rules-biometric-privacy-lawsuit-against-google-can-proceed/"
],
"sentence": "If it's true that Lenses can't recognize (i.e., identify) specific faces, then the claim that the app produces anything qualifying as a \"biometric identifier\" under Illinois law is seriously in doubt. (The district judge in Illinois overseeing the Google facial recognition case previously defined \"biometric identifier\" as \"a set of biology-based measurements ... used to identify a person.)"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc2aJxnmzh0"
],
"sentence": "As to the wider claim that Snapchat is building a \"facial recognition database,\" the distinction between object and facial recognition, at minimum, places a burden of proof on those trumpeting the claim to show that the app is capable of identifying specific faces in the first place. If this explanation (provided by the web site Vox) of how the software works is accurate, Snapchat doesn't need to be able to identify specific faces to accomplish the task. It has to recognize a face as a face, and identify the parts of a face as the nose, eyes, ears, chin, etc., but it doesn't have to recognize who the face belongs to:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snap.com/en-US/privacy/privacy-policy/"
],
"sentence": "Moreover, Snapchat's Privacy Policy states that the company neither collects nor permanently stores user-created content (meaning photos and videos) let alone preserves such items in a database:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snap.com/en-US/privacy/transparency/"
],
"sentence": "And although the policy further acknowledges that Snap Inc. may share users' personal information \"to comply with any valid legal process, governmental request, or applicable law, rule, or regulation\" (and transparency reports show that the company has indeed complied with such requests in the past), they can't grant the FBI (or any other agency) access to a \"facial recognition database\" that doesn't exist."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/07/20/snapchat-turns-facial-recognition-technology-on-its-head/"
],
"sentence": "According to an analysis by Sophos' Naked Security blogger Alison Booth, the patent proposes using facial recognition software to identify individual subjects in photos, whereupon the latter would be modified and/or their distribution restricted in accordance with the subjects' pre-established privacy settings."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-621"
],
"sentence": "Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) articulated some of these issues in a statement announcing the release of a 2015 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the privacy implications of the technology:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://fortune.com/2016/06/16/facial-recognition-plan-bashed-privacy/",
"https://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-biometric-illinois-privacy-whats-next-bsi-20170113-story.html"
],
"sentence": "The tech industry has yet to address these concerns to the satisfaction of consumer privacy watchdogs, however, nor has Congress made progress toward establishing the federal standards Franken called for. Thus far, issue has been dealt with primarily in the court system via cases such as the aforementioned BIPA class action lawsuits against Facebook and Google."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-10-18/half-of-us-adults-are-in-police-facial-recognition-networks",
"https://www.perpetuallineup.org/",
"https://www.aclu.org/letter/coalition-letter-department-justice-civil-rights-division-calling-investigation-disparate"
],
"sentence": "One of the ironies of the false alarms about Snapchat's alleged sharing of facial recognition data with the FBI is that the agency already maintains a biometric data network comprising the facial images of more than 117 million Americans (about half the U.S. adult population, and growing), mostly drawn from state DMV databases and other non-criminal sources. A 2016 report by the Georgetown Law Center for Privacy and Technology warned that the technology is both error-prone, with a disproportionate impact on communities of color, and almost totally unregulated."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.eff.org/document/testimony-jennifer-lynch-senate-committee-judiciary-subcommittee-privacy-technology-and-law"
],
"sentence": "In testimony before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing chaired by Sen. Franken in 2012, Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Jennifer Lynch urged Congress to act sooner rather than later to protect the biometric privacy of all Americans:"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/minnesota-vikings-open-their-stadium-to-shelter-the-homeless/
|
Minnesota Vikings Open Their Stadium to Shelter the Homeless
|
Dan Evon
|
12/19/2016
|
[
"Several news outlets filed reports incorrectly stating that the Minnesota Vikings had opened their stadium to shelter the homeless on a cold winter night."
] |
On 18 December 2016, Twitter user David Dellanave posted a message claiming that the Minnesota Vikings football team had opened up U.S. Bank Stadium to shelter the homeless on a particularly cold winter night: posted Although Dellanave is not a reporter or a spokesperson for the Minnesota Vikings, his message was picked up and reported as fact by several news outlets, including Yahoo News and CBS Sports: Yahoo News CBS Sports The Minnesota Vikings are embracing the Christmas spirit early and helping out the community on Sunday night. According to David Dellanave, U.S. Bank Stadium will be open to the local homeless population during a night with crazy cold temperatures. The Minnesota Vikings, however, did not open U.S. Bank Stadium on 18 December 2016 to shelter the homeless. Dellanave eventually deleted his original tweet and posted follow-up messages claiming that he had posted the false information as an attempt to draw attention to a social issue: Tweet deleted. Point was to highlight a social issue and waste of taxpayer money that could help people instead of make private profits 1/3 David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016 Zero interest in retweets or followers, have never cared and never will. 2/3 David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016 But most importantly if I thought for a second someone in need would take it seriously, wouldn't be worth the potential good. 3/3 David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016 I'm sorry if this obviously misguided attempt at highlighting a social issue hurt anyone. Didn't think a tweet would go so far & I regret it David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016
|
[
"profit"
] |
[
{
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=13cBSOf46Bhb8brH05Utzwj5e_YD4yZSl"
}
] |
[
{
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],
"sentence": "On 18 December 2016, Twitter user David Dellanave posted a message claiming that the Minnesota Vikings football team had opened up U.S. Bank Stadium to shelter the homeless on a particularly cold winter night:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/uploads/2016/12/david-dellanave.jpg",
"https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:MuPYYY2Xz94J:sports.yahoo.com/news/vikings-open-u-s-bank-stadium-to-homeless-on-record-cold-night-020250735.html+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us",
"https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:t9ShFmC9vz4J:www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/vikings-let-homeless-stay-in-u-s-bank-stadium-to-escape-freezing-temperatures/+&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us"
],
"sentence": "Although Dellanave is not a reporter or a spokesperson for the Minnesota Vikings, his message was picked up and reported as fact by several news outlets, including Yahoo News and CBS Sports:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810697351266496512"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810697507919527937"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810697814019817473"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810711682293043200"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/minnesota-vikings-open-their-stadium-to-shelter-the-homeless/
|
The Minnesota Vikings have opened their stadium to provide shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness.
|
Dan Evon
|
12/19/2016
|
[
"Several news outlets filed reports incorrectly stating that the Minnesota Vikings had opened their stadium to shelter the homeless on a cold winter night."
] |
On 18 December 2016, Twitter user David Dellanave posted a message claiming that the Minnesota Vikings football team had opened up U.S. Bank Stadium to shelter the homeless on a particularly cold winter night: posted Although Dellanave is not a reporter or a spokesperson for the Minnesota Vikings, his message was picked up and reported as fact by several news outlets, including Yahoo News and CBS Sports: Yahoo News CBS Sports The Minnesota Vikings are embracing the Christmas spirit early and helping out the community on Sunday night. According to David Dellanave, U.S. Bank Stadium will be open to the local homeless population during a night with crazy cold temperatures. The Minnesota Vikings, however, did not open U.S. Bank Stadium on 18 December 2016 to shelter the homeless. Dellanave eventually deleted his original tweet and posted follow-up messages claiming that he had posted the false information as an attempt to draw attention to a social issue: Tweet deleted. Point was to highlight a social issue and waste of taxpayer money that could help people instead of make private profits 1/3 David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016 Zero interest in retweets or followers, have never cared and never will. 2/3 David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016 But most importantly if I thought for a second someone in need would take it seriously, wouldn't be worth the potential good. 3/3 David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016 I'm sorry if this obviously misguided attempt at highlighting a social issue hurt anyone. Didn't think a tweet would go so far & I regret it David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016
|
[
"interest"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=125-klx2Bedt1B_x8lgWE6P_I7XlUnGt2"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:WVxKeML__XIJ:https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810635329984221184+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us"
],
"sentence": "On 18 December 2016, Twitter user David Dellanave posted a message claiming that the Minnesota Vikings football team had opened up U.S. Bank Stadium to shelter the homeless on a particularly cold winter night:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/uploads/2016/12/david-dellanave.jpg",
"https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:MuPYYY2Xz94J:sports.yahoo.com/news/vikings-open-u-s-bank-stadium-to-homeless-on-record-cold-night-020250735.html+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us",
"https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:t9ShFmC9vz4J:www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/vikings-let-homeless-stay-in-u-s-bank-stadium-to-escape-freezing-temperatures/+&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us"
],
"sentence": "Although Dellanave is not a reporter or a spokesperson for the Minnesota Vikings, his message was picked up and reported as fact by several news outlets, including Yahoo News and CBS Sports:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810697351266496512"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810697507919527937"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810697814019817473"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810711682293043200"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/minnesota-vikings-open-their-stadium-to-shelter-the-homeless/
|
The Minnesota Vikings have opened their stadium to provide shelter for homeless individuals.
|
Dan Evon
|
12/19/2016
|
[
"Several news outlets filed reports incorrectly stating that the Minnesota Vikings had opened their stadium to shelter the homeless on a cold winter night."
] |
On 18 December 2016, Twitter user David Dellanave posted a message claiming that the Minnesota Vikings football team had opened up U.S. Bank Stadium to shelter the homeless on a particularly cold winter night: posted Although Dellanave is not a reporter or a spokesperson for the Minnesota Vikings, his message was picked up and reported as fact by several news outlets, including Yahoo News and CBS Sports: Yahoo News CBS Sports The Minnesota Vikings are embracing the Christmas spirit early and helping out the community on Sunday night. According to David Dellanave, U.S. Bank Stadium will be open to the local homeless population during a night with crazy cold temperatures. The Minnesota Vikings, however, did not open U.S. Bank Stadium on 18 December 2016 to shelter the homeless. Dellanave eventually deleted his original tweet and posted follow-up messages claiming that he had posted the false information as an attempt to draw attention to a social issue: Tweet deleted. Point was to highlight a social issue and waste of taxpayer money that could help people instead of make private profits 1/3 David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016 Zero interest in retweets or followers, have never cared and never will. 2/3 David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016 But most importantly if I thought for a second someone in need would take it seriously, wouldn't be worth the potential good. 3/3 David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016 I'm sorry if this obviously misguided attempt at highlighting a social issue hurt anyone. Didn't think a tweet would go so far & I regret it David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016 December 19, 2016
|
[
"profit"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1S-hH4tRdNWfi2DzkZlcaxcU76Yoll1eu"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:WVxKeML__XIJ:https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810635329984221184+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us"
],
"sentence": "On 18 December 2016, Twitter user David Dellanave posted a message claiming that the Minnesota Vikings football team had opened up U.S. Bank Stadium to shelter the homeless on a particularly cold winter night:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/uploads/2016/12/david-dellanave.jpg",
"https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:MuPYYY2Xz94J:sports.yahoo.com/news/vikings-open-u-s-bank-stadium-to-homeless-on-record-cold-night-020250735.html+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us",
"https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:t9ShFmC9vz4J:www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/vikings-let-homeless-stay-in-u-s-bank-stadium-to-escape-freezing-temperatures/+&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us"
],
"sentence": "Although Dellanave is not a reporter or a spokesperson for the Minnesota Vikings, his message was picked up and reported as fact by several news outlets, including Yahoo News and CBS Sports:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810697351266496512"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810697507919527937"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810697814019817473"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ddn/status/810711682293043200"
],
"sentence": " David Dellanave (@ddn) December 19, 2016"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/asteroid-earth-clickbait-study/
|
Scientists Say Giant Asteroid Could Hit Earth Next Week, Causing Mass Devastation
|
Dan Evon
|
07/12/2016
|
[
"An article attempting to prove that most people only read headlines was published with a clickbait title about an incoming, massive asteroid."
] |
In June 2016, researchers at Columbia University and the French National Institute published a study concluding that nearly 60 percent of links shared on social media are never clicked and read that people share news stories based on headlines alone. study And what does this have to do with asteroids hitting the earth? In July 2016, Yackler Magazine published an article bearing the clickbait title, "Scientists Say Giant Asteroid Could Hit Earth Next Week, Causing Mass Devastation". While the first two paragraphs of the article were dedicated to the terrifying doomsday event, the author eventually conceded that "nah," she was "totally messing with you": article Scientists have discovered a massive asteroid that is on course to hit the Earth next week, and are scrambling to find a way to divert the object. The asteroid has been named 2016-FI and measures approximately 1 km across. If it strikes a populated area is could wipe out entire cities and potentially devastate an entire continent or nah. Im totally messing with you. Theres no asteroid (at least not about to strike next week). After the clickbait title and a little misinformation, Yackler Magazine provided some quotes from the study and explained that the article was published as a sort of experiment of their own. The article concluded with a call to its readers to use a color word while commenting to show that they had read the article: study While many readers passed the test with, well, flying colors, others shared the article about a giant asteroid heading toward earth on Facebook: shared People are more willing to share an article than read it, study co-author Arnaud Legout said in a statement. This is typical of modern information consumption. People form an opinion based on a summary, or a summary of summaries, without making the effort to go deeper. To reiterate: there's no giant asteroid heading to earth, and the frightening title was a "social experiment" to see how many people actually read the article.
|
[
"share"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1BfsDQk8wroh1lQPdZoABoGtWgGj0Z5j8"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01281190"
],
"sentence": "In June 2016, researchers at Columbia University and the French National Institute published a study concluding that nearly 60 percent of links shared on social media are never clicked and read that people share news stories based on headlines alone."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://yackler.ca/blog/2016/07/09/scientists-say-giant-asteroid-hit-earth-next-week-causing-mass-devastation/"
],
"sentence": "And what does this have to do with asteroids hitting the earth? In July 2016, Yackler Magazine published an article bearing the clickbait title, \"Scientists Say Giant Asteroid Could Hit Earth Next Week, Causing Mass Devastation\". While the first two paragraphs of the article were dedicated to the terrifying doomsday event, the author eventually conceded that \"nah,\" she was \"totally messing with you\":"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01281190"
],
"sentence": "After the clickbait title and a little misinformation, Yackler Magazine provided some quotes from the study and explained that the article was published as a sort of experiment of their own. The article concluded with a call to its readers to use a color word while commenting to show that they had read the article:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/06/16/six-in-10-of-you-will-share-this-link-without-reading-it-according-to-a-new-and-depressing-study/"
],
"sentence": "While many readers passed the test with, well, flying colors, others shared the article about a giant asteroid heading toward earth on Facebook:"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ronald-reagan-taliban-photo/
|
Is This Ronald Reagan Meeting with Taliban Leaders at the White House?
|
Dan Evon
|
03/10/2016
|
[
"A photograph showing President Reagan with a group of men at the White House is frequently miscaptioned."
] |
A photograph purportedly showing Ronald Reagan meeting with the leaders of the Taliban (Sunni Islamic fundamentalist movement) at the White House has been shared online for many years, along with a purported laudatory quote from the 40th U.S. president, "These Gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America's Founding Fathers": This enduring memeis wrong on more than one account. The group pictured here are notTaliban leaders, the photograph was not taken in 1985, and Reagan did not compare the pictured group to America's Founding Fathers. (In this particular meme, even the name "Reagan" is misspelled.) photograph According to the Ronald Reagan Library, the above-displayed photograph was taken in 1983, and it captures then-president Reagan meeting with Afghan rebel leadersto discuss the Soviet presencein Afghanistan. taken leaders Afghanistan While the Reagan administration did help fund and equip the Mujahideen in Afghanistan (and rebel groups elsewhere) so that they could fight against the Soviet occupation, it is inaccurateto say that the former president met with the Taliban, as at that point that group did not exist: fund Mujahideen Taliban This photograph is from 1983, when Reagan and the CIA were dancing around the idea of arming Mujahadin fighters in order to fight back against Soviet incursion in Afghanistan. The result was a well-armed, well-trained group of jihadis who resisted (some say defeated) the onslaught of superior Soviet weaponry. Once the Soviets retreated, the U.S. lost interest and pulled the funding. Osama bin Laden took interest, and filled the vacuum, later fathering the Taliban. The rest, as they say, is history. The quote frequently attached to this photographisaparaphrased version of something said by PresidentReagan, but he was not speaking about either the Taliban or Afghan opposition groups at the time. He made thecomment about contrarebels in Nicaragua duringa speechat theConservative Political Action Conference in 1985: contra speech Conference They are our brothers, these freedom fighters, and we owe them our help. I've spoken recently of the freedom fighters of Nicaragua. You know the truth about them. You know who they're fighting and why. They are the moral equal of our Founding Fathers and the brave men and women of the French Resistance. We cannot turn away from them, for the struggle here is not right versus left; it is right versus wrong.
|
[
"interest"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1hy_MmVwjvpEIo_QcqOof8q7piUVjU5qu"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Reagan_meets_Afghan_Mujahideen.jpg"
],
"sentence": "This enduring memeis wrong on more than one account. The group pictured here are notTaliban leaders, the photograph was not taken in 1985, and Reagan did not compare the pictured group to America's Founding Fathers. (In this particular meme, even the name \"Reagan\" is misspelled.) "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://reaganlibrary.archives.gov/archives/photographs/atwork.html",
"https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan",
"https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/reagan-foreign/"
],
"sentence": "According to the Ronald Reagan Library, the above-displayed photograph was taken in 1983, and it captures then-president Reagan meeting with Afghan rebel leadersto discuss the Soviet presencein Afghanistan."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://reaganlibrary.archives.gov/archives/speeches/1983/32183d.htm",
"https://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1986/12/updating-us-strategy-for-helping-afghan-freedom-fighters",
"https://www.businessinsider.com/reagan-freedom-fighters-taliban-foreign-policy-2013-2"
],
"sentence": "While the Reagan administration did help fund and equip the Mujahideen in Afghanistan (and rebel groups elsewhere) so that they could fight against the Soviet occupation, it is inaccurateto say that the former president met with the Taliban, as at that point that group did not exist:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB2/nsaebb2.htm",
"https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=38274",
"https://cpac.conservative.org/"
],
"sentence": "The quote frequently attached to this photographisaparaphrased version of something said by PresidentReagan, but he was not speaking about either the Taliban or Afghan opposition groups at the time. He made thecomment about contrarebels in Nicaragua duringa speechat theConservative Political Action Conference in 1985:"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/nov/11/gwen-moore/yes-it-possible-low-wage-workers-be-taxed-poverty/
|
If youre a low-wage worker and youre single and dont have children, were literally taxing you into poverty.
|
D.L. Davis
|
11/11/2021
|
[
"The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says there are about 1.1 million workers with wages at or below the federal minimum wage, making up 1.5 percent of all hourly paid workers., Moore, in her statement, did not define the terms she was using, but experts we talked to were able to create plausible scenarios and found that -- in at least limited scenarios -- she is on target"
] |
After months and months of the ongoing debate over the various plans and proposals being considered in Washington D.C., its rare to see a new argument emerge. But in an Oct. 30, 2021 appearance on MSNBC, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, offered this case for supporting President Joe Bidens Build Back Better plan. The framework is much more than a social safety net program, Moore said onVelshi, an MSNBC programhosted by author and finance correspondent Ali Velshi. I think these programs contribute as much to our growing economy as anything. What good is growth if were taxing our workers into poverty? Moore went on to say: If youre a low-wage worker and youre single and dont have children, were literally taxing you into poverty. Is Moore right? When asked to provide backup for the statement, Moores office directed PolitiFact Wisconsin to a July 2020 report from the liberalCenter on Budget and Policy Priorities. Thereport focused on a provision in the planthat would temporarily extend the Earned Income Tax Credit to about 17 million low-wage workers. The report said, in part: The federal tax code currently taxes about 5.8 million low-wage workers aged 19-65 into or deeper into poverty, because the payroll and (in some cases) federal income taxes they pay exceed any EITC they receive. Thats generally on point, but does not cover the single and no children aspect of Moores claim. So, we reached out to other experts on the topic. Lets start with the terms involved and some basic data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, does not use the phrase low-wage worker. However, the agency does publish an annual report and data on workers with hourly earnings at or below theprevailing Federal minimum wage. According to the February 2021BLS Report: In 2020, 73.3 million workers age 16 and older were paid on an hourly basis, or about 55.5 percent of all workers. About 1.1 million of those, or 1.5 percent, were paid at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Whats more, according to the report, among workers paid an hourly wage, those who were single were more likely than married workers to earn the federal minimum wage or less. And about 60 percent of those in the hourly-wage category worked in the hospitality industry, meaning bars, restaurants and food services. Low wages are common in these fields, in part because workers typically supplement their pay with tips. When asked about Moores claim,Christopher Wimer, senior research scientist at Columbia Universitys Center on Poverty & Social Policy, told us he would need more precise definitions for low-wage, worker and even single without children. Since Moores statement did not address those details, Wimer, who conducts research on the measurement of poverty and disadvantage as well as historical trends in poverty, constructed his own measurement. He chose 2017 to 2019, because 2020 was an unusual year with COVID-19 job losses, stimulus payments and more. He defined low-wage as being in the bottom quartile -- that is the bottom 25% -- of annual income from wage and salary income (among those with at least some wage and salary income, so a worker). Then he selected adults who lived with no other family members (including any children, so single with no children). The bottomline: For those folks, their poverty rates are indeed higher after you use after-tax income. That is, about 49 percent fall under the poverty rate after taxes, but if you take out federal, state and payroll taxes, the figure would be more like 41 percent. Elaine Maag, a principal research associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute, said Moore's comment is not only plausible, but in limited contexts -- true. Maag pointed out that in 2020, the official poverty threshold for a single person under age 65 with no children in the home was $13,465. (For a married couple younger than 65 with no children, the threshold was $17,331.) If I select a household with income just above that threshold, you can see that after tax, their income will be below $13,465, Maag said. Moore said If youre a low-wage worker and youre single and dont have children, were literally taxing you into poverty. Moore, in her statement, did not define the terms she was using, but experts we talked to were able to create plausible scenarios and found that -- in at least limited scenarios -- she is on target. For a statement that is accurate but needs clarification or additional information, our rating is Mostly True.
|
[
"Economy",
"Poverty",
"Workers",
"Taxes",
"Wisconsin"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watch/rep-gwen-moore-what-s-the-sake-of-growth-for-the-sake-of-growth-if-it-all-just-goes-straight-to-the-top-124991557724"
],
"sentence": "The framework is much more than a social safety net program, Moore said onVelshi, an MSNBC programhosted by author and finance correspondent Ali Velshi. I think these programs contribute as much to our growing economy as anything. What good is growth if were taxing our workers into poverty?"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/temporarily-expanding-child-tax-credit-and-earned-income-tax-credit-would"
],
"sentence": "When asked to provide backup for the statement, Moores office directed PolitiFact Wisconsin to a July 2020 report from the liberalCenter on Budget and Policy Priorities."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/temporarily-expanding-child-tax-credit-and-earned-income-tax-credit-would"
],
"sentence": "Thereport focused on a provision in the planthat would temporarily extend the Earned Income Tax Credit to about 17 million low-wage workers. The report said, in part:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm#minwage"
],
"sentence": "The Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, does not use the phrase low-wage worker. However, the agency does publish an annual report and data on workers with hourly earnings at or below theprevailing Federal minimum wage."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2020/home.htm"
],
"sentence": "According to the February 2021BLS Report:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://socialwork.columbia.edu/faculty-research/faculty/research-scientists/christopher-wimer/"
],
"sentence": "When asked about Moores claim,Christopher Wimer, senior research scientist at Columbia Universitys Center on Poverty & Social Policy, told us he would need more precise definitions for low-wage, worker and even single without children."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/author/elaine-maag"
],
"sentence": "Elaine Maag, a principal research associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute, said Moore's comment is not only plausible, but in limited contexts -- true."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pelosi-usps-husband-meme/
|
Did Pelosi Pass a Bill Allowing Her Husband To Make Millions Selling USPS Property?
|
Bethania Palma
|
08/29/2020
|
[
"A meme circulating on Facebook appears to be a rehash of another version from 2013."
] |
In late August 2020, readers inquired about a meme circulating on Facebook that claimed falsely that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had rigged legislation to help her husband benefit financially from selling off property belonging to the U.S. Postal Service. The meme's text reads: This is Paul Pelosi (aka, Nancys Husband). He owns Financial Leasing Services LLC, a San Francisco based Real Estate and Venture Capitalist Firm. His net worth is 120 million. Why is this important? His wife sits on the House Appropriations committee. This committee appropriates funds to the United States Postal Service ( and others). Why is this important? Easy. She passed a bill to sell off 9 billion dollars ( yes 9 BILLION WITH a [smile emoji] worth of FEDERALLY OWNED POST OFFICE PROPERTY AND AWARDED THE THE CONTRACT TO, none other, Financial Leasing Services LLC. Her husbands firm. Why is this important? The commissions rate was set at 9%. That is almost a 1 BILLION dollar contract. If thats not enough, lets look at the new stimulus package. Nancy wants 25 billion in the stimulus package for the postal service where only 1.25 billion goes to making sure voting ballots are legit. The other 23.5 billion is going to upgrading the facilities so they are more attractive to potential buyers for her husbands firm. Corrupt to the core. It's true that Speaker Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi owns and operates Financial Leasing Services, a San Francisco-based investment company. Financial disclosures in 2018, the most recent available, show Speaker Pelosi's estimated net worth to be $114 million. owns estimated But Speaker Pelosi doesn't sit on the House Appropriations Committee. Her spokesman Drew Hammill told us by email she hasn't been on the committee since 2002. Furthermore, we found no evidence that a bill to sell off $9 billion-worth of federally-owned U.S. Postal Service property exists. doesn't sit It's true that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would, if signed into law, provide $25 billion to shore up the Postal Service and rectify delays in mail delivery service, but it doesn't allocate $1.25 billion toward "making sure voting ballots are legit." The funding was originally on the table during negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus package, but those negotiations broke down. Whether the stand-alone Postal Service funding bill will be signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely. bill originally unlikely The meme seems to be a rehash of a similar one that dates back to 2013 except in that case the subject of the claim was Richard Blum, the husband of U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., who like Pelosi hails from San Francisco. similar one Mikkelson, David. "Did Dianne Feinstein Get Her Husbands Company a USPS Contract?" Snopes. 23 April 2013. Rayome, Alison DeNisco. "What the New USPS Bill Means for the Next Stimulus Package." CNET. 24 August 2020. Pramuk, Jacob. "House Passes Bill to Put $25 Billion Into USPS and Reverse Changes Amid Uproar." CNBC. 22 August 2020. Henney, Megan. "How Much Money is Nancy Pelosi Worth?" Yahoo! News. 17 July 2020. Wildermuth, John. "Pelosi's Husband Prefers a Low Profile." San Francisco Chronicle. 1 January 2007.
|
[
"funds"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1bmURqjF1c-caIrqc3jDYZkCZw9tSFMhJ"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Pelosi-s-husband-prefers-a-low-profile-2660253.php",
"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/much-money-nancy-pelosi-worth-202452588.html"
],
"sentence": "It's true that Speaker Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi owns and operates Financial Leasing Services, a San Francisco-based investment company. Financial disclosures in 2018, the most recent available, show Speaker Pelosi's estimated net worth to be $114 million."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://appropriations.house.gov/about/membership"
],
"sentence": "But Speaker Pelosi doesn't sit on the House Appropriations Committee. Her spokesman Drew Hammill told us by email she hasn't been on the committee since 2002. Furthermore, we found no evidence that a bill to sell off $9 billion-worth of federally-owned U.S. Postal Service property exists."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-passes-chairwoman-maloney-s-delivering-for-america-act",
"https://www.cnet.com/how-to/what-the-new-usps-bill-means-for-the-next-stimulus-package/",
"https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/22/usps-news-house-passes-postal-service-funding-bill.html"
],
"sentence": "It's true that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would, if signed into law, provide $25 billion to shore up the Postal Service and rectify delays in mail delivery service, but it doesn't allocate $1.25 billion toward \"making sure voting ballots are legit.\" The funding was originally on the table during negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus package, but those negotiations broke down. Whether the stand-alone Postal Service funding bill will be signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/feinstein-blum-usps/"
],
"sentence": "The meme seems to be a rehash of a similar one that dates back to 2013 except in that case the subject of the claim was Richard Blum, the husband of U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., who like Pelosi hails from San Francisco."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pelosi-usps-husband-meme/
|
Was a bill passed by Pelosi that enabled her husband to earn millions by selling USPS property?
|
Bethania Palma
|
08/29/2020
|
[
"A meme circulating on Facebook appears to be a rehash of another version from 2013."
] |
In late August 2020, readers inquired about a meme circulating on Facebook that claimed falsely that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had rigged legislation to help her husband benefit financially from selling off property belonging to the U.S. Postal Service. The meme's text reads: This is Paul Pelosi (aka, Nancys Husband). He owns Financial Leasing Services LLC, a San Francisco based Real Estate and Venture Capitalist Firm. His net worth is 120 million. Why is this important? His wife sits on the House Appropriations committee. This committee appropriates funds to the United States Postal Service ( and others). Why is this important? Easy. She passed a bill to sell off 9 billion dollars ( yes 9 BILLION WITH a [smile emoji] worth of FEDERALLY OWNED POST OFFICE PROPERTY AND AWARDED THE THE CONTRACT TO, none other, Financial Leasing Services LLC. Her husbands firm. Why is this important? The commissions rate was set at 9%. That is almost a 1 BILLION dollar contract. If thats not enough, lets look at the new stimulus package. Nancy wants 25 billion in the stimulus package for the postal service where only 1.25 billion goes to making sure voting ballots are legit. The other 23.5 billion is going to upgrading the facilities so they are more attractive to potential buyers for her husbands firm. Corrupt to the core. It's true that Speaker Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi owns and operates Financial Leasing Services, a San Francisco-based investment company. Financial disclosures in 2018, the most recent available, show Speaker Pelosi's estimated net worth to be $114 million. owns estimated But Speaker Pelosi doesn't sit on the House Appropriations Committee. Her spokesman Drew Hammill told us by email she hasn't been on the committee since 2002. Furthermore, we found no evidence that a bill to sell off $9 billion-worth of federally-owned U.S. Postal Service property exists. doesn't sit It's true that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would, if signed into law, provide $25 billion to shore up the Postal Service and rectify delays in mail delivery service, but it doesn't allocate $1.25 billion toward "making sure voting ballots are legit." The funding was originally on the table during negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus package, but those negotiations broke down. Whether the stand-alone Postal Service funding bill will be signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely. bill originally unlikely The meme seems to be a rehash of a similar one that dates back to 2013 except in that case the subject of the claim was Richard Blum, the husband of U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., who like Pelosi hails from San Francisco. similar one Mikkelson, David. "Did Dianne Feinstein Get Her Husbands Company a USPS Contract?" Snopes. 23 April 2013. Rayome, Alison DeNisco. "What the New USPS Bill Means for the Next Stimulus Package." CNET. 24 August 2020. Pramuk, Jacob. "House Passes Bill to Put $25 Billion Into USPS and Reverse Changes Amid Uproar." CNBC. 22 August 2020. Henney, Megan. "How Much Money is Nancy Pelosi Worth?" Yahoo! News. 17 July 2020. Wildermuth, John. "Pelosi's Husband Prefers a Low Profile." San Francisco Chronicle. 1 January 2007.
|
[
"investment"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1RkoGT82FchkfAlBOkyGsGC6JjkOcdqPo"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Pelosi-s-husband-prefers-a-low-profile-2660253.php",
"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/much-money-nancy-pelosi-worth-202452588.html"
],
"sentence": "It's true that Speaker Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi owns and operates Financial Leasing Services, a San Francisco-based investment company. Financial disclosures in 2018, the most recent available, show Speaker Pelosi's estimated net worth to be $114 million."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://appropriations.house.gov/about/membership"
],
"sentence": "But Speaker Pelosi doesn't sit on the House Appropriations Committee. Her spokesman Drew Hammill told us by email she hasn't been on the committee since 2002. Furthermore, we found no evidence that a bill to sell off $9 billion-worth of federally-owned U.S. Postal Service property exists."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-passes-chairwoman-maloney-s-delivering-for-america-act",
"https://www.cnet.com/how-to/what-the-new-usps-bill-means-for-the-next-stimulus-package/",
"https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/22/usps-news-house-passes-postal-service-funding-bill.html"
],
"sentence": "It's true that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would, if signed into law, provide $25 billion to shore up the Postal Service and rectify delays in mail delivery service, but it doesn't allocate $1.25 billion toward \"making sure voting ballots are legit.\" The funding was originally on the table during negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus package, but those negotiations broke down. Whether the stand-alone Postal Service funding bill will be signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/feinstein-blum-usps/"
],
"sentence": "The meme seems to be a rehash of a similar one that dates back to 2013 except in that case the subject of the claim was Richard Blum, the husband of U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., who like Pelosi hails from San Francisco."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pelosi-usps-husband-meme/
|
Was a bill passed by Pelosi that allowed her husband to profit millions from selling USPS property?
|
Bethania Palma
|
08/29/2020
|
[
"A meme circulating on Facebook appears to be a rehash of another version from 2013."
] |
In late August 2020, readers inquired about a meme circulating on Facebook that claimed falsely that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had rigged legislation to help her husband benefit financially from selling off property belonging to the U.S. Postal Service. The meme's text reads: This is Paul Pelosi (aka, Nancys Husband). He owns Financial Leasing Services LLC, a San Francisco based Real Estate and Venture Capitalist Firm. His net worth is 120 million. Why is this important? His wife sits on the House Appropriations committee. This committee appropriates funds to the United States Postal Service ( and others). Why is this important? Easy. She passed a bill to sell off 9 billion dollars ( yes 9 BILLION WITH a [smile emoji] worth of FEDERALLY OWNED POST OFFICE PROPERTY AND AWARDED THE THE CONTRACT TO, none other, Financial Leasing Services LLC. Her husbands firm. Why is this important? The commissions rate was set at 9%. That is almost a 1 BILLION dollar contract. If thats not enough, lets look at the new stimulus package. Nancy wants 25 billion in the stimulus package for the postal service where only 1.25 billion goes to making sure voting ballots are legit. The other 23.5 billion is going to upgrading the facilities so they are more attractive to potential buyers for her husbands firm. Corrupt to the core. It's true that Speaker Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi owns and operates Financial Leasing Services, a San Francisco-based investment company. Financial disclosures in 2018, the most recent available, show Speaker Pelosi's estimated net worth to be $114 million. owns estimated But Speaker Pelosi doesn't sit on the House Appropriations Committee. Her spokesman Drew Hammill told us by email she hasn't been on the committee since 2002. Furthermore, we found no evidence that a bill to sell off $9 billion-worth of federally-owned U.S. Postal Service property exists. doesn't sit It's true that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would, if signed into law, provide $25 billion to shore up the Postal Service and rectify delays in mail delivery service, but it doesn't allocate $1.25 billion toward "making sure voting ballots are legit." The funding was originally on the table during negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus package, but those negotiations broke down. Whether the stand-alone Postal Service funding bill will be signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely. bill originally unlikely The meme seems to be a rehash of a similar one that dates back to 2013 except in that case the subject of the claim was Richard Blum, the husband of U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., who like Pelosi hails from San Francisco. similar one Mikkelson, David. "Did Dianne Feinstein Get Her Husbands Company a USPS Contract?" Snopes. 23 April 2013. Rayome, Alison DeNisco. "What the New USPS Bill Means for the Next Stimulus Package." CNET. 24 August 2020. Pramuk, Jacob. "House Passes Bill to Put $25 Billion Into USPS and Reverse Changes Amid Uproar." CNBC. 22 August 2020. Henney, Megan. "How Much Money is Nancy Pelosi Worth?" Yahoo! News. 17 July 2020. Wildermuth, John. "Pelosi's Husband Prefers a Low Profile." San Francisco Chronicle. 1 January 2007.
|
[
"funds"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1dEwBIExNNZCR11f7mPgXIn9W0m7u8T5k"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Pelosi-s-husband-prefers-a-low-profile-2660253.php",
"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/much-money-nancy-pelosi-worth-202452588.html"
],
"sentence": "It's true that Speaker Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi owns and operates Financial Leasing Services, a San Francisco-based investment company. Financial disclosures in 2018, the most recent available, show Speaker Pelosi's estimated net worth to be $114 million."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://appropriations.house.gov/about/membership"
],
"sentence": "But Speaker Pelosi doesn't sit on the House Appropriations Committee. Her spokesman Drew Hammill told us by email she hasn't been on the committee since 2002. Furthermore, we found no evidence that a bill to sell off $9 billion-worth of federally-owned U.S. Postal Service property exists."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-passes-chairwoman-maloney-s-delivering-for-america-act",
"https://www.cnet.com/how-to/what-the-new-usps-bill-means-for-the-next-stimulus-package/",
"https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/22/usps-news-house-passes-postal-service-funding-bill.html"
],
"sentence": "It's true that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would, if signed into law, provide $25 billion to shore up the Postal Service and rectify delays in mail delivery service, but it doesn't allocate $1.25 billion toward \"making sure voting ballots are legit.\" The funding was originally on the table during negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus package, but those negotiations broke down. Whether the stand-alone Postal Service funding bill will be signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/feinstein-blum-usps/"
],
"sentence": "The meme seems to be a rehash of a similar one that dates back to 2013 except in that case the subject of the claim was Richard Blum, the husband of U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., who like Pelosi hails from San Francisco."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/degrasse-tyson-robbed-a-dope-dealer-in-harlem/
|
DeGrasse Tyson Robbed 'a Dope Dealer in Harlem'
|
Kim LaCapria
|
12/26/2016
|
[
"Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson did not convey a bizarre tale of robbing a drug dealer of LSD when explaining the impetus for his career."
] |
In mid-2014 an odd image macro involving celebrity astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson began circulating, supposedly quoting Tyson as attributing his interest in astrological physics to stealing and consuming a large quantity of LSD as a young teenager: image macro circulating Let me tell you a story. When I was 13, I robbed a dope dealer in Harlem. The next day, I took 40 hits of LSD and stared at the sun for hours. That is the moment I knew that I had to become an astrological physicist. The quote was spread widely across social media, with many users wisely questioning whether the comment actually originated with Tyson: questioning Although the image and its commentary were easily found in social media posts published from mid-2014 onward, what was missing from all of them was links to any credible direct or anecdotal evidence that the quote came from Tyson himself. Such a bizarre comment would certainly have been worthy of publication, but no news outlets ever covered the putative remarks or provided context for them. The words appear to exist only in image macro form. That the purported Neil DeGrasse Tyson quote referenced a notorious 1960s-era urban legend suggested it was an obvious fake. And concise biographical information published about Tyson's early life states that his interest in science and space began at the age of nine, after he visited the sky theater of the Hayden Planetarium in New York. Neil DeGrasse Tyson urban legend
|
[
"interest"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=15GGTy9j8tFoYfqAcXQbN8J-uciARKfEz"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.is/U4wpl",
"https://archive.is/Mqvfr"
],
"sentence": "In mid-2014 an odd image macro involving celebrity astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson began circulating, supposedly quoting Tyson as attributing his interest in astrological physics to stealing and consuming a large quantity of LSD as a young teenager:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.is/LnQeK"
],
"sentence": "The quote was spread widely across social media, with many users wisely questioning whether the comment actually originated with Tyson:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson",
"https://www.snopes.com/horrors/drugs/lsdsun.asp"
],
"sentence": "That the purported Neil DeGrasse Tyson quote referenced a notorious 1960s-era urban legend suggested it was an obvious fake. And concise biographical information published about Tyson's early life states that his interest in science and space began at the age of nine, after he visited the sky theater of the Hayden Planetarium in New York."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/take-me-out-of-the-ball-game/
|
Russian Star Has Testicles Stolen
|
David Mikkelson
|
02/26/2015
|
[
"Rumor: A Russian actor was drugged and his testicles stolen by an attractive stranger."
] |
Claim: A Russian man was drugged and his testicles stolen by an attractive stranger. PROBABLY Example: [Collected via e-mail, February 2015] There appears to be a new version of the kidney robbery articlegoing around. kidney robbery Now the Daily Mail in the UK has just published an article about a famousRussian actor (but not showing his face, but showing his name) beingdrugged and having his testicles stolen: Origins: On 26 February 2015, the British newspaper the Daily Mail published an article titled "Married TV actor wakes up to find his testicles have been STOLEN after he is drugged in Russian bar by attractive blonde working for organ traffickers." As the example quoted above observed, the article bore many hallmarks of long-circulating urban legends involving organ theft (often as the result article urban legends of an illicit or otherwise immoral sexual encounter). According to the article, 30-year-old married Russian celebrity Dmitry Nikolaev met a blonde stranger in a bar in Moscow. After he (presumably) pursued an extramarital encounter with the woman, he awoke to unexplained and severe pain in the area of his groin and was later informed by doctors that his testicles had been removed (without his knowledge or consent). Moreover, the site claimed, the surgical procedure was performed by a skilled individual and likely resulted from a larger organized crime outfit trafficking in human organs. Neither the Daily Mail nor the Russian news source to which it referred provided any date, specific location, or other verifiable details of the alleged crime. The narrative stated that the man was transported to a hospital and only learned after an examination that his testicles had been removed, which does not sound particularly likely given even a layperson's ability to detect whether or not he currently possesses testes. It's possible that the news source intended to imply the man's testicles were replaced with prosthetics, but the nature of his injury was not detailed: referred They kissed and had some more beer and after that the actor remembers nothing,' said a police source. He woke up next day at a bus stop, feeling acute pain, and with blood on his trousers. Rushed to hospital, he was told that his testicles had been removed and that 'it was done like proper surgery by someone with a medical education'. The operation was conducted in a 'skillful way', said police, who believe his beer was spiked by an unknown drug. As discussed elsewhere on this site, the usefulness of such a donation (willing or not) is debatable. It's highly unlikely a crime such as the one described truly constitutes a profit center for gangs in any country, as testicles are neither a commonly purchased medical commodity nor a commonly transplanted organ, and organs of any description are delicate and difficult to transport. donation Finally, the manner in which the site partially obscured the purported victim's identity was atypical and suspicious. While the man's face was pixelated, his full name, age, and general location were utilized by the Russian news outlet from which the Daily Mail sourced the story. The translated article from which the claims arose concluded with a claim that the man's wife remained ignorant of his experience, which is rather implausible given that his full name and other identifying details were released by the media: Interestingly, the wife of the injured man is still convinced that her husband was in the hospital because of surgery on the genitals caused by a serious illness. Last updated: 26 February 2015
|
[
"profit"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://i.imgur.com/4dxA5ZM.jpg"
},
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://i.imgur.com/tj6bnMI.jpg"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"/horrors/robbery/kidney.asp"
],
"sentence": "There appears to be a new version of the kidney robbery articlegoing around. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.donotlink.com/dvlx",
"horrors/robbery/kidney.asp"
],
"sentence": "Origins: On 26 February 2015, the British newspaper the Daily Mail published an article titled \"Married TV actor wakes up to find his testicles have been STOLEN after he is drugged in Russian bar by attractive blonde working for organ traffickers.\" As the example quoted above observed, the article bore many hallmarks of long-circulating urban legends involving organ theft (often as the result "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://lifenews.ru/news/150348"
],
"sentence": "Neither the Daily Mail nor the Russian news source to which it referred provided any date, specific location, or other verifiable details of the alleged crime. The narrative stated that the man was transported to a hospital and only learned after an examination that his testicles had been removed, which does not sound particularly likely given even a layperson's ability to detect whether or not he currently possesses testes. It's possible that the news source intended to imply the man's testicles were replaced with prosthetics, but the nature of his injury was not detailed:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"/college/medical/testicle.asp"
],
"sentence": "As discussed elsewhere on this site, the usefulness of such a donation (willing or not) is debatable. It's highly unlikely a crime such as the one described truly constitutes a profit center for gangs in any country, as testicles are neither a commonly purchased medical commodity nor a commonly transplanted organ, and organs of any description are delicate and difficult to transport."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2012/jun/11/diane-black/tennessee-congresswoman-diane-black-says-jobless-r/
|
The United States has experienced 40 straight months of unemployment at 8 percent or higher.
|
Michael Collins
|
06/11/2012
|
[] |
When the governmentsjobs reportfor May offered a bleak picture of the economy, with employers adding just 69,000 jobs in May, U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R-Gallatin, and other lawmakers expressed their frustrations, often in very partisan terms.The report said the unemployment rate edged up slightly to 8.2 percent, from 8.1 percent in April, and Black issued a press release that among other things said the prospects for unemployed or underemployed Americans finding full-time work are not very good after 40 straight months of unemployment at 8 percent or higher.We know the unemployment has remained stubbornly high, but has it really been at 8 percent or higher for 40 straight months?For the purposes of this ruling, we're only going to look closely at the statistics Black cited and stay out of the political blame game. Suffice to say, its not hard to find Republicans blaming Democratic policies and Democrats blaming Republican obstruction for the inability to move the economy closer to full employment.We called Blacks office and asked them to back up the claim. Her spokeswoman, Allison Huff, pointed us to achartcompiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is the gold standard for unemployment statistics.According to the bureau, the last time unemployment was below 8 percent was in January 2009, when it was 7.8 percent -- it then spiked quickly to 8.3 percent in February of 2009 and to 9.4 percent by May before topping out at 10.0 percent in October of 2009. It dropped gradually from there, and the May report listing unemployment at 8.2 percent marked the 40th consecutive month it has been at 8 percent or higher.As dismal as that may be, its not the record.The rate of unemployment in the United States has exceeded 8 percent since February 2009, making the past three years the longest stretch of high unemployment in this country since the Great Depression, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported in astudyin February 2012.In the Great Depression era, unemployment topped 15 percent annually for six straight years, from 1931 to 1936, and never fell below 8.7 percent over 12 years, according toestimatesadopted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In four consecutive years, unemployment exceeded 20 percent a year.Our colleagues at PolitiFact National cited those figures when they rated asFalsea claim by Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, who said, We have unemployment that rivals the Great Depression.There is a qualifier, though. The Depression-era unemployment data counted those age 14 and up, not 16 and up (the standard that began in 1948). In addition, monthly unemployment statistics were not kept until 1948 as well. Thus, all statistics during the Great Depression were on an annual basis.Our rulingRep. Black did not go as far as some other Republicans and claim that unemployment is as bad as during the Great Depression. She merely said it has been at 8 percent or higher for 40 straight months. Based upon the governments own data, we rate her statement as True.
|
[
"Tennessee",
"Economy",
"Jobs"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm"
],
"sentence": "When the governmentsjobs reportfor May offered a bleak picture of the economy, with employers adding just 69,000 jobs in May, U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R-Gallatin, and other lawmakers expressed their frustrations, often in very partisan terms.The report said the unemployment rate edged up slightly to 8.2 percent, from 8.1 percent in April, and Black issued a press release that among other things said the prospects for unemployed or underemployed Americans finding full-time work are not very good after 40 straight months of unemployment at 8 percent or higher.We know the unemployment has remained stubbornly high, but has it really been at 8 percent or higher for 40 straight months?For the purposes of this ruling, we're only going to look closely at the statistics Black cited and stay out of the political blame game. Suffice to say, its not hard to find Republicans blaming Democratic policies and Democrats blaming Republican obstruction for the inability to move the economy closer to full employment.We called Blacks office and asked them to back up the claim. Her spokeswoman, Allison Huff, pointed us to achartcompiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is the gold standard for unemployment statistics.According to the bureau, the last time unemployment was below 8 percent was in January 2009, when it was 7.8 percent -- it then spiked quickly to 8.3 percent in February of 2009 and to 9.4 percent by May before topping out at 10.0 percent in October of 2009. It dropped gradually from there, and the May report listing unemployment at 8.2 percent marked the 40th consecutive month it has been at 8 percent or higher.As dismal as that may be, its not the record.The rate of unemployment in the United States has exceeded 8 percent since February 2009, making the past three years the longest stretch of high unemployment in this country since the Great Depression, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported in astudyin February 2012.In the Great Depression era, unemployment topped 15 percent annually for six straight years, from 1931 to 1936, and never fell below 8.7 percent over 12 years, according toestimatesadopted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In four consecutive years, unemployment exceeded 20 percent a year.Our colleagues at PolitiFact National cited those figures when they rated asFalsea claim by Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, who said, We have unemployment that rivals the Great Depression.There is a qualifier, though. The Depression-era unemployment data counted those age 14 and up, not 16 and up (the standard that began in 1948). In addition, monthly unemployment statistics were not kept until 1948 as well. Thus, all statistics during the Great Depression were on an annual basis.Our rulingRep. Black did not go as far as some other Republicans and claim that unemployment is as bad as during the Great Depression. She merely said it has been at 8 percent or higher for 40 straight months. Based upon the governments own data, we rate her statement as True."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chick-fil-a-17-starting-wage/
|
Does Chick-fil-A Pay a $17 Starting Wage?
|
Dan Evon
|
09/17/2019
|
[
"Company spokesperson: \"Chick-fil-A restaurants are individually owned and operated, so wage decisions are made at the local level.\" "
] |
A photograph supposedly showing a help-wanted bulletin featuring a starting wage of $16.50 for a position at a Chick-fil-A restaurant was widely circulated on Facebook in August 2019: Facebook This single photograph of this lone sign led some viewers to believe that a starting wage of $16.50 was available at all Chick-fil-A locations. But that isn't the case. For starters, the sign notes that this wage is "based on position and availability." In other words, this wage isn't available to all new hires. Furthermore, Chick-fil-A restaurants are individually owned, meaning wages vary depending on location. While some Chick-fil-A franchises may offer similar wages to those featured on this sign, the wage is not a company-wide policy. This photograph was taken at a Chick-Fil-A in Pleasanton, California. In July 2019, this Chick-fil-A location posted a similar flyer to their Facebook page: This isn't the only Chick-fil-A restaurant that is offering close to $17 an hour. Another Chick-fil-A restaurant in Sacramento, California, raised its starting wage to $17 hour. raised its starting wage Eric Mason, owner of the Sacramento Chick-fil-A, told a television station in June 2019 that he was hoping to attract "hospitality professionals" with his new wage offer. television station According to a CBS News report: report The owner of a Chick-fil-A location in Sacramento, California, calls it a "living wage." In Eric Mason's view, that would be $17 or $18 an hour, which is what he vows he'll be paying his workers, starting Monday, June 4. The rate represents a sizable increase for employees now making $12 to $13 an hour. "As the owner, I'm looking at it big-picture and long-term," Mason told a local news station. "What that does for the business is provide consistency, someone that has relationships with our guests, and it's going to be building a long-term culture." While at least two Chick-fil-A restaurants are truly offering starting wages close to $17 an hour, this pay is not available at all Chick-fil-A locations. According to Payscale, a company that surveys employees and employers for information about wages, the average hourly rate for a Chick-fil-A employee is about $10 an hour. Payscale A spokesperson for the company told us that because Chick-fil-A restaurants are individually owned, franchise owners set their own wages: Chick-fil-A restaurants are individually owned and operated, so wage decisions are made at the local level. With that said, Chick-fil-A strives to create a compelling employment value proposition including competitive wages, leadership development opportunities and scholarships. In fact, since 1973, Chick-fil-A has helped 53,000 Team Members attend college through a total investment of $75 million in scholarships. While the wage mentioned on the above-displayed sign does not apply to all Chick-fil-A locations or positions, the company truly does offer "scholarship opportunities." The company writes on its website: website We offer college scholarship opportunities and tuition discounts Chick-fil-A, Inc. recognizes and appreciates the tremendous talent and capabilities of Team Members working at their local Chick-fil-A restaurants. To help invest in their futures, Chick-fil-A restaurant Team Members can apply for college scholarships, as well as receive tuition discounts at dozens of universities across the U.S. Wang, Frances. "Sacramento Chick-Fil-A Hiring 'Hospitality Professionals' for $17 an Hour."
ABC 10. 26 March 2018. Gibson, Kate. "Chick-fil-A Store Owner Raises Minimum Wage to $17 an Hour 'Living Wage.'"
CBS News. 7 June 2019. Updated [18 September 2019]: Added statement from Chick-fil-A and information about the origins of the photograph.
|
[
"investment"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1LRDwx6DH5Adpn6VuuE4vMGPTor4PvtwS"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2418254284900361&set=a.123344777724668&type=1&theater"
],
"sentence": "A photograph supposedly showing a help-wanted bulletin featuring a starting wage of $16.50 for a position at a Chick-fil-A restaurant was widely circulated on Facebook in August 2019:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/uploads/2019/09/chick-fil-a.jpg"
],
"sentence": "This single photograph of this lone sign led some viewers to believe that a starting wage of $16.50 was available at all Chick-fil-A locations. But that isn't the case."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chick-fil-a-store-owner-raises-wages-to-17-or-18-an-hour-minimum-wage-living-wage/"
],
"sentence": "This isn't the only Chick-fil-A restaurant that is offering close to $17 an hour. Another Chick-fil-A restaurant in Sacramento, California, raised its starting wage to $17 hour."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-chick-fil-a-hiring-hospitality-professionals-for-17-an-hour/103-558877566"
],
"sentence": "Eric Mason, owner of the Sacramento Chick-fil-A, told a television station in June 2019 that he was hoping to attract \"hospitality professionals\" with his new wage offer."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chick-fil-a-store-owner-raises-wages-to-17-or-18-an-hour-minimum-wage-living-wage/"
],
"sentence": "According to a CBS News report:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Employer=Chick-Fil-A_Inc/Hourly_Rate"
],
"sentence": "While at least two Chick-fil-A restaurants are truly offering starting wages close to $17 an hour, this pay is not available at all Chick-fil-A locations. According to Payscale, a company that surveys employees and employers for information about wages, the average hourly rate for a Chick-fil-A employee is about $10 an hour. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.chick-fil-a.com/careers/team-member-employment"
],
"sentence": "The company writes on its website:"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/experts-officials-pandemic-2018/
|
Did Experts and Officials Warn in 2018 US Couldn't Respond Effectively to a Pandemic?
|
Bethania Palma
|
04/01/2020
|
[
"Such individuals have made repeated warnings about U.S. readiness in the event of a pandemic."
] |
In late March and early April 2020, social media users revisited a 2018 tweet posted by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Senior Fellow Stephen Schwartz, in which he paraphrased a Washington Post article that reported the Trump administration had disbanded the National Security Council's pandemic response team. tweet Stephen Schwartz article The tweet, dated May 10, 2018, read, "When the next pandemic occurs (and make no mistake, it will) and the federal government is unable to respond in a coordinated and effective fashion to protect the lives of US citizens and others, this decision by John Bolton and Donald Trump will be why."Some who shared the tweet amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 pointed to the date of the tweet and noted its apparent prescience. But Schwartz followed up on March 15, 2020, by thanking the experts quoted in the article, who themselves raised the alarm that the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration regarding pandemic preparedness left the United States vulnerable:The people tagged in Schwartz' tweet are global health and development advocate Carolyn Reynolds; Jeremy Konyndyk, who led foreign disaster assistance for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under President Barack Obama; and Luciana Borio, former director for the National Security Council's Medical and Biodefense Preparedness under Trump. tweet followed up Those three were quoted in the Post's 2018 report in the following passage: This week, the administration released a list of $15 billion in spending cuts it wants Congress to approve. Among the targets is $252 million in unused funds remaining from the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people, far exceeding the combined total cases reported in about 20 previous outbreaks since the 1970s. list of $15 billion in spending cuts The White House proposal is threatening to claw back funding whose precise purpose is to help the United States be able to respond quickly in the event of a crisis, said Carolyn Reynolds, a vice president at PATH, a global health technology nonprofit. Collectively, warns Jeremy Konyndyk, who led foreign disaster assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Obama administration, What this all adds up to is a potentially really concerning rollback of progress on U.S. health security preparedness. It seems to actively unlearn the lessons we learned through very hard experience over the last 15 years, said Konyndyk, now a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development. These moves make us materially less safe. Its inexplicable. The day before news of [Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense Timothy] Ziemers exit became public, one of the officials on his team, Luciana Borio, director of medical and biodefense preparedness at the NSC, spoke at a symposium at Emory University to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic. That event killed an estimated 50 million to 100 million people worldwide. 1918 influenza pandemic The threat of pandemic flu is the number one health security concern, she told the audience. Are we ready to respond? I fear the answer is no. Sun, Lena H."Top White House Official in Charge of Pandemic Response Exits Abruptly."
The Washington Post.10 May 2018. Sun, Lena H."The Trump Administration Is Ill-Prepared for a Global Pandemic."
The Washington Post.8 April 2017. Sun, Lena H."Bill Gates Calls on U.S. to Lead Fight Against a Pandemic that Could Kill 33 Million."
The Washington Post.27 April 2018.
|
[
"funds"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=18TNhVNwVfO17AAz6N3jYM5z0rZGJnvze"
},
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1gdFbsRnkIW3WXYr7wBdtVpDPRhdsZgu5"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/AtomicAnalyst/status/994696175575068672",
"https://thebulletin.org/biography/stephen-i-schwartz/",
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/05/10/top-white-house-official-in-charge-of-pandemic-response-exits-abruptly/"
],
"sentence": "In late March and early April 2020, social media users revisited a 2018 tweet posted by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Senior Fellow Stephen Schwartz, in which he paraphrased a Washington Post article that reported the Trump administration had disbanded the National Security Council's pandemic response team."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/AtomicAnalyst/status/994696175575068672",
"https://www.snopes.com/uploads/2020/04/schwartz.jpg",
"https://twitter.com/AtomicAnalyst/status/1239256643126333442",
"https://www.snopes.com/uploads/2020/04/tweet.jpg"
],
"sentence": "The tweet, dated May 10, 2018, read, \"When the next pandemic occurs (and make no mistake, it will) and the federal government is unable to respond in a coordinated and effective fashion to protect the lives of US citizens and others, this decision by John Bolton and Donald Trump will be why.\"Some who shared the tweet amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 pointed to the date of the tweet and noted its apparent prescience. But Schwartz followed up on March 15, 2020, by thanking the experts quoted in the article, who themselves raised the alarm that the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration regarding pandemic preparedness left the United States vulnerable:The people tagged in Schwartz' tweet are global health and development advocate Carolyn Reynolds; Jeremy Konyndyk, who led foreign disaster assistance for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under President Barack Obama; and Luciana Borio, former director for the National Security Council's Medical and Biodefense Preparedness under Trump."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-calls-on-congress-to-pull-back-15-billion-in-spending-including-on-childrens-health-insurance-program/2018/05/07/9427de18-5216-11e8-a551-5b648abe29ef_story.html"
],
"sentence": "This week, the administration released a list of $15 billion in spending cuts it wants Congress to approve. Among the targets is $252 million in unused funds remaining from the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people, far exceeding the combined total cases reported in about 20 previous outbreaks since the 1970s."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/01/27/the-flu-can-kill-tens-of-millions-of-people-in-1918-thats-exactly-what-it-did/"
],
"sentence": "The day before news of [Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense Timothy] Ziemers exit became public, one of the officials on his team, Luciana Borio, director of medical and biodefense preparedness at the NSC, spoke at a symposium at Emory University to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic. That event killed an estimated 50 million to 100 million people worldwide."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2010/jul/27/ted-strickland/ohio-gov-ted-strickland-says-states-electricity-ra/
|
Ohios electricity rates are 10 percent below the national average.
|
Reginald Fields
|
07/27/2010
|
[] |
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland seems determined to be regarded as your energy governor. In his race for re-election this November, the governor touts his efforts toward energy reform at almost every opportunity.He was at it again during a campaign address on July 6 when he said, The energy reform bill I proposed gave Ohio one of the nations most aggressive renewable energy policies and has pushed our utilities to innovate.And while other states that failed to act saw electricity rates jump 70 percent, Strickland said, Ohios electricity rates are 10 percent below the national average.Stricklands spokeswoman, Allison Kolodziej, acknowledges that Ohios electricity rates were already well below the national average before Strickland took office in January 2007. But she said the governors push for Senate Bill 221 which became law in 2008 and placed tighter reins on utility companies seeking to set market-based pricing prevented Ohios rates from skyrocketing as rates did in other states where wholesale market pricing was unchecked.The question: Are Ohios rates today a full 10 percent below the national average as the governor claimed? The governors campaign staff said it relied on information from the U.S. Department of Energys Energy Information Administration, or EIA, for its figures.According to EIAs most recent average retail price report, released June 16 and updated through March, Ohios average electricity price for all sectors this year was 8.72 cents per kilowatt hour. The national average was 9.5 cents. That means Ohios rate thus for 2010 for all sectors is about 8 percent below the national average not 10 percent.In 2009, however the last full year of available figures Ohios average was 8.63 cents per kilowatt hour and the national average 9.75 cents, meaning a year ago the state was 11 percent below the national average. That means Stricklands statement is not accurate today but was a year ago.Kolodziej said the campaign is relying on 2009 figures because the full 2010 year figures are not yet complete.The premise of Stricklands statement is that Ohio is still trending below the national average when it comes to electricity rates, and thus is better off than many other states in terms of utility costs. The context of his point was accurate.But while the full 2010 figures are not yet available, there were more up to date figures the governor could have relied on during his speech that, while not as flattering as 2009, could have still effectively made his point just more accurately.We rate this statement as Mostly True. Comment on this item.
|
[
"Ohio",
"Economy",
"Elections",
"Energy"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/07/ohio_gov_ted_strickland_says_t.html"
],
"sentence": "Comment on this item."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fbi-atm-cards/
|
FBI ATM Cards Scam
|
David Mikkelson
|
09/10/2008
|
[
"Is the FBI offering 'ATM Cards' to help victims recover money from Nigerian scammers?"
] |
Scam: The FBI is offering "ATM Cards" to help victims recover money from Nigerian scammers. Example: [Collected via e-mail, September 2008] Federal Bureau Of Investigation ATM CARD PAYMENT NOTIFICATIONFrom: Federal Bureau Of Investigation (robertmueller@fbi.gov)Sent: Mon 9/01/08 9:24 AMReply-to: atm_card_centre303@hotmail.com Anti-Terrorist and Monitory Crimes Division.Federal Bureau Of Investigation.J. Edgar. Hoover Building, Washington D.CTelephone Number : ( 202 )-324-3001 ATTN: BENEFICIARY This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly completed an Investigated with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you are having an illegal transaction with Impostors claiming to be Prof. Charles C. Soludo of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Aziza, Mr Frank Nweke, none officials of Oceanic Bank, none officials of Zenith Bank and some impostors claiming to be the Federal Bureau Of Investigation agents. During our Investigation, it came to our notice that the reason why you have not received your payment is because you have not fulfilled your Financial Obligation given to you in respect of your Contract/Inheritance Payment. So therefore, we have contacted the Federal Ministry Of Finance on your behalf and they have brought a solution to your problem by coordinating your payment in the total amount of $800,000.00 USD which will be deposited into an ATM CARD which you will use to withdraw funds anywhere of the world. You now have the lawful right to claim your funds which have been deposited into the ATM CARD. Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been involved in this transaction, you are now to be rest assured that this transaction is legitimate and completely risk-free as it is our duty to Protect and Serve citizens of the United States Of America. All you have to do is immediately contact the ATM CARD CENTER via E-mail for instructions on how to procure your Approval Slip which contains details on how to receive and activate your ATM CARD for immediate use to withdraw funds being paid to you. We have confirmed that the amount required to procure the Approval Slip will cost you a total of $550 USD which will be paid directly to the ATM CARD CENTER agent via Western Union Money Transfer / MoneyGram Money Transfer. Below, you shall find contact details of the Agent whom will process your transaction: CONTACT INFORMATION NAME: MR. PAUL SMITHEMAIL: atm_card_centre303@hotmail.comTelephone Number : +234-808-252-6229 Immediately contact Mr. Paul Smith of the ATM Card Centre with the following information: Full Name:Address:City:State:Zip Code:Direct Phone Number:Current Occupation:Annual Income: Once you have sent the required information to Mr. Paul Smith he will contact you with instructions on how to make the payment of $550 USD for the Approval Slip after which he will proceed towards delivery of the ATM CARD without any further delay. You have hereby been authorized/guaranteed by the Federal Bureau Of Investigation to commence towards completing this transaction, as there shall be NO delay once payment for the Approval Slip has been made to the authorized agent. Once you have completed payment of $550 to the agent in charge of this transaction, immediately contact me back so as to ensure your ATM CARD gets to you rapidly. FBI DirectorRobert Mueller. Origins: The message quoted above represents another slightly different turn on the venerable Nigerian Scam: Rather than providing straightforward bait to Nigerian Scam lure new victims into the scam, it seeks to re-hook those who have already been snared once with yet another false promise of easy money. The basic premise of the Nigerian Scam is that the target is offered a substantial cash reward for helping out with a transaction involving the transfer of a large sum of money (a transaction that usually needs to be kept hush-hush). However, the transaction never takes place, and the reward is never forthcoming; instead, the target is repeatedly called upon to shell out ever-increasing amounts of his own money to clear away a variety of fictitious roadblocks (e.g., legal fees, documentation fees, customs fees, taxes, bribes). This version of the Nigerian Scam targets those who have already participated in (or been victimized by) it, offering the lure of FBI assistance in recovering the rewards that victims were cheated out of the first time around ... all they need do is send $550 to the FBI for an "ATM CARD" that will allow them to tap into accounts holding $800,000. If the numerous red flags in the basic version of the Nigerian Scam weren't enough to warn away potential victims, this variant adds several more factors that should give anyone pause about its legitimacy: The FBI wouldn't acknowledge that you have been participating in "illegal transactions" with foreign nationals and then turn around and reward you for having done so. (They'd probably be hauling you off to custody and charging you with a half-dozen federal crimes.) The FBI wouldn't be conducting criminal investigations and doling out hundreds of thousands of dollars via e-mail. (They'd be sending agents out to meet and talk with you personally.) The FBI wouldn't help fraud victims recover legitimately owed monies and then turn around and charge them several hundred dollars to access those funds. The FBI wouldn't be asking you to contact them by placing a phone call to Nigeria (as indicated by the "234" country code prefix to the phone number provided for "Mr. Paul Smith of the ATM Card Centre"). You'd be talking to an agent from a local or other U.S.-based FBI office. The FBI wouldn't be collecting sensitive personal information from the public by asking them to provide that information via the extremely unsecure method of e-mailing it to a Hotmail account. (They wouldn't be asking for or collecting this kind of information via the Internet in the first place, and even if they were, at the very least they'd be using a secure web protocol with encryption rather than plain-text e-mail, and the collection method would be tied to an FBI web site and not a commercial e-mail provider.)Last updated: 11 July 2011 Flaum, David. "Scam Hits Sellers Over Net." The [Memphis] Commercial Appeal. 2 March 2003 (p. G1). Jones, Matthew. "Beach Police Officers Warn of Fake-Check Web Scam." The Virginian-Pilot. 9 January 2003 (p. B4). Kades, Deborah. "Wisconsin Residents Fall Prey to Used Vehicle, Lottery Scams." The Wisconsin State Journal. 12 December 2002. Kristof, Kathy M. "Nigerian Money Con Targets Small Firms." Los Angeles Times. 7 September 2003 ; (p. C3). Associated Press. "Missoula Credit Union Members Taken." 15 March 2003.
|
[
"taxes"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"nigeria.asp"
],
"sentence": "Origins: The message quoted above represents another slightly different turn on the venerable Nigerian Scam: Rather than providing straightforward bait to"
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/dec/15/donald-trump/pledging-cuts-donald-trump-says-wisconsin-rally-us/
|
Americas federal business tax rate is the highest in the world.
|
Tom Kertscher
|
12/15/2016
|
[] |
Duringa speechin which he warmed up to U.S. House SpeakerPaul Ryan, gave a shout-out toVince Lombardiand even name-droppedKanye West, president-electDonald Trumpalso reaffirmed his promise to cut taxes. Trump appeared Dec. 13, 2016 with vice president-electMike Penceand a host of Badger State Republicans, including Ryan, at the Wisconsin State Fair Park Exposition Center. This stop on his multi-state thank-you tour was mostly a campaign-style rally, but there was some policy, too. Midway into his remarks,Trump said: Were going to undertake one of the great tax reforms and simplifications in American history. This includes a massive tax cut for themiddle-classand middle-class families from Wisconsin, too. Were also going to lower ourbusiness tax rateso that new companies will come to our shores and hire workers in cities like right here. Is that OK? Thats what we want. Were going to bring our rates down from 35 percent, were going to try to get it down to 15 percent. So, right now -- and by the way the jobs will pour in -- so, right now, were the highest-taxed nation in the world. And when we finish, well be one of the lower taxed, one of the lower. Whether the president-elect keeps his promises on taxes will be something to be determined by PolitiFact Nationals Trump-O-Meter, whichwill be launchedin 2017. But we can answer now whether Americas business tax rate is the highest in the world. Top U.S. rate: 35% The corporate income tax rates in the United States range from15 to 35 percent. And that 35 percent top rate -- at least as a statutory rate (more on that below) -- is relatively high. The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development publishesthe top corporate tax ratesfor the35 countriesthat belong to its organization, which includes most advanced, industrialized nations. The U.S top rate of 35 percent ranks first, just ahead of France, 34.4 percent; Belgium, 33 percent; and Australia and Mexico, 30 percent. On the low end: Switzerland, 8.5 percent; Ireland, 12.5 percent; Latvia and Canada, 15 percent; and Germany, 15.8 percent. Sometimes references are made to a combined corporate tax rate, which includes federal and state corporate taxes; the U.S. combined rate is38.9 percent. But Trump was referring to the 35 percent federal rate, the one he vows to reduce. There are, however, two clarifying points to make. Other nations, and what is paid To back Trumps statement, his campaign cited aForbes articlethat noted the United States has the highest corporate rate among industrialized nations. But Trump didnt limit his statement to industrialized nations. The accounting firm PwC tracks the top federal corporate tax rates for155 countries.That listshows five other countries that also have a top rate of 35 percent: Argentina, Chad, Congo, Malta and Zambia. And there are two countries with higher top corporate tax rates: United Arab Emirates, 55 percent; and Puerto Rico, 39 percent. It also needs to be understood that Americas 35 percent top rate is the statutory rate -- before deductions -- but U.S. companies arent actually taxed at that rate. Tax deductions -- on health insurance, pensions and investment returns, for example -- allow corporations to reduce the pool of taxable profits. Indeed, aMarch 2016 reportby the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that in each year from 2006 to 2012, at least two-thirds of all active corporations had no federal income tax liability, although larger corporations were more likely to owe tax. And aMay 2016 paperby Reed College economics professor Kimberly Clausing found U.S. multinational firms have used tax planning to generate effective tax rates that are far lower than the statutory rate, and often in the single digits. Our rating Trump said Americas federal business tax rate is the highest in the world. The top corporate tax in the United States is 35 percent, highest among the worlds industrialized nations. But five smaller nations have the same rate and two smaller ones, United Arab Emirates and Puerto Rico, have rates above 35 percent. Also, the 35 percent U.S. rate is only the starting point, given that corporations can use exemptions and deductions to effectively reduce that rate and pay lower taxes. For a statement that is accurate but needs clarification, our rating is Mostly True.
|
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"sentence": "Duringa speechin which he warmed up to U.S. House SpeakerPaul Ryan, gave a shout-out toVince Lombardiand even name-droppedKanye West, president-electDonald Trumpalso reaffirmed his promise to cut taxes."
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},
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},
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"sentence": "Were going to undertake one of the great tax reforms and simplifications in American history. This includes a massive tax cut for themiddle-classand middle-class families from Wisconsin, too."
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],
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},
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"sentence": "To back Trumps statement, his campaign cited aForbes articlethat noted the United States has the highest corporate rate among industrialized nations. But Trump didnt limit his statement to industrialized nations."
},
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"sentence": "The accounting firm PwC tracks the top federal corporate tax rates for155 countries.That listshows five other countries that also have a top rate of 35 percent: Argentina, Chad, Congo, Malta and Zambia."
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},
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"sentence": "And aMay 2016 paperby Reed College economics professor Kimberly Clausing found U.S. multinational firms have used tax planning to generate effective tax rates that are far lower than the statutory rate, and often in the single digits."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-plans-second-term/
|
Did Trump Say This About His Plans for a Second Term?
|
David Mikkelson
|
08/31/2020
|
[
"The president \"has strained to define what his second-term agenda would be.\""
] |
During the build-up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, President Donald Trump was often criticized for his inability to articulate any goals that he expected or hoped to accomplish during a second term in office if he were reelected. criticized A quote meme from late August 2020 reflected that criticism, putatively quoting the president as saying nothing concrete about his plans for the next four years other than that he would continue doing what he was already doing and would have "other things on [his] plate": This meme accurately reproduced a statement from Trump, although the meme's presenting it without any context made it sound like the statement was the only thing the president said about his plans for the next for years, which was not the case. On Aug. 26, The New York Times conducted a 40-minute interview with Trump over the telephone, covering his past three-plus years in office and the upcoming election. The Times' resulting article noted that the president had "strained lately to define what his second-term agenda would be" and quoted him as uttering the words reproduced in the above meme, but it also referenced Trump's offering "a list of what he has done and would continue to do," so the president did in fact provide some specifics about what he had, and wanted to, accomplish: article Beyond more of the same, [Trump] has strained lately to define what his second-term agenda would be. Asked at various points, even by friendly interviewers on Fox News, he has offered meandering answers. His fellow Republicans seem no more certain. They therefore dispensed with a party platform altogether, opting instead for a simple resolution of loyalty to the president. In the interview, Mr. Trump rattled off a list of what he has done and would continue to do, like increasing military spending, cutting taxes, eliminating regulations, reinforcing the border and appointing conservative judges. But so I think, I think it would be, I think it would be very, very, I think wed have a very, very solid, we would continue what were doing, wed solidify what weve done, and we have other things on our plate that we want to get done, he said. Baker, Peter. "Instead of Evolving as President, Trump Has Bent the Job to His Will."
The New York Times. 27 August 2020.
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},
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"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/us/politics/donald-trump.html"
],
"sentence": "On Aug. 26, The New York Times conducted a 40-minute interview with Trump over the telephone, covering his past three-plus years in office and the upcoming election. The Times' resulting article noted that the president had \"strained lately to define what his second-term agenda would be\" and quoted him as uttering the words reproduced in the above meme, but it also referenced Trump's offering \"a list of what he has done and would continue to do,\" so the president did in fact provide some specifics about what he had, and wanted to, accomplish:"
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/baby-albino-bat/
|
Is This Photo of a Baby Albino Bat Real?
|
Dan Evon
|
05/27/2021
|
[
"It's time for another round of \"Toy or Animal?\""
] |
In May 2021, a set of photographs supposedly showing a baby albino bat was widely circulated on social media. set of photographs The "animal" seen here isn't an animal at all. This is actually a small plush doll. This doll appears to have been made by Anna Yastrezhembovskya, an artist from Russia who sells similar figurines on her Etsy page. We haven't been able to find a listing for this specific item, but Yastrezhembovskya did share several photos of this plush albino baby bat doll to her Instagram in October 2019. Etsy page In June 2020, Yastrezhembovskya posted a message on her Instagram explaining that some fraudulent websites were claiming that they were selling the doll. Yastrezhembovskya's work, however, is only available via her Etsy page: Again!!! ? Scammers still cant calm down and again steal my photos. Now they are selling the white bat. They use my photos, but theyre sending to buyers another things. Scroll through the photo to see an example of what they are sending. I want to warn everyone, I sell my works ONLY in the store on Etsy - a link in the profile, or in the instagram. All other stores and stuff are SCAMMERS!!! Please be careful. Do not be fooled. Yastrezhembovskya talked to MyModernMet.com about her work in 2019. The Russian artist said that she primarily works in felt and that these figurines typically take 12-14 hours to make: MyModernMet.com Yastrezhembovskya said: My first toy wasnt nearly as pretty, it was rather funny but I enjoyed the process so much that I kept trying. I was felting during my free time, even at night, and I got better with each toy I made ... I am flattered that my bats won the hearts of so many people, but the amount of orders I got was terrifying ... Of course, I will keep felting as many bats as I can, but I want people to understand that these toys are fully handmade, so its a fairly lengthy process. The internet has a relatively difficult time determining the difference between dolls and genuine real-world animals, apparently. Photographs of figurines featuring albino tarantulas, four-eyed goats, tiny birds, giant moths, and adorable bunnies have all been shared on social media as if they were real animals. albino tarantulas four-eyed goats tiny birds giant moths adorable bunnies
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"sentence": "This doll appears to have been made by Anna Yastrezhembovskya, an artist from Russia who sells similar figurines on her Etsy page. We haven't been able to find a listing for this specific item, but Yastrezhembovskya did share several photos of this plush albino baby bat doll to her Instagram in October 2019."
},
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"sentence": "Yastrezhembovskya talked to MyModernMet.com about her work in 2019. The Russian artist said that she primarily works in felt and that these figurines typically take 12-14 hours to make:"
},
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"hrefs": [
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"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/japanese-giant-emperor-moth/",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bunny-toy-photograph/"
],
"sentence": "The internet has a relatively difficult time determining the difference between dolls and genuine real-world animals, apparently. Photographs of figurines featuring albino tarantulas, four-eyed goats, tiny birds, giant moths, and adorable bunnies have all been shared on social media as if they were real animals. "
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ruby-tuesday-closing/
|
Is Ruby Tuesday Closing Permanently?
|
Jessica Lee
|
12/29/2020
|
[
"A website claimed the American restaurant chain was \"closing up shop.\""
] |
In 2020, the Pinterest post displayed below alleged Ruby Tuesday was going out of business before the end of the year. The post linked to a 50-page article on the website Money Pop with the headline, "These Restaurant Chains Are Turning Off Their Burners And Closing Up Shop." 50-page article The social media post and article headline were misleading. The COVID-19 pandemic had indeed forced Ruby Tuesday to file for bankruptcy protection and close 185 branches nationwide as of fall 2020, according to court records obtained by Snopes and news reports. file 185 branches court records news reports This announcement does not mean Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday," CEO Shawn Lederman said in an Oct. 7 statement at the time. an Oct. 7 statement Another statement from the business at the time of the bankruptcy filing said it was "pursuing a comprehensive financial and operational restructuring" to reduce debt and that it intended to overcome bankruptcy status "as quickly as possible." statement Despite the site closures, more than 230 company-owned locations remained open in addition to an undisclosed amount of branches run by 10 franchise groups, according to USA Today. No evidence showed a significant change in those numbers between the date of Ruby Tuesday's filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and the publication of this report. USA Today In addition to Ruby Tuesday, the Money Pop listicle erroneously made it seem as if Taco Bell was closing in 2020 (see our fact check here), along with numerous other food businesses that were still serving customers as of this report. see our fact check here other food businesses We should note here that, although the headline on the Money Pop was false, the text on the article appeared rooted in truth, reading: Like Friendlys, Ruby Tuesday is an East Coast chain, but this restaurant has some branches on the Pacific Coast, too. The restaurant was founded in 1972 in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has seen some major dips in revenue over the past few years. Which, unfortunately, has resulted in many of the restaurants closing. At last count, the chain has around 491 stores around the world. But according to Restaurant Business, that number is due to nearly 50% of the stores closing over the past ten years. They said it was because customers were enjoying the convenience of take-out instead of actually sitting down in a restaurant. In sum, while the pandemic had negatively impacted Ruby Tuesday, and it was true that the chain had closed numerous sites in 2020, the Money Pop headline was inaccurate to claim all locations were "turning off their burners and closing up shop" or that the restaurant chain was going out of business.
|
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"sentence": "In 2020, the Pinterest post displayed below alleged Ruby Tuesday was going out of business before the end of the year. The post linked to a 50-page article on the website Money Pop with the headline, \"These Restaurant Chains Are Turning Off Their Burners And Closing Up Shop.\""
},
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"hrefs": [
"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201007005357/en/Classic-American-Restaurant-Group-Ruby-Tuesday-Files-for-Voluntary-Chapter-11-Restructuring__;!!MV0UZqY!WezDZqr-GmyahIjz5VOOxXry3iKpybd6QVawUP4WRJh9TVD_YaeFVzIRfD1MeTbh$",
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"sentence": "The COVID-19 pandemic had indeed forced Ruby Tuesday to file for bankruptcy protection and close 185 branches nationwide as of fall 2020, according to court records obtained by Snopes and news reports."
},
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"sentence": "This announcement does not mean Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday,\" CEO Shawn Lederman said in an Oct. 7 statement at the time."
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"sentence": "Another statement from the business at the time of the bankruptcy filing said it was \"pursuing a comprehensive financial and operational restructuring\" to reduce debt and that it intended to overcome bankruptcy status \"as quickly as possible.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/10/07/ruby-tuesday-closing-185-restaurants-chapter-11-bankruptcy/5907136002/"
],
"sentence": "Despite the site closures, more than 230 company-owned locations remained open in addition to an undisclosed amount of branches run by 10 franchise groups, according to USA Today. No evidence showed a significant change in those numbers between the date of Ruby Tuesday's filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and the publication of this report."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/taco-bell-closing-2020/",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/olive-garden-closing/"
],
"sentence": "In addition to Ruby Tuesday, the Money Pop listicle erroneously made it seem as if Taco Bell was closing in 2020 (see our fact check here), along with numerous other food businesses that were still serving customers as of this report."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2011/may/18/paul-ryan/paul-ryan-says-barack-obama-wants-top-tax-rate-448/
|
On taxes, President Barack Obama wants to raise the top rate to 44.8 percent.
|
Louis Jacobson
|
05/18/2011
|
[] |
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. -- the author of a budget plan that won approval from the Republican-held House but which was assailed by Democrats because it proposes significant changes in how Medicare works -- gave a speech to the Economic Club of Chicago on May 16, 2011. In it, he criticized President Barack Obama on tax policy.Ryan said that his own budget plan makes the tax code simpler, flatter, fairer, more globally competitive and less burdensome for working families and small businesses. By contrast, the president says he wants to eliminate deductions, but he also wants to raise rates. That includes raising the top rate to 44.8 percent. That would amount to a $1.5 trillion tax increase on families and job creators.A reader e-mailed us to ask whether the president really wants to raise rates to 44.8 percent, since the most widely discussed Obama tax proposal is to reinstate marginal income tax rates that were in effect for the wealthiest taxpayers before approval of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts proposed by President George W. Bush. As the reader pointed out, Obamas proposal to let Bushs tax cuts lapse would raise the top marginal income tax rate from 35 percent to 39.6 percent -- not to the 44.8 percent that Ryan cited.We began by asking Ryans staff what he had meant by using that figure. Spokesman Conor Sweeney forwarded us a document that provided the reasoning that Ryan used to get to the 44.8 percent.Heres the relevant portion of that document:Top statutory rate, 2010: 35 percentExpiration of 2001/2003 lower rates, 2011: 39.6 percentPEP/Pease provisions reinstated, 2011: 41.6 percentNet 2.3 percent Medicare tax on wages/salary: 43.9 percent0.9 percent nondeductible Medicare tax,2013: 44.8 percentWeve already discussed the references to the 35 percent and 39.6 percent figures. Heres a rundown of the rest:PEP/Pease. These are two caps on how much income is subject to taxation for wealthy Americans. (Most Americans do not earn enough to trigger them.) The first, the personal exemption phase-out, limits the benefit of the personal exemption for taxpayers earning above a set amount of income. The second sets a similar cap for itemized deductions. The two taxes were steadily reduced under the Bush tax cuts, disappearing entirely for 2010. The two caps are set to be revived in 2012, like the rest of the Bush tax cuts, unless Congress and the president agree to intervene.Ryans staff and tax experts we consulted with disagreed somewhat over how big a hit the PEP and Pease revivals would be, but their estimates ranged from about 1 to 2 added percentage points. So on the low end of that scale, Ryans estimate is slightly high, but the difference is modest.Medicare taxes. Currently, the Medicare tax is 2.9 percent, split evenly between the employee and the employer. The new health care law would add a 0.9 percent, nondeductible tax to the employees side, so the new total is 3.8 percent, of which 2.35 percent is borne by the employee and 1.45 percent by the employer. To that employee share, Ryan added almost a percentage point to account for what he sees as lower employee salaries due to the employers share of the payroll tax. On balance, Ryan estimates the combined net increase from Medicare taxes to be 3.2 percent.So for Medicare taxes as well, Ryans staff made some assumptions that would be open to critique. But once again, the range of possible rate increases is fairly small -- about one percentage point.So even if you dont buy Ryans assumptions, the most hed be off in his final number is about 2 percentage points.Now, how about the way Ryan described his number?Usually, weve seen politicians use the term the top rate to refer to the marginal income tax rate for the highest tax bracket, not that tax rate plus several other taxes. So, one could say that using the 44.8 percent figure is a subtle way of adding an extra 5.2 percentage points to Obamas tax proposal, making it look more draconian.But when we asked both liberal and conservative economists what they thought about Ryans phrasing, most were largely untroubled.For non-tax people, I suppose he could have specified that 44.8 would be the combined marginal tax rate, though it's not clear that would have helped the average person understand, said Dan Mitchell, an economist with the libertarian Cato Institute. Short of engaging in lengthy digressions, I'm not sure what Ryan could have done differently.If Ryan had used a specific definition of the tax rates in his speech, such as the effective marginal income tax rate, then that would be misleading, added J.D. Foster, an economist with the conservative Heritage Foundation. But he didnt, Foster said, and that gives him some space to define what he means.Dean Baker, a liberal economist, said hed give Ryan a pass on this. Ryan left out that most of the rates listed in the document would be reverting to prior levels, rather than being imposed for the first time by Obama, Baker said. However, on balance, Baker said he feels that Ryans statement is largely true.So where does this leave us? On Ryans number, its possible to argue that the actual rate is as low as 42.8 percent rather than 44.8 percent, but thats open to debate. On his description of what the number means, Ryan -- particularly given that he was working from a prepared speech -- could have been clearer by saying something like, The various parts of Obamas tax agenda would together push the highest marginal tax rate up to 44.8 percent.Still, the figure Ryan used is close to what the tax rate would be if Obamas agenda is followed, and a cross-section of economists we asked thought that Ryans presentation of that number was reasonable. On balance, we rate it Mostly True.
|
[
"National",
"Taxes"
] |
[] |
[] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/travis-kelce-expletive-trump/
|
Did Travis Kelce Post Expletive About Trump on X?
|
Nur Ibrahim
|
02/13/2024
|
[
"The Kansas City Chiefs football player allegedly criticized the former president's comments on NATO."
] |
On Feb. 12, 2024, a screenshot claimed to show a post from Travis Kelce's official X account that said, "How about this: I'll keep playing American football and Donald Trump can keep sucking Russian d***." The screenshotted post was an apparent response to former U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting that he had once threatened to encourage Russia to attack "delinquent" NATO allies. screenshot suggesting Shared by X account @FaithRubPol, the screenshot had the caption, "Travis Kelce SLAMS Trump over his NATO comments." (Screenshot via X) The above screenshot is fake and was shared by an account that describes itself as satirical in nature. As such, we rate it as "Labeled Satire." describes The X account @FaithRubPol's description states: "Most of the images we share are parodies." The screenshot also has the label "Parody by Back Rub." description We also found no evidence on Kelce's official account that he ever made such a statement. Furthermore, the account handle in the screenshot does not belong to Kelce. Kelce's real X account is @tkelce, while the screenshot shows the handle @tkelpe. @tkelce During a campaign rally on Feb. 10, 2024, Trump generated controversy when he said he would "encourage" Russia to attack "delinquent" NATO member states. He suggested he would not abide by the alliance's collective-defense clause which states that if an ally is attacked it is considered an attack on all members if that ally was not meeting defense spending obligations. said He cited a conversation from his time as president with an unnamed world leader: cited One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, "Well, sir, if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us?" I said, "You didn't pay, you're delinquent?" He said, "Yes, let's say that happened." "No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills." In sum, the above post is satirical in nature and completely fake. For background, here iswhywe sometimes write about satire/humor. why Haberman, Maggie, and Jonathan Swan. "G.O.P. Officials, Once Critical, Stand by Trump After NATO Comments." The New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/12/us/politics/trump-nato-republicans.html.Accessed 13 Feb. 2024. Knutson, Jacob. "How Trump's NATO Comments Escalate His Disdain for America's Allies." Axios, 12 Feb. 2024, https://www.axios.com/2024/02/12/trump-nato-history. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024.
|
[
"share"
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=10R0sIgLnc1VFzksMtWoVokBi0iiYoC5i"
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[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.li/c01sy",
"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/12/us/politics/trump-nato-republicans.html"
],
"sentence": "On Feb. 12, 2024, a screenshot claimed to show a post from Travis Kelce's official X account that said, \"How about this: I'll keep playing American football and Donald Trump can keep sucking Russian d***.\" The screenshotted post was an apparent response to former U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting that he had once threatened to encourage Russia to attack \"delinquent\" NATO allies."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/FaithRubPol"
],
"sentence": "The above screenshot is fake and was shared by an account that describes itself as satirical in nature. As such, we rate it as \"Labeled Satire.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/FaithRubPol"
],
"sentence": "The X account @FaithRubPol's description states: \"Most of the images we share are parodies.\" The screenshot also has the label \"Parody by Back Rub.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/tkelce?lang=en"
],
"sentence": "We also found no evidence on Kelce's official account that he ever made such a statement. Furthermore, the account handle in the screenshot does not belong to Kelce. Kelce's real X account is @tkelce, while the screenshot shows the handle @tkelpe."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.axios.com/2024/02/12/trump-nato-history"
],
"sentence": "During a campaign rally on Feb. 10, 2024, Trump generated controversy when he said he would \"encourage\" Russia to attack \"delinquent\" NATO member states. He suggested he would not abide by the alliance's collective-defense clause which states that if an ally is attacked it is considered an attack on all members if that ally was not meeting defense spending obligations."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.axios.com/2024/02/12/trump-nato-history"
],
"sentence": "He cited a conversation from his time as president with an unnamed world leader:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/notes/why-we-include-humor-and-satire-in-snopes-com/"
],
"sentence": "For background, here iswhywe sometimes write about satire/humor."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/long-island-black-friday/
|
2004 Long Island Black Friday Rumor
|
Barbara Mikkelson
|
11/03/2004
|
[
"On November 26, 2004, will four Long Island shopping malls be hit with chemical weapons by terrorists?"
] |
Claim: Minutes of emergency response agencies' meeting reveal that on 26 November 2004 four Long Island shopping malls will be hit in a terrorist attack using chemical weapons. Status: False. Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2004] Hello all, Some information has come to me. It has not been released to the general public, but it's something we all need to be aware of. A couple of weeks ago someone was seen taking photos of my ambulance company in Bay Shore. This same person was seen outside Exchange Ambulance in Islip doing the same. The police were notified and the person was apprehended outside Southside hospital, again taking photos. He is a man of Middle Eastern descent and is being held for investigation. It seems that he was gathering information about our response capabilities in a mass casualty attack. The NY Field Office of the FBI held a meeting at Bay Shore Fire Department for officials from the local PD, EMS and FD's. They have information from this man and from their own intelligence that a mass attack is planned for Long Island. On Black Friday (November 26) 4 Long Island Malls are supposed to be hit simultaneously with chemical weapons. This would be the first time a chemical weapon is used in the United States. Forces from NYC and Washington DC would be diverted to aid here on Long Island leaving these areas vulnerable. A second attack would take place in these areas. Ever since 9/11 EMS has undergone extensive training on howto deal with a terrorist attack and to think it could really happen here is terrifying. There is also concern about car bombings as a large number of vehicles have gone missing in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Ambulances, taxi's, commercial vans and airport limos have been reported stolen. These vehicles look perfectly innocent driving through our neighborhoods and no one would think twice about seeing them. This is not an internet scam. The officers at my department were at this meeting and I saw the minutes myself. I figure it's pretty serious if the FBI made an appearance to share what they know. I'm not sure why this isn't being released to the public. I can only assume that if this got out, no one would shop and it would be devastating to our economy. I do not want to spread panic, only information. Take from this what you will, but I needed to let you all know. I love you all and I felt I needed to share this with you. I know it's hard to believe. I can't believe that an Al Qaeda operative was only a few blocks from my home. Origins: We first happened across this e-mail in mid-October 2004. At this time, the identity of its author is not known to us, nor is that of whomever penned the following preface that appears on a number of the forwards: The following email was sent to me last night by a personal friend. She is the directly involved with the ambulance corp. I am sending this email to the Red Cross to inquire. Nonetheless, please read it and try and shop around Nov. 26, not THE 26th. Her email is not a "forward to 10 people" It is personally written and personally sent to her friends based on facts she is personally aware of. We searched for news articles that made reference to a man of Middle Eastern appearance being detained under the circumstances described, but to no avail. We also did not hear scuttlebutt about a potential terrorist assault on Long Island set for 26 November 2004 from sources other than just the one e-mail, which is noteworthy, given that supposedly at a meeting at the Bay Shore Fire Department on Long Island the FBI informed any number of police, fire, and emergency personnel of it. (It was not really plausible that everyone in the room, with the exception of one letter-writer, would have stayed entirely mute about an upcoming chemical attack on their neighborhoods, preferring to keep a secret over potentially safeguarding themselves and their loved ones by making the risk known.) Common knowledge has it that Black Friday (the term for the day after American Thanksgiving) is biggest shopping day of the year. (Which is somewhat true though as far as actual sales go, it lags behind the four days that make up the two weekends just prior to Christmas, in terms of number of shoppers loosed on the stores it might well be.) It therefore follows that mall-targeting terrorists looking to cause the greatest harm to the greatest number would select that day over any number of biggest shopping day others. Doug Einsfeld, chief of Exchange Ambulance of the Islips, said the e-mailed warning was a hoax. About two months prior to the rumor's emergence, the volunteer ambulance corps and local law enforcement had conducted a terror drill based on a scenario involving a chemical attack at Long Island malls taking place on the day after Thanksgiving. Einsfeld concludes that printed information about the drill, circulated internally and to police and fire officials, must have been used as a basis for the alert. He confirms that a man was seen taking pictures outside the volunteer ambulance corps' building.The FBI was notified and did investigate, but no evidence of the man intending any harm was uncovered. Regarding the e-mail's claim of the errant shutter bug's being taken into custody, Suffolk Police Third Squad Det. Sgt. Thomas Groneman said no such arrest was made. As for the claim of the man being of Middle Eastern appearance, Einsfeld said he saw the man only from behind and couldn't tell his ethnicity. This was not the first time it had been whispered that terrorists were plotting to kill shoppers. In October 2001, a fiction about the revelation of a planned strike in malls on Halloween by one of those involved in a letter to his girlfriend swept the nation. There was nothing to that story, but it nevertheless kept people away from the stores that day. letter to his girlfriend Adding to the plausibility of the Long Island tale were reports from the summer of unusual interest in that area's emergency vehicles. On 12 August 2004, the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs circulated this memo: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS FORWARDED BY THE NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE FOR YOUR INFORMATION.August 12, 2004 The following alert was released by Westchester County Department of Emergency Services based on information fron New Jersey authorities and should be practiced by all agencies. Within the past week, the Office of Counter-Terrorism received three reports of suspicious activity concerning ambulances. The most recent incident involved an individual who attended an open-house at an ambulance squad in Middlesex County. The man, who claimed he was from Pakistan and a physician, asked a series of questions to the squad members that related exclusively to the operation of the emergency vehicles, including the speed at which the vehicles responded to calls and the use of the lights and sirens. The individual appeared very nervous, did not ask about patient care, and left the premises when asked to complete a membership application. The second incident occurred at a hospital in Essex County and involved an inquiry made by a male of Middle-Eastern appearance who was first observed standing near an ambulance at the emergency room doors while writing notes in a small notepad. When confronted by the vehicle's operator, a firefighter/EMT, the man asserted that he was employed as an ambulance mechanic. He then asked where a nearby fire department serviced its vehicles. The man provided an illegible New York driver's license when asked to produce identification before leaving the premises. Lastly, OCT received information concerning an unusual attempt by three men of Middle-Eastern appearance to join a volunteer ambulance squad. The men expressed to squad members an "abnormal interest" in operating the emergency vehicles, and further insisted that the process by which they obtain the appropriate credentials and certifications to join the squad be expedited at their personal expense. Due to the recent threat elevation to ORANGE (HIGH) for the financial sector and intelligence relating to the threat of Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDs), any suspicious activity relating to emergency vehicles is of particular concern and should be reported to law enforcement immediately. As demonstrated by recent attacks in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and elsewhere, terrorist operatives worldwide continue to rely on VBIEDs as a method of attack. This tactic has been used here in the past, notably in the 1993 World Trade Center and 1995 Oklahoma City bombings. The World Trade Center and Oklahoma City attacks were carried out with rented vehicles, highlighting the need for awareness among the car, truck, and limousine rental community of the potential for vehicle-borne attacks in the United States. As always, report all suspicious activities and individuals to the toll-free terrorism tip-lines.New York State: 1-866-SAFE-NYSNew York City: 1-888-NYC-SAFE It was feared in the summer of 2004 that those mysterious men might have been weighing up the possibilities of fashioning ambulances or firetrucks into rolling bombs by loading them with explosives or chemicals and using them to breach security barriers at hard-to-reach targets, the underlying assumption being emergency vehicles would be allowed near or into locations ordinary cars and trucks would be turned away from. Also considered was the possibility of such vehicles being used to launch a second wave of attack on the heels of an initial terror strike when all was confusion and no one would think to try to prevent an ambulance or fire truck from going to the aid of the injured. Long Island, which lies off New York City, is 118 miles long and 20 miles across at its widest point, and is connected to the Big Apple by three expressways. It is home to a population of 2.65 million. Regarding the entities mentioned in the warning e-mail, the Exchange Ambulance of the Islip's is a volunteer non-profit service consisting of approximately 100 members. It is located on Long Island and serves the towns of East Islip, Islip, Islip Terrace. Southside Hospital is Long Island's largest community hospital, having 377 beds. Exchange Ambulance Southside Hospital The region believes itself adequately prepared for a terrorist attack, including an event in Manhattan that could immobilize the area and cut off the Island from the mainland for days or perhaps weeks. Emergency workers on the island have engaged in a number of simulation drills for disaster events including train derailments with mass casualties, detonations of dirty bombs containing chemical, biological, or radioactive agents, hostage takings, and evacuations of specified areas. As Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said in August 2004, "We are cognizant that we are in close proximity to the No. 1 target in America." Which could well be what triggered this rumor that sense of proximity could have worked to cause someone to jump at shadows, misremembering an alert from the summer about suspicious characters as a current matter (especially in light of another man being seen taking photographs) and misunderstanding the paperwork generated around a summer 2004 disaster preparation drill as minutes of a meeting in which a specific warning was issued. Barbara "minute- and second-guessing" Mikkelson Last updated: 7 November 2004 Sources: Guart, Al. "'Mideast' Snoops Spurring Ambulance-Bomb Alert." The New York Post. 29 August 2004 (p. 12). Kelleher, Jennifer Sinco. "Terror E-mail a Hoax." Newsday. 7 November 2004. Rather, John. "2 Counties Buff Disaster Plans." The New York Times. 22 August 2004 (Long Island Weekly Desk, p. 5).
|
[
"economy"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"/holidays/thanksgiving/shopping.asp"
],
"sentence": "Common knowledge has it that Black Friday (the term for the day after American Thanksgiving) is biggest shopping day of the year. (Which is somewhat true though as far as actual sales go, it lags behind the four days that make up the two weekends just prior to Christmas, in terms of number of shoppers loosed on the stores it might well be.) It therefore follows that mall-targeting terrorists looking to cause the greatest harm to the greatest number would select that day over any number of "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"/rumors/mallrisk.asp"
],
"sentence": "This was not the first time it had been whispered that terrorists were plotting to kill shoppers. In October 2001, a fiction about the revelation of a planned strike in malls on Halloween by one of those involved in a letter to his girlfriend swept the nation. There was nothing to that story, but it nevertheless kept people away from the stores that day."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.islipexchange.com/",
"https://www.southsidehospital.org/area1/overview.asp"
],
"sentence": "Long Island, which lies off New York City, is 118 miles long and 20 miles across at its widest point, and is connected to the Big Apple by three expressways. It is home to a population of 2.65 million. Regarding the entities mentioned in the warning e-mail, the Exchange Ambulance of the Islip's is a volunteer non-profit service consisting of approximately 100 members. It is located on Long Island and serves the towns of East Islip, Islip, Islip Terrace. Southside Hospital is Long Island's largest community hospital, having 377 beds."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2011/jun/24/democratic-congressional-campaign-committee/ad-claims-rep-vern-buchanans-old-business-illegall/
|
Vern Buchanan. His old business was caught illegally funneling over $60,000 in campaign donations to Buchanan to influence his election.
|
Becky Bowers
|
06/24/2011
|
[] |
When it comes to illegal campaign cash, the wheels of justice move slowly. So when a May 2011 court filing brought fresh attention to old claims involving illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, Democrats jumped, airinga radio adin his Florida district. Congressman Vern Buchanan. His old business was caught illegally funneling over $60,000 in campaign donations to Buchanan to influence his election, the narrator of the ad says. Tell Buchanan to come clean.The ad ran from June 13-17 and was paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It relied onnews articlesabouta lawsuit filedby theFederal Election Commissionagainst a business Buchanan once owned, the DCCC said.The 'old business' Buchanan, 60, is awealthy Republicanfrom Longboat Key serving his third term in Congress representing Florida's13th Congressional District. He built his wealth founding a chain of print shop franchises in Michigan, leaving for Florida in the 1980sas the chain struggledand investing in a range of new businesses, including Florida auto dealerships.One of those dealerships is at the heart of this claim.Buchanan had owned a majority interest in Hyundai of North Jacksonville,the FEC says, when his business partner Sam Kazran arranged for dealership employees and relatives to donate to the Vern Buchanan for Congress committee, then be reimbursed by the business. This went on during the 2006 and 2008 campaigns, the FEC says. (We should note that the date Buchanan legally parted ways with the dealership is a matter of disagreement.The FEC saysBuchanan owned 51 percent of the dealership until Kazran completed his purchase of Buchanan's stake to become the sole owner in 2008 after the suspect contributions were made. Buchanan spokeswoman Sally Tibbetts says Buchanan sold the dealership to Kazran in 2005, putting more distance between the congressman and the illegal contributions. )What's the big deal with reimbursing contributions? It violates federal election law, which says (n)o person shall make a contribution in the name of another person. The Federal Election Campaign Act also limits how much a single contributor may give to candidates' campaign committees. Funneling cash through employees would have made it possible for the dealership to bust through that limit.The Buchanan campaign said they brought the questionable contributions to the attention of the FEC, which then launched the investigation. We can't independently confirm if that's the case, because the FEC does not comment on open cases. However, we found no evidence to the contrary. The commission combined the complaint withone filed in 2008 by a Washington groupand two employees of a Venice dealership, which you canread more about here. The FEC investigated,finding probable causeto believe that the Hyundai dealership and Kazran had illegally reimbursed $67,900 in campaign contributions, but it didn't go after Buchanan.Instead, it's now seeking $67,900 in fines from Kazran.Kazran, for his part,admits reimbursingcampaign contributions, but told theBradenton Heraldhe did it at Buchanan's direction. I've been caught in this political nightmare that I have nothing to do with, he told PolitiFact Florida. But he failed to reach an agreement with the Federal Election Commission andfailed to respond to the complainton behalf of Hyundai North Jacksonville, which is no longer in business. That means facts in the case stand uncontested. So the commission voted to sue him to collect the fines, asking a judge for a default judgement.The FEC told the U.S. District Court that the dealership illegally spent $67,900 in an attempt to influence an election for Congress, presumably believing this to be a worthwhile investment. And that's the May suit that prompted stories in aWSJ.com blog, theSarasota Herald-Tribuneand theBradenton Heraldthat the DCCC cited as it released the script for its Florida radio ad. Jesse Ferguson, speaking on behalf of the committee, theofficial campaign armof the Democrats in the U.S. House, used partial quotes from the lawsuit when he said, The FEC is seeking fines from a business that Vern Buchanan owned at the time for an 'extensive and ongoing scheme' of 'secret illegal contributions' to help his campaign and were going to make sure his constituents know about it.Buchanan's responseWhat does Buchanan's team say? That the FEC has cleared Buchanan himself so the ad linking the behavior of Kazran and his dealership to the congressman is misleading and dishonest.It creates the false impression that Vern Buchanan has done something wrong when in fact he has been fully exonerated by the FEC, said Sally Tibbetts, his spokeswoman.Arelated news releasethat says Buchanan has been completely exonerated is the subject of its own fact-check, andwe found the claim to be Barely True. But we'll summarize here by saying that what little information is available so far from the FEC doesn't fully clear Buchanan though it does mean the commission won't take any further action against him in the case.Information's limited because the case isn't yet closed, soconfidentiality rulesapply.That means for the purposes of this fact-check, we'll rely on what's in the public record information that the DCCC had access to when it scripted its ad.The rulingThat ad starts by naming the congressman, then says his old business was caught illegally funneling over $60,000 in campaign donations to Buchanan to influence his election.The FEC and Buchanan's team agree that he owned a significant stake until at least 2005, when suspect campaign contributions started. The FEC says the dealership reimbursed more than $60,000 in contributions. The money went to Buchanan's main campaign committee, and the FEC says the money was spent in an attempt to influence an election for Congress.What is contested is Buchanan's role in the scheme.The FEC has said it will take no further action against him, closing his file. But it didn't go further to declare it had no probable cause to believe he was involved which would have better supported his team's claim that he's been cleared. Meanwhile, his former business partner still says Buchanan put him up to it, and says he plans another lawsuit to prove it.While we think the DCCC could have done a better job noting it was Buchanan who turned in the illegal contributions, we rate this ad Mostly True.
|
[
"Campaign Finance",
"Florida"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://dccc.org/newsroom/entry/new_dccc_ad_holds_representative_vern_buchanan_accountable_for_campaign_fin/"
],
"sentence": "When it comes to illegal campaign cash, the wheels of justice move slowly. So when a May 2011 court filing brought fresh attention to old claims involving illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, Democrats jumped, airinga radio adin his Florida district."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://dccc.org/newsroom/entry/new_dccc_ad_holds_representative_vern_buchanan_accountable_for_campaign_fin/"
],
"sentence": "Congressman Vern Buchanan. His old business was caught illegally funneling over $60,000 in campaign donations to Buchanan to influence his election, the narrator of the ad says. Tell Buchanan to come clean.The ad ran from June 13-17 and was paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It relied onnews articlesabouta lawsuit filedby theFederal Election Commissionagainst a business Buchanan once owned, the DCCC said.The 'old business'"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/CIDsummary.php?CID=N00027626&year=2009"
],
"sentence": "Buchanan, 60, is awealthy Republicanfrom Longboat Key serving his third term in Congress representing Florida's13th Congressional District. He built his wealth founding a chain of print shop franchises in Michigan, leaving for Florida in the 1980sas the chain struggledand investing in a range of new businesses, including Florida auto dealerships.One of those dealerships is at the heart of this claim.Buchanan had owned a majority interest in Hyundai of North Jacksonville,the FEC says, when his business partner Sam Kazran arranged for dealership employees and relatives to donate to the Vern Buchanan for Congress committee, then be reimbursed by the business. This went on during the 2006 and 2008 campaigns, the FEC says.(We should note that the date Buchanan legally parted ways with the dealership is a matter of disagreement.The FEC saysBuchanan owned 51 percent of the dealership until Kazran completed his purchase of Buchanan's stake to become the sole owner in 2008 after the suspect contributions were made. Buchanan spokeswoman Sally Tibbetts says Buchanan sold the dealership to Kazran in 2005, putting more distance between the congressman and the illegal contributions.)What's the big deal with reimbursing contributions? It violates federal election law, which says (n)o person shall make a contribution in the name of another person. The Federal Election Campaign Act also limits how much a single contributor may give to candidates' campaign committees. Funneling cash through employees would have made it possible for the dealership to bust through that limit.The Buchanan campaign said they brought the questionable contributions to the attention of the FEC, which then launched the investigation. We can't independently confirm if that's the case, because the FEC does not comment on open cases. However, we found no evidence to the contrary."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/crew-files-fec-complaint-against-rep.-vern-buchanan"
],
"sentence": "The commission combined the complaint withone filed in 2008 by a Washington groupand two employees of a Venice dealership, which you canread more about here."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.fec.gov/law/litigation/kazran.shtml"
],
"sentence": "The FEC investigated,finding probable causeto believe that the Hyundai dealership and Kazran had illegally reimbursed $67,900 in campaign contributions, but it didn't go after Buchanan.Instead, it's now seeking $67,900 in fines from Kazran.Kazran, for his part,admits reimbursingcampaign contributions, but told theBradenton Heraldhe did it at Buchanan's direction. I've been caught in this political nightmare that I have nothing to do with, he told PolitiFact Florida. But he failed to reach an agreement with the Federal Election Commission andfailed to respond to the complainton behalf of Hyundai North Jacksonville, which is no longer in business. That means facts in the case stand uncontested. So the commission voted to sue him to collect the fines, asking a judge for a default judgement.The FEC told the U.S. District Court that the dealership illegally spent $67,900 in an attempt to influence an election for Congress, presumably believing this to be a worthwhile investment."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/06/01/fec-seeks-67900-from-rep-buchanans-former-business/"
],
"sentence": "And that's the May suit that prompted stories in aWSJ.com blog, theSarasota Herald-Tribuneand theBradenton Heraldthat the DCCC cited as it released the script for its Florida radio ad. Jesse Ferguson, speaking on behalf of the committee, theofficial campaign armof the Democrats in the U.S. House, used partial quotes from the lawsuit when he said, The FEC is seeking fines from a business that Vern Buchanan owned at the time for an 'extensive and ongoing scheme' of 'secret illegal contributions' to help his campaign and were going to make sure his constituents know about it.Buchanan's responseWhat does Buchanan's team say? That the FEC has cleared Buchanan himself so the ad linking the behavior of Kazran and his dealership to the congressman is misleading and dishonest.It creates the false impression that Vern Buchanan has done something wrong when in fact he has been fully exonerated by the FEC, said Sally Tibbetts, his spokeswoman.Arelated news releasethat says Buchanan has been completely exonerated is the subject of its own fact-check, andwe found the claim to be Barely True. But we'll summarize here by saying that what little information is available so far from the FEC doesn't fully clear Buchanan though it does mean the commission won't take any further action against him in the case.Information's limited because the case isn't yet closed, soconfidentiality rulesapply.That means for the purposes of this fact-check, we'll rely on what's in the public record information that the DCCC had access to when it scripted its ad.The rulingThat ad starts by naming the congressman, then says his old business was caught illegally funneling over $60,000 in campaign donations to Buchanan to influence his election.The FEC and Buchanan's team agree that he owned a significant stake until at least 2005, when suspect campaign contributions started. The FEC says the dealership reimbursed more than $60,000 in contributions. The money went to Buchanan's main campaign committee, and the FEC says the money was spent in an attempt to influence an election for Congress.What is contested is Buchanan's role in the scheme.The FEC has said it will take no further action against him, closing his file. But it didn't go further to declare it had no probable cause to believe he was involved which would have better supported his team's claim that he's been cleared. Meanwhile, his former business partner still says Buchanan put him up to it, and says he plans another lawsuit to prove it.While we think the DCCC could have done a better job noting it was Buchanan who turned in the illegal contributions, we rate this ad Mostly True."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kurt-cobain-nevermind-cover-pedophile/
|
Did Kurt Cobain Say of 'Nevermind' Album Cover, 'If You're Offended by This You Must Be a Closet Pedophile'?
|
Dan Evon
|
08/25/2021
|
[
"Come as you are as long as you're not naked. "
] |
In 1991, as the cover art for Nirvana's second studio album a now iconic photograph of a naked baby in a pool swimming after a dollar on a fishing hook was being prepared, there was some discussion about censoring the image by airbrushing out the nudity. Late front man Kurt Cobain reportedly replied by saying that they could censor it by placing a sticker over the baby's genitals along with the statement: "If you're offended by this you must be a closet pedophile." This quote resurfaced in August 2021 when the model who portrayed the baby, Spencer Elden, filed a lawsuit against the band claiming that he was exploited and that the artwork bordered on child pornography. resurfaced filed a lawsuit against the band This is a genuine quote from Cobain. Art Director Robert Fisher was one of the first to suggest that the baby's genitalia could be censored if anyone thought that it would be problematic. A photograph showing early concept art for the album's cover includes two written comments by Fisher. Fisher wrote: "If anyone has a problem with his dick we can remove it." Image via cait22888 on Flickr Flickr Cobain responded to Fisher's comments by saying that they could censor the nudity with a sticker, reading "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile." This incident is recalled in a passage from Michael Azerrad's book "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana." Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. The only thing was, the baby's penis was quit visible. "If there's a problem with his dick," Fisher said, "we can cut it off." Some people in the Geffen/DGC sales department did worry that the traditionally conservative chain stores might object to the penis and Fisher even went so far as to begin preparing cover with the penis airbushed out. Kurt had anticipated some outcry as well, and has already composed some copy to put on a sticker over the problematic member. It read, "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile." Cobain recounted his version of these events during an interview for "Hot Metal" with journalist Robyn Doreian in 1991. In Cobain's version, he doesn't quite take credit for the idea, instead saying that "we prepared" to deal with censorship issues with a sticker. interview As with most artists signed to the Geffen label, Nirvana have complete artistic control over everyting they do. "I designed out T-shirts, and we have had control over things like how long we tour and who we tour with, and we had control over what songs we recorded." Whilst on the subject of the aesthetically pleasing cover of Nevermind, I enquire as to whether the boy is actually a photo of Kurt as a little tacker. "No, it's not," he remarks drly. Has there been any trouble from censorship groups such as the PMRC for blatantly displaying a willy on the cover? "No, surprisingly not. We prepared to alleviate that problem if anyone were to freak out about it by putting a sticker on it saying, "if you are offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.'" The sticker wasn't needed in the end as the album was released without any alterations to the baby's body. But now, just over 30 years after the album's release, the band is being sued, as Elden alleges that the picture violates child pornography laws. Elden alleges Sources:
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true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kohls-thanksgiving-coupon-scam/
|
Kohl's Thanksgiving Coupon Scam
|
Kim LaCapria
|
11/18/2015
|
[
"No, Kohl's isn't offering a 50 percent off coupon to Facebook users who like and share a status."
] |
Claim: Kohl's is giving Facebook users a coupon for 50 percent off any purchase for liking and sharing a status. Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2015] There is a Yes pass from Kohl's, saying that everything is 50% off. You need to share and comment Thanks Kohl's. Is this true?? _______________________________________________________________________ Happy Thanksgiving from Kohl's. 50 % OFF of everything. Origins: In mid-November 2015, links began circulating on Facebook promising users a Thanksgiving coupon for 50 percent off all Kohl's purchases: The appended links involved a variety of URLs (above, "couponbits.com"), and users who clicked through to claim their coupon landed on a page titled "Complete these steps below to get KOHL'S Reward!" While the page mimicked the style of Facebook-based content, it was hosted on a non-Facebook URL: As with many similar coupon lures on Facebook, the dangled bait was based upon an actual Kohl's coupon (albeit one whose savings were far more modest): In response to an avalanche of Facebook complaints from frustrated users who hadn't received coupons after completing the steps, Kohl's verified account replied: Please know this is not a valid Kohl's offer. Social media users are largely acquainted with survey scams of this type; Kohl's (previously), Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's, Kroger, Best Buy, Macy's, Olive Garden, Publix, Target, and Walmart are among retailers used as scam bait (by folks mining personal information and valuable page likes from Facebook users). Kohl's Costco Home Depot Lowe's Kroger Best Buy Macy's Olive Garden Publix Target Walmart bait A July 2014 article from the Better Business Bureau illustrated how folks might spot and avoid bad actors utilizing the reputations of brands on social media: article Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization. Scammers can also make links look like they lead to legitimate websites and emails appear to come from a different sender. Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure there's a link to their privacy policy. When in doubt, do a quick web search. If the survey is a scam, you may find alerts or complaints from other consumers. The organization's real website may have further information. Watch out for a reward that's too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses can afford to give away $50 gift cards for completing a few questions. It's likely Kohl's planned to release Black Friday coupons on or around Thanksgiving, but the retailer was unlikely to do so by forcing its customers to like and share a Facebook status update. Last updated: 19 November 2015 Originally published: 19 November 2015
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"https://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/homedepot.asp",
"https://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/lowes.asp",
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"sentence": "Social media users are largely acquainted with survey scams of this type; Kohl's (previously), Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's, Kroger, Best Buy, Macy's, Olive Garden, Publix, Target, and Walmart are among retailers used as scam bait (by folks mining personal information and valuable page likes from Facebook users)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.bbb.org/blog/2014/07/customer-survey-scam-lures-victims-with-gift-card/"
],
"sentence": "A July 2014 article from the Better Business Bureau illustrated how folks might spot and avoid bad actors utilizing the reputations of brands on social media:"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/big-oil/
|
Big Oil
|
David Mikkelson
|
07/14/2008
|
[
"E-mail criticizes U.S. environmental regulations on the oil industry."
] |
Claim: E-mail criticizes U.S. environmental regulations on the oil industry. OF AND INFORMATION Examples: [Collected via e-mail, June 2008] Bill Phillips spent nearly 50 years in the US oil and gas industry; most of his career was with the Phillips Petroleum Company. Bill is a descendant of Frank Phillips. Frank Phillips, along with his brother Lee Eldas (L.E.) Phillips, Sr., founded the original Phillips Petroleum Company in 1917 in Bartlesville, OK. Do you remember Phillips 66 gas stations? Phillips Petroleum Company merged with Conoco, Inc. in 2002 to form the current ConocoPhillips oil company. So, when Bill talks about oil and gas issues, I tend to listen - very closely. I think that you will find Bill's thoughts and facts very revealing, very compelling and very difficult to argue with. As you prepare to cast your crucial ballots this Fall, please think long and hard about the far-reaching, cumulative effects of the US political philosophies, policies and legislation that have contributed to the current and future US oil supply situation. Did you know that the United States does NOT have any big oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil companies all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored monopolies that dominate the world's oil supply. With 94% of the world's oil supply locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States, the relatively puny American oil companies do not have access to enough crude oil to significantly affect the market and help bring prices down. Thus, ExxonMobil, a "small" oil company, buys 90% of the crude oil that it refines for the U.S. market from the big players, i.e., mostly-hostile foreign governments. The price at the U.S. pump is rising because the price the big oil companies charge ExxonMobil and the other small American companies for crude oil is going up as the value of the American dollar goes down. They will eventually bleed this country into printing even more money and we will go into runway inflation once again as we did under the Carter Democratic reign. This is obviously a tough situation for the American consumer. The irony is that it doesn't have to be that way. The United States unlike, say, France actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible for American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role in international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American consumers at a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs for Americans. This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endlessbillions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela to be used in propping up their economies. So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democrat Party aided, sadly, by a handful of Republicans deliberately keeps gas prices high and our domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits to development. China is now drilling in the Caribbean, off Cuba but our own companies are barred by law from developing large oil fields off the coasts of Florida and California. Enormous oil-shale deposits in the Rocky Mountain states could go a long way toward supplying American consumers' needs, but the Democratic Congress won't allow those resources to be developed. ANWR contains vast petroleum reserves, but we don't know how vast, because Congress, not wanting the American people to know how badly its policies are hurting our economy, has made it illegal to explore and map those reserves, let alone develop them. In short, all Americans are paying a terrible price for the Democratic Party's perverse energy policies. I own some small interests in tiny, 4 barrel-per-day oil wells in Wyoming. We have 14 agencies that have iron-hand jurisdiction over us. If we drop any oil on the ground when the refinery truck comes to pick up oil from our holding tanks, we are fined. Yet down the road the state will spray thousands of gallons of used oil on a dirt road to control dirt. When it rains that oil runs into rivers and creeks. Yet a cup of oil on the ground at our wellhead is a $50,000 EPA fine plus additional fines from state regulating agencies. They treat oil as if it were plutonium that has the potential to leak into the environment. We are fined if our dirt burms are not high enough around a holding tank, yet the truck that picks up our oil runs down the road at 60 mph with no burm around it. People wonder why there is no more exploration in this country. It's because of the regulators; people who have lived their whole lives doing nothing but imposing fines on small operators like us for doing mostly nothing. So, America enjoy your $4.00 per gallon gasoline. Your dollar is now worth 0.62 Euro-Cents. The lack of American production of GNP, the massive trade deficit (as labor markets have moved overseas to fight insanely high union imposed labor costs in America) and the run away printing of money (backed by nothing of value here in America) has caused the dollar to become more worthless on the international market. And that's where our oil comes from. It's paid for with dollars that become more worthless everyday. If we had just kept par with the Euro we'd be paying $62 dollars per barrel for oil (42 gallons) or about $1.50 instead of $2.50 a gallon for crude oil. What the US government also does not tell you is that it is the leaseholder and royalty recipient of most oil production and receives 25% of the gross oil sales before we pay for electricity to lift the oil, propane to keep the oil-water separators from freezing in the winters. We pay a pumper to visit each well everyday plus we have equipment failures all the time. We pay for that out of our 75% of gross sales. The government does not share in any expenses to run any production well. So, if the Big Oil Companies are making record profits, then so is the federal government from it's 25% tax on every molecule of oil sold to a refinery in this country. Why isn't the government on the stand for "Record" profits? What you don't see is this 25% of the sales price of crude oil being siphoned away by the government. That money plus the road taxes, state taxes, etc. amounts to over $1 per gallon of gasoline you are buying while the governments only admit to about 50 cents per gallon. To all you Democrats, when you go vote for your candidate, a blazing liberal like Barrack Hussein Obama just keep in mind that their liberal spending habits will further decrease the value of the American dollar on the world market and your gasoline costs will hike even higher. As they introduce more give-away programs, raise taxes on everyone to pay people not to produce or work, your dollar will continue to dwindle on the world market and you will be paying $10.00 per gallon at the next election. Cheap hydrocarbon fuel is all over. Enjoy! Enjoy the fruits of your decision to elect these folks when you are there in that voting booth and you stab your pin through a Democrat's name. William "Bill" Phillips Origins: Several readers (including members of the Phillips family) have maintained to us that there is no descendant of Frank Phillips matching the description of the putative author of this piece, which itself appears to be a rewritten/expanded version of an earlier article (one not originally attributed to William "Bill" Phillips). Given the uncertain provenance of the "Phillips" authorship version, we'll address our analysis primarily to the wording of the (presumed) original: article I hadn't realized, until the hearings on energy that were held this week in House and Senate committees, that the United States doesn't have any big oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil companies all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored monopolies that dominate the world's oil supply. With 94% of the world's oil supply locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States, the relatively puny American oil companies do not have access to enough crude oil to significantly affect the market and help bring prices down. Thus, Exxon Mobil, a small oil company, buys 90% of the crude oil that it refines for the U.S. market from the big players, i.e., mostly-hostile foreign governments. The price at the U.S. pump is rising because the price the big oil companies charge Exxon Mobil and the other small American companies for crude oil is going up. Ranking businesses according to "bigness" can be based on a variety of different metrics: geographic reach, scale of operations, market value, gross revenues, net profits, etc. Exxon Mobil is certainly one of the world's largest (in terms of gross revenues) and most profitable public companies. (Many of the world's largest non-public companies are also in the oil business.) The statement here about Exxon Mobil's being "only the 14th largest [oil company] in the world" refers to the amount of oil and gas reserves that company controls, and it is generally true that the major (public) oil companies have much less access to oil and gas resources than they did a few decades ago, most of which are now controlled by national oil companies: largest profitable non-public reserves Despite record crude prices, the major oil companies are struggling to access resources that are being jealously guarded by national companies with whom they are forced to establish partnerships. As paradoxical as it may seem, high oil prices do not mean a golden age for the likes of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Totalor BP. Of course, with a barrel of oil at more than 140 dollars, they are seeing major profits, but the future has never seemed so uncertain. The problem is access to reserves. The oil majors now control less than 10 percent of world resources of gas and oil, against 70 percent in the 1970s, according to figures released by the office of Ernst and Young at the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid. As a result they are being forced to explore in increasingly extreme conditions. The statement that "94% of the world's oil supply [is] locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States" might be a considered a bit misleading since many of those "hostile" countries have relatively small oil reserves, while the country with the second-largest oil reserves, Canada, is U.S.-friendly (and both Mexico and the United States are also among the countries with the largest oil reserves). reserves This is obviously a tough situation for the American consumer. The irony is that it doesn't have to be that way. The United States unlike, say, France actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible for American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role in international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American consumers at a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs for Americans. This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endless billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela. So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democratic Party aided, sadly, by a handful of Republicans deliberately keeps gas prices high and our domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits to development. China is now drilling in the Caribbean, but our own companies are barred by law from developing large oil fields off the coasts of Florida and California. Enormous shale oil deposits in the Rocky Mountain states could go a long way toward supplying American consumers' needs, but the Democratic Congress won't allow those resources to be developed. ANWR contains vast petroleum reserves, but we don't know how vast, because Congress, not wanting the American people to know how badly its policies are hurting our economy, has made it illegal to explore and map those reserves, let alone develop them. Drilling for oil off of most of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts has largely been barred due to a moratorium imposed by Congress in the early 1980s and by an executive order signed by President George H.W. Bush (a Republican) in 1990. The congressional moratorium has to be renewed every year, and it has remained in place for nearly three decades through a succession of administrations and Congresses, both Democratic and Republican alike. (On 14 July 2008, President George W. Bush lifted the executive order barring offshore drilling that had been signed by his father eighteen years earlier.) The congressional moratorium is due to expire on 1 October 2008 unless Congress votes to extend it. Some analysts have claimed that if the oil industry could extract oil and gas from oil shale in a cost-effective manner, oil shale deposits in the U.S. (particularly on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, site of the world's largest such deposit) could produce viable oil reserves of about 800 billion barrels (three times the current proven reserves of Saudi Arabia). However, the cost and effectiveness of oil shale development (and the resource use and environmental effects attendant to accomplishing it) remain a subject of considerable debate, and oil companies remain barred from undertaking commercial oil shale projects on federal land: At best production is years away, while unpredictable oil markets, growing water demand, sizable electricity needs and climate change all pose potentially huge hurdles. Democrats have barred the Bureau of Land Management from leasing any federal land for commercial-scale oil shale projects. Skeptic Randy Udall of nearby Carbondale, Colo., argues that oil shale is but a poor cousin to other fossil fuels, with an energy content per ton less than one-third that of cattle manure and only slightly better than the potato. Any oil shale project in this region would mean new water demands on the Colorado River and its tributaries, vital waterways for much of the western U.S. and northern Mexico. That potential demand for water worries rancher David Smith of nearby Meeker, Colo., who relies on water from the White River that he fears will be diverted to the oil shale operations. The oil companies, Smith said, could help ease concerns by sharing in the cost of a water storage project. "They have not offered to do that," Smith said. Besides water, Shell's oil shale project would require far more electricity than the existing power grid could supply. That likely means construction of a new power plant. In this part of the country, the most economical way to fire a power plant would be with coal. But in the next Congress, lawmakers are likely to pass legislation to limit greenhouse emissions, and coal-fired plants are huge emitters of carbon dioxide. That would add to cost, ever oil shale's nemesis. The subject of opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and development is another issue that has been pursued across the years through a succession of administrations and Congresses, both Democratic and Republican alike. The issue has been complicated by the uncertainty of many factors involved in the opening of ANWR to U.S. oil production, such as the total amount of oil underlying the area, the size of the oil fields that might be found in ANWR, the quality of the oil that might be found in ANWR, the potential production capacity of ANWR drilling operations, how long it would take before ANWR operations began providing significant amounts of oil for the U.S. market, what effects the oil extracted from ANWR would have on world oil supply and prices, and the environmental impacts of oil exploration and development in ANWR. As of now, both major-party presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, are opposed to opening ANWR to oil exploration. pursued factors Last updated: 14 July 2008 Dechaux, Delphine. "Despite Rocketing Prices, Outlook Is Bleak for Oil Majors." Agence France Presse. 6 July 2008. Feller Ben. "Bush Trumps Congress; Moves First on Drilling." Associated Press. 14 July 2008. Forbes, Steve. "Will We Rid Ourselves of This Pollution?" Forbes. 16 April 2007. Guerrera, Francesco and Carola Hoyos. "Hidden Value: How Unlisted Companies Are Eclipsing the Public Equity Market." Financial Times. 15 December 2006. Ivanovich, David. "Despite 800 Billion Barrel Potential, Oil Shale a Hard Sell." The Houston Chronicle. 12 July 2008. Simon, Richard. "Bush Lifts Presidential Ban on Offshore Drilling." Los Angeles Times. 14 July 2008.
|
[
"taxes"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/05/020589.asp"
],
"sentence": "Origins: Several readers (including members of the Phillips family) have maintained to us that there is no descendant of Frank Phillips matching the description of the putative author of this piece, which itself appears to be a rewritten/expanded version of an earlier article (one not originally attributed to William \"Bill\" Phillips). Given the uncertain provenance of the \"Phillips\" authorship version, we'll address our analysis primarily to the wording of the (presumed) original:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
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"https://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0707/gallery.global500_top25.fortune/2.html",
"https://www.mckinsey.com/aboutus/mckinseynews/pressarchive/pdf/ft_np_150.pdf",
"https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0416/033.html"
],
"sentence": "Ranking businesses according to \"bigness\" can be based on a variety of different metrics: geographic reach, scale of operations, market value, gross revenues, net profits, etc. Exxon Mobil is certainly one of the world's largest (in terms of gross revenues) and most profitable public companies. (Many of the world's largest non-public companies are also in the oil business.) The statement here about Exxon Mobil's being \"only the 14th largest [oil company] in the world\" refers to the amount of oil and gas reserves that company controls, and it is generally true that the major (public) oil companies have much less access to oil and gas resources than they did a few decades ago, most of which are now controlled by national oil companies:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872964.html"
],
"sentence": "The statement that \"94% of the world's oil supply [is] locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States\" might be a considered a bit misleading since many of those \"hostile\" countries have relatively small oil reserves, while the country with the second-largest oil reserves, Canada, is U.S.-friendly (and both Mexico and the United States are also among the countries with the largest oil reserves)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.anwr.org/Background/Political-History-of-the-Arctic-Refuge.asp",
"https://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/anwr/results.html"
],
"sentence": "The subject of opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and development is another issue that has been pursued across the years through a succession of administrations and Congresses, both Democratic and Republican alike. The issue has been complicated by the uncertainty of many factors involved in the opening of ANWR to U.S. oil production, such as the total amount of oil underlying the area, the size of the oil fields that might be found in ANWR, the quality of the oil that might be found in ANWR, the potential production capacity of ANWR drilling operations, how long it would take before ANWR operations began providing significant amounts of oil for the U.S. market, what effects the oil extracted from ANWR would have on world oil supply and prices, and the environmental impacts of oil exploration and development in ANWR. As of now, both major-party presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, are opposed to opening ANWR to oil exploration."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/big-oil/
|
Major Oil Companies
|
David Mikkelson
|
07/14/2008
|
[
"E-mail criticizes U.S. environmental regulations on the oil industry."
] |
Claim: E-mail criticizes U.S. environmental regulations on the oil industry. OF AND INFORMATION Examples: [Collected via e-mail, June 2008] Bill Phillips spent nearly 50 years in the US oil and gas industry; most of his career was with the Phillips Petroleum Company. Bill is a descendant of Frank Phillips. Frank Phillips, along with his brother Lee Eldas (L.E.) Phillips, Sr., founded the original Phillips Petroleum Company in 1917 in Bartlesville, OK. Do you remember Phillips 66 gas stations? Phillips Petroleum Company merged with Conoco, Inc. in 2002 to form the current ConocoPhillips oil company. So, when Bill talks about oil and gas issues, I tend to listen - very closely. I think that you will find Bill's thoughts and facts very revealing, very compelling and very difficult to argue with. As you prepare to cast your crucial ballots this Fall, please think long and hard about the far-reaching, cumulative effects of the US political philosophies, policies and legislation that have contributed to the current and future US oil supply situation. Did you know that the United States does NOT have any big oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil companies all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored monopolies that dominate the world's oil supply. With 94% of the world's oil supply locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States, the relatively puny American oil companies do not have access to enough crude oil to significantly affect the market and help bring prices down. Thus, ExxonMobil, a "small" oil company, buys 90% of the crude oil that it refines for the U.S. market from the big players, i.e., mostly-hostile foreign governments. The price at the U.S. pump is rising because the price the big oil companies charge ExxonMobil and the other small American companies for crude oil is going up as the value of the American dollar goes down. They will eventually bleed this country into printing even more money and we will go into runway inflation once again as we did under the Carter Democratic reign. This is obviously a tough situation for the American consumer. The irony is that it doesn't have to be that way. The United States unlike, say, France actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible for American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role in international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American consumers at a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs for Americans. This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endlessbillions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela to be used in propping up their economies. So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democrat Party aided, sadly, by a handful of Republicans deliberately keeps gas prices high and our domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits to development. China is now drilling in the Caribbean, off Cuba but our own companies are barred by law from developing large oil fields off the coasts of Florida and California. Enormous oil-shale deposits in the Rocky Mountain states could go a long way toward supplying American consumers' needs, but the Democratic Congress won't allow those resources to be developed. ANWR contains vast petroleum reserves, but we don't know how vast, because Congress, not wanting the American people to know how badly its policies are hurting our economy, has made it illegal to explore and map those reserves, let alone develop them. In short, all Americans are paying a terrible price for the Democratic Party's perverse energy policies. I own some small interests in tiny, 4 barrel-per-day oil wells in Wyoming. We have 14 agencies that have iron-hand jurisdiction over us. If we drop any oil on the ground when the refinery truck comes to pick up oil from our holding tanks, we are fined. Yet down the road the state will spray thousands of gallons of used oil on a dirt road to control dirt. When it rains that oil runs into rivers and creeks. Yet a cup of oil on the ground at our wellhead is a $50,000 EPA fine plus additional fines from state regulating agencies. They treat oil as if it were plutonium that has the potential to leak into the environment. We are fined if our dirt burms are not high enough around a holding tank, yet the truck that picks up our oil runs down the road at 60 mph with no burm around it. People wonder why there is no more exploration in this country. It's because of the regulators; people who have lived their whole lives doing nothing but imposing fines on small operators like us for doing mostly nothing. So, America enjoy your $4.00 per gallon gasoline. Your dollar is now worth 0.62 Euro-Cents. The lack of American production of GNP, the massive trade deficit (as labor markets have moved overseas to fight insanely high union imposed labor costs in America) and the run away printing of money (backed by nothing of value here in America) has caused the dollar to become more worthless on the international market. And that's where our oil comes from. It's paid for with dollars that become more worthless everyday. If we had just kept par with the Euro we'd be paying $62 dollars per barrel for oil (42 gallons) or about $1.50 instead of $2.50 a gallon for crude oil. What the US government also does not tell you is that it is the leaseholder and royalty recipient of most oil production and receives 25% of the gross oil sales before we pay for electricity to lift the oil, propane to keep the oil-water separators from freezing in the winters. We pay a pumper to visit each well everyday plus we have equipment failures all the time. We pay for that out of our 75% of gross sales. The government does not share in any expenses to run any production well. So, if the Big Oil Companies are making record profits, then so is the federal government from it's 25% tax on every molecule of oil sold to a refinery in this country. Why isn't the government on the stand for "Record" profits? What you don't see is this 25% of the sales price of crude oil being siphoned away by the government. That money plus the road taxes, state taxes, etc. amounts to over $1 per gallon of gasoline you are buying while the governments only admit to about 50 cents per gallon. To all you Democrats, when you go vote for your candidate, a blazing liberal like Barrack Hussein Obama just keep in mind that their liberal spending habits will further decrease the value of the American dollar on the world market and your gasoline costs will hike even higher. As they introduce more give-away programs, raise taxes on everyone to pay people not to produce or work, your dollar will continue to dwindle on the world market and you will be paying $10.00 per gallon at the next election. Cheap hydrocarbon fuel is all over. Enjoy! Enjoy the fruits of your decision to elect these folks when you are there in that voting booth and you stab your pin through a Democrat's name. William "Bill" Phillips Origins: Several readers (including members of the Phillips family) have maintained to us that there is no descendant of Frank Phillips matching the description of the putative author of this piece, which itself appears to be a rewritten/expanded version of an earlier article (one not originally attributed to William "Bill" Phillips). Given the uncertain provenance of the "Phillips" authorship version, we'll address our analysis primarily to the wording of the (presumed) original: article I hadn't realized, until the hearings on energy that were held this week in House and Senate committees, that the United States doesn't have any big oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil companies all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored monopolies that dominate the world's oil supply. With 94% of the world's oil supply locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States, the relatively puny American oil companies do not have access to enough crude oil to significantly affect the market and help bring prices down. Thus, Exxon Mobil, a small oil company, buys 90% of the crude oil that it refines for the U.S. market from the big players, i.e., mostly-hostile foreign governments. The price at the U.S. pump is rising because the price the big oil companies charge Exxon Mobil and the other small American companies for crude oil is going up. Ranking businesses according to "bigness" can be based on a variety of different metrics: geographic reach, scale of operations, market value, gross revenues, net profits, etc. Exxon Mobil is certainly one of the world's largest (in terms of gross revenues) and most profitable public companies. (Many of the world's largest non-public companies are also in the oil business.) The statement here about Exxon Mobil's being "only the 14th largest [oil company] in the world" refers to the amount of oil and gas reserves that company controls, and it is generally true that the major (public) oil companies have much less access to oil and gas resources than they did a few decades ago, most of which are now controlled by national oil companies: largest profitable non-public reserves Despite record crude prices, the major oil companies are struggling to access resources that are being jealously guarded by national companies with whom they are forced to establish partnerships. As paradoxical as it may seem, high oil prices do not mean a golden age for the likes of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Totalor BP. Of course, with a barrel of oil at more than 140 dollars, they are seeing major profits, but the future has never seemed so uncertain. The problem is access to reserves. The oil majors now control less than 10 percent of world resources of gas and oil, against 70 percent in the 1970s, according to figures released by the office of Ernst and Young at the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid. As a result they are being forced to explore in increasingly extreme conditions. The statement that "94% of the world's oil supply [is] locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States" might be a considered a bit misleading since many of those "hostile" countries have relatively small oil reserves, while the country with the second-largest oil reserves, Canada, is U.S.-friendly (and both Mexico and the United States are also among the countries with the largest oil reserves). reserves This is obviously a tough situation for the American consumer. The irony is that it doesn't have to be that way. The United States unlike, say, France actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible for American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role in international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American consumers at a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs for Americans. This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endless billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela. So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democratic Party aided, sadly, by a handful of Republicans deliberately keeps gas prices high and our domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits to development. China is now drilling in the Caribbean, but our own companies are barred by law from developing large oil fields off the coasts of Florida and California. Enormous shale oil deposits in the Rocky Mountain states could go a long way toward supplying American consumers' needs, but the Democratic Congress won't allow those resources to be developed. ANWR contains vast petroleum reserves, but we don't know how vast, because Congress, not wanting the American people to know how badly its policies are hurting our economy, has made it illegal to explore and map those reserves, let alone develop them. Drilling for oil off of most of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts has largely been barred due to a moratorium imposed by Congress in the early 1980s and by an executive order signed by President George H.W. Bush (a Republican) in 1990. The congressional moratorium has to be renewed every year, and it has remained in place for nearly three decades through a succession of administrations and Congresses, both Democratic and Republican alike. (On 14 July 2008, President George W. Bush lifted the executive order barring offshore drilling that had been signed by his father eighteen years earlier.) The congressional moratorium is due to expire on 1 October 2008 unless Congress votes to extend it. Some analysts have claimed that if the oil industry could extract oil and gas from oil shale in a cost-effective manner, oil shale deposits in the U.S. (particularly on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, site of the world's largest such deposit) could produce viable oil reserves of about 800 billion barrels (three times the current proven reserves of Saudi Arabia). However, the cost and effectiveness of oil shale development (and the resource use and environmental effects attendant to accomplishing it) remain a subject of considerable debate, and oil companies remain barred from undertaking commercial oil shale projects on federal land: At best production is years away, while unpredictable oil markets, growing water demand, sizable electricity needs and climate change all pose potentially huge hurdles. Democrats have barred the Bureau of Land Management from leasing any federal land for commercial-scale oil shale projects. Skeptic Randy Udall of nearby Carbondale, Colo., argues that oil shale is but a poor cousin to other fossil fuels, with an energy content per ton less than one-third that of cattle manure and only slightly better than the potato. Any oil shale project in this region would mean new water demands on the Colorado River and its tributaries, vital waterways for much of the western U.S. and northern Mexico. That potential demand for water worries rancher David Smith of nearby Meeker, Colo., who relies on water from the White River that he fears will be diverted to the oil shale operations. The oil companies, Smith said, could help ease concerns by sharing in the cost of a water storage project. "They have not offered to do that," Smith said. Besides water, Shell's oil shale project would require far more electricity than the existing power grid could supply. That likely means construction of a new power plant. In this part of the country, the most economical way to fire a power plant would be with coal. But in the next Congress, lawmakers are likely to pass legislation to limit greenhouse emissions, and coal-fired plants are huge emitters of carbon dioxide. That would add to cost, ever oil shale's nemesis. The subject of opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and development is another issue that has been pursued across the years through a succession of administrations and Congresses, both Democratic and Republican alike. The issue has been complicated by the uncertainty of many factors involved in the opening of ANWR to U.S. oil production, such as the total amount of oil underlying the area, the size of the oil fields that might be found in ANWR, the quality of the oil that might be found in ANWR, the potential production capacity of ANWR drilling operations, how long it would take before ANWR operations began providing significant amounts of oil for the U.S. market, what effects the oil extracted from ANWR would have on world oil supply and prices, and the environmental impacts of oil exploration and development in ANWR. As of now, both major-party presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, are opposed to opening ANWR to oil exploration. pursued factors Last updated: 14 July 2008 Dechaux, Delphine. "Despite Rocketing Prices, Outlook Is Bleak for Oil Majors." Agence France Presse. 6 July 2008. Feller Ben. "Bush Trumps Congress; Moves First on Drilling." Associated Press. 14 July 2008. Forbes, Steve. "Will We Rid Ourselves of This Pollution?" Forbes. 16 April 2007. Guerrera, Francesco and Carola Hoyos. "Hidden Value: How Unlisted Companies Are Eclipsing the Public Equity Market." Financial Times. 15 December 2006. Ivanovich, David. "Despite 800 Billion Barrel Potential, Oil Shale a Hard Sell." The Houston Chronicle. 12 July 2008. Simon, Richard. "Bush Lifts Presidential Ban on Offshore Drilling." Los Angeles Times. 14 July 2008.
|
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[] |
[
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"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": "Origins: Several readers (including members of the Phillips family) have maintained to us that there is no descendant of Frank Phillips matching the description of the putative author of this piece, which itself appears to be a rewritten/expanded version of an earlier article (one not originally attributed to William \"Bill\" Phillips). Given the uncertain provenance of the \"Phillips\" authorship version, we'll address our analysis primarily to the wording of the (presumed) original:"
},
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"hrefs": [
"https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2007/ ",
"https://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0707/gallery.global500_top25.fortune/2.html",
"https://www.mckinsey.com/aboutus/mckinseynews/pressarchive/pdf/ft_np_150.pdf",
"https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0416/033.html"
],
"sentence": "Ranking businesses according to \"bigness\" can be based on a variety of different metrics: geographic reach, scale of operations, market value, gross revenues, net profits, etc. Exxon Mobil is certainly one of the world's largest (in terms of gross revenues) and most profitable public companies. (Many of the world's largest non-public companies are also in the oil business.) The statement here about Exxon Mobil's being \"only the 14th largest [oil company] in the world\" refers to the amount of oil and gas reserves that company controls, and it is generally true that the major (public) oil companies have much less access to oil and gas resources than they did a few decades ago, most of which are now controlled by national oil companies:"
},
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"https://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872964.html"
],
"sentence": "The statement that \"94% of the world's oil supply [is] locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States\" might be a considered a bit misleading since many of those \"hostile\" countries have relatively small oil reserves, while the country with the second-largest oil reserves, Canada, is U.S.-friendly (and both Mexico and the United States are also among the countries with the largest oil reserves)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.anwr.org/Background/Political-History-of-the-Arctic-Refuge.asp",
"https://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/anwr/results.html"
],
"sentence": "The subject of opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and development is another issue that has been pursued across the years through a succession of administrations and Congresses, both Democratic and Republican alike. The issue has been complicated by the uncertainty of many factors involved in the opening of ANWR to U.S. oil production, such as the total amount of oil underlying the area, the size of the oil fields that might be found in ANWR, the quality of the oil that might be found in ANWR, the potential production capacity of ANWR drilling operations, how long it would take before ANWR operations began providing significant amounts of oil for the U.S. market, what effects the oil extracted from ANWR would have on world oil supply and prices, and the environmental impacts of oil exploration and development in ANWR. As of now, both major-party presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, are opposed to opening ANWR to oil exploration."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/big-oil/
|
Major petroleum companies
|
David Mikkelson
|
07/14/2008
|
[
"E-mail criticizes U.S. environmental regulations on the oil industry."
] |
Claim: E-mail criticizes U.S. environmental regulations on the oil industry. OF AND INFORMATION Examples: [Collected via e-mail, June 2008] Bill Phillips spent nearly 50 years in the US oil and gas industry; most of his career was with the Phillips Petroleum Company. Bill is a descendant of Frank Phillips. Frank Phillips, along with his brother Lee Eldas (L.E.) Phillips, Sr., founded the original Phillips Petroleum Company in 1917 in Bartlesville, OK. Do you remember Phillips 66 gas stations? Phillips Petroleum Company merged with Conoco, Inc. in 2002 to form the current ConocoPhillips oil company. So, when Bill talks about oil and gas issues, I tend to listen - very closely. I think that you will find Bill's thoughts and facts very revealing, very compelling and very difficult to argue with. As you prepare to cast your crucial ballots this Fall, please think long and hard about the far-reaching, cumulative effects of the US political philosophies, policies and legislation that have contributed to the current and future US oil supply situation. Did you know that the United States does NOT have any big oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil companies all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored monopolies that dominate the world's oil supply. With 94% of the world's oil supply locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States, the relatively puny American oil companies do not have access to enough crude oil to significantly affect the market and help bring prices down. Thus, ExxonMobil, a "small" oil company, buys 90% of the crude oil that it refines for the U.S. market from the big players, i.e., mostly-hostile foreign governments. The price at the U.S. pump is rising because the price the big oil companies charge ExxonMobil and the other small American companies for crude oil is going up as the value of the American dollar goes down. They will eventually bleed this country into printing even more money and we will go into runway inflation once again as we did under the Carter Democratic reign. This is obviously a tough situation for the American consumer. The irony is that it doesn't have to be that way. The United States unlike, say, France actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible for American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role in international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American consumers at a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs for Americans. This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endlessbillions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela to be used in propping up their economies. So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democrat Party aided, sadly, by a handful of Republicans deliberately keeps gas prices high and our domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits to development. China is now drilling in the Caribbean, off Cuba but our own companies are barred by law from developing large oil fields off the coasts of Florida and California. Enormous oil-shale deposits in the Rocky Mountain states could go a long way toward supplying American consumers' needs, but the Democratic Congress won't allow those resources to be developed. ANWR contains vast petroleum reserves, but we don't know how vast, because Congress, not wanting the American people to know how badly its policies are hurting our economy, has made it illegal to explore and map those reserves, let alone develop them. In short, all Americans are paying a terrible price for the Democratic Party's perverse energy policies. I own some small interests in tiny, 4 barrel-per-day oil wells in Wyoming. We have 14 agencies that have iron-hand jurisdiction over us. If we drop any oil on the ground when the refinery truck comes to pick up oil from our holding tanks, we are fined. Yet down the road the state will spray thousands of gallons of used oil on a dirt road to control dirt. When it rains that oil runs into rivers and creeks. Yet a cup of oil on the ground at our wellhead is a $50,000 EPA fine plus additional fines from state regulating agencies. They treat oil as if it were plutonium that has the potential to leak into the environment. We are fined if our dirt burms are not high enough around a holding tank, yet the truck that picks up our oil runs down the road at 60 mph with no burm around it. People wonder why there is no more exploration in this country. It's because of the regulators; people who have lived their whole lives doing nothing but imposing fines on small operators like us for doing mostly nothing. So, America enjoy your $4.00 per gallon gasoline. Your dollar is now worth 0.62 Euro-Cents. The lack of American production of GNP, the massive trade deficit (as labor markets have moved overseas to fight insanely high union imposed labor costs in America) and the run away printing of money (backed by nothing of value here in America) has caused the dollar to become more worthless on the international market. And that's where our oil comes from. It's paid for with dollars that become more worthless everyday. If we had just kept par with the Euro we'd be paying $62 dollars per barrel for oil (42 gallons) or about $1.50 instead of $2.50 a gallon for crude oil. What the US government also does not tell you is that it is the leaseholder and royalty recipient of most oil production and receives 25% of the gross oil sales before we pay for electricity to lift the oil, propane to keep the oil-water separators from freezing in the winters. We pay a pumper to visit each well everyday plus we have equipment failures all the time. We pay for that out of our 75% of gross sales. The government does not share in any expenses to run any production well. So, if the Big Oil Companies are making record profits, then so is the federal government from it's 25% tax on every molecule of oil sold to a refinery in this country. Why isn't the government on the stand for "Record" profits? What you don't see is this 25% of the sales price of crude oil being siphoned away by the government. That money plus the road taxes, state taxes, etc. amounts to over $1 per gallon of gasoline you are buying while the governments only admit to about 50 cents per gallon. To all you Democrats, when you go vote for your candidate, a blazing liberal like Barrack Hussein Obama just keep in mind that their liberal spending habits will further decrease the value of the American dollar on the world market and your gasoline costs will hike even higher. As they introduce more give-away programs, raise taxes on everyone to pay people not to produce or work, your dollar will continue to dwindle on the world market and you will be paying $10.00 per gallon at the next election. Cheap hydrocarbon fuel is all over. Enjoy! Enjoy the fruits of your decision to elect these folks when you are there in that voting booth and you stab your pin through a Democrat's name. William "Bill" Phillips Origins: Several readers (including members of the Phillips family) have maintained to us that there is no descendant of Frank Phillips matching the description of the putative author of this piece, which itself appears to be a rewritten/expanded version of an earlier article (one not originally attributed to William "Bill" Phillips). Given the uncertain provenance of the "Phillips" authorship version, we'll address our analysis primarily to the wording of the (presumed) original: article I hadn't realized, until the hearings on energy that were held this week in House and Senate committees, that the United States doesn't have any big oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil companies all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored monopolies that dominate the world's oil supply. With 94% of the world's oil supply locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States, the relatively puny American oil companies do not have access to enough crude oil to significantly affect the market and help bring prices down. Thus, Exxon Mobil, a small oil company, buys 90% of the crude oil that it refines for the U.S. market from the big players, i.e., mostly-hostile foreign governments. The price at the U.S. pump is rising because the price the big oil companies charge Exxon Mobil and the other small American companies for crude oil is going up. Ranking businesses according to "bigness" can be based on a variety of different metrics: geographic reach, scale of operations, market value, gross revenues, net profits, etc. Exxon Mobil is certainly one of the world's largest (in terms of gross revenues) and most profitable public companies. (Many of the world's largest non-public companies are also in the oil business.) The statement here about Exxon Mobil's being "only the 14th largest [oil company] in the world" refers to the amount of oil and gas reserves that company controls, and it is generally true that the major (public) oil companies have much less access to oil and gas resources than they did a few decades ago, most of which are now controlled by national oil companies: largest profitable non-public reserves Despite record crude prices, the major oil companies are struggling to access resources that are being jealously guarded by national companies with whom they are forced to establish partnerships. As paradoxical as it may seem, high oil prices do not mean a golden age for the likes of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Totalor BP. Of course, with a barrel of oil at more than 140 dollars, they are seeing major profits, but the future has never seemed so uncertain. The problem is access to reserves. The oil majors now control less than 10 percent of world resources of gas and oil, against 70 percent in the 1970s, according to figures released by the office of Ernst and Young at the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid. As a result they are being forced to explore in increasingly extreme conditions. The statement that "94% of the world's oil supply [is] locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States" might be a considered a bit misleading since many of those "hostile" countries have relatively small oil reserves, while the country with the second-largest oil reserves, Canada, is U.S.-friendly (and both Mexico and the United States are also among the countries with the largest oil reserves). reserves This is obviously a tough situation for the American consumer. The irony is that it doesn't have to be that way. The United States unlike, say, France actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible for American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role in international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American consumers at a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs for Americans. This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endless billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela. So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democratic Party aided, sadly, by a handful of Republicans deliberately keeps gas prices high and our domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits to development. China is now drilling in the Caribbean, but our own companies are barred by law from developing large oil fields off the coasts of Florida and California. Enormous shale oil deposits in the Rocky Mountain states could go a long way toward supplying American consumers' needs, but the Democratic Congress won't allow those resources to be developed. ANWR contains vast petroleum reserves, but we don't know how vast, because Congress, not wanting the American people to know how badly its policies are hurting our economy, has made it illegal to explore and map those reserves, let alone develop them. Drilling for oil off of most of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts has largely been barred due to a moratorium imposed by Congress in the early 1980s and by an executive order signed by President George H.W. Bush (a Republican) in 1990. The congressional moratorium has to be renewed every year, and it has remained in place for nearly three decades through a succession of administrations and Congresses, both Democratic and Republican alike. (On 14 July 2008, President George W. Bush lifted the executive order barring offshore drilling that had been signed by his father eighteen years earlier.) The congressional moratorium is due to expire on 1 October 2008 unless Congress votes to extend it. Some analysts have claimed that if the oil industry could extract oil and gas from oil shale in a cost-effective manner, oil shale deposits in the U.S. (particularly on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, site of the world's largest such deposit) could produce viable oil reserves of about 800 billion barrels (three times the current proven reserves of Saudi Arabia). However, the cost and effectiveness of oil shale development (and the resource use and environmental effects attendant to accomplishing it) remain a subject of considerable debate, and oil companies remain barred from undertaking commercial oil shale projects on federal land: At best production is years away, while unpredictable oil markets, growing water demand, sizable electricity needs and climate change all pose potentially huge hurdles. Democrats have barred the Bureau of Land Management from leasing any federal land for commercial-scale oil shale projects. Skeptic Randy Udall of nearby Carbondale, Colo., argues that oil shale is but a poor cousin to other fossil fuels, with an energy content per ton less than one-third that of cattle manure and only slightly better than the potato. Any oil shale project in this region would mean new water demands on the Colorado River and its tributaries, vital waterways for much of the western U.S. and northern Mexico. That potential demand for water worries rancher David Smith of nearby Meeker, Colo., who relies on water from the White River that he fears will be diverted to the oil shale operations. The oil companies, Smith said, could help ease concerns by sharing in the cost of a water storage project. "They have not offered to do that," Smith said. Besides water, Shell's oil shale project would require far more electricity than the existing power grid could supply. That likely means construction of a new power plant. In this part of the country, the most economical way to fire a power plant would be with coal. But in the next Congress, lawmakers are likely to pass legislation to limit greenhouse emissions, and coal-fired plants are huge emitters of carbon dioxide. That would add to cost, ever oil shale's nemesis. The subject of opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and development is another issue that has been pursued across the years through a succession of administrations and Congresses, both Democratic and Republican alike. The issue has been complicated by the uncertainty of many factors involved in the opening of ANWR to U.S. oil production, such as the total amount of oil underlying the area, the size of the oil fields that might be found in ANWR, the quality of the oil that might be found in ANWR, the potential production capacity of ANWR drilling operations, how long it would take before ANWR operations began providing significant amounts of oil for the U.S. market, what effects the oil extracted from ANWR would have on world oil supply and prices, and the environmental impacts of oil exploration and development in ANWR. As of now, both major-party presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, are opposed to opening ANWR to oil exploration. pursued factors Last updated: 14 July 2008 Dechaux, Delphine. "Despite Rocketing Prices, Outlook Is Bleak for Oil Majors." Agence France Presse. 6 July 2008. Feller Ben. "Bush Trumps Congress; Moves First on Drilling." Associated Press. 14 July 2008. Forbes, Steve. "Will We Rid Ourselves of This Pollution?" Forbes. 16 April 2007. Guerrera, Francesco and Carola Hoyos. "Hidden Value: How Unlisted Companies Are Eclipsing the Public Equity Market." Financial Times. 15 December 2006. Ivanovich, David. "Despite 800 Billion Barrel Potential, Oil Shale a Hard Sell." The Houston Chronicle. 12 July 2008. Simon, Richard. "Bush Lifts Presidential Ban on Offshore Drilling." Los Angeles Times. 14 July 2008.
|
[
"taxes"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/05/020589.asp"
],
"sentence": "Origins: Several readers (including members of the Phillips family) have maintained to us that there is no descendant of Frank Phillips matching the description of the putative author of this piece, which itself appears to be a rewritten/expanded version of an earlier article (one not originally attributed to William \"Bill\" Phillips). Given the uncertain provenance of the \"Phillips\" authorship version, we'll address our analysis primarily to the wording of the (presumed) original:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2007/ ",
"https://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0707/gallery.global500_top25.fortune/2.html",
"https://www.mckinsey.com/aboutus/mckinseynews/pressarchive/pdf/ft_np_150.pdf",
"https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0416/033.html"
],
"sentence": "Ranking businesses according to \"bigness\" can be based on a variety of different metrics: geographic reach, scale of operations, market value, gross revenues, net profits, etc. Exxon Mobil is certainly one of the world's largest (in terms of gross revenues) and most profitable public companies. (Many of the world's largest non-public companies are also in the oil business.) The statement here about Exxon Mobil's being \"only the 14th largest [oil company] in the world\" refers to the amount of oil and gas reserves that company controls, and it is generally true that the major (public) oil companies have much less access to oil and gas resources than they did a few decades ago, most of which are now controlled by national oil companies:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872964.html"
],
"sentence": "The statement that \"94% of the world's oil supply [is] locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the United States\" might be a considered a bit misleading since many of those \"hostile\" countries have relatively small oil reserves, while the country with the second-largest oil reserves, Canada, is U.S.-friendly (and both Mexico and the United States are also among the countries with the largest oil reserves)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.anwr.org/Background/Political-History-of-the-Arctic-Refuge.asp",
"https://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/anwr/results.html"
],
"sentence": "The subject of opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and development is another issue that has been pursued across the years through a succession of administrations and Congresses, both Democratic and Republican alike. The issue has been complicated by the uncertainty of many factors involved in the opening of ANWR to U.S. oil production, such as the total amount of oil underlying the area, the size of the oil fields that might be found in ANWR, the quality of the oil that might be found in ANWR, the potential production capacity of ANWR drilling operations, how long it would take before ANWR operations began providing significant amounts of oil for the U.S. market, what effects the oil extracted from ANWR would have on world oil supply and prices, and the environmental impacts of oil exploration and development in ANWR. As of now, both major-party presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, are opposed to opening ANWR to oil exploration."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2011/apr/27/barack-obama/president-barack-obama-says-rep-paul-ryan-voted-wa/
|
Says Paul Ryan voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill -- but wasn't paid for.
|
Dave Umhoefer
|
04/27/2011
|
[] |
In closed-doorremarks to campaignsupporterson April 14, 2011, President Barack Obama looked back in frustration at lengthy negotiations with Republicans over funding to keep the federal government operating.Obama opined, as aCBS News onlinestoryreported, that he expects Republicans to continue using the budget process to enact their political agenda under the guise of cutting spending.The president singled out U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the House Budget Committee chairman who has authored a long-term deficit-reduction plan.When Paul Ryan says his priority is to make sure, you know, he's just being America's accountant, trying to be responsible ...This is the same guy who voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill -- but wasn't paid for, Obama told his supporters. So it's not on the level.In making the remark, Obama pointed to several big-ticket items approved during the Bush administration while Ryan was in Congress -- ones he says have helped drive the nations record deficits.Given the prominence of the protagonists and the timeliness of the comments, we decided to take a look at Obamas critique of Ryan.With the words, Obama is offering an opinion about how Ryan has framed his budget-cutting efforts. We cant fact-check the presidents opinion about Ryans message. But we can focus on the factual assertions, and try to put them into some context.We started with the White House, which declined to comment, saying the presidents remarks spoke for themselves.Lets look at the votes.There is no dispute Ryan voted forAfghanistanandIraqwarfunding; for themajor taxcutsenacted under President George W. Bush in 2001 and2003(andextended in 2010); and for the new Medicare prescription drug benefitcreated in 2003.All were big-ticket items.But Obama goes a step further to assert that all were unpaid for. Thats Washington parlance for bills not offset by corresponding spending cuts or tax increases elsewhere in the federal budget.Budget experts we consulted and the historical record confirm there were no direct offsets built into those bills.Obamas claim on the prescription drug bill was slightly different -- that it wasnt paid for and cost as much as my health care bill.Lets break this into two parts.Obama appears to refer to the gross outlays needed for the two landmark bills.For the Medicare prescription drug bill, passed in 2003 and effective in 2006, we found a range of cost estimates for 10 years: $395 billion to $720 billion. Theofficial Congressional Budget Officeestimatewas the low end.That was at the time. Now, government estimates show the original cost projections were too high, perhaps by as much as 40 percent, said Jon Gabel, senior fellow in health care research at the National Opinion Research Center.Obamas health reform bill -- thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act-- was pricier, with estimates in the$800 billion to $1.4 trillion range. Ryan and Republicans opposed the bill.But the two measures were passed seven years apart, so inflation may be a factor.Paul Van de Water, a former Congressional Budget Office official who is now a senior fellow with the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, did an inflation-adjusted comparison and found the Medicare bill is probably two-thirds or three-quarters the cost of the Obama health care measure.That is, Obamas health care bill is still hundreds of millions of dollars more costly than the Medicare drug bill.So the president was off in equating the gross cost of the bills.On the offset question, the Medicare prescription drug bill, however, indisputably added to the federal deficit. It was not offset by new revenue or other spending cuts.In contrast, theofficial governmentestimateof the 2010 health care laws impact said it would actually reduce the deficit, in part because of the new taxes it enacts to help offset the cost of expanding health coverage.The source for that is the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.TheCBOs estimate is hardly undisputed-- Ryan, other Republican leaders and various budget analysts haveargued that the CBOs report was skewed by questionableassumptionsgiven to it by the Obama administration. They contend the law would actually add to the deficit.Nevertheless, we -- and Congress -- have used CBO estimates as the gold standard on such matters. So Obama has a pretty firm leg to stand on in saying his health bill was paid for while the Medicare bill was not.That covers the details behind the presidents remarks. In this case, its important to put them into their proper context. We consulted several experts and sought Ryans take.Ryan was asked in arecentinterviewabout Obamas citing the Medicare drug program, the two wars and the Bush tax cuts as major drivers of the deficit.He disagreed: We still had these enormous, building, unfunded liabilities, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security -- I mean, the big drivers of our debt.His office sent us a defense of his votes on war funding, quotinghis budget plan: Like all categories of government spending, defense spending should be executed with greater efficiency and accountability. But responsible budgeting must never lose sight of the fact that the first responsibility of the federal government is to provide for the defense of the nation.On the Bush tax cuts, Ryan aides said the congressman believes that we have deficits because Washington spends too much, not because Americans are taxed too little. He says the tax cuts helped fuel economic growth and bring in more tax revenue.Indeed, in December, Obama himself backeda compromise with Republicans, including Ryan,that extended the Bush tax cuts.Bottom line: Ryan has voted for massive new spending and so has the president, said Tad DeHaven, a budget analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute.Iraq war costs have topped $1 trillion, said Scott Lilly, former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee and now a research fellow at the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Neither Bushs war effort in Afghanistan nor Obamas escalation there has been paid for, both analysts noted.In April, bothObamaandRyanunveiled long-term deficit reduction plans in the neighborhood of $4 trillion over a decade or more.So where does this leave us?The president cherry-picked a handful of votes in an effort to show that Ryan is not pristine on the subject of the deficit.Obama got it right on Ryans support for the big-ticket bills, including war funding, Medicare prescription drugs and the Bush tax cuts. He was also on target in saying that none was offset or paid for by spending cuts or tax increases. Thats the main part of his claim.He was off the mark in asserting that one of the bills -- Medicare prescription drugs -- was as costly as his 2010 health care reform bill.That puts him at Mostly True.
|
[
"Afghanistan",
"Deficit",
"Federal Budget",
"Health Care",
"Iraq",
"Taxes",
"Wisconsin"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://widget.newsinc.com/fullplayerwvars.html?wid=2190&cid=993&spid=23398484&freewheel=90078&sitesection=journalsentinel_pol"
],
"sentence": "In closed-doorremarks to campaignsupporterson April 14, 2011, President Barack Obama looked back in frustration at lengthy negotiations with Republicans over funding to keep the federal government operating.Obama opined, as aCBS News onlinestoryreported, that he expects Republicans to continue using the budget process to enact their political agenda under the guise of cutting spending.The president singled out U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the House Budget Committee chairman who has authored a long-term deficit-reduction plan.When Paul Ryan says his priority is to make sure, you know, he's just being America's accountant, trying to be responsible ...This is the same guy who voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill -- but wasn't paid for, Obama told his supporters. So it's not on the level.In making the remark, Obama pointed to several big-ticket items approved during the Bush administration while Ryan was in Congress -- ones he says have helped drive the nations record deficits.Given the prominence of the protagonists and the timeliness of the comments, we decided to take a look at Obamas critique of Ryan.With the words, Obama is offering an opinion about how Ryan has framed his budget-cutting efforts. We cant fact-check the presidents opinion about Ryans message. But we can focus on the factual assertions, and try to put them into some context.We started with the White House, which declined to comment, saying the presidents remarks spoke for themselves.Lets look at the votes.There is no dispute Ryan voted forAfghanistanandIraqwarfunding; for themajor taxcutsenacted under President George W. Bush in 2001 and2003(andextended in 2010); and for the new Medicare prescription drug benefitcreated in 2003.All were big-ticket items.But Obama goes a step further to assert that all were unpaid for. Thats Washington parlance for bills not offset by corresponding spending cuts or tax increases elsewhere in the federal budget.Budget experts we consulted and the historical record confirm there were no direct offsets built into those bills.Obamas claim on the prescription drug bill was slightly different -- that it wasnt paid for and cost as much as my health care bill.Lets break this into two parts.Obama appears to refer to the gross outlays needed for the two landmark bills.For the Medicare prescription drug bill, passed in 2003 and effective in 2006, we found a range of cost estimates for 10 years: $395 billion to $720 billion. Theofficial Congressional Budget Officeestimatewas the low end.That was at the time. Now, government estimates show the original cost projections were too high, perhaps by as much as 40 percent, said Jon Gabel, senior fellow in health care research at the National Opinion Research Center.Obamas health reform bill -- thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act-- was pricier, with estimates in the$800 billion to $1.4 trillion range. Ryan and Republicans opposed the bill.But the two measures were passed seven years apart, so inflation may be a factor.Paul Van de Water, a former Congressional Budget Office official who is now a senior fellow with the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, did an inflation-adjusted comparison and found the Medicare bill is probably two-thirds or three-quarters the cost of the Obama health care measure.That is, Obamas health care bill is still hundreds of millions of dollars more costly than the Medicare drug bill.So the president was off in equating the gross cost of the bills.On the offset question, the Medicare prescription drug bill, however, indisputably added to the federal deficit. It was not offset by new revenue or other spending cuts.In contrast, theofficial governmentestimateof the 2010 health care laws impact said it would actually reduce the deficit, in part because of the new taxes it enacts to help offset the cost of expanding health coverage.The source for that is the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.TheCBOs estimate is hardly undisputed-- Ryan, other Republican leaders and various budget analysts haveargued that the CBOs report was skewed by questionableassumptionsgiven to it by the Obama administration. They contend the law would actually add to the deficit.Nevertheless, we -- and Congress -- have used CBO estimates as the gold standard on such matters. So Obama has a pretty firm leg to stand on in saying his health bill was paid for while the Medicare bill was not.That covers the details behind the presidents remarks. In this case, its important to put them into their proper context. We consulted several experts and sought Ryans take.Ryan was asked in arecentinterviewabout Obamas citing the Medicare drug program, the two wars and the Bush tax cuts as major drivers of the deficit.He disagreed: We still had these enormous, building, unfunded liabilities, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security -- I mean, the big drivers of our debt.His office sent us a defense of his votes on war funding, quotinghis budget plan: Like all categories of government spending, defense spending should be executed with greater efficiency and accountability. But responsible budgeting must never lose sight of the fact that the first responsibility of the federal government is to provide for the defense of the nation.On the Bush tax cuts, Ryan aides said the congressman believes that we have deficits because Washington spends too much, not because Americans are taxed too little. He says the tax cuts helped fuel economic growth and bring in more tax revenue.Indeed, in December, Obama himself backeda compromise with Republicans, including Ryan,that extended the Bush tax cuts.Bottom line: Ryan has voted for massive new spending and so has the president, said Tad DeHaven, a budget analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute.Iraq war costs have topped $1 trillion, said Scott Lilly, former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee and now a research fellow at the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Neither Bushs war effort in Afghanistan nor Obamas escalation there has been paid for, both analysts noted.In April, bothObamaandRyanunveiled long-term deficit reduction plans in the neighborhood of $4 trillion over a decade or more.So where does this leave us?The president cherry-picked a handful of votes in an effort to show that Ryan is not pristine on the subject of the deficit.Obama got it right on Ryans support for the big-ticket bills, including war funding, Medicare prescription drugs and the Bush tax cuts. He was also on target in saying that none was offset or paid for by spending cuts or tax increases. Thats the main part of his claim.He was off the mark in asserting that one of the bills -- Medicare prescription drugs -- was as costly as his 2010 health care reform bill.That puts him at Mostly True."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/jan/19/paul-ryan/paul-ryan-says-if-you-were-raised-poor-youre-just-/
|
Today, if you were raised poor, youre just as likely to stay poor as you were 50 years ago.
|
Louis Jacobson
|
01/19/2016
|
[] |
The newly installed House speaker, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., recently took toMediumto set the stage for a forum in Columbia, S.C., on Republican efforts to fight poverty. The forum, hosted by the Jack Kemp Foundation,drew six 2016 Republican presidential candidates former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, retired physician Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. In his Medium column, Ryan wrote that a new direction was needed on government anti-poverty efforts. Weve been fighting the War on Poverty for 50 years now, he wrote. And I dont think you can call it anything but a stalemate. The federal government has spent trillions of dollars. And yet today, if you were raised poor, youre just as likely to stay poor as you were 50 years ago. Im not saying we havent made progress. We have. But today we have a safety net that catches people falling into poverty. What we need is a safety net that lifts people out of poverty that helps them earn a good paycheck so they can support themselves. Here, well check Ryans statement that today, if you were raised poor, youre just as likely to stay poor as you were 50 years ago. When we asked Ryans staff for their evidence, they pointed us to an academic paper by Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline, Emmanuel Saez and Nicholas Turner, Is the United States Still a Land of Opportunity? Recent Trends in Intergenerational Mobility from January 2014. Chetty and Hendren are at Harvard, Kline and Saez are at the University of California-Berkeley, and Turner was with the U.S. Treasury Department. The paper, based on extensive analysis of income and educational-attainment data, found that intergenerational mobility has remained extremely stable since the generation of Americans born in 1971. We find that children entering the labor market today have the same chances of moving up in the income distribution (relative to their parents) as children born in the 1970s, the authors wrote. When we asked one of the co-authors, Saez, whether Ryans summary left out anything important, he said no. Yes, this is broadly correct, Saez told PolitiFact. Saez said the paper shows the odds of staying in the bottom one-fifth of the income distribution when your parents were in the bottom one-fifth have stayed stable for the past four to five decades. The paper and Saez in the interview both noted one caveat that the consequences of the pattern Ryan is citing have worse effects today because inequality has grown over the same period. Because inequality has risen, the paper notes, the consequences of the birth lottery the parents to whom a child is born are larger today than in the past. However, this caveat doesnt undermine Ryans point. If anything, it accentuates it. (We're also not penalizing Ryan for rounding up the study's length to 50 years.) Tara Sinclair, a George Washington University economist and chief economist at the jobs site Indeed, said the paper Ryan chose is a credible one within the profession. These are the authors I would turn to when looking at intergenerational mobility. Our ruling Ryan wrote that today, if you were raised poor, youre just as likely to stay poor as you were 50 years ago. His support for this claim a respected academic paper published in 2014 found exactly what Ryan described. We rate the claim True.
|
[
"National",
"Families",
"Income",
"Poverty"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://medium.com/@PRyan/expanding-opportunity-kempforum16-11fe61f733d2#.y593ohi7t"
],
"sentence": "The newly installed House speaker, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., recently took toMediumto set the stage for a forum in Columbia, S.C., on Republican efforts to fight poverty. The forum, hosted by the Jack Kemp Foundation,drew six 2016 Republican presidential candidates former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, retired physician Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/images/mobility_trends.pdf"
],
"sentence": "When we asked Ryans staff for their evidence, they pointed us to an academic paper by Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline, Emmanuel Saez and Nicholas Turner, Is the United States Still a Land of Opportunity? Recent Trends in Intergenerational Mobility from January 2014. Chetty and Hendren are at Harvard, Kline and Saez are at the University of California-Berkeley, and Turner was with the U.S. Treasury Department."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2012/may/08/john-ludlow/john-ludlow-only-candidate-race-refuse-join-pers-a/
|
Says he is the only candidate in the race for Clackamas County Chair who will refuse to join the Public Employees Retirement System.
|
Janie Har
|
05/08/2012
|
[] |
Wilsonville businessman John Ludlow is in a four-way race for Clackamas County Commission Chair in next week's election. He says that he is the only candidate in the race who will refuse to join the Public Employees Retirement System.Is he the only candidate in the race to make such a promise? Perhaps just as important a question: Are elected officials even able to decline joining the retirement system?The Public Employees Retirement System is a hot-button issue with critics who claim it eats way too much money, hurting taxpayers to benefit public employees. The retirement program is open to participating employers, from the state of Oregon to school districts and cities.We turned to Paul Cleary, the retirement system's executive director. He pointed toOregon Revised Statutes 238A.100 (2): A person who is elected or appointed to an office with a fixed term ...may elect not to become a member of the pension program by giving the Public Employees Retirement Board written notice not later than 30 days after taking office. The trick here, says Cleary, is that for a person to decline membership, that person cannot have been a PERS member, ever. Ludlow is a former Wilsonville city councilor and served as Wilsonvilles mayor from 1989 to 1991, but received no retirement benefits from his time in public office.Ludlow, 63, says he has never been a member of PERS, and the Public Employees Retirement System confirms he is not a member.The other Clackamas County commission chair candidates are members of the Public Employees Retirement System. They are county Chairwoman Charlotte Lehan, county Commissioner Paul Savas, and state Rep. Dave Hunt. They cannot opt out. Savas said he never knew he could decline to join.He is the only candidate who will refuse, and who can refuse, to join PERS. We expect Ludlow to keep his promise if he wins, and we rate his statement True.
|
[
"Oregon",
"County Budget",
"County Government",
"Message Machine 2012",
"Workers"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/238a.html"
],
"sentence": "Wilsonville businessman John Ludlow is in a four-way race for Clackamas County Commission Chair in next week's election. He says that he is the only candidate in the race who will refuse to join the Public Employees Retirement System.Is he the only candidate in the race to make such a promise? Perhaps just as important a question: Are elected officials even able to decline joining the retirement system?The Public Employees Retirement System is a hot-button issue with critics who claim it eats way too much money, hurting taxpayers to benefit public employees. The retirement program is open to participating employers, from the state of Oregon to school districts and cities.We turned to Paul Cleary, the retirement system's executive director. He pointed toOregon Revised Statutes 238A.100 (2):"
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/jan/18/andrew-cuomo/cuomos-accurate-boast-about-new-yorks-historically/
|
We have the lowest corporate tax rate since 1968.
|
Jill Terreri Ramos
|
01/18/2020
|
[] |
In Gov. Andrew Cuomos 10th State of the State address last week, he claimed that under his administration, We have the lowest corporate tax rate since 1968. New Yorks business climate has for years been thesubject of criticismfrom business groups and conservative lawmakers, so we wondered about this claim. We approached Cuomos office, where spokesman Jason Conwall provided us with historical tax data. The Department of Taxation and Finance maintains this data, and atabletitled History of Corporate Tax Rates in New York State, 1917-2009, shows that between 1968 and 1970, the corporate tax rate, also known as the corporation franchise tax, was 7 percent. The rate did not fall below 7 percent in later years, and in the final year, 2009, the rate was 7.1 percent. Since 2009, the rate changed once, when it was lowered to 6.5 percent, Conwall said. The 6.5 percent ratetook effect on Jan. 1, 2016. Historically, New York has had separate rates for banks and insurance companies. The bank tax wasmergedinto the corporate tax system in 2015. We reached out to observers of the states tax policies for context and to check for any conflicting data. The Tax Foundation, a national organization, studies federal and state tax policy and advocated for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act supported by President Trump and congressional Republicans. The Tax Foundation confirmed Cuomos claim. New York saw remarkable improvement in both its corporate rate - bringing it down to 6.5 percent - and structure - cutting four corporate bases down to three - through tax reform in 2014, said policy analyst Janelle Cammenga. The Tax Foundation advocates for simpler tax codes, and Cammenga noted that New Yorks complex individual income tax code affects so-called pass-through businesses, such as partnerships, sole-proprietorships, and limited liability companies. E.J. McMahon, founder and research director at the conservative Empire Center, also confirmed Cuomos claim. McMahon added that in the 12-county region in downstate New York served by the Metropolitan Transit Authority, a surcharge brings the tax rate to 8.34 percent there. But even with the surcharge, its still the lowest rate since 1970, McMahon said. At the left-leaning Fiscal Policy Institute, executive director Ron Deutsch confirmed Cuomos claim. Dave Friedfel, director of state studies at the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization in Albany and New York City, said that readers should be aware that companies in New York pay more than just the corporate franchise tax. In addition to the MTA surcharge,set by the state, New York City imposes a 8.85 percent corporate franchise tax. Overall, its good that New York States corporate franchise tax rates are lower than they were and arecompetitive nationwide, but its just a small part of the taxes paid by businesses in New York, Friedfel said. Cuomo claims that under his administration, New York has the lowest corporate tax rate since 1968. Though there are other taxes levied on businesses in New York, experts from the left and the right agree with Cuomo's assertion. We rate Cuomos statement True.
|
[
"Taxes",
"New York"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.unshackleupstate.com/news/press-releases/unshackle_upstate_2020_agenda"
],
"sentence": "New Yorks business climate has for years been thesubject of criticismfrom business groups and conservative lawmakers, so we wondered about this claim."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.tax.ny.gov/research/stats/statistics/policy-special/tax_sourcebook/new_york_state_tax_sourcebook_electronic_toc_tables_excel.htm"
],
"sentence": "The Department of Taxation and Finance maintains this data, and atabletitled History of Corporate Tax Rates in New York State, 1917-2009, shows that between 1968 and 1970, the corporate tax rate, also known as the corporation franchise tax, was 7 percent. The rate did not fall below 7 percent in later years, and in the final year, 2009, the rate was 7.1 percent."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://tax.ny.gov/pdf/stats/sumprovisions/summary_of_2014_15_tax_provisions.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Since 2009, the rate changed once, when it was lowered to 6.5 percent, Conwall said. The 6.5 percent ratetook effect on Jan. 1, 2016. Historically, New York has had separate rates for banks and insurance companies. The bank tax wasmergedinto the corporate tax system in 2015."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/memos/corporation/m18-5c.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Dave Friedfel, director of state studies at the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization in Albany and New York City, said that readers should be aware that companies in New York pay more than just the corporate franchise tax. In addition to the MTA surcharge,set by the state, New York City imposes a 8.85 percent corporate franchise tax."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://files.taxfoundation.org/20190320103634/TaxFoundation_FF639.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Overall, its good that New York States corporate franchise tax rates are lower than they were and arecompetitive nationwide, but its just a small part of the taxes paid by businesses in New York, Friedfel said."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2018/sep/18/ro-khanna/what-percentage-americans-own-stocks/
|
Most Americans dont own stocks.
|
Louis Jacobson
|
09/18/2018
|
[] |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hasrisen by 32 percentsince President Donald Trump took office. But are Americans overall benefiting? U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna. D-Calif., suggested that they are not ina Facebook postspotted by a PolitiFact reader. Khannas post featured the headline, Most Americans dont own stocks. He repeated that point in his message, which accompanied a bar graph: FACT: Most Americans dont own any stocks. Instead of celebrating whenever the Dow Jones goes up, we need to focus on bringing investment and good jobs to the areas of this country that havent been part of the economic recovery. The accompanying graph details the distribution of stock ownership by wealth percentile, specifically 84 percent for the top 10 percent, 9.3 percent for the next 10 percent and 6.7 percent for the bottom 80 percent. The data in the graph stems from a peer-reviewed academic paper. However, when we took a closer look, we found the data in the graph doesnt directly support the claim that most Americans dont own stocks. In fact, the actual data on that question shows that a small majority of Americans do have a stake in the stock market. The data in the graph comes from apaperpublished in November 2017 by New York University professor Edward N. Wolff. One of the papersfindingswas that despite the fact that almost half of all households owned stock shares either directly or indirectly through mutual funds, trusts, or various pension accounts, the richest 10 percent of households controlled 84 percent of the total value of these stocks in 2016. This line by Wolff presents a key contrast that Khannas post glosses over: While about half of households own stocks in one way or another, the richest Americans hold the lions share of the value. Khanna uses a bar graph that highlights the imbalance in thevalueof stock holdings, but his headline claim is about thereachof stock ownership throughout the population. Those are two different things. When we contacted Wolff, he agreed that Khannas headline was wrong. So what does the data show on the reach of stock ownership? Its a bit wider than Khanna suggests. Even if you dont own or trade individual stocks, theres a decent chance you have a 401(k) account or an Individual Retirement Account or belong to a pension fund that is invested in stocks. Many individuals have an indirect interest in the stock market by means of their claims on pension funds that own stocks and use these stock positions to fund pension payments, said Hendrik Bessembinder, a professor at Arizona State Universitys W.P. Carey School of Business. A once-every-three-yearsstudyby the Federal Reserve Board found that in 2016, 51.9 percent of families owned stocks, either directly or as part of a fund. And in 2017,Gallupfound that 54 percent of respondents owned stocks either directly or as part of a fund. Those findings show a majority owning stocks a modest majority, but still a majority. In an email interview, Khanna told PolitiFact that he still feels the essence of the post is accurate but added that a better headline would have been, Most Americans Dont Have a Real Stake in the Stock Market. Khanna has a point that a households affluence does help determine how vested they are in the stock market. The Federal Reserve Board study found that about one-third of families in the lower half of the income scale had stock holdings. In the next 40 percent of the income scale, about 70 percent of households held stocks, while households in the top 10 percent of the income scale had stock ownership rates above 90 percent. Here's a chart from the Fed's report, showing how stock ownership rates vary depending on income level. Gallup, meanwhile, found that certain subgroups were notably less likely to own stocks, including those without a college education, younger Americans, unmarried Americans, African-Americans, and Hispanics. Khanna wrote that most Americans dont own stocks. To be precise, a narrow majority of Americans does own stocks, according to credible recent studies. But Khanna has a point that Americans of modest incomes are significantly less invested in the stock market than wealthier Americans are. Other large groups, including minorities and those without a college education, also lag in stock ownership, meaning that the stock rally is largely passing them by. We rate the statement Half True.
|
[
"Economy",
"Financial Regulation",
"California"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": "value",
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=12H6SUVWuXR297yrJSWtdctDzFJNK9tuf"
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[
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"https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EDJI/history?period1=1484888400&period2=1537243200&interval=1d&filter=history&frequency=1d"
],
"sentence": "The Dow Jones Industrial Average hasrisen by 32 percentsince President Donald Trump took office. But are Americans overall benefiting?"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/RoKhannaUSA/photos/a.339679542745029/1896859190360382/?type=3&theater"
],
"sentence": "U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna. D-Calif., suggested that they are not ina Facebook postspotted by a PolitiFact reader."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.nber.org/papers/w24085"
],
"sentence": "The data in the graph comes from apaperpublished in November 2017 by New York University professor Edward N. Wolff."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://time.com/money/5054009/stock-ownership-10-percent-richest/"
],
"sentence": "One of the papersfindingswas that despite the fact that almost half of all households owned stock shares either directly or indirectly through mutual funds, trusts, or various pension accounts, the richest 10 percent of households controlled 84 percent of the total value of these stocks in 2016."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/scf17.pdf"
],
"sentence": "A once-every-three-yearsstudyby the Federal Reserve Board found that in 2016, 51.9 percent of families owned stocks, either directly or as part of a fund."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://news.gallup.com/poll/211052/stock-ownership-down-among-older-higher-income.aspx"
],
"sentence": "And in 2017,Gallupfound that 54 percent of respondents owned stocks either directly or as part of a fund."
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/republicans-clapped-child-poverty/
|
Did 'Not a Single Republican' Clap When Biden Mentioned Cutting Child Poverty?
|
Dan MacGuill
|
04/30/2021
|
[
"Left-leaning critics accused the GOP of universal callousness during U.S. President Joe Biden's first address to Congress in April 2021."
] |
In April 2021, after U.S. President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress, the left-leaning Facebook page Occupy Democrats posted a meme that claimed Republican Congress members had abjectly failed to applaud Biden's stated goal of drastically reducing the rate of child poverty in the United States. The meme, posted on April 28, the evening of the speech, contained what appeared to be a screenshot from a video stream, showing the Democratic side of the House of Representatives chamber standing and applauding, while members on the Republican side (circled in red) largely sat and did not appear to applaud. The meme contained the following text: posted Everything you need to know about today's Republican party is that Biden just said that because of his stimulus bill, America is cutting child poverty in half... And not a single Republican clapped. As events with a significant element of ritual and political theater, the newly elected president's first Congressional address and subsequent State of the Union addresses are the frequent subjects of political points-scoring and at times divisive analysis. Partisans on both sides habitually scrutinize the actions and body language of politicians from the opposite side, and Snopes has examined such claims several times in the past. examined such claims It's also worth noting that representatives and senators, in the context of an address by a president from the other party, might choose to applaud or stand, or not, for various reasons, even when the president has made a statement that some might interpret as worthy of universal support or celebration. For example, during then-President Donald Trump's equivalent address to a joint session of Congress, in February 2017, he touted the retention of manufacturing and jobs within the United States, saying various major companies "have announced that they will invest billions and billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs." In response, Republicans stood, cheered, and applauded, while cameras showed that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remained impassive. remained impassive A politically motivated interpretation of her body language might be that she failed to applaud because she hates American jobs, or resented economic growth under Trump's tenure. However, a more plausible explanation is that she doubted the underlying sincerity of Trump's commitment to increased employment, that she objected to his presenting those commercial decisions as one of his own accomplishments, and so on. Similarly, during his 2018 State of the Union address, Trump said "Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs," which was greeted with cheering and applause by Republicans, but almost total silence among Democrats. That could be a sign that those Democrats despise job creation, but it's much more likely to mean that they objected to Trump's touting employment figures as one of his own accomplishments, for example. silence Those important disclaimers should be borne in mind when considering the actions and body language of Republicans during Biden's April 2021 address. As is customary, Biden listed what he presented as the achievements of his first 100 days in office: expanded access to health care; the provision of stimulus checks; added investment in veterans' health care; and H.R. 1319, the "American Rescue Plan" a major stimulus and relief package to aid in the federal government's response to the public health and economic crises engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic. H.R. 1319 Biden went on to say: Were making one of the largest one-time ever investments ever in improving healthcare for veterans. Critical investments to address the opioid crisis. And, maybe most importantly, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, were on track to cut child poverty in America in half this year. That declaration was met with a standing ovation and universal applause among Democrats in the chamber: The screenshot included in the Occupy Democrats meme was authentic and showed a snapshot of the reaction to Biden's child poverty remarks on both sides of the chamber. Here's roughly the same view, taken from the CBS News live stream of the speech. Democrats can be seen on the right-hand side, while the Republican side is on the left: live stream However, Occupy Democrats' claim that "not a single Republican" applauded Biden's remarks seriously misrepresented what actually happened. As a result, we are issuing a rating of In reality, our analysis of video footage from the address shows that at least 11 individuals seated in the Republican half of the chamber applauded in response to Biden's remarks on child poverty. We have positively identified two of those as cabinet secretaries Lloyd Austin and Anthony Blinken, who are not Congressional Republicans and therefore don't factor into our debunking of the Occupy Democrats meme, but for the record, can be seen below, with Austin standing on the left and Blinken standing on the right: The remaining nine individuals who applauded were all highly likely to be Congressional Republicans, providing ample evidence to discredit the "not a single Republican" claim. Those 11 individuals are highlighted in the screenshot below, and we have positively identified the following three Congressional Republicans: To view a larger, more detailed version of this annotated screenshot, click here. click here Although clearly not as enthusiastic as their Democratic counterparts, the extent of Republican applause for Biden's remarks is fully revealed by carefully viewing the following footage: The claim that "not a single Republican clapped" when Biden mentioned halving child poverty was manifestly false. In fact, several of them clearly did, three of whom we have so far been able to positively identify. If and when we confirm the identity of additional Congressional Republicans, we will update this fact check accordingly.
|
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"investment"
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],
"sentence": "The meme, posted on April 28, the evening of the speech, contained what appeared to be a screenshot from a video stream, showing the Democratic side of the House of Representatives chamber standing and applauding, while members on the Republican side (circled in red) largely sat and did not appear to applaud. The meme contained the following text:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
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"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-democrats-check-phones-sotu-address/",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/luis-gutierrez-state-of-the-union/"
],
"sentence": "As events with a significant element of ritual and political theater, the newly elected president's first Congressional address and subsequent State of the Union addresses are the frequent subjects of political points-scoring and at times divisive analysis. Partisans on both sides habitually scrutinize the actions and body language of politicians from the opposite side, and Snopes has examined such claims several times in the past. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://youtu.be/9o_WDqG2x_4?t=2320"
],
"sentence": "In response, Republicans stood, cheered, and applauded, while cameras showed that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remained impassive."
},
{
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],
"sentence": "Similarly, during his 2018 State of the Union address, Trump said \"Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs,\" which was greeted with cheering and applause by Republicans, but almost total silence among Democrats. That could be a sign that those Democrats despise job creation, but it's much more likely to mean that they objected to Trump's touting employment figures as one of his own accomplishments, for example. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1319"
],
"sentence": "As is customary, Biden listed what he presented as the achievements of his first 100 days in office: expanded access to health care; the provision of stimulus checks; added investment in veterans' health care; and H.R. 1319, the \"American Rescue Plan\" a major stimulus and relief package to aid in the federal government's response to the public health and economic crises engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://youtu.be/er3oeXG1aiw?t=4021"
],
"sentence": "The screenshot included in the Occupy Democrats meme was authentic and showed a snapshot of the reaction to Biden's child poverty remarks on both sides of the chamber. Here's roughly the same view, taken from the CBS News live stream of the speech. Democrats can be seen on the right-hand side, while the Republican side is on the left:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2021/04/Crop_Screenshot-2021-04-29-at-14.37.35.png"
],
"sentence": "To view a larger, more detailed version of this annotated screenshot, click here."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/jan/24/eric-adams/claim-about-wealthy-residents-and-taxes-new-york-c/
|
Fifty-one percent of our taxes are paid by 2% of New Yorkers.
|
Jill Terreri Ramos
|
01/24/2023
|
[
"The 2% of New York City tax filers with the highest incomes pay half of all of the citys collections of personal income taxes., There is no data to show how much these rich New Yorkers pay in other taxes, such as real estate or sales taxes., Personal income taxes represent 22% of city tax collections."
] |
On the Cats Roundtable, a radio show and podcast with businessman and political donor John Catsimatidis, New York City Mayor Eric Adams made a claim about the richest New Yorkers contributions to city coffers. Fifty-one percent of our taxes are paid by 2% of New Yorkers, Adams said. We must understand the role that high-income New Yorkers play in this city. And when I hear people totally attempting to say they dont play a significant role, that is just wrong, they do. Is Adams right? We reached out to his press secretary, Fabien Levy, who said Adams was talking specifically about personal income taxes. During the interview,Adams was not so precise.The mayor, however, has made that qualification when making this claim before, such as when he was running for officein 2021. This is what he said at afundraising appearance in October 2021: Yeah, were over 8 million people. But do you know 65,000 pay 51 percent of our income taxes? Levy provided previously unreleased data from the Mayors Office of Management and Budget, which showed that in 2020, the top 2.5% of city taxpayers, when ranked by income, paid 51.6% of the citys personal income tax collections. According to areportreleased in December 2022 from the citys Independent Budget Office, a publicly funded organization that provides nonpartisan information about city finances, in 2020, filers with annual gross income of $500,000 or more, representing 1.6% of all filers, paid 49.2% of the citys personal income taxes. Independent Budget Office Communications Director Elizabeth Brown confirmed the office estimated Adams claim to be true, but only as it pertains to personal income tax collections -- not all tax collections. We dont break out the groups the same exact way the mayor spoke about them, but we believe his numbers are more or less accurate, Brown said. Personal income taxes are a fraction of what the city collects in taxes. According to thecitys January 2023 financial plan, personal income and the pass-through entity tax (an optional tax for partnerships and S corporations, such as limited liability corporations) represent 22% of the citys collections. Property taxes constitute 46% of the collections, while sales and use taxes represent 13%. Lucy Dadayan, an expert in state and local finances at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute, said that its not surprising that a small fraction of earners pay nearly half of the citys income taxes. Thats because about 2.1% of New York citys earners take home around 43% of New York Citys income, she said. This data point is nearly exact to data provided by the city from the Office of Management and Budget. The available data doesnt show how much the top 2% of city earners pay on property, sales, or other taxes, Dadayan said. But their contributions to other tax categories are significant, said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute who frequently writes about city finances. According to the city, office buildings are 21% of the property tax levy, the citys single biggest tax, for example, and the reason the office valuations are high is because of their wealthy occupants, Gelinas said. Wealthier people also consume more in goods and services than middle-class and poorer people, and thus pay higher sales taxes, she said. Adams claimed that 51% of city taxes are paid by 2% of New Yorkers. If he had specified income taxes in his statement, we would have given a True ruling. The budget analysts who study the numbers confirm as much. The mayor was talking about personal income taxes, his spokesperson said. But someone listening to Adams interview would not necessarily have known that because Adams did not offer that qualification. Given his past similar statements in which he specified it was income taxes he was talking about, we do not see this as a case in which he was trying to mislead the audience. But because his statement on the radio show was accurate but needed clarification, we rate his statement as Mostly True.
|
[
"City Budget",
"Taxes",
"New York"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/017-23/transcript-mayor-eric-adams-appears-77-wabc-s-cats-night-"
],
"sentence": "During the interview,Adams was not so precise.The mayor, however, has made that qualification when making this claim before, such as when he was running for officein 2021."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2021/10/18/adams-keynotes-fundraiser-for-new-pac-formed-to-support-like-minded-politicians-1391904"
],
"sentence": "This is what he said at afundraising appearance in October 2021: Yeah, were over 8 million people. But do you know 65,000 pay 51 percent of our income taxes?"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/RevenueSpending/december2020pitdata.xlsx"
],
"sentence": "According to areportreleased in December 2022 from the citys Independent Budget Office, a publicly funded organization that provides nonpartisan information about city finances, in 2020, filers with annual gross income of $500,000 or more, representing 1.6% of all filers, paid 49.2% of the citys personal income taxes."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nyc.gov/assets/omb/downloads/pdf/tech1-23.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Personal income taxes are a fraction of what the city collects in taxes. According to thecitys January 2023 financial plan, personal income and the pass-through entity tax (an optional tax for partnerships and S corporations, such as limited liability corporations) represent 22% of the citys collections. Property taxes constitute 46% of the collections, while sales and use taxes represent 13%."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/venezuela-money-in-gutter/
|
Is this a Photograph of Worthless Money in the Gutters of Venezuela?
|
Dan Evon
|
04/05/2019
|
[
"The disastrous economic situation in Venezuela can't be summed up in a single image. "
] |
In late March 2019, a photograph supposedly showing piles of "worthless" currency thrown into gutters in Venezuela circulated on social media, attached to comments blaming socialism for the phenomenon behind the striking visual. One popular posting on Facebook was captioned, "This is a street in Venezuela. That's money in the gutter. It's worthless. Welcome to socialism.": Facebook This is a genuine photograph of worthless money dumped in the gutter of a Venezuelan street. However, the accompanying caption presents an oversimplification of the series of events that led to this currency's worthlessness and its discarding by Venezuelan residents. The economic collapse in Venezuela that began in 2013 is a complex matter which can't be attributed to any single factor. News outlets such as Bloomberg, the New York Times, and Fox News have cited a wide range of issues that led to the country's current economic crisis, including plunging oil prices, government corruption, political unrest, and socialist policies. That brew of unfavorable economic conditions has spawned massive hyperinflation which has greatly devalued Venezuela's currency, as the Washington Post reported in January 2018: Bloomberg New York Times Fox News reported Hyperinflation is disorienting. Five or six years ago, 500 bolivars wouldve bought you a meal for two with wine at the best restaurant in Caracas. As late as early last year, they wouldve bought you at least a cup of coffee. At the end of 2016, they still bought you a cup of caf con leche, at least. Today, they buy you essentially nothing ... well, except for 132 gallons of the worlds most extravagantly subsidized gasoline. Although hyperinflation has indeed caused the bolivar to become all but worthless, the caption on this viral photograph is a bit misleading. The money shown lying in the gutter in this picture is Venezuela's old currency, the Bolvar Fuerte, which was replaced by a new form of currency, the Bolivar Soberano, in August 2018. When the Bolivar Soberano was introduced, Bolvar Fuerte currency in amounts less than 1,000 ceased to be legal tender, and Bolivar Fuerte currency in all amounts was completely withdrawn on 5 December 2018. Hence the discarded money seen here was literally worthless not because it had no value, because it had been completely replaced by a newer currency and was no longer legal tender. Here's an excerpt from a CNN report about the switch in currencies: CNN Venezuela issued a new currency in an attempt to bolster its crumbling economy as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that inflation could hit one million percent this year. The move, part of a dramatic raft of measures aimed at halting runaway hyperinflation, comes as thousands of Venezuelans continue to flee across the border into neighboring countries amid food and medicine shortages, political turmoil and soaring crime rates. In a tweet posted following the unveiling of Venezuela's new currency, the country's president Nicolas Maduro hailed the recovery package as a "revolutionary formula." The new "Bolivar Soberano" currency is worth 100,000 "old" Bolivares. "We found the revolutionary formula that puts work in the center of the general re-adjustment of society, based on the production of goods and the value of salary. With that, we're gonna put to rest forever the perverse model that dollarized the prices in the country," tweeted Venezuela's 55-year-old leader. "I call on the people to defend -- conscientiously -- the adjustment of the prices on street," Maduro later said in another tweet. A bank holiday was declared, with banks remaining closed as the new currency took effect. The rebranded currency, which has five fewer zeroes than the country's previous currency and will be pegged to a cryptocurrency called the Petro, is intended to simplify transactions. The viral photograph was likely taken on 11 March 2019 and showed the aftermath of looting at a bank in the town of Merida. Local news outlet Maduradas.com compiled several other photographs of the incident and reported that the perpetrators had discarded the old money on the streets and even lit some of it on fire (translated via Google): Maduradas.com TERRIBLE! Encapuchados saquearon banco Bicentenario en Mrida y esparcieron bolvares del viejo cono monetario por las calles (+Fotos) Este lunes 11 de marzo, encapuchados saquearon la agencia del banco Bicentenario en la avenida 3, de Glorias Patrias, en el estado Mrida. El hecho fue confirmado por el diputado de la Asamblea Nacional Williams Dvila, as como por el corresponsal de El Nacional en el estado Mrida, Leonardo Len. A travs de la red social Twitter, informaron que los ciudadanos esparcieron montones de billetes de viejo cono monetario en las calles, los cuales despus fueron incendiados. TERRIBLE! Hooded (vandals) sacked the bank Bicentenario in Merida and scattered bolivars of the old currency through the streets (+ Photos) On Monday, March 11, hooded (vandals) sacked the Bicentenario bank agency on Avenue 3, Glorias Patrias, in the state of Merida. The fact was confirmed by the deputy of the National Assembly Williams Dvila, as well as by the correspondent of El Nacional in the state of Mrida, Leonardo Len. Through the social network Twitter, they reported that citizens scattered piles of old money bills in the streets, which were then set on fire. Venezuelan journalists and social media users shared several other photographs of the scene: Ayer se produjo el saqueo de un banco bicentenario en la ciudad de Mrida, en las cercanas de la plaza Glorias Patrias. Los saqueadores incendiaron una pila de bolvares adems de dejar muchos billetes por el suelo. pic.twitter.com/7gmL7FqMYo pic.twitter.com/7gmL7FqMYo Descifrando la Guerra (@descifraguerra) March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 TERRIBLE! Encapuchados saquearon banco Bicentenario en Mrida y esparcieron bolvares del viejo cono monetario por las calles https://t.co/6U3kFuMHn5 #LiberenALuisCarlos,#12Mar,#solidarioservicios pic.twitter.com/QT0fP9ifaF https://t.co/6U3kFuMHn5 #LiberenALuisCarlos #12Mar #solidarioservicios pic.twitter.com/QT0fP9ifaF EntornoInteligente (@ENTORNOi) March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 #MeridaBanco Bicentenario en Merida fue robado, slo haban billetes del viejo cono monetario que terminaron tapizando las calles del centro de la ciudadVenezuela es realismo magico y tragicoSarai Suarez pic.twitter.com/lIeo2mpw70 #Merida pic.twitter.com/lIeo2mpw70 Nellie B. Izarza ? ???? (@myteks) March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 In short, the "money in gutters" image shown above captured an older and now invalid form of currency that was tossed aside after the looting of a bank, and not usable currency discarded by citizens because it had been made next to worthless due to "socialism." Sterling, Joe. "Venezuela Issues New Currency, Amid Hyperinflation and Social Turmoil."
CNN. 23 August 2018. Toro, Franciso. "In Venezuela, Money Has Stopped Working."
The Washington Post. 17 January 2018. Llorente, Elizabeth. "Caracas, Once a Thriving Metropolis, Is Struggling as Country Plunges Further Into Chaos."
Fox News. 4 April 2019. The New York Times. "The Crisis in Venezuela Was Years in the Making. Heres How It Happened."
23 January 2019. Martin, Eric and Patricia Laya. "What Broke Venezuela's Economy and What Could Fix It."
Bloomberg. 9 March 2019. Maduradas.com. "TERRIBLE! Encapuchados Saquearon Banco Bicentenario en Mrida y Esparcieron Bolvares Del Viejo Cono Monetario Por Las Calles (+Fotos)."
12 March 2019. El Nacional. "Billetes Inferiores a 1.000 Bolvares No Tendrn Valor a Partir del 20A."
14 August 2018. 2001.com.ve. "Bolvar Fuerte Circular Hasta el Mircoles 5 de Diciembre."
Accessed 5 April 2019.
|
[
"economy"
] |
[
{
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1v493njsoZIIt8UpAvF8S3UDvrLIQVlbO"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156137068712196&set=a.77081582195&type=3&theater&ifg=1"
],
"sentence": "In late March 2019, a photograph supposedly showing piles of \"worthless\" currency thrown into gutters in Venezuela circulated on social media, attached to comments blaming socialism for the phenomenon behind the striking visual. One popular posting on Facebook was captioned, \"This is a street in Venezuela. That's money in the gutter. It's worthless. Welcome to socialism.\":"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-09/what-broke-venezuela-s-economy-and-what-could-fix-it-quicktake",
"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/world/americas/venezuela-news-noticias.html",
"https://www.foxnews.com/world/caracas-once-a-thriving-metropolis-is-struggling-as-country-plunges-further-into-chaos",
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2018/01/17/in-venezuela-money-has-stopped-working/"
],
"sentence": "The economic collapse in Venezuela that began in 2013 is a complex matter which can't be attributed to any single factor. News outlets such as Bloomberg, the New York Times, and Fox News have cited a wide range of issues that led to the country's current economic crisis, including plunging oil prices, government corruption, political unrest, and socialist policies. That brew of unfavorable economic conditions has spawned massive hyperinflation which has greatly devalued Venezuela's currency, as the Washington Post reported in January 2018:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/20/americas/venezuela-currency/index.html"
],
"sentence": "Here's an excerpt from a CNN report about the switch in currencies:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://maduradas.com/terrible-encapuchados-saquearon-banco-bicentenario-en-merida-y-esparcieron-bolivares-del-viejo-cono-monetario-por-las-calles-fotos/"
],
"sentence": "The viral photograph was likely taken on 11 March 2019 and showed the aftermath of looting at a bank in the town of Merida. Local news outlet Maduradas.com compiled several other photographs of the incident and reported that the perpetrators had discarded the old money on the streets and even lit some of it on fire (translated via Google):"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://t.co/7gmL7FqMYo"
],
"sentence": "Ayer se produjo el saqueo de un banco bicentenario en la ciudad de Mrida, en las cercanas de la plaza Glorias Patrias. Los saqueadores incendiaron una pila de bolvares adems de dejar muchos billetes por el suelo. pic.twitter.com/7gmL7FqMYo"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/descifraguerra/status/1105393223462207488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"
],
"sentence": " Descifrando la Guerra (@descifraguerra) March 12, 2019"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://t.co/6U3kFuMHn5",
"https://twitter.com/hashtag/LiberenALuisCarlos?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw",
"https://twitter.com/hashtag/12Mar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw",
"https://twitter.com/hashtag/solidarioservicios?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw",
"https://t.co/QT0fP9ifaF"
],
"sentence": "TERRIBLE! Encapuchados saquearon banco Bicentenario en Mrida y esparcieron bolvares del viejo cono monetario por las calles https://t.co/6U3kFuMHn5 #LiberenALuisCarlos,#12Mar,#solidarioservicios pic.twitter.com/QT0fP9ifaF"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/ENTORNOi/status/1105497184064004096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"
],
"sentence": " EntornoInteligente (@ENTORNOi) March 12, 2019"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Merida?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw",
"https://t.co/lIeo2mpw70"
],
"sentence": "#MeridaBanco Bicentenario en Merida fue robado, slo haban billetes del viejo cono monetario que terminaron tapizando las calles del centro de la ciudadVenezuela es realismo magico y tragicoSarai Suarez pic.twitter.com/lIeo2mpw70"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/myteks/status/1105276080146038785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"
],
"sentence": " Nellie B. Izarza ? ???? (@myteks) March 12, 2019"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/venezuela-money-in-gutter/
|
Is this a picture of valueless currency lying in the streets of Venezuela?
|
Dan Evon
|
04/05/2019
|
[
"The disastrous economic situation in Venezuela can't be summed up in a single image. "
] |
In late March 2019, a photograph supposedly showing piles of "worthless" currency thrown into gutters in Venezuela circulated on social media, attached to comments blaming socialism for the phenomenon behind the striking visual. One popular posting on Facebook was captioned, "This is a street in Venezuela. That's money in the gutter. It's worthless. Welcome to socialism.": Facebook This is a genuine photograph of worthless money dumped in the gutter of a Venezuelan street. However, the accompanying caption presents an oversimplification of the series of events that led to this currency's worthlessness and its discarding by Venezuelan residents. The economic collapse in Venezuela that began in 2013 is a complex matter which can't be attributed to any single factor. News outlets such as Bloomberg, the New York Times, and Fox News have cited a wide range of issues that led to the country's current economic crisis, including plunging oil prices, government corruption, political unrest, and socialist policies. That brew of unfavorable economic conditions has spawned massive hyperinflation which has greatly devalued Venezuela's currency, as the Washington Post reported in January 2018: Bloomberg New York Times Fox News reported Hyperinflation is disorienting. Five or six years ago, 500 bolivars wouldve bought you a meal for two with wine at the best restaurant in Caracas. As late as early last year, they wouldve bought you at least a cup of coffee. At the end of 2016, they still bought you a cup of caf con leche, at least. Today, they buy you essentially nothing ... well, except for 132 gallons of the worlds most extravagantly subsidized gasoline. Although hyperinflation has indeed caused the bolivar to become all but worthless, the caption on this viral photograph is a bit misleading. The money shown lying in the gutter in this picture is Venezuela's old currency, the Bolvar Fuerte, which was replaced by a new form of currency, the Bolivar Soberano, in August 2018. When the Bolivar Soberano was introduced, Bolvar Fuerte currency in amounts less than 1,000 ceased to be legal tender, and Bolivar Fuerte currency in all amounts was completely withdrawn on 5 December 2018. Hence the discarded money seen here was literally worthless not because it had no value, because it had been completely replaced by a newer currency and was no longer legal tender. Here's an excerpt from a CNN report about the switch in currencies: CNN Venezuela issued a new currency in an attempt to bolster its crumbling economy as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that inflation could hit one million percent this year. The move, part of a dramatic raft of measures aimed at halting runaway hyperinflation, comes as thousands of Venezuelans continue to flee across the border into neighboring countries amid food and medicine shortages, political turmoil and soaring crime rates. In a tweet posted following the unveiling of Venezuela's new currency, the country's president Nicolas Maduro hailed the recovery package as a "revolutionary formula." The new "Bolivar Soberano" currency is worth 100,000 "old" Bolivares. "We found the revolutionary formula that puts work in the center of the general re-adjustment of society, based on the production of goods and the value of salary. With that, we're gonna put to rest forever the perverse model that dollarized the prices in the country," tweeted Venezuela's 55-year-old leader. "I call on the people to defend -- conscientiously -- the adjustment of the prices on street," Maduro later said in another tweet. A bank holiday was declared, with banks remaining closed as the new currency took effect. The rebranded currency, which has five fewer zeroes than the country's previous currency and will be pegged to a cryptocurrency called the Petro, is intended to simplify transactions. The viral photograph was likely taken on 11 March 2019 and showed the aftermath of looting at a bank in the town of Merida. Local news outlet Maduradas.com compiled several other photographs of the incident and reported that the perpetrators had discarded the old money on the streets and even lit some of it on fire (translated via Google): Maduradas.com TERRIBLE! Encapuchados saquearon banco Bicentenario en Mrida y esparcieron bolvares del viejo cono monetario por las calles (+Fotos) Este lunes 11 de marzo, encapuchados saquearon la agencia del banco Bicentenario en la avenida 3, de Glorias Patrias, en el estado Mrida. El hecho fue confirmado por el diputado de la Asamblea Nacional Williams Dvila, as como por el corresponsal de El Nacional en el estado Mrida, Leonardo Len. A travs de la red social Twitter, informaron que los ciudadanos esparcieron montones de billetes de viejo cono monetario en las calles, los cuales despus fueron incendiados. TERRIBLE! Hooded (vandals) sacked the bank Bicentenario in Merida and scattered bolivars of the old currency through the streets (+ Photos) On Monday, March 11, hooded (vandals) sacked the Bicentenario bank agency on Avenue 3, Glorias Patrias, in the state of Merida. The fact was confirmed by the deputy of the National Assembly Williams Dvila, as well as by the correspondent of El Nacional in the state of Mrida, Leonardo Len. Through the social network Twitter, they reported that citizens scattered piles of old money bills in the streets, which were then set on fire. Venezuelan journalists and social media users shared several other photographs of the scene: Ayer se produjo el saqueo de un banco bicentenario en la ciudad de Mrida, en las cercanas de la plaza Glorias Patrias. Los saqueadores incendiaron una pila de bolvares adems de dejar muchos billetes por el suelo. pic.twitter.com/7gmL7FqMYo pic.twitter.com/7gmL7FqMYo Descifrando la Guerra (@descifraguerra) March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 TERRIBLE! Encapuchados saquearon banco Bicentenario en Mrida y esparcieron bolvares del viejo cono monetario por las calles https://t.co/6U3kFuMHn5 #LiberenALuisCarlos,#12Mar,#solidarioservicios pic.twitter.com/QT0fP9ifaF https://t.co/6U3kFuMHn5 #LiberenALuisCarlos #12Mar #solidarioservicios pic.twitter.com/QT0fP9ifaF EntornoInteligente (@ENTORNOi) March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 #MeridaBanco Bicentenario en Merida fue robado, slo haban billetes del viejo cono monetario que terminaron tapizando las calles del centro de la ciudadVenezuela es realismo magico y tragicoSarai Suarez pic.twitter.com/lIeo2mpw70 #Merida pic.twitter.com/lIeo2mpw70 Nellie B. Izarza ? ???? (@myteks) March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 In short, the "money in gutters" image shown above captured an older and now invalid form of currency that was tossed aside after the looting of a bank, and not usable currency discarded by citizens because it had been made next to worthless due to "socialism." Sterling, Joe. "Venezuela Issues New Currency, Amid Hyperinflation and Social Turmoil."
CNN. 23 August 2018. Toro, Franciso. "In Venezuela, Money Has Stopped Working."
The Washington Post. 17 January 2018. Llorente, Elizabeth. "Caracas, Once a Thriving Metropolis, Is Struggling as Country Plunges Further Into Chaos."
Fox News. 4 April 2019. The New York Times. "The Crisis in Venezuela Was Years in the Making. Heres How It Happened."
23 January 2019. Martin, Eric and Patricia Laya. "What Broke Venezuela's Economy and What Could Fix It."
Bloomberg. 9 March 2019. Maduradas.com. "TERRIBLE! Encapuchados Saquearon Banco Bicentenario en Mrida y Esparcieron Bolvares Del Viejo Cono Monetario Por Las Calles (+Fotos)."
12 March 2019. El Nacional. "Billetes Inferiores a 1.000 Bolvares No Tendrn Valor a Partir del 20A."
14 August 2018. 2001.com.ve. "Bolvar Fuerte Circular Hasta el Mircoles 5 de Diciembre."
Accessed 5 April 2019.
|
[
"inflation"
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false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/venezuela-money-in-gutter/
|
Is this a picture of valueless currency found in the drainage systems of Venezuela?
|
Dan Evon
|
04/05/2019
|
[
"The disastrous economic situation in Venezuela can't be summed up in a single image. "
] |
In late March 2019, a photograph supposedly showing piles of "worthless" currency thrown into gutters in Venezuela circulated on social media, attached to comments blaming socialism for the phenomenon behind the striking visual. One popular posting on Facebook was captioned, "This is a street in Venezuela. That's money in the gutter. It's worthless. Welcome to socialism.": Facebook This is a genuine photograph of worthless money dumped in the gutter of a Venezuelan street. However, the accompanying caption presents an oversimplification of the series of events that led to this currency's worthlessness and its discarding by Venezuelan residents. The economic collapse in Venezuela that began in 2013 is a complex matter which can't be attributed to any single factor. News outlets such as Bloomberg, the New York Times, and Fox News have cited a wide range of issues that led to the country's current economic crisis, including plunging oil prices, government corruption, political unrest, and socialist policies. That brew of unfavorable economic conditions has spawned massive hyperinflation which has greatly devalued Venezuela's currency, as the Washington Post reported in January 2018: Bloomberg New York Times Fox News reported Hyperinflation is disorienting. Five or six years ago, 500 bolivars wouldve bought you a meal for two with wine at the best restaurant in Caracas. As late as early last year, they wouldve bought you at least a cup of coffee. At the end of 2016, they still bought you a cup of caf con leche, at least. Today, they buy you essentially nothing ... well, except for 132 gallons of the worlds most extravagantly subsidized gasoline. Although hyperinflation has indeed caused the bolivar to become all but worthless, the caption on this viral photograph is a bit misleading. The money shown lying in the gutter in this picture is Venezuela's old currency, the Bolvar Fuerte, which was replaced by a new form of currency, the Bolivar Soberano, in August 2018. When the Bolivar Soberano was introduced, Bolvar Fuerte currency in amounts less than 1,000 ceased to be legal tender, and Bolivar Fuerte currency in all amounts was completely withdrawn on 5 December 2018. Hence the discarded money seen here was literally worthless not because it had no value, because it had been completely replaced by a newer currency and was no longer legal tender. Here's an excerpt from a CNN report about the switch in currencies: CNN Venezuela issued a new currency in an attempt to bolster its crumbling economy as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that inflation could hit one million percent this year. The move, part of a dramatic raft of measures aimed at halting runaway hyperinflation, comes as thousands of Venezuelans continue to flee across the border into neighboring countries amid food and medicine shortages, political turmoil and soaring crime rates. In a tweet posted following the unveiling of Venezuela's new currency, the country's president Nicolas Maduro hailed the recovery package as a "revolutionary formula." The new "Bolivar Soberano" currency is worth 100,000 "old" Bolivares. "We found the revolutionary formula that puts work in the center of the general re-adjustment of society, based on the production of goods and the value of salary. With that, we're gonna put to rest forever the perverse model that dollarized the prices in the country," tweeted Venezuela's 55-year-old leader. "I call on the people to defend -- conscientiously -- the adjustment of the prices on street," Maduro later said in another tweet. A bank holiday was declared, with banks remaining closed as the new currency took effect. The rebranded currency, which has five fewer zeroes than the country's previous currency and will be pegged to a cryptocurrency called the Petro, is intended to simplify transactions. The viral photograph was likely taken on 11 March 2019 and showed the aftermath of looting at a bank in the town of Merida. Local news outlet Maduradas.com compiled several other photographs of the incident and reported that the perpetrators had discarded the old money on the streets and even lit some of it on fire (translated via Google): Maduradas.com TERRIBLE! Encapuchados saquearon banco Bicentenario en Mrida y esparcieron bolvares del viejo cono monetario por las calles (+Fotos) Este lunes 11 de marzo, encapuchados saquearon la agencia del banco Bicentenario en la avenida 3, de Glorias Patrias, en el estado Mrida. El hecho fue confirmado por el diputado de la Asamblea Nacional Williams Dvila, as como por el corresponsal de El Nacional en el estado Mrida, Leonardo Len. A travs de la red social Twitter, informaron que los ciudadanos esparcieron montones de billetes de viejo cono monetario en las calles, los cuales despus fueron incendiados. TERRIBLE! Hooded (vandals) sacked the bank Bicentenario in Merida and scattered bolivars of the old currency through the streets (+ Photos) On Monday, March 11, hooded (vandals) sacked the Bicentenario bank agency on Avenue 3, Glorias Patrias, in the state of Merida. The fact was confirmed by the deputy of the National Assembly Williams Dvila, as well as by the correspondent of El Nacional in the state of Mrida, Leonardo Len. Through the social network Twitter, they reported that citizens scattered piles of old money bills in the streets, which were then set on fire. Venezuelan journalists and social media users shared several other photographs of the scene: Ayer se produjo el saqueo de un banco bicentenario en la ciudad de Mrida, en las cercanas de la plaza Glorias Patrias. Los saqueadores incendiaron una pila de bolvares adems de dejar muchos billetes por el suelo. pic.twitter.com/7gmL7FqMYo pic.twitter.com/7gmL7FqMYo Descifrando la Guerra (@descifraguerra) March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 TERRIBLE! Encapuchados saquearon banco Bicentenario en Mrida y esparcieron bolvares del viejo cono monetario por las calles https://t.co/6U3kFuMHn5 #LiberenALuisCarlos,#12Mar,#solidarioservicios pic.twitter.com/QT0fP9ifaF https://t.co/6U3kFuMHn5 #LiberenALuisCarlos #12Mar #solidarioservicios pic.twitter.com/QT0fP9ifaF EntornoInteligente (@ENTORNOi) March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 #MeridaBanco Bicentenario en Merida fue robado, slo haban billetes del viejo cono monetario que terminaron tapizando las calles del centro de la ciudadVenezuela es realismo magico y tragicoSarai Suarez pic.twitter.com/lIeo2mpw70 #Merida pic.twitter.com/lIeo2mpw70 Nellie B. Izarza ? ???? (@myteks) March 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 In short, the "money in gutters" image shown above captured an older and now invalid form of currency that was tossed aside after the looting of a bank, and not usable currency discarded by citizens because it had been made next to worthless due to "socialism." Sterling, Joe. "Venezuela Issues New Currency, Amid Hyperinflation and Social Turmoil."
CNN. 23 August 2018. Toro, Franciso. "In Venezuela, Money Has Stopped Working."
The Washington Post. 17 January 2018. Llorente, Elizabeth. "Caracas, Once a Thriving Metropolis, Is Struggling as Country Plunges Further Into Chaos."
Fox News. 4 April 2019. The New York Times. "The Crisis in Venezuela Was Years in the Making. Heres How It Happened."
23 January 2019. Martin, Eric and Patricia Laya. "What Broke Venezuela's Economy and What Could Fix It."
Bloomberg. 9 March 2019. Maduradas.com. "TERRIBLE! Encapuchados Saquearon Banco Bicentenario en Mrida y Esparcieron Bolvares Del Viejo Cono Monetario Por Las Calles (+Fotos)."
12 March 2019. El Nacional. "Billetes Inferiores a 1.000 Bolvares No Tendrn Valor a Partir del 20A."
14 August 2018. 2001.com.ve. "Bolvar Fuerte Circular Hasta el Mircoles 5 de Diciembre."
Accessed 5 April 2019.
|
[
"economy"
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false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/drug-wars/
|
Mandatory Ebola Vaccinations in the U.S.
|
David Mikkelson
|
10/13/2014
|
[
"Is the U.S. government planning to implement mandatory Ebola vaccinations for all residents?"
] |
Claim: The U.S. government is planning to implement mandatory Ebola vaccinations for all residents. Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2014] Ebola vaccine is going to be mandatory for all people in the U.S. Everyone will have to carry medical cards showing that they have received the vaccine to be employed, receive driver's license, buy groceries, etc. Those who do not comply will be quarantined in segregation areas until they do. Origins: The outbreak or spread of any infectious disease that potentially carries a significantly high mortality rate is typically accompanied by conspiracy theories positing that the government is planning to forcibly isolate those who carry the disease in internment camps or similar facilities in order to protect the general population. The example reproduced above carries on that tradition, holding that everyone in the U.S. will be required to undergo vaccination for Ebola and carry proof of same in order to be employed (or licensed to drive, or able to purchase groceries), and those who fail to do will be "quarantined in segregation areas" until they submit. First of all, the notion of requiring everyone in the U.S. to undergo mandatory vaccination or face incarceration especially for a disease that has so far manifested only a few cases and a single death in the whole country is a far-fetched one that would require overcoming some huge legal and civil rights issues regarding its constitutionality and would likely take years of legislative wrangling to ever implement. Some states in the U.S. have enacted regulations requiring children to undergo specified vaccinations as a prerequisite to public school attendance, but expanding the scope of mandatory vaccinations to encompass every single person in the country, with the punishment of forced segregation for those who did not comply, would be a huge legal hurdle that likely would not be cleared for a very long time to come (and probably not ever). constitutionality This rumor also falls flat against the fact that there is as yet no vaccine for Ebola. Commercial funding for development of an Ebola vaccine is difficult to obtain, as the disease is not a medical market priority in the U.S.: At least four vaccines are being developed to protect people against Ebola, including one that protects monkeys completely against the deadly virus. Several groups are also working on treatments, but one of the most promising is stuck in safety testing. They might be farther along if not for one problem: money. Even though Ebola is burning out of control in West Africa, it's not a huge potential market for a large pharmaceutical company to sink its teeth and its assets into developing. That leaves the U.S. government and small, niche biopharmaceutical companies. "I don't see why anybody except the U.S. government would get involved in developing these kinds of countermeasures," said Dr. Sina Bavari of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Frederick, Maryland. "There is no market in it." Ebola is so unpredictable that it would be very difficult to find enough people at high risk to test it in. Diseases such as influenza and even HIV are common and it's easy to test large groups of people. Not so with Ebola. Some potential Ebola vaccines have only just been rushed into clinical trials; it will take time to assess their safety and efficacy, and there are no guarantees that any of them will prove widely effective. Even if one of these vaccines should show promise, even more time would have to pass before it could clear U.S. testing and regulatory requirements and put on the market, and even then it would likely initially be available only in small quantities just enough to protect the health workers who are battling the current outbreak: The first trial of an Ebola vaccine in Africa has started, researchers said, with the vaccination of three health care workers in Mali. It's the latest vaccine to be rushed into clinical trials after the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola in West Africa turned into a full scale epidemic. Ebola's infected more than 8,000 people and killed about half of them, and the World Health Organization says the true toll is likely even higher. It'll be months before any vaccine would be available, and even then it will be a small amount, probably used to protect health care workers. But experts say it's a vital first step to getting doctors, nurses and technicians to even come and help fight the outbreak. Health workers are among those at highest risk of getting infected. "This research will give us crucial information about whether the vaccine is safe, well tolerated and capable of stimulating adequate immune responses in the highest priority target population, health care workers in West Africa,' said Dr. Myron Levine, director of the Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "If it works, in the foreseeable future it could help alter the dynamic of this epidemic by interrupting transmission to health care and other exposed front-line workers," Levine said in a statement. The fact remains that the U.S. health care system "is on high alert and prepared to contain isolated cases" of Ebola, so the chances that the threat to the U.S. posed by an Ebola outbreak would be significant enough to warrant even a suggestion of nationwide, freedom-depriving mandatory vaccinations are rather remote. Last updated: 14 October 2014 Fox, Maggie. "Scientists Struggle to Make Ebola Vaccines, Treatments." NBC News. 29 July 2014. Fox, Maggie and Becky Bratu. "First Ebola Vaccine Trial Starts in Africa." NBC News. 9 October 2014.
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"sentence": "First of all, the notion of requiring everyone in the U.S. to undergo mandatory vaccination or face incarceration especially for a disease that has so far manifested only a few cases and a single death in the whole country is a far-fetched one that would require overcoming some huge legal and civil rights issues regarding its constitutionality and would likely take years of legislative wrangling to ever implement. Some states in the U.S. have enacted regulations requiring children to undergo specified vaccinations as a prerequisite to public school attendance, but expanding the scope of mandatory vaccinations to encompass every single person in the country, with the punishment of forced segregation for those who did not comply, would be a huge legal hurdle that likely would not be cleared for a very long time to come (and probably not ever)."
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https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/suspended-animation/
|
Was Walt Disney Frozen?
|
David Mikkelson
|
10/19/1995
|
[
"Half a century onwards, the rumor that Walt Disney's body was put in cryonic storage remains one of the most enduring legends about the entertainment giant."
] |
Walt Disney's health had been deteriorating for many months before he finally agreed to enter St. Joseph hospital in California on 2 November 1966, for tests concerning the pain in his leg and neck. Doctors discovered a walnut-sized spot on the x-ray of his left lung and advised immediate surgery. Disney left the hospital to attend to studio business for a few days, then re-entered St. Joseph on Sunday, November 6, for surgery the next day. During Monday morning's operation, doctors found his left lung to be cancerous and removed it. His oversized lymph nodes were an indication that Disney hadn't much longer to live. After two weeks of post-operative care, Disney was released from the hospital. He crossed the street to his studios and spent another ten days tending to studio business and visiting relatives before he grew too weak and had to return to St. Joseph on November 30. His health started to fail even more rapidly than expected, and drugs and cobalt treatments sapped what little strength he had left. Walt Disney died two weeks later when his circulatory system collapsed on the morning of December 15, 1966. In the decades since Walt Disney's death, the claim that he arranged for his body to be frozen has become ubiquitous. Nearly everyone familiar with the name 'Walt Disney' has heard the story that Disney's corpse is stored in a deep-freeze chamber somewhere -- directly under Disneyland's "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction is the most frequently mentioned site -- awaiting the day when science could repair the damage to his body and bring 'Uncle Walt' back to life. Was Walt Disney aware of the possibilities of life extension through cryogenics? He certainly could have been aware of the progress being made in cryogenics research. Numerous articles and books on hypothermia and the preservation of animal tissue through freezing appeared in both the scientific/medical and general press in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Anyone with an interest in the subject could easily have located this reading material, and even someone without a particular interest in the subject may have run across one or more articles on the topic in the general press. The subject of cryonics was further brought to the public's attention with the publication in 1964 of Robert C.W. Ettinger's book, The Prospect of Immortality. Ettinger's book, drawing on much of the available literature about cryonics, covered the practical, legal, ethical, and moral impact of freezing and reviving human beings. Ettinger, while admitting that science had as yet no way of reviving frozen human beings, was unflaggingly optimistic that a viable means of reanimation would eventually be found, telling his readers: The fact: At very low temperatures it is possible, right now, to preserve dead people with essentially no deterioration, indefinitely. The assumption: If civilization endures, medical science should eventually be able to repair almost any damage to the human body, including freezing damage and senile debility or other cause of death. Hence we need only arrange to have our bodies, after we die, stored in suitable freezers against the time when science may be able to help us. No matter what kills us, whether old age or disease, and even if freezing techniques are still crude when we die, sooner or later our friends of the future should be equal to the task of reviving and curing us. Given the prevalence of articles published about cryonics in the mid-1960's, and the relative popularity of Ettinger's book among science buffs (even if few of them had actually read it), it is certainly possible that Walt Disney was aware of the potentiality of cryonic storage of humans. Whatever the possibilities, however, there is no documentary evidence to suggest that Walt Disney was interested in, or had even heard of, cryonics. Documentation of Disney's alleged fascination with preserving or extending his life through cryonics did not appear until decades after his death, and what little information is available has predominantly been provided by some extremely questionable sources. Claims about Disney's interest come primarily from two of the more recent Disney biographies: Leonard Mosley's 1986 effort, Disney's World, and Marc Eliot's 1993 entry, Walt Disney -- Hollywood's Dark Prince. Both books have been largely discredited for containing numerous factual errors and undocumented assertions, rendering them rather untrustworthy as sources of reliable background material. Eliot's biography, which dwells unrelentingly on every salacious incident and rumor connected with Walt Disney's name, is fairly easy to dismiss. Charitably described as "speculative," it contains a single passage concerning Walt Disney's alleged interest in cryonics: Disney's growing preoccupation with his own mortality also led him to explore the science of cryogenics, the freezing of an aging or ill person until such time as the human body can be revived and restored to health. Disney often mused to Roy about the notion of perhaps having himself frozen, an idea which received ... indulgent nods from his brother ... Not surprisingly, the source behind this piece of information is nowhere to be found in Eliot's notes. And as there is no record of Roy ever having spoken of his brother's alleged interest in cryonics, Eliot's "source" was likely nothing more than repetition of rumor. Mosley's Disney's World is also rather long on rumor and short on facts. The book has been described as "poorly researched and filled with inaccuracies", a biography that seemed "to promote certain preset points of view, regardless of evidence". The same critique goes on to say, "One of its central themes, for example, is Disney's fascination with cryogenesis and the strong suggestion that his body was frozen following his death. It makes for titillating reading; however, few facts support Mosley's claims". Disney's World paints a picture of an anxious Walt Disney desperately searching for a way to spring back to life in order to prevent or correct the horrible mistakes his followers were bound to make in turning his EPCOT dream into reality: [T]he chief problem that troubled Walt was the length of time it might take the doctors to perfect the process. How long would it be before the surgical experts could bring a treated cadaver back to working life? To be brutally practical, could it be guaranteed, in fact, that he could be brought back in time to rectify the mistakes his successors would almost certainly start making at EPCOT the moment he was dead? Mosley's book is filled with repetitions of the claim that Walt Disney grew increasingly interested in cryonics as his health waned in late 1966, such as this paragraph: It was about this time that Walt Disney became acquainted with the experiments into the process known as cryogenesis, or what one newspaper termed "the freeze-drying of the human cadaver after death, for eventual resuscitation." Mosley's statements regarding Disney's belief in the feasibility of cryonics are somewhat difficult to take seriously, given that his book includes such ludicrously erroneous (or fabricated) statements as: The surgeons had taken away his diseased lung to examine it, and then were going to preserve it. Walt was pleased when he heard that. He knew enough about cryogenesis by now to be aware that it was important to hold onto all the organs -- just in case the surgeons needed to treat them before putting them back where they belonged. (Samples of tissue removed during cancer surgery are preserved in formaldehyde, a method of "preservation" which, while useful for microscopy studies, damages the tissue biologically. Organs removed from Disney by his surgeons could never be "put back where they belonged", no matter what the treatment.) Mosley provides no source for his statements, other than to assert that Disney's "closest colleagues and advisers" were "confident" that Walt Disney "eventually became convinced of cryogenesis as a viable medical process and was persuaded that, even in 1966, it was possible for a human being to have himself brought back to life after death". In fact, these "close colleagues" of Disney's turned out to be a few employees on the periphery of the Disney organization who had never spoken to Walt about cryonics, and were merely repeating the same decades-old rumor for Mosley's benefit. On the other hand, someone much closer to Walt Disney, his daughter, Diane wrote in 1972: "There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that my father, Walt Disney, wished to be frozen. I doubt that my father had ever heard of cryonics." Despite the persistent rumors, available documentation indicates that Walt Disney was in fact cremated. Although Disney's preferences regarding the disposal of his body are not public record(instructions or provisions for his funeral and burial were not included in his will), other publicly-available material is entirely consistent with the claim that he was cremated: will o Walt Disney publicly stated -- ten years before his death -- that he wished not to have a funeral. o Disney family members have confirmed that cremation was Walt's wish. o Disney's death certificate shows that he was cremated two days after his death. The name, license number, and signature of the enbalmer appearing on the death certificate are those of a real enbalmer who was employed at the Forest Lawn mortuary at the time. death certificate o A marked burial plot for Walt Disney (and other family members) can be found at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale (the logical resting grounds for someone whose cremation was handled by Forest Lawn's mortuary), and court papers indicate that the Disney estate paid $40,000 to Forest Lawn for interment property. burial plot Since Disney's demise, several unmremarkable events and circumstances surrounding his life and death have been combined to try to establish a pattern of mystery and secrecy concerning the disposal of his body. All of these events, however, have straightforward, non-mysterious explanations: o "Disney had a long preoccupation with death"o "Disney had a neurotic fear of death" Statements concerning Disney's alleged preoccupation with death are generally attempts to sensationalize the topic by distorting the facts. Although he did worry about dying prematurely, Disney was not "obsessed with death". Supposedly having been told by a fortune-teller that he would die when he was thirty-five, Disney reportedly brooded about his inevitable demise during occasional bouts of depression, even after he had long passed the allegedly fatal age. Contemplating one's mortality is not an unusual behavior, and there is no evidence that Walt Disney did so to an excessive degree. William Poundstone quotes some ridiculous passages from Anthony Haden-Guest's The Paradise Program to try to establish Disney's preoccupation with death, detailing a "gruesome seven minute Mickey Mouse cartoon" made in 1933 in which "a mad scientist tries to cut off Pluto's head and put in on a chicken. The cartoon in question is The Mad Doctor, which was nothing more than humorous spoof of 1930's horror films. Even in the cartoon itself the "horrific" events are not portrayed as real: the whole episode turns out to be nothing more than a nightmare of Mickey's. Although Poundstone wrote that the film was pulled from the Rank film library in 1970, it has been readily available on home video releases since then. o "The news of Disney's death was deliberately delayed." This claim that the announcement of Walt Disney's death was deliberately withheld from the press for several hours has been made most persistently, presumably because Disney's aides would have needed time to furtively whisk his body away from the hospital to the secret cryogenic chamber before the presence of reporters made the task impossible to accomplish in privacy. Leonard Mosley's description of the event features some of more absurd stretches of truth made in this regard: And this is where the mystery begins. It was Walt himself who had asked Roy Disney to keep his illness secret, but the manner in which the world was apprised of his death remains surprising. In fact, it was not until hours after he was declared dead that an announcement was made. First came radio announcements, then a curt official notice informed the press and public that Walt Disney was no more. It added that there would be no funeral. He had already been cremated, the announcement said, and his ashes interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Only immediate family members had been present. It is true that Disney's death was not officially announced to the press until several hours after it occurred at 9:30 AM on Thursday, December 15, 1966, but the reasons behind the delay were perfectly ordinary ones. First of all, Disney's death would not have been announced immediately under any circumstances: Several family members had to be notified before a public announcement could be made, and Disney studio executives had to be located and informed that the head of their organization had passed away before the information would be released to the press. Additionally, the gravity of Disney's illness had largely been kept a secret from the press, so there were no hordes of reporters crowding the hallways of St. Joseph Hospital, waiting for the inevitable announcement of his death. The reason for Disney's original hospitalization had been announced to the press as "treatment of an old neck injury received while playing polo," and when Disney re-entered the hospital for the final time two weeks before his death, the statement made to the press was that Disney was undergoing "a routine post-operative" checkup. Although it was certainly no secret that Disney was quite ill, the seriousness of his condition was not generally known. The extent to which the details of Walt Disney's illness were kept from the press are evidenced by the newspapers reports of his death, which stated that his left lung had been removed during an operation on November 21 (an error which Poundstone repeats in Big Secrets). That operation had actually taken place two weeks earlier; November 21 was the date of his original post-surgery release from the hospital. So, given that relatives and studio heads had to be notified before any statements about Disney's death were made to the press; that the media were not on a "Disney death watch," busily preparing obituaries and tributes; and that communications in 1966 were certainly slower than they are today, it is not at all surprising that official news of Disney's death did not reach the public until a few hours later. Mosley's other statements, about Disney's funeral and cremation, are just further examples of sloppy research on his part. Disney was not cremated until two days after his death; no press announcement made "hours after he was declared dead" claimed that he had already been cremated. o "The cause of Disney's demise was never formally announced." This statement is both inaccurate and irrelevant. The cause of Disney's death was initially announced as being "acute circulatory collapse," which meant simply that his heart had stopped beating. As facile as the official announcement may seem to those who know he "really" died of lung cancer, it does reflect the proximate cause of his death. This notion is borne out by the official death certificate, which lists "cardiac arrest" as the primary cause of death. The fact that cancer was what caused Disney's heart to give out was, medically, of secondary importance. death certificate Official statements released to the press after Disney's surgery (and before his death) had already revealed that a tumor had been found, necessitating the removal of a lung. Whether stated "officially" or not, it was quite clear to the public that Disney had died of lung cancer. In any case, what possible difference could it have made what Walt Disney died of? How could dissembling about the "real" cause of his death possibly have facilitated the goal of secretly storing his body in a cryonic chamber? o "Disney's funeral services were held in secret." Disney's funeral was not "secret"; rather, it was private, conducted quickly and quietly at the Little Church of the Flowers in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale at 5:00 PM on Friday, December 16 (the day after his death). No announcement of the funeral was made until after it had taken place, no associates or executives from Disney Studios were invited, and only immediate family members were in attendance. Forest Lawn officials refused to disclose any details of the funeral or disposition of the body, stating only that "Mr. Disney's wishes were very specific and had been spelled out in great detail.". None of this secrecy surrounding Disney's funeral should be the least bit surprising to anyone, however. The biography The Story of Walt Disney (essentially an autobiography in which Disney's own words and thoughts were attributed to his daughter Diane), written a decade before Disney's death, noted that: [Walt] never goes to a funeral if he can help it. If he had to go to one it plunges him into a reverie which lasts for hours after he's home. At such times he says, 'When I'm dead I don't want a funeral. I want people to remember me alive.'" Is it so remarkable that a man who had an aversion to funerals -- and who had stated a ten years earlier that he didn't want a public funeral -- was sent off with a very quick and very private ceremony? If the clandestineness of the funeral had been intended to cover up the fact that Disney's body had already been deposited in liquid nitrogen at a secret facility, there were certainly better, less obvious ways of accomplishing the deception: Disney could have been given a simple closed-casket ceremony, with nobody the wiser. o "Disney specified the public was never to be told the location of his grave." Again, this claim is unsupported by any factual information and is not the least bit extraordinary. It is true that officials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park will not divulge the location of the Disney family plot. Many celebrities do request that the locations of their burial plots not be given out to visitors as a simple matter of privacy. The burial sites are not intended to be "secret," however; if they were, they wouldn't be marked and located on publicly-accessible grounds. Disney's plot was not, as Mosley claimed, "already filled with family ashes from which the public would always be barred." Disney's plot is far from obtrusive, but it is located in an unrestricted part of the park and marked with a plaque identifying its occupants; anyone who so desires is perfectly free to visit, leave flowers, take photographs, etc. The plot was certainly not "already filled with family ashes" at the time of Disney's interment, as for many it held the remains of only one other person: Ron Brown, a son-in-law who died the year after Disney did. In fact, according to the book Wills of the Rich and Famous, the interment property was not even chosen until September 19, 1967, making it rather difficult to believe that it could have been "already filled with family ashes." If Disney was not really frozen, then how and when did this rumor originate? The exact origins of the rumor are unknown, but at least one Disney publicist has suggested that the story was started by a group of Disney Studio animators who "had a bizarre sense of humor." The earliest known printed version of the rumor appeared in the magazine Ici Paris in 1969. Even if the origins of the story are unknown, it is certainly easy to see why the rumor is so believable. In the years immediately preceding his death, Disney was involved in a number of projects which cemented his image as a technical innovator in the public's mind. Disneyland attractions such as the monorail, the House of the Future, the Voyage to the Moon; the introduction of audio-animatronic figures at the 1964 World's Fair, and Disney's plans for his "community of tomorrow" (EPCOT) in Florida made it easy to believe Walt Disney was ahead of everyone else in his planning, even when it came to his death. When you consider that the first cryonic suspension took place just a month after Disney's death (Dr. James Bedford, a 73-year-old psychologist from Glendale, was suspended on January 12, 1967), it's not so far-fetched to imagine that Disney might have made similar arrangements. Adams, Cecil. More of The Straight Dope. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988. ISBN 0-345-35145-2 (pp. 331-333). Davis, Jeff. "Walt Disney Dies." Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. 15 December 1966 (p. 1). Eliot, Marc. Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince. Seacaucus, N.J.: Carol Pub. Group, 1993. Ettinger, Robert C.W. The Prospect of Immortality. New York: Doubleday, 1964. Jackson, Kathy Merlock. Walt Disney: A Bio-Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Pub. Group, 1993. ISBN 0-313-25898-8. Miller, Diane Disney. The Story of Walt Disney. New York: Holt, 1957. Morgan, Hal and Kerry Tucker. Rumor! New York: Penguin Books, 1984. ISBN 0-14-007036-2. Mosley, Leonard. Disney's World. New York: Stein and Day, 1985. Nass, Herbert E. Wills of the Rich and Famous. New York: Warner, 1991. ISBN 0-446-39218-9. Poundstone, William. Big Secrets. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. ISBN 0-395-45397-6 (pp. 219-224). Thomas, Bob. Walt Disney: An American Original. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1976. ISBN 0-7868-6027-8. Trimborn, Harry. "Wizard of Fantasy Walt Disney Dies." Los Angeles Times. 16 December 1996 (p. 1). The Boston Globe. "Ask the Globe." 24 January 1992 (p. 20). Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. "Disney Rites Secret; As He Wished." 17 December 1966 (p. 1). Los Angeles Times. "Services for Walt Disney Held as He Asked -- For Family Only." 17 December 1966 (p. 1). The New York Times. "Walt Disney, 65, Dies on Coast; Founded an Empire on a Mouse." 16 December 1966 (p. 1).
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https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/walkaway-campaign-stock-photos/
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Did the #WalkAway Campaign Use Stock Photographs for People It Claimed Left the Democratic Party?
|
Bethania Palma
|
07/25/2018
|
[
"The founder of a viral political campaign claims memes featuring stock photo models instead of real people were not produced by the WalkAway Campaign."
] |
In July 2018, various websites reported that the social media hashtag #WalkAway represented a mass movement of people leaving (i.e., "walking away" from) the Democratic party. The #WalkAway movement was characterized as an answer to the "blue wave," a belief shared by liberals that Democrats were poised to make major electoral gains in November 2018 midterm elections. websites reported answer blue wave The campaign was launched by New York resident Brandon Straka, who in mid-June 2018 created a video replete with dramatic theme music in which he presented himself as a former liberal who was "walking away" because liberal politics no longer embodied his values of "unity, personal empowerment and love." The video was widely shared on social media, but as Abby Ohlheiser, who pens a blog about the Internet for the Washington Post noted, that following took place "almost exclusively on the right-wing Internet." video noted In late July 2018 however, the #WalkAway campaign was criticized for sharing memes utilizing photographs of liberals who were purportedly personally testifying to "walking away" from the Democratic Party, but those memes actually employed commercial images of anonymous people provided by the stock photography site Shutterstock: Shutterstock Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, shared images of black people who had allegedly left the Democratic Party. They were actually models in royalty-free stock photos. pic.twitter.com/FjfpZzv8mN pic.twitter.com/FjfpZzv8mN Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) July 23, 2018 July 23, 2018 Straka took to Twitter to say the memes were not authentic #WalkAway campaign material: These memes have nothing 2do w/ the #WalkAway Campaign. Theyre being circulated by the left as evidence that #WalkAway is paid actors. ???So, in a rare moment of agreement, I am on the same page as those on the left- this is fake. These r not from the #WalkAway Campaign. pic.twitter.com/nN3kNlBAsr #WalkAway #WalkAway #WalkAway pic.twitter.com/nN3kNlBAsr Brandon Straka (The Unsilent Minority) (@usminority) July 24, 2018 July 24, 2018 In an email, Straka told us he didn't know who created the memes, but that any official material from the #WalkAway campaign would bear specific branding: I dont know who created the memes. I first saw them within the last week. Anything officially released by the #WalkAway Campaign will bear our branding and trademark. Many people are excited and energized about #WalkAway, and in this excitement have created their own materials which are not approved or condoned by the official #WalkAway Campaign. #WalkAway will exist beyond social media but currently does not. It is an LLC, and will exist soon as a non-profit, but currently we are building toward this. It's unclear who created the memes, or whether they were shared by people who consider themselves associated with the #WalkAway hashtag movement. But verifying what materials and persons might have any "official" connection with the movement is difficult since the campaign exists mostly on social media, with Straka self-identifying in his social media profile as "campaign founder" and in a group hosted by him on Facebook. self-identifying group #WalkAway memes employing stock photographic images have been shared by at least one prominent conservative figure Ginni Thomas, an attorney who contributes to the conservative Daily Caller website and is married to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: Daily Caller Noting that live Twitter tracking tool Hamilton68 (operated by the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund) had recorded Russian bots and trolls helping to amplify the #WalkAway hashtag, some critics blamed Twitter for failing to quell the spread of Russian propaganda: Hamilton68 Walk Away is a scam created by Russian bots. In reality, I have never met a liberal who says, "You know what, I've decided I hate people and their basic human rights. I think I'll become a Republican." https://t.co/lb2VCeOVcm https://t.co/lb2VCeOVcm James Kosur (@JamesKosur) July 5, 2018 July 5, 2018 Ohlheiser, Abby. "The #WalkAway Meme Is What Happens When Everything Is Viral and Nothing Matters."
The Washington Post. 2 July 2018. Kapur, Sahil. "Special House Election in Ohio Poses Latest Test of Blue Wave."
Bloomberg. 23 July 2018. Kosur, James. "Fake #WalkAway Ads Feature Images of People from Shutterstock."
HillReporter.com. 23 July 2018. This article was updated to include comment from Straka.
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"sentence": "In July 2018, various websites reported that the social media hashtag #WalkAway represented a mass movement of people leaving (i.e., \"walking away\" from) the Democratic party. The #WalkAway movement was characterized as an answer to the \"blue wave,\" a belief shared by liberals that Democrats were poised to make major electoral gains in November 2018 midterm elections."
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"sentence": " Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) July 23, 2018"
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"sentence": "These memes have nothing 2do w/ the #WalkAway Campaign. Theyre being circulated by the left as evidence that #WalkAway is paid actors. ???So, in a rare moment of agreement, I am on the same page as those on the left- this is fake. These r not from the #WalkAway Campaign. pic.twitter.com/nN3kNlBAsr"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/usminority/status/1021614263322992641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"
],
"sentence": " Brandon Straka (The Unsilent Minority) (@usminority) July 24, 2018"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/usminority",
"https://www.facebook.com/groups/OFFICIALWalkAwayCampaign/about/#_=_"
],
"sentence": "It's unclear who created the memes, or whether they were shared by people who consider themselves associated with the #WalkAway hashtag movement. But verifying what materials and persons might have any \"official\" connection with the movement is difficult since the campaign exists mostly on social media, with Straka self-identifying in his social media profile as \"campaign founder\" and in a group hosted by him on Facebook."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://dailycaller.com/section/ginni-thomas/"
],
"sentence": "#WalkAway memes employing stock photographic images have been shared by at least one prominent conservative figure Ginni Thomas, an attorney who contributes to the conservative Daily Caller website and is married to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://dashboard.securingdemocracy.org/"
],
"sentence": "Noting that live Twitter tracking tool Hamilton68 (operated by the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund) had recorded Russian bots and trolls helping to amplify the #WalkAway hashtag, some critics blamed Twitter for failing to quell the spread of Russian propaganda:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://t.co/lb2VCeOVcm"
],
"sentence": "Walk Away is a scam created by Russian bots. In reality, I have never met a liberal who says, \"You know what, I've decided I hate people and their basic human rights. I think I'll become a Republican.\" https://t.co/lb2VCeOVcm"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/JamesKosur/status/1014898730137370624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"
],
"sentence": " James Kosur (@JamesKosur) July 5, 2018"
}
] |
neutral
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/gas-monkey-garage-giveaway/
|
Facebook Scammers Seize On Gas Monkey Garage Giveaway
|
Jordan Liles
|
05/24/2022
|
[
"The best tip to avoid scams on Facebook is to always look for the official and trustworthy verified badge next to the page name."
] |
On May 24, 2022, Facebook scammers seized on a real giveaway from Richard Rawlings' Gas Monkey Garage, which was once affiliated with the "Fast N' Loud" reality television series. The show aired its final episodes in 2020. Facebook Richard Rawlings Gas Monkey Garage Fast N' Loud It's true that the official and verified Facebook page for Rawlings' Gas Monkey Garage was promoting a giveaway for $200,000. In order to enter, users simply needed to purchase products on the company's website. page However, scammers reposted videos about the giveaway from the official Facebook page to their own accounts. The scammers' posts instructed potential victims to visit a potentially malicious website that asked them to send money through the Stash finance app in order to claim a supposed prize. One of the scammers' posts showed a video of Rawlings talking about the real Gas Monkey Garage giveaway. That video was downloaded and reposted by a scammer's account named Nyong Desi (facebook.com/uygdvuidfhvyfdgviushv): It read as follows and included three steps, which we've seen in many scams before: Nyong Desi ????????????? ???????-??????? 2022 CONGRATULATIONS for those of you who have received comments from me have been selected as winners???Step 1 = Like and ShareStep 2 = Coments "Done"Step 3 = Register here? (link removed) ? to receive my prize. And the Gift will be sent after you successfully register (this is authentic and official) God bless you Good Luck The edit history for the post above showed that it was originally created on Jan. 30, 2022 as a giveaway scam involving PlayStation 5 game consoles and $10,000. It was edited on the morning of May 24 in order to change it to the Gas Monkey Garage giveaway scam. PlayStation 5 We visited the website that was displayed in the scammers' posts. In addition to asking users to send the scammers money through the Stash finance app, it also claimed that they had already won $10,000. Of course, this was all misleading. asking Our best tip to avoid these kinds of scams is to always look for the verified badge next to Facebook page names. If it's a big brand name and there's no verified badge, it might be a scam. scams verified badge In sum, the official Gas Monkey Garage Facebook page truly was holding a real giveaway. However, scammers sought to capitalize on the giveaway by downloading and then reposting several videos that showed Rawlings talking in order to trick potential victims into losing money. For further reading, this story might remind some readers of a similar Facebook scam we reported on in the past for the "Diesel Brothers" reality television series. reported on
|
[
"finance"
] |
[
{
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"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1t1xbfYFPaNiduVaB-8j4x8a1-UI0MZF7"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://snopes.com/tag/facebook",
"https://snopes.com/tag/richard-rawlings",
"https://snopes.com/tag/gas-monkey-garage",
"https://snopes.com/tag/fast-n-loud"
],
"sentence": "On May 24, 2022, Facebook scammers seized on a real giveaway from Richard Rawlings' Gas Monkey Garage, which was once affiliated with the \"Fast N' Loud\" reality television series. The show aired its final episodes in 2020."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/GasMonkeyGarage/"
],
"sentence": "It's true that the official and verified Facebook page for Rawlings' Gas Monkey Garage was promoting a giveaway for $200,000. In order to enter, users simply needed to purchase products on the company's website."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://snopes.com/tag/playstation-5"
],
"sentence": "The edit history for the post above showed that it was originally created on Jan. 30, 2022 as a giveaway scam involving PlayStation 5 game consoles and $10,000. It was edited on the morning of May 24 in order to change it to the Gas Monkey Garage giveaway scam."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/GTTK2"
],
"sentence": "We visited the website that was displayed in the scammers' posts. In addition to asking users to send the scammers money through the Stash finance app, it also claimed that they had already won $10,000. Of course, this was all misleading."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://snopes.com/tag/scams",
"https://www.facebook.com/help/1288173394636262"
],
"sentence": "Our best tip to avoid these kinds of scams is to always look for the verified badge next to Facebook page names. If it's a big brand name and there's no verified badge, it might be a scam."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/diesel-brothers-facebook-giveaway/"
],
"sentence": "For further reading, this story might remind some readers of a similar Facebook scam we reported on in the past for the \"Diesel Brothers\" reality television series."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/toilet-paper-roll-seat-night/
|
Should an Empty Toilet Paper Roll or Red Cup Be Placed Under the Toilet Seat at Night?
|
Jordan Liles
|
07/20/2021
|
[
"Online advertisements promised what appeared to be a handy bathroom trick."
] |
Since at least July 2021, online advertisements have displayed a picture of the cardboard from an empty toilet paper roll or a paper cup propping up a toilet seat. The ads appeared to promise a handy bathroom trick. For example, this ad appeared next to an article on the New York Post website. New York Post This ad was hosted by the Outbrain advertising network and was perhaps displayed on a large number of websites. The ad read: "[Pics] Always Place a Toilet Paper Roll Under the Toilet Seat at Night, Here's Why." A variation of the same ad said: "[Pics] Put A Toilet Paper Roll Under Public Toilet Seat, Here's Why." They were sponsored by the Maternity Week and Definition.org websites. Yet another variation of the ad said: "40 Brilliant Life Hacks Nobody Told You About." We also saw one that used a red cup instead of an empty toilet paper roll. "Always Place A Red Cup Under The Toilet Seat At Your Hotel, Here's Why." Some social media commenters said it might be to warn others that there's no more toilet paper. Clicking on one of the ads led to a 41-page slideshow article and a headline that read: "These 40 Brilliant Tricks Will Make Even The Hardest Items To Clean Sparkle." The story's first page read as follows: article Ever looked forward to cleaning the house? We didnt think so! But when it absolutely, positively has to be done when your bathrooms looking a little grubby, for instance were here to help. These 40 incredible hacks will make sprucing up your home an absolute breeze. And you just wont believe what you can do with a cardboard bathroom tissue roll... On that first page, the story once again teased some grand trick with a cardboard toilet paper roll, perhaps involving a toilet seat and nighttime. The web address (URL) even mentioned the toilet paper trick for what is known as UTM tracking. This meant that the website's creator was tracking whether the ad was successfully getting clicks and bringing in readers. After all, someone was apparently paying to run the ads on the Outbrain advertising network, so it's typically important to figure out if they're worth the investment. The article contained several odd household tricks. One claimed it would be good to put hairbrushes in the dishwasher. Another advised about pouring various liquids down the drain, which we covered in two previous fact checks about dish soap and salt. We also found a questionable oven cleaning tip, plus purported bread uses, which we also covered in the past. hairbrushes in the dishwasher advised dish soap salt oven cleaning tip bread uses covered On page 41, which was the last page, a toilet paper roll trick was finally revealed. However, it had nothing to do with placing it under a toilet seat at night. It simply advised to attach a cardboard roll to a vacuum cleaner hose to reach crevices. page 41 reach crevices Courtesy: beeanchor/Imgur.com The 41-page article never mentioned a word about why to always place a toilet paper roll under a toilet seat at night. It was nothing but clickbait. We clicked "next page" 40 times so you don't have to. We looked to home improvement websites such as BobVila.com to see if there was perhaps a legitimate purpose for the toilet paper roll or a red cup going under the seat. However, we found no such tips, tricks, or "life hacks." BobVila.com After this story was published, a reader sent in a tip that said an empty toilet paper roll propping up the seat might be a helpful warning to the next person to enter the stall that there's no toilet paper. We've clicked through thousands of pages in these kinds of strange slideshow articles that come from scammy ads. The subjects have included Tom Selleck, Disneyland, Costco, Alex Trebek's net worth, and around 100 other topics. Check out our entire collection. Each of our stories is presented on a single page. Tom Selleck Disneyland Costco Alex Trebek's net worth our entire collection Snopes debunks a wide range of content, and online advertisements are no exception. Misleading ads often lead to obscure websites that host lengthy slideshow articles with lots of pages. It's called advertising "arbitrage." The advertiser's goal is to make more money on ads displayed on the slideshow's pages than it cost to show the initial ad that lured them to it. Feel free to submit ads to us, and be sure to include a screenshot of the ad and the link to where the ad leads. submit ads to us
|
[
"investment"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Dpz50ncQlEmr3zSlBW85sNkPV9Z0yWH-"
},
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=13lKk4GZa_frLIUvWApOKP4yuZWUkpYBR"
},
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1eYr92Q9axmwR8KDr3D2Qg6E72KJitRNv"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/news/2021/07/19/bill-burr-cnn-fox-rant/"
],
"sentence": "Since at least July 2021, online advertisements have displayed a picture of the cardboard from an empty toilet paper roll or a paper cup propping up a toilet seat. The ads appeared to promise a handy bathroom trick. For example, this ad appeared next to an article on the New York Post website."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2021/07/toilet-paper-roll-seat-ad.jpg"
],
"sentence": " This ad was hosted by the Outbrain advertising network and was perhaps displayed on a large number of websites."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2021/07/red-cup-toilet-seat.jpg"
],
"sentence": " Some social media commenters said it might be to warn others that there's no more toilet paper."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/qBs0S"
],
"sentence": "Clicking on one of the ads led to a 41-page slideshow article and a headline that read: \"These 40 Brilliant Tricks Will Make Even The Hardest Items To Clean Sparkle.\" The story's first page read as follows:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/9A9Vw",
"https://archive.ph/TlMCp",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pouring-dish-soap/",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pour-salt-down-your-drain/",
"https://archive.ph/NPKuA",
"https://archive.ph/qhJ6C",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/vinegar-bread-garage/"
],
"sentence": "The article contained several odd household tricks. One claimed it would be good to put hairbrushes in the dishwasher. Another advised about pouring various liquids down the drain, which we covered in two previous fact checks about dish soap and salt. We also found a questionable oven cleaning tip, plus purported bread uses, which we also covered in the past."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://archive.ph/N7HVK",
"https://imgur.com/a/E2zK2"
],
"sentence": "On page 41, which was the last page, a toilet paper roll trick was finally revealed. However, it had nothing to do with placing it under a toilet seat at night. It simply advised to attach a cardboard roll to a vacuum cleaner hose to reach crevices."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2021/07/cardboard-vacuum-imgur.jpg"
],
"sentence": " Courtesy: beeanchor/Imgur.com"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-toilet-paper/"
],
"sentence": "We looked to home improvement websites such as BobVila.com to see if there was perhaps a legitimate purpose for the toilet paper roll or a red cup going under the seat. However, we found no such tips, tricks, or \"life hacks.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tom-selleck-rumors/",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/disneyland-space-mountain-prank/",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/truth-costco-kirkland-meat/",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/alex-trebek-net-worth/",
"https://www.snopes.com/tag/arbitrage-ad-scams/"
],
"sentence": "We've clicked through thousands of pages in these kinds of strange slideshow articles that come from scammy ads. The subjects have included Tom Selleck, Disneyland, Costco, Alex Trebek's net worth, and around 100 other topics. Check out our entire collection. Each of our stories is presented on a single page."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/contact"
],
"sentence": "Snopes debunks a wide range of content, and online advertisements are no exception. Misleading ads often lead to obscure websites that host lengthy slideshow articles with lots of pages. It's called advertising \"arbitrage.\" The advertiser's goal is to make more money on ads displayed on the slideshow's pages than it cost to show the initial ad that lured them to it. Feel free to submit ads to us, and be sure to include a screenshot of the ad and the link to where the ad leads."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/penny-stock/
|
Valuable U.S. Coins Placed into Circulation
|
David Mikkelson
|
04/22/2006
|
[
"Were three valuable U.S. coins deliberately placed into circulation in New York in April 2006?"
] |
Claim: A collector deliberately placed three valuable U.S. coins into circulation in New York in April 2006. Example: [Collected via e-mail, 2006] A friend told me that she heard that a millionnaire put a penny worth a million dollars in circulation by using it to buy a hot dog at a vendor cart. Supposedly you can tell because it has a "J" under the year. Origins: One of the many windfall schemes that some of us dream about in our idle moments is fortuitously turning up a rare old coin worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars perhaps through discovering one stashed away by a relative who has forgotten about it, uncovering one hidden beneath some dirt or debris, or simply finding one in a handful of change. The last of these routes rarely yields lucky finds anymore, as collectors and treasure-seekers have long since plucked every coin of significant value from circulation, but in April 2006 the odds of making such an advantageous discovery got a little bit better. To help introduce more people to "the magic of coin collecting," Scott A. Travers, a 44-year-old former vice president of the American Numismatic Association and author of The Coin Collector's Survival Manual, decided to mark National Coin Week in mid-April 2006 by deliberately spending three valuable old pennies as he made routine purchases around Manhattan. "I'm planting a seed, and I hope that a new generation of people will come to appreciate the history that coins represent," he said. The three coins Scott Travers spent were all relatively low-mintage U.S. one-cent pieces nearly one hundred years old: a 1908-S Indian Head cent, and 1909-S VDB and 1914-D Lincoln cents. (In the conditions released by Travers, at the time those coins were worth roughly $200, $1,000, and $300, respectively.) Mr. Travers said he put the 1908-S 1909-S VDB 1914-D 1914-D Lincoln cent into circulation on 12 April 2006 when he purchased a pretzel from a food stand outside the NASDAQ offices in Times Square, and a few days later he spent the 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent to buy a bottle of water from a different vendor in Times Square, then walked a block to a newsstand where he used the 1908-S Indian Head cent. Within a few weeks, seven people came forward saying they had found the $1,000 coin (i.e., the 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent), but Travers said that although the proffered coins were real, none of them was the one he released into circulation. As of 2009 there had been no reports of anyone's finding any of the three rare pennies, but Scott Travers may never find out what happened to them, as it's quite possible the valuable cents ended up lost, squirreled away as oddities by people who didn't know their true value, or retrieved and sold by lucky finders unaware the coins were deliberately placed into circulation. Indeed, Mr. Travers has tried the same stunt more than once, and he hasn't ever learned the fate of some of the valuable coins involved in those previous attempts: Travers has spent rare coins before. In 1999, he did it to coincide with the numismatic association's convention in New York, although he never found out whether one of the rare pennies was rediscovered. Past coin drops, in 1997 and 2002, succeeded in sparking interest in coin collecting, but Travers doesn't know if anyone "cashed in" by finding the coins. Travers has met many people who believe they've discovered his coins, and though they may have found valuable coins, they weren't his. Last updated: 17 March 2011 Healey, Matthew. "Find a Penny, Pick It Up, Sell It for 1,000 Bucks." The New York Times. 14 April 2006 (p. B3). Schapiro, Rich. "Coins in Circulation May Be Worth Up to $1,000, Says Expert." [New York] Daily News. 9 January 2009.
|
[
"interest"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1YxbxJPm4jYjGeeMWgnyZkwcpsQzFFbJg"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-4839.html",
"https://www.coinfacts.com/small_cents/lincoln_cents/wheat_ear_cents/1909s_vdb_cent.htm",
"https://www.coinfacts.com/small_cents/lincoln_cents/wheat_ear_cents/1914d_cent.htm"
],
"sentence": "The three coins Scott Travers spent were all relatively low-mintage U.S. one-cent pieces nearly one hundred years old: a 1908-S Indian Head cent, and 1909-S VDB and 1914-D Lincoln cents. (In the conditions released by Travers, at the time those coins were worth roughly $200, $1,000, and $300, respectively.) Mr. Travers said he put the "
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tumor-mill/
|
Facebook Appeal for Boy with Massive Tumor
|
David Mikkelson
|
08/08/2015
|
[
"Rumor: CNN and Facebook are donating $1 per share to fund surgery for a boy with a massive tumor."
] |
Claim: CNN and Facebook are donating $1 per like to fund surgery for a boy with a massive tumor. Example: [Collected via Facebook, August 2015] Please Dont Ignore! His parents can't afford surgery so facebook and CNN are paying half of the expenses1 Like - $11 Comment - 10$1 Share - 20$ Origins: In August 2015, the above-displayed image urging viewers to share a photograph of a boy with a massive tumor in order raise funds for his medical care was circulated widely via Facebook. But neither the image nor its claim was new; the tandem was simply a reiteration of a hoax that had circulated more than a year earlier involving the same photograph and plea. This "raise money for a child's medical care by sharing this photo on Facebook" format of hoax is common: Previous variations include a child purportedly shot by a family member, a toddler who needed shot a heart transplant, a little girl from Poland in desperate need of money for burn treatment, a girl with a distended abdomen, and a baby born with its heart outside its body. heart transplant burn treatment abdomen heart As is often the case with these popular social media hoaxes, the image used was one of a real child suffering a real medical condition, and that image was deliberately selected with the intent of tugging at the heartstrings of Facebook users for purposes unconnected to the depicted child's recovery or well-being. The photograph used in this case is one that was widely reproduced in conjunction with 2012 news coverage about the case of a 9-year-old boy with a massive tumor who was brought to the U.S. from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico for medical treatment: news coverage A 9-year-old boy with a massive tumor was whisked from a dangerous neighborhood in Mexico in an armored vehicle by U.S. agents and taken across the border for treatment in New Mexico, his family said. The boy and his parents were snatched Thursday from the gang-infested neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez one of the deadliest cities in the world after members of a New Mexico Baptist church saw him near an orphanage and sought help. The parents of the child, identified by officials only as Jose to protect his family, said the tumor on his shoulder and neck has grown so large that it affects his eyesight and could move into his heart. With no money for medical care, the family sought treatment in Juarez and El Paso, but did not receive any help removing the tumor, which has afflicted Jose since birth. In November 2014, doctors in New Mexico successfully removed Jose's tumor: removed An 11-year-old Mexican boy who had been suffering from a massive tumor and came to New Mexico for treatment has had the growth removed. Kristean Alcocer of the First Baptist Church of Rio Rancho said the boy underwent surgery at the University of New Mexico Children's Hospital to remove the tumor from his neck, shoulder and torso area. Alcocer says the surgery lasted a more than 12 hours and involved 25 medical professionals. Images such as this one are carefully selected by Facebook scammers preying on the sympathies of social media users. Many folks believe that sharing the image is harmless: If the claim is true, the child is helped; and if it's false, only a small amount of their time was wasted. But these types of hoaxes are typically lures for the distribution of malware as well as clickjacking, clickbaiting, and like-farming activities, made all the more reprehensible for their dishonest and unauthorized use of such photographs. In any case, Facebook does not directly donate money based upon likes or shares generated for any purpose. Facebook's advice for charitable giving on the social network can be found here. here
|
[
"share"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1s3OdFXax-ssNefR1arbNah1k4IgQHxxg"
},
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1No_fHD0_qmdSCEC7fynYcmOMb-v8tKRW"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"/inboxer/medical/shotkid.asp"
],
"sentence": "This \"raise money for a child's medical care by sharing this photo on Facebook\" format of hoax is common: Previous variations include a child purportedly shot by a family member, a toddler who needed"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"/inboxer/medical/100shares.asp",
"kuczma.asp",
"/inboxer/medical/abdomen.asp",
"babyheart.asp"
],
"sentence": "a heart transplant, a little girl from Poland in desperate need of money for burn treatment, a girl with a distended abdomen, and a baby born with its heart outside its body."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/9-year-old-boy-massive-tumor-living-mexico-dangerous-cities-brought-u-s-treatment-article-1.1119111"
],
"sentence": "The photograph used in this case is one that was widely reproduced in conjunction with 2012 news coverage about the case of a 9-year-old boy with a massive tumor who was brought to the U.S. from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico for medical treatment:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.koat.com/news/juarez-boy-has-massive-tumor-removed-in-new-mexico/29802340"
],
"sentence": "In November 2014, doctors in New Mexico successfully removed Jose's tumor:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/help/224906417682965/"
],
"sentence": "In any case, Facebook does not directly donate money based upon likes or shares generated for any purpose. Facebook's advice for charitable giving on the social network can be found here."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/p-ness/
|
Opera Singer Embarrassment
|
David Mikkelson
|
09/10/2001
|
[
"Legend about an opera singer who reads embarrassingly misprinted lyrics."
] |
Claim: Opera singer reads embarrassingly misprinted lyrics. LEGEND Example: [Healey and Glanvill, 1994] A friend had landed his first big role as an opera singer, even if it was in a Gilbert and Sullivan show. It had been a struggle for him to find anything prestigious before because his memory was so bad. I'll tell you another thing: he had a terrible memory. But in this case his voice was sufficiently good a lovely rounded bass to warrant the producer giving him a chance to prove he could cope. The role was that of the famous Tax Collector and, as a concession, the stage director allowed the singer to have a crib sheet positioned in the pit to remind him of his words. On the opening night, the bass crooner paid more than the standard number of visits to the toilet facilities, but his voice was in good shape. On cue, he strolled confidently onstage and positioned himself in front of his idiot board. The band struck up his theme, and a deep, rich timbre filled the theatre. Sadly, hazards lie in wait for the unwary. The words of the song go, 'My stately pen is never lax / When I'm assessing income tax'. Unfortunately, the mischievous scamp who'd felt-tipped the words on to the card had neglected to leave a space between 'pen' and 'is', and the nervous artiste simply sang what he read, bringing a right royal flush to his cheeks and raising a few eyebrows among the genteel ladies in the boxes. Origins: Just as English abounds with puns that play on the homophony of 'seamen' vs. 'semen', 'seamen' vs. 'semen' numerous bits of humor turn on the slight difference in orthography between the very different concepts 'penis' and 'pen is.' A favorite proofreading joke with many variations employs a punchline that has the familiar phrase "The pen is mightier than the sword" being rendered as "The penis, mightier than the sword." The piece featured here comes from a collection of urban legends but is really more joke than legend, its convoluted "opera singer with a really bad memory" set-up a bit too far-fetched for a true belief tale. (For the record, the lyrics quoted don't correspond to any genuine Gilbert and Sullivan opera.) An item in our Photo Gallery also plays on the orthographic similarity of "pen is" and "penis," and an apocryphal quote often attributed to the wife of French president Charles de Gaulle is based on the homophonic similiarity of other common words to "penis" when pronounced by non-native English speakers. Photo Gallery quote Last updated: 15 March 2014 Urban Myths Unplugged
|
[
"income"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"/radiotv/tv/pugwash.htm"
],
"sentence": "as English abounds with puns that play on the homophony of 'seamen' vs. 'semen', "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"/photos/signs/printer.asp",
"/quotes/degaulle.asp"
],
"sentence": "An item in our Photo Gallery also plays on the orthographic similarity of \"pen is\" and \"penis,\" and an apocryphal quote often attributed to the wife of French president Charles de Gaulle is based on the homophonic similiarity of other common words to \"penis\" when pronounced by non-native English speakers."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2013/feb/14/john-wisniewski/chris-christie-vetoed-bills-raise-minimum-wage-and/
|
We have a governor who's vetoed measures like increasing our minimum wage and restoring the earned income tax cut.
|
Bill Wichert
|
02/14/2013
|
[] |
As state Sen. Barbara Buono kicked off her campaign to unseat Gov. Chris Christie, state Democratic Party Chairman John Wisniewski said she had a record on which to run.That record, he said, belongs to the Republican governor.With supporters holding up Buono signs behind him, Wisniewski sounded off on Christies tenure during a Feb. 2 campaign kickoff rally at New Brunswick High School. Buono forms the perfect contrast to Christie, said Wisniewski, a state assemblyman from Middlesex County.We have a governor whos vetoed measures like increasing our minimum wage and restoring the Earned Income Tax Cut, Wisniewski said, eliciting boos from the crowd.The assemblymans charges are pretty solid. By different means, Christie has vetoed bills to raise the minimum wage and to increase the Earned Income Tax Credit after reducing that benefit in his first state budget.But Wisniewskis statement ignores the fact Christie also has offered alternatives to both.First, lets talk about the minimum wage.In late 2012, the Democrat-controlled Legislature passed a bill to increase the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 and implement annual cost-of-living increases. But on Jan. 28, Christie conditionally vetoed the legislation and recommended certain changes, including scrapping cost-of-living increases and phasing in over three years a $1 increase.Democrats have rejected that plan and vowed to ask voters in November to amend the state Constitution with a minimum wage hike tied to annual cost-of-living increases.Now, well address the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income residents who work.As part of the fiscal year 2011 budget, the state tax credit was reduced from 25 percent to 20 percent of the federal amount. That reduction began with tax year 2010.The Legislature passed a bill in June 2011 to restore the credit to the original 25 percent figure, but Christie later vetoed the bill without proposing any changes. In June 2012, Christie vetoed a second bill to restore the credit.However, around the same time, he offered to restore the credit as part of a plan to provide an income tax cut That proposal was outlined in Christies conditional veto of a separate bill that would have raised the income tax rate on taxable income of more than $1 million.The Legislature has not acted on the governors proposal.More recently, Christie agreed to increase the tax credit as part of his conditional veto on the minimum wage bill.So, while its correct the governor vetoed two bills to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit, he also has offered at least two proposals that included increasing the tax credit.Alicia DAlessandro, a spokeswoman for Wisniewski, said in an e-mail that the governors alternative proposals are not worth acknowledging.The conditions attached to his vetoes undercut the purpose of the bills and do not even merit acknowledgement, she said. In what world would the Democratic state chairman give credit to the Republican governor for alternative measures that were clearly offered only for show?Anyone who believes that would happen at a campaign rally must think this election is happening in Fantasyland.Our rulingAt a campaign rally for Buono, Wisniewski said: We have a governor whos vetoed measures like increasing our minimum wage and restoring the earned income tax cut.Wisniewski is right about those vetoes. Christie conditionally vetoed a bill to raise the states minimum wage and issued absolute vetoes on two bills to increase the Earned Income Tax Credit.But the governor has offered alternatives to increase the minimum wage and restore the tax credit to its previous level.We rate the statement Mostly True.To comment on this ruling, go toNJ.com.
|
[
"New Jersey",
"Jobs",
"Labor",
"Taxes"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/politifact_nj_dem_party_chairm.html"
],
"sentence": "As state Sen. Barbara Buono kicked off her campaign to unseat Gov. Chris Christie, state Democratic Party Chairman John Wisniewski said she had a record on which to run.That record, he said, belongs to the Republican governor.With supporters holding up Buono signs behind him, Wisniewski sounded off on Christies tenure during a Feb. 2 campaign kickoff rally at New Brunswick High School. Buono forms the perfect contrast to Christie, said Wisniewski, a state assemblyman from Middlesex County.We have a governor whos vetoed measures like increasing our minimum wage and restoring the Earned Income Tax Cut, Wisniewski said, eliciting boos from the crowd.The assemblymans charges are pretty solid. By different means, Christie has vetoed bills to raise the minimum wage and to increase the Earned Income Tax Credit after reducing that benefit in his first state budget.But Wisniewskis statement ignores the fact Christie also has offered alternatives to both.First, lets talk about the minimum wage.In late 2012, the Democrat-controlled Legislature passed a bill to increase the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 and implement annual cost-of-living increases. But on Jan. 28, Christie conditionally vetoed the legislation and recommended certain changes, including scrapping cost-of-living increases and phasing in over three years a $1 increase.Democrats have rejected that plan and vowed to ask voters in November to amend the state Constitution with a minimum wage hike tied to annual cost-of-living increases.Now, well address the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income residents who work.As part of the fiscal year 2011 budget, the state tax credit was reduced from 25 percent to 20 percent of the federal amount. That reduction began with tax year 2010.The Legislature passed a bill in June 2011 to restore the credit to the original 25 percent figure, but Christie later vetoed the bill without proposing any changes. In June 2012, Christie vetoed a second bill to restore the credit.However, around the same time, he offered to restore the credit as part of a plan to provide an income tax cut That proposal was outlined in Christies conditional veto of a separate bill that would have raised the income tax rate on taxable income of more than $1 million.The Legislature has not acted on the governors proposal.More recently, Christie agreed to increase the tax credit as part of his conditional veto on the minimum wage bill.So, while its correct the governor vetoed two bills to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit, he also has offered at least two proposals that included increasing the tax credit.Alicia DAlessandro, a spokeswoman for Wisniewski, said in an e-mail that the governors alternative proposals are not worth acknowledging.The conditions attached to his vetoes undercut the purpose of the bills and do not even merit acknowledgement, she said. In what world would the Democratic state chairman give credit to the Republican governor for alternative measures that were clearly offered only for show?Anyone who believes that would happen at a campaign rally must think this election is happening in Fantasyland.Our rulingAt a campaign rally for Buono, Wisniewski said: We have a governor whos vetoed measures like increasing our minimum wage and restoring the earned income tax cut.Wisniewski is right about those vetoes. Christie conditionally vetoed a bill to raise the states minimum wage and issued absolute vetoes on two bills to increase the Earned Income Tax Credit.But the governor has offered alternatives to increase the minimum wage and restore the tax credit to its previous level.We rate the statement Mostly True.To comment on this ruling, go toNJ.com."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/leonardo-dicaprio-donate-ukraine/
|
Did Leonardo DiCaprio Donate $10M to Ukraine via International Visegrad Fund?
|
Dan Evon
|
03/09/2022
|
[
"This rumor just doesn't add up. "
] |
In March 2022, a rumor started circulating online that actor Leonardo DiCaprio had donated $10 million to Ukraine after the country was invaded by Russia. While this claim was repeated ad nauseam across social media, there's little evidence to suggest that it's true. In an article that has since been deleted, the Daily Mail reported: Daily Mail reported Hollywood megastar Leonardo DiCaprio has donated $10million (7.6million) to a fund for Ukraine, where his grandmother was born in 1915. The actor was reportedly very close with his grandmother - Helene Indenbirken - and would take her to premiers of many of his films. DiCaprio would call her 'Oma'. The donation from the 47-year-old was announced by the International Visegrad Fund, according to Polish News. For starters, neither Leonardo DiCaprio nor the International Visegrad Fund (IVF) have made any announcements about this alleged donation. We searched the social media profiles and websites for both the actor and the IVF, an international donor organization that finances grants and scholarships to encourage the "advancement of innovative ideas in Central and Eastern Europe," and found no mention of this alleged donation. Leonardo DiCaprio International Visegrad Fund Furthermore, this rumor can't be traced back to a reputable news source. While most articles about this alleged donation quoted a report from a website called "Polish News," that March 7 article is not the primary source for this rumor. The earliest iteration of this claim that we could find was published on guyanasouthamerica.gy on March 5, 2022. That article cited anonymous "sources" inside Ukraine: guyanasouthamerica.gy on March 5, 2022 Sources inside Ukraine today, 5th of May, 2022, disclosed that Hollywood superstar, famed for his role in the hit movie Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio, has transferred ten million US dollars to the Ukrainian government as the war rages on between Russia and Ukraine. Presumably, the huge donation is meant to support the war efforts as well as humanitarian efforts within the country. This original report states that DiCaprio donated money directly to the Ukrainian government. This simply doesn't seem feasible, especially without any statements from the Ukrainian government. (We checked. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has not mentioned any multi-million dollar donations from DiCaprio.) The claim that this money was donated to the International Visegrad Fund appears to come from people making big assumptions based on little information. On March 6, a day after the anonymously sourced guyanasouthamerica.gy article was published, the Twitter account Visegrad 24 picked up on the story and published the following tweet. (Visegrad 24 previously shared a false rumor that Pornhub was blocking Russian users from accessing its site). Visegrad 24 picked up on the story and published the following tweet. previously shared a false rumor Pornhub was blocking Russian users from accessing its site This tweet does not claim that DiCaprio donated money to the International Visegrad Fund. Rather, it says that the money was "donated to Ukraine." It seems likely that people saw this tweet, connected Visegrad 24 to the International Visegrad Fund, and assumed that this is where DiCaprio's alleged donation went. A spokesperson for the International Visegrad Fund told us that they were unaware of any such donation from DiCaprio: "We are not aware, neither do we have any information about Leonardo DiCaprio donating USD 10 million/7.6 million to Ukraine. International Visegrad Fund has not announced this information." While DiCaprio did not donate $10 million to this fund, the spokesperson did say that prime ministers from V4 countries (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) agreed on a "support package of 1 million euros to help Ukraine via the International Visegrad Fund." The spokesperson said: I can, however, inform you that the V4 Prime Ministers met in London on 8 March 2022 where they agreed on a support package of 1 million euros to help Ukraine via the International Visegrad Fund. An extraordinary call for applications will be shortly available to NGOs, organisations, and municipalities from the V4 countries and Ukraine with a focus on improving the situation of refugees from Ukraine. While the rumors that DiCaprio donated $10 million to the Ukraine military or the International Visegrad Fund are untrue, the actor really has made a few private donations of unknown amounts to various humanitarian organizations working in Ukraine. People Magazine reported: People Magazine reported Previous reports claiming the actor had donated $10 million for Ukrainian military use and that DiCaprio has family ties to Ukraine are not true. "Leo had privately made several donations to humanitarian groups CARE, IRC, UNHCR and Save the Children. All directed at Ukraine," a source close to the Don't Look Up actor tells PEOPLE. "He had been watching things unfold and wanted to support Ukraine the best he could. He will continue to support the humanitarian groups on the ground which are helping the people of Ukraine." Dickler, Jessica. Heres a List of the Top-Rated Charities to Help the Ukraine Relief Effort. CNBC, 9 Mar. 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/09/heres-a-list-of-top-rated-charities-to-help-the-ukraine-relief-effort.html. Examiner, Luke Gentile, Washington. Leonardo DiCaprio Donates $10 Million to Ukraine. Colorado Springs Gazette, https://gazette.com/news/leonardo-dicaprio-donates-10-million-to-ukraine/article_b1faacaa-b309-587c-8905-19f046619474.html. Accessed 9 Mar. 2022. Leonardo DiCaprio Donates $10 Million to Ukraine. Washington Examiner, 9 Mar. 2022, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/leonardo-dicaprio-donates-10-million-to-ukraine. Leonardo DiCaprio Donates $10MILLION to Fund for Ukraine - His Grandmothers Homeland | Daily Mail Online. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10593687/Leonardo-DiCaprio-donates-10MILLION-fund-Ukraine-grandmothers-homeland.html. Accessed 9 Mar. 2022. REPORT: Leonardo DiCaprio Donates $10 Million To Help Ukraine. https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/09/report-leonardo-dicaprio-donation-10-million-ukraine-russia/. Accessed 9 Mar. 2022. Updated [9 March 2022]: Article updated with statement from DiCaprio's spokesperson about the actor's genuine donations to Ukraine.
|
[
"finance"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=10mPbqk50XLLI92YjjyyGcYxcple77I9w"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10593687/Leonardo-DiCaprio-donates-10MILLION-fund-Ukraine-grandmothers-homeland.html"
],
"sentence": "In March 2022, a rumor started circulating online that actor Leonardo DiCaprio had donated $10 million to Ukraine after the country was invaded by Russia. While this claim was repeated ad nauseam across social media, there's little evidence to suggest that it's true. In an article that has since been deleted, the Daily Mail reported:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/LeoDiCaprio",
"https://www.visegradfund.org/news/"
],
"sentence": "For starters, neither Leonardo DiCaprio nor the International Visegrad Fund (IVF) have made any announcements about this alleged donation. We searched the social media profiles and websites for both the actor and the IVF, an international donor organization that finances grants and scholarships to encourage the \"advancement of innovative ideas in Central and Eastern Europe,\" and found no mention of this alleged donation. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://web.archive.org/web/20220309184539/https://guyanasouthamerica.gy/news/2022/03/05/hollywood-actor-leonardo-dicaprio-donates-us10000000-to-ukraine/"
],
"sentence": "Furthermore, this rumor can't be traced back to a reputable news source. While most articles about this alleged donation quoted a report from a website called \"Polish News,\" that March 7 article is not the primary source for this rumor. The earliest iteration of this claim that we could find was published on guyanasouthamerica.gy on March 5, 2022. That article cited anonymous \"sources\" inside Ukraine:"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://web.archive.org/web/20220306151152/https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1500489315759144962",
"https://archive.ph/LpZZF",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-pornhub-block-russian-users/"
],
"sentence": "The claim that this money was donated to the International Visegrad Fund appears to come from people making big assumptions based on little information. On March 6, a day after the anonymously sourced guyanasouthamerica.gy article was published, the Twitter account Visegrad 24 picked up on the story and published the following tweet. (Visegrad 24 previously shared a false rumor that Pornhub was blocking Russian users from accessing its site)."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://people.com/movies/leonardo-dicaprio-donates-to-humanitarian-groups-supporting-ukraine-exclusive/"
],
"sentence": "People Magazine reported:"
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2013/jun/01/national-republican-congressional-committee/did-kurt-schrader-vote-against-widely-supported-ke/
|
Says
With nearly 75 percent of Americans supportive of the construction of the pipeline, Schrader needs to explain to Oregon families why he voted against this needed project.
|
Janie Har
|
06/01/2013
|
[] |
The communications office of theNational Republican Congressional Committeeisnt letting up on Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore. Its recently peppered him with criticism over the sequester and President Barack Obamas health care overhaul. This time, the issue is construction of a controversial pipeline that would carry crude oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast for refinement. A May 23, 2013, press release targeted Schrader for voting againstH.R. 3, a bill that would allow TransCanada tostart building the Keystone XL Pipelinewithout approval from President Barack Obama. Specifically, the legislation skips further environmental review and removes barriers to construction. With nearly 75 percent of Americans supportive of the construction of the pipeline, Schrader needs to explain to Oregon families why he voted against this needed project, the release states. Three-quarters of Americans want this project to happen? We know surveys can sometimes use scurrilous, squirrelly language, so we thought wed take a look-see. Plus, while Schrader is a veterinarian who loves animals, the man is no tree-hugging environmentalist. Does he oppose construction? Lets tackle the 75 percent statistic first. The NRCC relies on a survey conducted byNanos Researchthat was the subject of an April 2013 news report in the Wall Street Journal. Heres the survey question: Based on what you have heard about the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline between Canada and the U.S., do you support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or oppose the US/Canadian government approving the project? Of Americans, 52 percent said they support the project and 22 percent said they somewhat support it. Nanos, a respected independent polling firm, isnt the only one to find that a majority of respondents in the United States support construction. An April 2013Pew Research poll found 66 percent in favorwith 23 percent opposed. The poll found broader support among Republicans and independents; Democrats are more divided. We checked with Daniel Kessler, amedia campaigner with 350.org, which opposes Keystone. The Nanos polling question looked sound to him, although he wanted to remind readers thatother surveys show high support for clean energy alternativesand efforts to combat global warming. Now, lets address the second part of the statement. As we stated earlier, H.R. 3 eliminates the need for White House approval to start the project. Its undisputed that Schrader voted against the bill. Nineteen House Democrats joined majority Republicans to send the bill to the Senate, where it sits. No House Democrat from Oregon voted for the legislation. In fact, theNRCC targeted a number of Democrats with the same press release, including Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. A spokesman for Schrader said the congressman supports construction in principle, just not the way Republicans are going about it. To say that he does not support the construction on the pipeline is false, wrote spokesman Cody Tucker in an email to PolitiFact Oregon. Annie Clark with the NRCC disagrees. She cited four other times where Schrader voted against construction. Schrader voted against constructing or expediting construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline every chance he had, she wrote to PolitiFact Oregon. We checked his other votes. The legislation sought to force Obama to act or bypassed him altogether in approving Keystone. Loads of House Democrats voted against the bills. Schrader did voteagainst H.R. 3,which eliminates further regulatory hurdles, eliminates presidential input and essentially gives congressional go-ahead for construction. This statement by itself we would rate Half True. It is partially accurate in that Schrader did vote against the legislation, which authorizes the project. But it is missing significant details in that Schrader supports construction in principle, just not this particular way to get there. Had the NRCC said that Schrader voted against the bill -- as opposed to the project -- the statement would be True. The NRCC is accurate in citing that nearly 75 percent of Americans support construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The Nanos survey is solid, as is a Pew Research poll that showed two-thirds support. With the polling part True and the project part Half True, that brings our ruling to Mostly True for this two-part statement. (If you want to leave a comment, go to http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/06/did_kurt_schrader_vote_against.html#incart_m-rpt-2)
|
[
"Environment",
"Oregon",
"Climate Change",
"Congress",
"Economy",
"Energy",
"Regulation",
"Voting Record"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.nrcc.org/"
],
"sentence": "The communications office of theNational Republican Congressional Committeeisnt letting up on Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore. Its recently peppered him with criticism over the sequester and President Barack Obamas health care overhaul. This time, the issue is construction of a controversial pipeline that would carry crude oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast for refinement."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/3/cosponsors"
],
"sentence": "A May 23, 2013, press release targeted Schrader for voting againstH.R. 3, a bill that would allow TransCanada tostart building the Keystone XL Pipelinewithout approval from President Barack Obama. Specifically, the legislation skips further environmental review and removes barriers to construction."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.nanosresearch.com/main-USA.asp"
],
"sentence": "Lets tackle the 75 percent statistic first. The NRCC relies on a survey conducted byNanos Researchthat was the subject of an April 2013 news report in the Wall Street Journal."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.nanosresearch.com/library/polls/POLNAT-W12-T575E.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Heres the survey question: Based on what you have heard about the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline between Canada and the U.S., do you support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or oppose the US/Canadian government approving the project?"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.people-press.org/2013/04/02/keystone-xl-pipeline-draws-broad-support/"
],
"sentence": "Nanos, a respected independent polling firm, isnt the only one to find that a majority of respondents in the United States support construction. An April 2013Pew Research poll found 66 percent in favorwith 23 percent opposed. The poll found broader support among Republicans and independents; Democrats are more divided."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://350.org/en/our-team"
],
"sentence": "We checked with Daniel Kessler, amedia campaigner with 350.org, which opposes Keystone. The Nanos polling question looked sound to him, although he wanted to remind readers thatother surveys show high support for clean energy alternativesand efforts to combat global warming."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/22/rick-nolans-keystone-disappointment/"
],
"sentence": "Its undisputed that Schrader voted against the bill. Nineteen House Democrats joined majority Republicans to send the bill to the Senate, where it sits. No House Democrat from Oregon voted for the legislation. In fact, theNRCC targeted a number of Democrats with the same press release, including Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/3/text"
],
"sentence": "Schrader did voteagainst H.R. 3,which eliminates further regulatory hurdles, eliminates presidential input and essentially gives congressional go-ahead for construction. This statement by itself we would rate Half True."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-child-porn-shock-australia/
|
Was Hunter Biden 'Child Porn' Story 'Front Page News' in Australia?
|
Jordan Liles
|
12/05/2020
|
[
"Is an article on page 27 of a tabloid newspaper \"front page news\"?"
] |
In December 2020, a viral meme was shared on social media that claimed a story about U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was "front page news" in Australia. The article's headline read: "Biden 'Child Porn' Shock." (Twitter screenshot) However, the meme's claim was false. The story appeared in a tabloid newspaper. Further, it did not appear on the front page of that publication, and the front page did not appear to tease or even mention the story in any way: Also, any scandal surrounding Hunter Biden wasn't new news in December 2020. The story appeared in the Oct. 22, 2020, edition of the conservative Australian tabloid newspaper The Daily Telegraph. It claimed that Hunter Biden became "the hunted amid claims of underage pics on his laptop": appeared THE ongoing story of alleged corruption and foreign influence trading by the Biden family took a more sinister turn on Wednesday (AEDT). Speaking to the conservative American news outlet Newsmax, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani said he had turned the hard drive reportedly left abandoned by Hunter Biden, son of Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden, at a Delaware repair shop over to state police due to contents which he said included inappropriate text messages and pictures of underage girls. Mr. Giuliani said there were "numerous" pictures which he described as being of underage girls. He also said there were text messages from Hunter to Joe saying that he had been accused of speaking naked to a 14-year-old girl on FaceTime. [...] The laptop has rocked the presidential race as it appears to provide direct evidence of cash-for-influence schemes involving Hunter and countries such as Ukraine and China. We previously reported on rumors surrounding Biden's son, which surfaced prior to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as have The Associated Press, NBC News, and Fox News, among other news media outlets. We also debunked a false claim that said a photograph of Malia Obama's credit card was found on Hunter Biden's laptop, complete with lines of cocaine. reported on The Associated Press NBC News Fox News debunked Update [June 1, 2023]: Changed rating from False to Miscaptioned in accordance with current rating standards.
|
[
"credit"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Yi5qbOAR1tzTrNVGzXPxegsXTJKQMgo5"
},
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1vge6xhngl2QeVTvD0aafV7AXLf31U5_k"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.pressreader.com/australia/the-daily-telegraph-sydney/20201022/281934545436392"
],
"sentence": "Also, any scandal surrounding Hunter Biden wasn't new news in December 2020. The story appeared in the Oct. 22, 2020, edition of the conservative Australian tabloid newspaper The Daily Telegraph. It claimed that Hunter Biden became \"the hunted amid claims of underage pics on his laptop\":"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/15/hunter-biden-laptop-giuliani/",
"https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/10/29/ap-explains-trump-pushes-questions-about-joe-bidens-son/",
"https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/here-s-what-happened-when-nbc-news-tried-report-alleged-n1245533",
"https://www.foxnews.com/politics/laptop-hunter-biden-linked-fbi-money-laundering-probe",
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hunter-biden-malia-obama-cocaine/"
],
"sentence": "We previously reported on rumors surrounding Biden's son, which surfaced prior to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as have The Associated Press, NBC News, and Fox News, among other news media outlets. We also debunked a false claim that said a photograph of Malia Obama's credit card was found on Hunter Biden's laptop, complete with lines of cocaine."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2011/mar/08/scott-walker/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-says-government-workers/
|
Wisconsin state and local government workers pay $500, $600 or in some cases, $1,000 per year in union dues.
|
Tom Kertscher
|
03/08/2011
|
[] |
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has tried to sprinkle sugar on what many government workers see as the bitter pill hes proposing in his controversialbudget-repair bill.Lets see if what he is sprinkling is as sweet as he says it is.For many state and local government workers, losing collective bargaining power is the bitter pill. The bill also would require most public employees to pay more for pensions and health insurance.The hit would be $5,400 per year for a state employee who earns the average wage -- $50,000 -- and chooses the least-expensive family plan for health insurance, Walkers administrationsays.The sugar, at least the way the Republican governor presents it, is in another provision of the bill. It would prohibit union dues from being withheld from public employees paychecks. That means state and local government workers would have to pay their unions directly.According to Walker, if workers opt out of the union, they could save a fair amount of money.On Feb. 20, 2011, on the Fox News Sunday program, Walkersaidfor those workers who don't want to be a part of the union, if you don't want that deduction each month out of the paycheck, they should be able to get that $500, $600 or in some cases, $1,000 back that they can apply for their health care and their pension contribution.Walker made asimilarstatementthree days earlier on Fox televisions On the Record with Greta Van Susteren. And Washington Post columnist George Willwrotethat Walker told him that many employees could save $500 or $600 per year in union dues and that teachers could save up to $1,000.Lets find out if the governors figures are correct.Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie sent us adocumentthat he said came from the state payroll department. Payroll would know the amount of union dues for state workers, since it withholds them from state workers paychecks.The document indicates that annual union dues are as low as $208 for certain legal employees and $300 for apprenticesheet metal workers; dues are as high as $3,180 forplasterersand $3,465 forplumbers.The exact range, however, could be different because dues for some employees are a percentage of their pay, and the document does not spell out those amounts. Moreover, the document does not specify how many employees pay the various dues amounts that are listed, and it does not provide any averages. We asked Werwie for more information, but he had not responded by publication time.So, we contacted some of the major public employee unions to ask what their members pay annually in dues. Our list is not comprehensive, but it does cover tens of thousands of state and local government workers.General employeesMost of the 23,000 state workers who are members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal EmployeesCouncil24pay $420 per year in union dues, though some pay $492, said Bob Allen, spokesman forAFSCME-Wisconsin.They tend to be front-line workers such as correctional officers, administrative support staff, probation and parole officers and custodians, he said.Members of Local 1914 -- one of the units of Council 24 -- pay $470 per year, according to theduespageon that locals website. Those300membersare state employees in Eau Claire, Chippewa, Rusk, Clark and Taylor counties, and hold non-academic jobs at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.Members ofAFT-Wisconsinwho earn over $34,000 per year pay about $510 per year in dues, said president Bryan Kennedy. AFT says it represents 17,000 public workers in 500 different classifications.Health care workersAnnual dues for the 15,000 members of theProfessional Patient CareUnitof Service Employees Union International range from about $192 for home care workers to $864 or more for senior nurses, said president Dian Palmer.TeachersMilwaukee Public Schools teachers paid $995 in dues in 2010, while educational assistants who worked more than 20 hours per week paid $469, according to thefiguresfrom the website of theMilwaukee Teachers Education Association.That unionsaysit represents more than 8,200 employees, including 6,000 teachers.Green Bay public school teachers pay $834 in dues, said Lori Blakeslee, spokeswoman for the Green Bay Education Association.The typical Wisconsin teacher who belongs to the states largest teachers union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, pays $450 per year for the state and national portions of their dues, said WEAC spokeswoman Christina Brey. But the additional amount in local dues paid varies and Brey said she did not know what the range is. Both Milwaukee and Green Bay belong to WEAC.Lets return to the statement.In pushing his budget-repair bill, Walker said state and local government workers could stop paying union dues and take home $500 to $1,000 more per year in pay. He didnt say most or many, but his statement suggests that a significant number of public employees pay dues in that range. And we found thousands of public employees who do.We rate Walkers claim Mostly True.
|
[
"Labor",
"State Budget",
"Wisconsin"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/data/JR1SB-11.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has tried to sprinkle sugar on what many government workers see as the bitter pill hes proposing in his controversialbudget-repair bill.Lets see if what he is sprinkling is as sweet as he says it is.For many state and local government workers, losing collective bargaining power is the bitter pill. The bill also would require most public employees to pay more for pensions and health insurance.The hit would be $5,400 per year for a state employee who earns the average wage -- $50,000 -- and chooses the least-expensive family plan for health insurance, Walkers administrationsays.The sugar, at least the way the Republican governor presents it, is in another provision of the bill. It would prohibit union dues from being withheld from public employees paychecks. That means state and local government workers would have to pay their unions directly.According to Walker, if workers opt out of the union, they could save a fair amount of money.On Feb. 20, 2011, on the Fox News Sunday program, Walkersaidfor those workers who don't want to be a part of the union, if you don't want that deduction each month out of the paycheck, they should be able to get that $500, $600 or in some cases, $1,000 back that they can apply for their health care and their pension contribution.Walker made asimilarstatementthree days earlier on Fox televisions On the Record with Greta Van Susteren. And Washington Post columnist George Willwrotethat Walker told him that many employees could save $500 or $600 per year in union dues and that teachers could save up to $1,000.Lets find out if the governors figures are correct.Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie sent us adocumentthat he said came from the state payroll department. Payroll would know the amount of union dues for state workers, since it withholds them from state workers paychecks.The document indicates that annual union dues are as low as $208 for certain legal employees and $300 for apprenticesheet metal workers; dues are as high as $3,180 forplasterersand $3,465 forplumbers.The exact range, however, could be different because dues for some employees are a percentage of their pay, and the document does not spell out those amounts. Moreover, the document does not specify how many employees pay the various dues amounts that are listed, and it does not provide any averages. We asked Werwie for more information, but he had not responded by publication time.So, we contacted some of the major public employee unions to ask what their members pay annually in dues. Our list is not comprehensive, but it does cover tens of thousands of state and local government workers.General employeesMost of the 23,000 state workers who are members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal EmployeesCouncil24pay $420 per year in union dues, though some pay $492, said Bob Allen, spokesman forAFSCME-Wisconsin.They tend to be front-line workers such as correctional officers, administrative support staff, probation and parole officers and custodians, he said.Members of Local 1914 -- one of the units of Council 24 -- pay $470 per year, according to theduespageon that locals website. Those300membersare state employees in Eau Claire, Chippewa, Rusk, Clark and Taylor counties, and hold non-academic jobs at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.Members ofAFT-Wisconsinwho earn over $34,000 per year pay about $510 per year in dues, said president Bryan Kennedy. AFT says it represents 17,000 public workers in 500 different classifications.Health care workersAnnual dues for the 15,000 members of theProfessional Patient CareUnitof Service Employees Union International range from about $192 for home care workers to $864 or more for senior nurses, said president Dian Palmer.TeachersMilwaukee Public Schools teachers paid $995 in dues in 2010, while educational assistants who worked more than 20 hours per week paid $469, according to thefiguresfrom the website of theMilwaukee Teachers Education Association.That unionsaysit represents more than 8,200 employees, including 6,000 teachers.Green Bay public school teachers pay $834 in dues, said Lori Blakeslee, spokeswoman for the Green Bay Education Association.The typical Wisconsin teacher who belongs to the states largest teachers union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, pays $450 per year for the state and national portions of their dues, said WEAC spokeswoman Christina Brey. But the additional amount in local dues paid varies and Brey said she did not know what the range is. Both Milwaukee and Green Bay belong to WEAC.Lets return to the statement.In pushing his budget-repair bill, Walker said state and local government workers could stop paying union dues and take home $500 to $1,000 more per year in pay. He didnt say most or many, but his statement suggests that a significant number of public employees pay dues in that range. And we found thousands of public employees who do.We rate Walkers claim Mostly True."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2018/dec/10/jim-justice/do-hunters-contribute-more-500-million-west-virgin/
|
Hunters contribute more than $500 million to West Virginia.
|
Douglas Soule
|
12/10/2018
|
[] |
In a tweet that preceded West Virginias buck firearm season, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice encouraged West Virginians to purchase a hunting license. In the tweet, he offered an economic rationale -- that hunting is an economic engine for the state. In theNov. 5 tweet, Justice wrote, I've said it before and I'll say it again, hunting is really something that can help our economy grow! Hunters contribute more than $500 million to our state each year and help support a lot of jobs. Get a license today athttp://wvhunt.com.#WV#WVHunt. I've said it before and I'll say it again, hunting is really something that can help our economy grow! Hunters contribute more than $500 million to our state each year and help support a lot of jobs. Get a license today athttps://t.co/burilhQECG.#WV#WVHuntpic.twitter.com/btBNdz4TR6 State offices have thrown around the figure more than once. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources sent atweeton Nov. 24 that used the same dollar figure, adding that deer hunters in particular spend an estimated $230 million in West Virginia, much of it in the rural areas of the state. We wondered: Do bucks, and other game, really bring the state 500 million bucks? When we contacted Justices office, Jordan Damron, the governors assistant legal counsel and digital director, cited it to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. A Nov. 14press releasefrom the division includes the $500 million figure and said that hunting is estimated to be responsible for 5,400 jobs and $35 million in sales taxes on goods and services spent in West Virginia. The news release said the numbers came from Southwick Associates, a research firm focusing on outdoor markets. TheSouthwick Associates reportsaid that there had been $421,819,113 in retail sales in West Virginia, with a multiplier effect raising that amount to $552,085,233. The multiplier was used to estimate the total amount of spending that occurs in the economy as a result of hunters spending. The report also said that 5,377 jobs were created through hunting and $35,544,522 in state and local taxes were gathered due to hunting. The amount spent on deer hunting alone was $291,972,745. So the numbers cited by Justice exist. But well offer a few caveats. First, the report is from 2012 and the data is from 2011. Though Justice offered a specific-sounding figure, the actual figure might have grown or shrunk in the subsequent seven-plus years. Second, multiplier effects are estimates and are highly dependent on the assumptions used. Different assumptions will lead to different results. Using the retail sales figure without the multiplier adjustment might have been a more defensible approach. Finally, the report says it was funded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and produced in partnership with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The association represents government officials who oversee hunting, but the National Shooting Sports Foundationbills itselfas the firearms industry trade association. This means that the NSSF is an advocacy group that has a vested interest in promoting hunting. As with any advocacy group, its data should be understood in this context. Justice said that hunters contribute more than $500 million to West Virginia. This statistic comes from a comprehensive, 50-state report, but its worth noting that the data is more than seven years old, that it uses an estimate of economic impact beyond just retail sales, and that the report was funded by an industry trade group. We rate the statement Mostly True.
|
[
"West Virginia",
"Animals",
"Economy",
"Guns"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/WVGovernor/status/1059430294594445317"
],
"sentence": "In theNov. 5 tweet, Justice wrote, I've said it before and I'll say it again, hunting is really something that can help our economy grow! Hunters contribute more than $500 million to our state each year and help support a lot of jobs. Get a license today athttp://wvhunt.com.#WV#WVHunt."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://t.co/burilhQECG"
],
"sentence": "I've said it before and I'll say it again, hunting is really something that can help our economy grow! Hunters contribute more than $500 million to our state each year and help support a lot of jobs. Get a license today athttps://t.co/burilhQECG.#WV#WVHuntpic.twitter.com/btBNdz4TR6"
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://twitter.com/wvdnr/status/1066391071314378752"
],
"sentence": "State offices have thrown around the figure more than once. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources sent atweeton Nov. 24 that used the same dollar figure, adding that deer hunters in particular spend an estimated $230 million in West Virginia, much of it in the rural areas of the state."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.wvdnr.gov/2018news/18news107.shtm"
],
"sentence": "When we contacted Justices office, Jordan Damron, the governors assistant legal counsel and digital director, cited it to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. A Nov. 14press releasefrom the division includes the $500 million figure and said that hunting is estimated to be responsible for 5,400 jobs and $35 million in sales taxes on goods and services spent in West Virginia."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.fs.fed.us/biology/resources/pubs/wildlife/HuntingEconomicImpacts-NSSF-Southwick.pdf"
],
"sentence": "TheSouthwick Associates reportsaid that there had been $421,819,113 in retail sales in West Virginia, with a multiplier effect raising that amount to $552,085,233. The multiplier was used to estimate the total amount of spending that occurs in the economy as a result of hunters spending."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.nssf.org/"
],
"sentence": "Finally, the report says it was funded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and produced in partnership with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The association represents government officials who oversee hunting, but the National Shooting Sports Foundationbills itselfas the firearms industry trade association. This means that the NSSF is an advocacy group that has a vested interest in promoting hunting. As with any advocacy group, its data should be understood in this context."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2017/mar/01/kathleen-vinehout/scott-walker-wants-add-485-positions-management-ca/
|
Says Scott Walker is proposing to add 485 employees in the category of supervisor and management to his Department of Administration.
|
Tom Kertscher
|
03/01/2017
|
[] |
Wisconsin DemocratKathleen Vinehout, who is considering a run for governor in 2018, is sounding alarm bells about the state budget proposed by Republican Gov.Scott Walker-- who appears to be preparing to runfor a third term. In a Feb. 20, 2017interview, the state senator from Alma was asked by Wisconsin Public Radio talk show host Joy Cardin abouta columnshe had written about Walkers 2017-19 spending plan, which was released a couple of weeks earlier. The column highlighted what Vinehout -- who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to run against Walker in the 2012 gubernatorial recall election -- described as little known details about the budget. Cardin wanted to know why there would be a large increase in the number of people working for the Department of Administration. Thats a department, whose secretary is appointed by Walker, that works closely with the governors office. Vinehout replied by saying 485 positions would be added to the department in the category of supervisor and management, although in many cases, they would be people transferred from other departments. It really kind of takes the whole heart of state government -- especially as money flows in and out of agencies, and puts it into the Department of Administration, she added. Leaving aside Vinehouts view of the impact of the move, lets check whether Walker is proposing to add 485 positions in the category of supervisor and management to his Department of Administration. The numbers The major functions of theDepartment of Administrationinclude helping the governor develop and implement the state budget and supporting other state agencies with centralized purchasing and financial management.The department alsocoordinates telecommunications, energy, and land use planning and community development, and it regulates racing, charitable gaming and Indian gaming. Walkers budget, which must be approved by the Legislature, would increase the departments positions in both years of the budget. The new total for the department would be 1,149 positions -- an increase of 485. And those positions are listed under the heading of supervision and management. But Bob Lang, director of the nonpartisan state Legislative Fiscal Bureau, gave us some context about the 485: The majority of positions are held by existing employees who work for other agencies; these are not new state government positions. The majority would continue to physically work in those agencies, such as the Department of Natural Resources, but would become employees of the Department of Administration. Despite the designation in the budget document as supervision and management, the vast majority would not be supervisors or managers -- rather they are involved in the supervision and management of human resource activities such as employee recruitment and assistance, training, and payroll and benefits. Walker saysthe primary aim is to assign various administrative functions to a single entity, allowing individual agencies to focus on their core business missions and avoid redundant efforts on services that can be offered most effectively from a central entity. But its also true that if the Legislature goes along with Walkers plan, those employees would be more directly under his control. Our rating In sounding alarms about Walkers budget, Vinehout says the governor is proposing to add 485 positions in the category of supervisor and management to his Department of Administration. Vinehout is correct on the number and, technically, they are in the category of supervisor and management. But while they are involved in the supervision and management of human resource activities, the vast majority are not actually in supervisory or management positions. For a statement that is accurate but needs clarification, our rating is Mostly True.
|
[
"Labor",
"State Budget",
"Wisconsin"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.politifact.com/personalities/kathleen-vinehout/"
],
"sentence": "Wisconsin DemocratKathleen Vinehout, who is considering a run for governor in 2018, is sounding alarm bells about the state budget proposed by Republican Gov.Scott Walker-- who appears to be preparing to runfor a third term."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.wpr.org/listen/1063686"
],
"sentence": "In a Feb. 20, 2017interview, the state senator from Alma was asked by Wisconsin Public Radio talk show host Joy Cardin abouta columnshe had written about Walkers 2017-19 spending plan, which was released a couple of weeks earlier."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.doa.state.wi.us/Home"
],
"sentence": "The major functions of theDepartment of Administrationinclude helping the governor develop and implement the state budget and supporting other state agencies with centralized purchasing and financial management.The department alsocoordinates telecommunications, energy, and land use planning and community development, and it regulates racing, charitable gaming and Indian gaming."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://doa.wi.gov/Documents/DEBF/Budget/Biennial%20Budget/2017-19%20Executive%20Budget/Budget%20Book%20Combined%20v3%20Provisional.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Walkers budget, which must be approved by the Legislature, would increase the departments positions in both years of the budget. The new total for the department would be 1,149 positions -- an increase of 485. And those positions are listed under the heading of supervision and management."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"http://doa.wi.gov/Documents/DEBF/Budget/Biennial%20Budget/2017-19%20Executive%20Budget/17-19%20BIB%20FINAL%20revised%2002082017.pdf"
],
"sentence": "Walker saysthe primary aim is to assign various administrative functions to a single entity, allowing individual agencies to focus on their core business missions and avoid redundant efforts on services that can be offered most effectively from a central entity."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2018/nov/03/environmental-defense-fund-action/did-texas-us-rep-john-culberson-use-campaign-money/
|
Says Texas U.S. Rep. John Culberson was caught using campaign cash on collectibles, including Civil War memorabilia and fossils.
|
Stephen Koff
|
11/03/2018
|
[] |
As the 2018 campaign comes to a close, the political arm of the Environmental Defense Fund has sent a mailer to homes in Texas 7th Congressional District saying that John Culberson, a Republican congressman, is wrong for Houston. As partial proof, it said he was caught using campaign cash on collectibles, including Civil War memorabilia and fossils. Caught is an interesting word, since the nine-term incumbent, now challenged by Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, disclosed the memorabilia purchases, which he says he gave as gifts from his campaign. As for the fossils, his campaign insisted there were no such purchases -- and said it only bought books and maps from a business that happens to also sell fossils. Critics have made a false assumption, the Culberson campaign told us initially. Well look at both parts of the claim but will give away a bit of what we found right here: He bought fossil replicas. If you wonder why an environment group would care about fossils and Culberson, the group noted that Culberson said in late summer that his purchases were for research into such things as paleoclimatology, or the study of climates before instrumental records were widely available, to help him better understand climate change. Environmental Defense Fund Action says that for all this studying, Culberson still refuses to accept scientific research on the matter. Culberson has said humans played a role in climate change but, ashe toldthe Los Angeles Times in 2015, We just dont have enough data or accurate data to say with certainty what that effect has been. Lets take fossils first. The congressmans critics based their claim on a mention in a 2012 campaign finance report that Culbersons campaign made two purchases from a South Dakota organization, the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. The institute sells fossils, replicas and other things, and Culberson spent $309.66 altogether there, Federal Election Commission records show. The purchase was part of a broader set of Culberson expenses being questioned by Texas Democrats -- a set of questions we are not addressing fully here because we are looking specifically at campaign ads and claims. But for a bit of perspective, theHouston Chroniclewrote in August that Texas Democrats were challenging nearly $50,000 in Culberson campaign spending since 2004. Focusing just on fossils, PolitiFact asked Culbersons campaign what it bought from the Black Hills Institute. We were told it bought books and maps, not fossils, the same explanation the campaign has given since August. Only in politics does a person get attacked for trying to be better at their job, Culberson campaign spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. The mailer from the Environmental Defense Action Fund is factually wrong. The congressman never bought fossils with campaign contributions and all other purchases are acceptable under House and FEC rules. Culberson is a voracious reader, and has spent thousands of dollars from his campaign account for books and materials, including some on paleoclimatology, that his campaign says were related to his job. In just the 2011-12 campaign season, Culbsersons campaign spent $9,848 on research or research materials, most of it from vendors such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, FEC records reviewed by PolitiFact show. Culberson chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees spending on science and such agencies as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The research material helps him better understand the changing levels of carbon dioxide in the climate, his campaign says. Asked about records that would show he was buying books and maps, not fossils, from the Black Hills Institute, his campaign said the 2012 records for such specific purchases no longer exist. PolitFact, however, called the Black Hills Institute. They pulled the invoices from Culberson's two separate orders and sent us copies. This is what the campaign paid for, excluding shipping charges: Three large wall charts showing extensive histories of the Earth and matter, dating back 4.5 billion years. The charts have columns showing tectonic maps, changes in the earth such as mountain formation, major volcanic eruptions, glacial epochs, craters from asteroids and comets and extensive information on fossils, invertebrates and vertebrate lifeforms, as well as their extinction. These cost $19.95 apiece. One desktop model of a Triceratops. It cost $84.05. Two large -- 4.5 inches -- fossil replicas of a Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth. Each cost $40. The FEC gives pretty wide latitude to the purchase of books and other materials that a candidate or officeholder might use in his or her official capacity, Brendan Fischer, an expert on campaign finance law at the Campaign Legal Center, told us. But what about a Triceratops model and replicas of a Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth fossil? Id like to hear their explanation for it, he said. Its hard to see how it would pertain to their official duties. We told the campaign what we found, and it asked what our proof was. So we sent the campaign the invoices for the congressmans purchases. The response from Kelly, the spokeswoman: The invoices confirm that the congressman never bought actual fossils, and every purchase from the Black Hills Institute is considered acceptable under House and FEC rules. Asked why the congressman bought the replicas and the model at all, Kelly said, While these purchases were more than six years ago and now being used as part of a coordinated partisan hit job, the congressman believes these particular purchases were gifts, which is completely acceptable under FEC and House rules. The mailer from Environmental Defense Fund Action also mentioned Culbersons use of campaign money to buy collectibles and Civil War memorabilia. This, too, originated from the Democrats complaint referenced in the Houston Chronicle. Culberson is a Civil War history buff, collector and sometime-seller of memorabilia. But when it comes to his campaign funds, the purchases were for items such as stamps and coins the congressman got in order to give out as gifts, his campaign said. Congress members frequently use campaign money to buy gifts for constituents and volunteers, and the Culberson campaign said the Texas Republican was doing nothing different from what House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has done when buying white orchids. The FEC allows candidates and officeholders to buy and give as gifts items of nominal value as long as they are not given to family members, Fischer said. FEC reports show only what a candidate or officeholder pays, not the value of the each item. For example, in 2014, Culbersons campaign spent $3,631 on coins from an antique coin seller. In 2009 and 2010, the campaign spent $4,181 on antiques and coins for gifts, includinghat stars(an emblem worn on soldiers hats) and Texas Centennial and Republic of Texas coins, FEC records show. Culbersons campaign said the value of each coin was about $25, and the value of stamps was about $10. For a broader view, we downloaded FEC data showing all federal candidate purchases -- those for everyone with a federal campaign account -- of items listed as gifts just since January 2017. The total reached $1.8 million, for everything from model airplanes to a quilt to gift baskets. Environmental Defense Fund Action said Texas U.S. Rep. John Culberson was caught using campaign cash on collectibles, including Civil War memorabilia and fossils. Caught seemed strong to us at first, given the campaigns denials. But with a phone call and email, it turned out that Culberson had in fact used campaign funds -- not for fossils, but for replicas and a desktop model. Our ruling comes down to perspective. The mailers spin seemed a little strong at first, especially knowing that gift purchases, whether for Civil War trinkets or not, are allowable if considered of nominal value. But the insistence of the campaign that Culberson did not buy fossils -- and that he had only bought books and maps -- is a factor as well. OK, he didnt buy fossils. He bought fossil replicas. We rate the claim Mostly True.
|
[
"National",
"Campaign Finance",
"Climate Change"
] |
[] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-inside-gop-science-climate-change-20150304-column.html?outputType=amp"
],
"sentence": "If you wonder why an environment group would care about fossils and Culberson, the group noted that Culberson said in late summer that his purchases were for research into such things as paleoclimatology, or the study of climates before instrumental records were widely available, to help him better understand climate change. Environmental Defense Fund Action says that for all this studying, Culberson still refuses to accept scientific research on the matter. Culberson has said humans played a role in climate change but, ashe toldthe Los Angeles Times in 2015, We just dont have enough data or accurate data to say with certainty what that effect has been."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Democrats-question-50-000-in-books-and-13186560.php"
],
"sentence": "The institute sells fossils, replicas and other things, and Culberson spent $309.66 altogether there, Federal Election Commission records show. The purchase was part of a broader set of Culberson expenses being questioned by Texas Democrats -- a set of questions we are not addressing fully here because we are looking specifically at campaign ads and claims. But for a bit of perspective, theHouston Chroniclewrote in August that Texas Democrats were challenging nearly $50,000 in Culberson campaign spending since 2004."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/artifacts/texas-hat-stars"
],
"sentence": "FEC reports show only what a candidate or officeholder pays, not the value of the each item. For example, in 2014, Culbersons campaign spent $3,631 on coins from an antique coin seller. In 2009 and 2010, the campaign spent $4,181 on antiques and coins for gifts, includinghat stars(an emblem worn on soldiers hats) and Texas Centennial and Republic of Texas coins, FEC records show."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2008/oct/09/john-mccain/the-idea-is-old-but-the-plan-is-mccains/
|
A mortgage buyback plan is my proposal, it's not Sen. Obama's proposal, it's not President Bush's proposal.
|
Robert Farley
|
10/09/2008
|
[] |
In a debate that featured rehashed candidate positions, one new policy emerged: Sen. John McCains proposal to have the government buy and renegotiate what his top adviser later said would be literally millions of mortgages on houses whose values have dropped and whose owners are struggling to keep up with payments. Taxpayers would cover the difference between the original loan and the new one, at a cost the McCain campaign estimated to be at $300-billion. Is it expensive? Yes, McCain said during the debate on Oct. 7, 2008. But we all know, my friends, until we stabilize home values in America, were never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy. And weve got to give some trust and confidence back to America. In announcing the plan amid the question-and-answer of a town hall meeting, McCain sought to make clear that this was a bold, new idea all his own: And its my proposal, its not Sen. Obamas proposal, its not President Bushs proposal. The question is whether or not McCain's proposal is as original as he claims. But first, some details on the plan. Mechanically, the initiative is very simple, said Doug Holtz-Eakin, senior policy adviser for the McCain campaign. A homeowner would initiate the process by calling a mortgage broker or other originator and basically saying, 'Id like to refinance my home, and they would start the underwriting process, verify incomes. The government loans would be available to mortgage holders who: Live in the home as a primary residence. Can prove their creditworthiness (and made a down payment at the time of the purchase). The FHA would then issue a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at a rate Holtz-Eakin estimated would be in the low 5 percent range. Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed home loans are currently about 5.82 percent. Taxpayers would pick up the difference between the value of the two loans. While at least part of the expense of McCains plan would be borne by the recently approved $700-billion bailout plan, the initiative also would tap some of the $300-billion tied to the Housing and Economic Recovery Act passed this summer. Thats a plan that seeks to refinance loans for low- to moderate-income homeowners struggling to pay for homes they bought for more than they are now worth.The McCain plan outlines a dramatic shift in emphasis for the $700-billion bailout plan. While the bailout contained provisions to allow the Treasury to purchase mortgages directly, the legislation primarily was intended as a means for the government to buy troubled assets from financial institutions that might otherwise fail and that could later be sold when the markets recover. The hope, said Holtz-Eakin, is that McCains bottom level up plan will offset the need for some of that $700-billion. When McCain announced the plan at the debate, Obama supporters were quick to note that Obama had in previous weeks recommended that the bailout plan include the option of buying individual mortgages. We cant simply bail out Wall Street without helping the millions of innocent homeowners who are facing foreclosure or, for that matter, are seeing their home values decline, Obama said. McCain argued, during the debate and afterward, that his proposal is nothing like what Obama talked about. And after hearing details the next day, the Obama campaign agreed with McCain. Obama has always supported plans to have the government buy loans at market prices (in other words, the loan companies would have to swallow some loss), said Obama campaign economic policy director Jason Furman. And homeowners would have to share some of the profits should the value of the home rise. But McCain's proposal wouldn't do either of those things. The government would refinance homes at their new, lower value and absorb the loss in propoerty values entirely. Okay, so who's idea is it? Charlie Black, a senior adviser to McCain, told theNew York Timesthe mortgage renewal idea actually originated with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who borrowed it from a Depression-era New Deal agency, the Home Owners Loan Corp. Clinton spoke about her plan before Congress on Sept. 18, 2008. A new government entity like the HOLC with a focus on attacking the source of the problem can serve the purpose of clearing a lot of those toxic mortgage securities from the market, Clinton said. We know there will not be any semblance of a normal or orderly marketplace until we have found a way to resolve these mortgage securities that are metastasizing in the bottom of our markets. By taking this paper out of the market and quarantining it in this new entity we will be able to give the market breathing room to recover. We will also be able to set the stage for an orderly sale of these securities and in turn allow some of them to recover and actually regain some of their value. Perhaps just as importantly, not only would our financial markets stabilize but so would our housing markets. Although Clinton did not offer specifics of her plan, she seemed to suggest that it would entail buying mortgages at discounted current market rates, and that taxpayers might ultimately turn a profit on them. That's not McCain's plan. So here's where we stand: It's true that terms of the $700-billion bailout plan first initiated by President Bush contains authority for the Treasury to purchase mortgages directly. And it's true that Obama has called for a component of the buyout plan to include direct purchase of mortgages to alleviate homeowners struggling to make payments. Finally, it's true that Clinton sketched out a plan last spring that shared some of the goals and traits of McCain's proposal. The method McCain proposes buying mortgages at their original value and renegotiating at the current market value (with taxpayers picking up the difference) is indeed new. But while McCain can rightly take credit for the details of his proposal, he is by no means alone with the idea of having the federal government buy mortgages directly. We rate his statement Mostly True.
|
[
"National",
"Economy"
] |
[] |
[] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/authentic-video-of-titanic-sinking/
|
Does Video Offer Real Footage of the Titanic Sinking?
|
Madison Dapcevich
|
08/02/2022
|
[
"The unsinkable vessel sunk in 1912."
] |
More than a century after the infamous sinking of the RMS Titanic, which resulted in the death of more than 1,500 passengers, the internet continues to obsess over the tragedy. Case in point: July 2022, a fake video shared to TikTok that claimed to show the sinking of the cruise liner racked up nearly a half-million likes. A caption accompanying the video read, Rare footage of the 1912 sinking of the Titanic. However, the video is a fake. Titanic left its port of Southhampton, England, for its transatlantic maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. Four days later, the nearly 900-foot vessel collided with an iceberg near Newfoundland, Canada, at 11:40 p.m. Two hours and 40 minutes later, the vessel broke in two and sank, according to the Titanic Inquiry Project. Because many of its passengers were noteworthy individuals, the sinking of Titanic quickly became one of the first international news stories of the 20th-century and along with it came a slew of misinformation, notes the Titanic Newspaper Archives. Newfoundland, Canada Titanic Inquiry Project Titanic Newspaper Archives Apparently, that legacy of misinformation has followed the wreckage 110 years later. The room that appears in the video presumably contains the Grand Staircase, which was described as one of the most impressive features on board the RMS Titanic and the center of first-class activity. James Camerons 1997 film classic "Titanic" resurfaced the fame of the centerpiece. described Titanic Public Domain Back to the TikTok video. How do we know that is is fake? First, listen to the audio. You can hear dramatic screaming in the background, but there are no visible people in the frames. Lets also mention that handheld video cameras werent a thing in 1912. Sure, cameras in the 1910s were more mobile than those of previous decades, but The Living Image vintage camera museum notes that cameras of this era [were] still mainly of wooden, folding construction heavy and not easily mobile. There is surprisingly little genuine film footage of the Titanic both right before and after the disaster, but it does exist. British Path was a producer of newsreels throughout the 20th century, reported the pop-science website IFLScience. A six-minute newsreel produced in the aftermath of the disaster spans multiple scenes after the vessel sunk and the ensuing search for survivors. The first scenes from the footage below depict the Titanic as it left port for disaster. cameras in the 1910s notes British Path IFLScience the vessel sunk As you can see, authentic film footage from 1912 is much different than the clips shared to TikTok. Lastly, we checked the Instagram account associated with the TikTok profile. It led us to a person presumably named Taylor Tituss, who has a description in the profile reading, I make video edits for fun. Taylor Tituss "So, to clear things up, the video is fake," Tituss told Snopes, adding that he took the footage from a YouTube clip posted to the platform in May 2021. A caption accompanying the video, which had over 1.5 million views as of this writing, claimed the following: Mr Joseph Davies a 17 year old boy who was a Photographer on the Titanic the day it perished down in the Atlantic ocean in 1912.This footage was recovered in 2020 by a historian Investigating the sinking of the titanic.He commented "A camera was found in the Atlantic ocean where the titanic sits to rest. It was a miracle the camera was still intact after it was found in 1989.""After years and years of trying to recover the footage found in the films, they were unsuccessful until in 2020 when they became successful recovering the footage using state of the art technology." Mr Joseph died during the sinking of the titanic, the end bit where the video cuts out is when Mr Joseph drowned to his death trying to capture the sinking of the titanic. His remains were never found. We previously fact-checked the claim that an "old camera" from the Titanic was found deep in the ocean. That's also false, as is the below video: "old camera As we previously reported, a young girl named Bernice Palmer did capture photographs of the iceberg that Titanic collided with, as well as images of survivors. The Natural Museum of American History published that Palmer carried a handheld camera on the ship that responded to the Titanics distress call: reported published In 1900, the Eastman Kodak Company came out with the handheld box camera known as the Brownie. An immediate hit, more than 100,000 were sold in its first year. Canadian Bernice Bernie Palmer received a Kodak Brownie box camera, either for Christmas 1911 or for her birthday on January 10th, 1912. In early April, Bernie and her mother boarded the Cunard liner Carpathia in New York, for a Mediterranean cruise. Carpathia had scarcely cleared New York, when it received a distress call from the White Star liner Titanic on 14 April. It raced to the scene of the sinking and managed to rescue over 700 survivors from the icy North Atlantic. With her new camera, Bernice took pictures of the iceberg that sliced open the Titanics hull below the waterline and also took snapshots of some of the Titanic survivors. We've looked into a number of rumors and claims surrounding the sinking of Titanic (did we mention that the internet is obsessed?). Let's sink these rumors once and for all. Here are some other Snopes fact checks that you may enjoy: Was the Hidden Truth of Titanic Covered Up for Decades? Is This the Final Photograph of the Titanic? Were These Actual Mistakes in the 1997 Titanic Film? Did Divers Exploring Titanic Make Deeply Shocking New Discovery? Is the Door from Titanic on Display at Disney Springs? Sources Apr 15, 1912 CE: Titanic Sinks | National Geographic Society. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/titanic-sinks. Accessed 2 Aug. 2022. Cameras of 1910s Era. Old Vintage Cameras, Old Fashion Camera. https://licm.org.uk/livingImage/1910Room.html. Accessed 2 Aug. 2022. Cameron, James. Titanic. Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Lightstorm Entertainment, 1997. Grand Staircase. Titanic Wiki, https://titanic.fandom.com/wiki/Grand_Staircase. Accessed 2 Aug. 2022. Grand Staircase of the Titanic. Wikipedia, 29 June 2022. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grand_Staircase_of_the_Titanic&oldid=1095579315. Interesting Clips on TikTok. TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@clipz_r_us_/video/7123906717020278062?_r=1&_d=secCgYIASAHKAESPgo8l7jDOO69%2F8FwrVlvu2ep8xdlY7z%2BELF9%2FTqCesNUwIiXYwhQ2PZfUzJ4G27YFO7FJsTC1abD8k5j58W4GgA%3D&checksum=4302d0d8b587eafda1c7e917ee37f34a2a7c46f1be0920292ec1b49166236792&language=en&preview_pb=0&sec_user_id=MS4wLjABAAAA-lkqwAHfStUeZkapDd_k_rjsEJRnnBbKhvq05zi0bVTQSKzFBdqKThheOb99NdEv&share_app_id=1233&share_item_id=7123906717020278062&share_link_id=f95dae62-97b3-4e7b-83c9-248e6b8c6dde&source=h5_m×tamp=1659422273&u_code=dd6mf0739ffej6&ugbiz_name=Main&user_id=6844018106214646789&utm_campaign=client_share&utm_medium=android&utm_source=copy. Accessed 2 Aug. 2022. This Haunting Video Is The Only Genuine Footage Of The Titanic Before And After It Sank. IFLScience, https://iflscience.com/this-haunting-video-is-the-only-genuine-footage-of-the-titanic-before-and-after-it-sank-59628. Accessed 2 Aug. 2022. Titanic Disaster Newspaper Archive. https://www.paperlessarchives.com/titanic_newspaper_archive.html. Accessed 2 Aug. 2022. Titanic Inquiry Project - Main Page. https://www.titanicinquiry.org/. Accessed 2 Aug. 2022. Titanic Real Footage: Leaving Belfast for Disaster (1911-1912) | British Path. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05o7sOAjtXE. Accessed 2 Aug. 2022. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05o7sOAjtXE. Accessed 2 Aug. 2022.
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"sentence": "Titanic left its port of Southhampton, England, for its transatlantic maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. Four days later, the nearly 900-foot vessel collided with an iceberg near Newfoundland, Canada, at 11:40 p.m. Two hours and 40 minutes later, the vessel broke in two and sank, according to the Titanic Inquiry Project. Because many of its passengers were noteworthy individuals, the sinking of Titanic quickly became one of the first international news stories of the 20th-century and along with it came a slew of misinformation, notes the Titanic Newspaper Archives."
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"sentence": "Lets also mention that handheld video cameras werent a thing in 1912. Sure, cameras in the 1910s were more mobile than those of previous decades, but The Living Image vintage camera museum notes that cameras of this era [were] still mainly of wooden, folding construction heavy and not easily mobile. There is surprisingly little genuine film footage of the Titanic both right before and after the disaster, but it does exist. British Path was a producer of newsreels throughout the 20th century, reported the pop-science website IFLScience. A six-minute newsreel produced in the aftermath of the disaster spans multiple scenes after the vessel sunk and the ensuing search for survivors. The first scenes from the footage below depict the Titanic as it left port for disaster."
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"sentence": "Lastly, we checked the Instagram account associated with the TikTok profile. It led us to a person presumably named Taylor Tituss, who has a description in the profile reading, I make video edits for fun. "
},
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"sentence": "We previously fact-checked the claim that an \"old camera\" from the Titanic was found deep in the ocean. That's also false, as is the below video:"
},
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"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": "As we previously reported, a young girl named Bernice Palmer did capture photographs of the iceberg that Titanic collided with, as well as images of survivors. The Natural Museum of American History published that Palmer carried a handheld camera on the ship that responded to the Titanics distress call:"
}
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false
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https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/russian-asbestos-trump_face/
|
Did a Russian Asbestos Company Put Trump's Face on Their Product?
|
Alex Kasprak
|
07/20/2018
|
[
"A Russian asbestos producer shared a photograph of their product to social media with a seal of Donald Trumps face and the text \"Approved by Donald Trump."
] |
On 25 June 2018, a Russian mining company named Uralasbest, which is one of the worlds largest producers of asbestos, posted a message of support for President Trump on their official Facebook and VK (a Russian version of Facebook) pages. The post included photographs of packed asbestos material adorned with the face of Trump and the text "Approved by Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States." largest Facebook VK Asbestos is a mineral that was once widely used in construction projects for its fire resistant properties, but research has since linked it to a variety of cancers, most notably lung cancer and mesothelioma. cancers The non-profit health and environmental protection Environmental Working Group, who first called attention to the Uralasbest post, provided an English translation of the text that was shared alongside the image: "Donald is on our side! ... He supported the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, who stated that his agency would no longer deal with negative effects potentially derived from products containing asbestos. Donald Trump supported a specialist and called asbestos '100% safe after application.'" provided These images, as they were posted to the official social media accounts of Uralasbest, are genuine. Also genuine is President Trumps support of the asbestos industry. Trump once opined, in his 1997 book The Art of the Comeback, that efforts to reduce and regulate asbestos (a material he claimed was 100% safe once applied) in building construction were part of a mob-led conspiracy: "I believe that the movement against asbestos was led by the mob, because it was often mob-related companies that would do the asbestos removal. Great pressure was put on politicians, and as usual, the politicians relented." Uralasbest opined In June, when Uralasbest posted their message of support, then-Administrator of the EPA Scott Pruitt had recently announced new interpretations of the Toxic Substances Control Act that could allow for new uses of asbestos to be approved in the United States. While this move would not allow for previously banned uses to be considered, it was a reversal of Obama-era rules that barred the EPA from considering any new uses for asbestos. new interpretations rules Milman, Oliver. "Russian Mining Firm Puts Trump's Face on Its Asbestos Products.
The Guardian. 11 July 2018. American Cancer Society. "Asbestos and Cancer Risk.
Accessed 20 July 2018. Environmental Working Group. "Russian Asbestos Giant Praises Trump Administration Actions to Keep Deadly Carcinogen Legal.
11 July 2018. Goodkind, Nicole. "Donald Trump Called Asbestos Poisoning a Mob-Led Conspiracy, Now His EPA Wont Evaluate Asbestos Already in Homes.
Huffington Post. 8 June 2018. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Asbestos Ban and Phase-Out Federal Register Notices
Archived from 19 January 2017.
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"sentence": "On 25 June 2018, a Russian mining company named Uralasbest, which is one of the worlds largest producers of asbestos, posted a message of support for President Trump on their official Facebook and VK (a Russian version of Facebook) pages. The post included photographs of packed asbestos material adorned with the face of Trump and the text \"Approved by Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": "Asbestos is a mineral that was once widely used in construction projects for its fire resistant properties, but research has since linked it to a variety of cancers, most notably lung cancer and mesothelioma. "
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.ewg.org/release/russian-asbestos-giant-praises-trump-administration-actions-keep-deadly-carcinogen-legal"
],
"sentence": "The non-profit health and environmental protection Environmental Working Group, who first called attention to the Uralasbest post, provided an English translation of the text that was shared alongside the image: \"Donald is on our side! ... He supported the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, who stated that his agency would no longer deal with negative effects potentially derived from products containing asbestos. Donald Trump supported a specialist and called asbestos '100% safe after application.'\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
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],
"sentence": "These images, as they were posted to the official social media accounts of Uralasbest, are genuine. Also genuine is President Trumps support of the asbestos industry. Trump once opined, in his 1997 book The Art of the Comeback, that efforts to reduce and regulate asbestos (a material he claimed was 100% safe once applied) in building construction were part of a mob-led conspiracy: \"I believe that the movement against asbestos was led by the mob, because it was often mob-related companies that would do the asbestos removal. Great pressure was put on politicians, and as usual, the politicians relented.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/is-epa-allowing-asbestos-products/",
"https://archive.is/3F4CC"
],
"sentence": "In June, when Uralasbest posted their message of support, then-Administrator of the EPA Scott Pruitt had recently announced new interpretations of the Toxic Substances Control Act that could allow for new uses of asbestos to be approved in the United States. While this move would not allow for previously banned uses to be considered, it was a reversal of Obama-era rules that barred the EPA from considering any new uses for asbestos."
}
] |
true
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-trump-lawyer-payoffs/
|
Why Did the FBI Raid the Office of Trump's Lawyer But Not Bill Clinton's?
|
David Mikkelson
|
03/06/2019
|
[
"A meme presents a false equivalency between presidential payoffs to women made in completely different cases 20 years apart."
] |
A popular meme in March 2019 questioned why Bill Clinton had "paid Paula Jones $850K to go away" yet the FBI hadn't raided his lawyer's office. The meme was an obvious reference to two completely unrelated issues separated by decades: a 1994 lawsuit involving Clinton and a search warrant executed by the FBI in April 2018 at the office of President Donald Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen. In short, the major differences in the cases referenced by the meme one of which involved an FBI raid on a lawyer's office and the other not were as follows: Clinton openly paid Jones $850,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit well after he became president and well after Jones had had a chance to air her allegations to the public, press, and court system, while Trump secretly used an intermediary to pay hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels just ahead of a presidential election in order to keep her allegations that she had an affair with him from reaching the public and influencing the election results against him. Nothing Clinton did in settling Jones' civil lawsuit was illegal (or even potentially illegal), but Trump's payment of hush money to Daniels through his lawyer was possibly an illegal act on the part of Trump and/or Cohen, hence the raid on the latter's office but not the office of Clinton's lawyer. On 6 May 1994, Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton just days before the statute of limitations would have expired. In her lawsuit, she maintained that on 8 May 1991, she was working the registration desk at Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the Third Annual Governor's Quality Management Conference was being held, an event Bill Clinton (then governor of Arkansas) attended to deliver a speech. Jones alleged that an Arkansas state trooper, Danny Ferguson, approached her at the registration desk, told her that Clinton would like to meet with her, and escorted her to a business suite in the hotel where Clinton was staying. lawsuit According to Jones, once she entered Clinton's hotel suite he complimented her on her physical appearance, put his hand on her leg, attempted to kiss her on the neck, asked her if she was married, and finally lowered his trousers to expose his erect penis and asked Jones to "kiss it." When Jones rebuffed Clinton's advances, she said, he told her to "keep this between ourselves" and suggested that, in her words, he "could damage her in her job and even jeopardize her employment." Jones did not publicly discuss the incident until The American Spectator referenced it in a January 1994 article, apparently based on information provided by Trooper Ferguson: The American Spectator account asserts that a woman by the name of "Paula" told an unnamed trooper (obviously Defendant Ferguson), who had escorted "Paula" to Clinton's hotel room, that "she was available to be Clinton's regular girlfriend if he so desired," thus implying a consummated and satisfying sexual encounter with Clinton, as well as a willingness to continue a sexual relationship with him. These assertions are untrue. The American Spectator account also asserted that the troopers' 'official' duties included facilitating Clinton's cheating on his wife ... Since Jones ("Paula") was one of the women preyed upon by Clinton and his troopers, including by Defendant Ferguson, in the manner described above, those who read this magazine account could conclude falsely that Jones ("Paula") had a sexual relationship and affair with Clinton. Jones' reputation within her community was thus seriously damaged. Several months later, Jones filed her lawsuit against Clinton and Ferguson, seeking a total of $750,000 in compensation for damages and attorneys' fees on counts of sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation. The issue of whether Jones could sue a sitting president went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, who upheld an appellate court decision that "the President, like all other government officials, is subject to the same laws that apply to all other members of our society," and allowed Jones' case to proceed. However, Judge Susan Webber Wright of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas dismissed the lawsuit on 1 April 1998, holding that "the governor's alleged conduct does not constitute sexual assault," that "plaintiff's allegations fall far short of the rigorous standards for establishing a claim of outrage under Arkansas law," that "plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that she has a case worthy of submitting to a jury," and that "there are no genuine issues for trial in this case." dismissed When it came to light a few months later that Clinton had lied under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky during proceedings in Jones' lawsuit, Jones filed an appeal to reverse the dismissal and have her claims reinstated. On 13 November 1998, Clinton settled the matter by offering to pay Jones $850,000 in exchange for her agreement to drop her appeal, without admitting to or apologizing for the conduct alleged by Jones. appeal Porn actress Daniels (the stage name of Stephanie Clifford) said she first met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada in July 2006. The two engaged in sex in Trump's hotel room, she claimed, and continued an "intimate relationship" into the following year. Daniels discussed her relationship with Trump in a 2011 interview for In Touch magazine, but the interview was not published at that time, reportedly because Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, threatened to sue over it when the magazine reached out to ask for comment. threatened In January 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's personal attorney, Cohen, had arranged to pay Daniels $130,000 just weeks before the 2016 U.S. presidential election in exchange for her signing a nondisclosure agreement related to her alleged 2006 affair with Trump. reported The following month, Cohen confirmed that $130,000 had been paid to Daniels, but he maintained that he had used his personal funds for the payment, and that "Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly." On 5 April 2018, Trump denied to reporters that he knew about the payment to Daniels. When pressed about why the payment had been made, Trump replied, "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen" and asserted he didn't know where the $130,000 had come from. Four days later, acting on a warrant from federal prosecutors in New York's Southern District obtained in part on a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller's office, FBI agents seized a variety of material from Cohen's New York City office, home, and hotel room, including documents related to Cohen's payment to Daniels and to Karen McDougal, another woman who had alleged an affair with Trump. denied A month later, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, now a member of Trump's legal team, said that Trump had personally repaid Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels, and that the reimbursement had been "funneled through a law firm." The following day, Trump contradicted his earlier claim that he didn't know about the payment by acknowledging that he had repaid Cohen, but he asserted the money "had nothing to do with the campaign." Rudy Giuliani contradicted In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges, including five counts of tax evasion, one count of making a false statement to a financial institution, one count of being a "willful cause" of an unlawful corporate contribution, and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution, the latter two stemming from the "hush money" payments made to Daniels and McDougal. Prosecutors held that the payments made by Cohen violated federal campaign finance laws because they were meant to benefit the campaign but did not come from campaign contributions and were not reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The payments therefore constituted illegal in-kind contributions to the Trump campaign that violated laws limiting such donations to $2,700 and requiring their disclosure to the FEC. Whether Trump himself could be charged with engaging in a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws for his involvement in the hush money payments is still a matter of legal debate, but the issue took a dramatic turn in February 2019 when Cohen revealed before Congress that he was paid reimbursement for the hush money directly from Trump's personal bank account after Trump became president. legal debate revealed "Cohen's public testimony directly implicates Trump in serious campaign finance violations," former FECGeneral Counsel Lawrence Noble told the Washington Post. "Assuming Cohen is telling the truth about the purpose of the checks, the checks are documentary evidence supporting the allegation that Trump had Cohen pay Daniels $135,000 in hush money and then reimbursed Cohen." Washington Post All in all, events proved the FBI had good reason to raid Cohen's office, as they gathered evidence of multiple federal crimes (beyond just campaign finance violations) to which Cohen pleaded guilty. Bill Clinton's payment to Paula Jones was a settlement of a civil lawsuit that did not involve any criminal matter or criminal wrongdoing, and thus it was of no legitimate interest to law enforcement. The only commonality between the two cases was that they involved payments by politicians to women, but for very different reasons and circumstances. federal crimes Dowd, Katie. "Are These the Checks Donald Trump Gave Michael Cohen for the Stormy Daniels Payment?" San Francisco Chronicle. 27 February 2019. Goodman, Ryan and Andy Wright. "Mueller's Roadmap: Major Takeaways from Cohen and Manafort Filings." Just Security. December 8, 2018 Rupar, Aaron. "What's illegal About Trump's Hush Payments to Women, Briefly Explained." Vox. 12 December 2018. Kelly, Matthew. "In-Kind Contributions Are Boring ... Until Stormy Daniels Gets Involved." OpenSecrets.org. 3 April 2018. Lord, Debbie. "Michael Cohen Plea Deal: How Were Campaign Finance Laws Broken?" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 22 August 2018. Associated Press. "A Timeline of Key Moments in Trump-Stormy Daniels Saga." 4 May 2018. Kirby, Jen. "A Timeline of Trumpworld's Changing Story on Stormy Daniels." Vox. 4 May 2018. Samuels, Brett. "Timeline: Trump, Cohen, Stormy Daniels and $130,000." The Hill. 4 May 2018. Theobald, Bill. "Why Hush Money Michael Cohen Paid Stormy Daniels Was an Illegal Campaign Donation." USA Today. 14 December 2018. Kirby, Jen and Andrew Prokop. "Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty to 8 Federal Crimes." Vox. 21 August 2018. Stewart, Emily and Dylan Matthews. "The Michael Cohen-Stormy Daniels Subplot, Explained." Vox. 27 February 2019. Chalfant, Morgan. "Prosecutors Submit Redacted Cohen Raid Documents Under Seal, Teeing Up Public Release." The Hill. 28 February 2019. Reuters. "Trump Says He Did Not Know About $130,000 Payment to Stormy Daniels." 5 April 2018.
|
[
"funds"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1_KDh1TNVgewcyn5TF_6uWRHNeD8ScIfV"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/pjones/docs/complaint.htm"
],
"sentence": "On 6 May 1994, Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton just days before the statute of limitations would have expired. In her lawsuit, she maintained that on 8 May 1991, she was working the registration desk at Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the Third Annual Governor's Quality Management Conference was being held, an event Bill Clinton (then governor of Arkansas) attended to deliver a speech. Jones alleged that an Arkansas state trooper, Danny Ferguson, approached her at the registration desk, told her that Clinton would like to meet with her, and escorted her to a business suite in the hotel where Clinton was staying."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Paula_Jones_v._William_Clinton/Judge%27s_Opinion_Dismissing"
],
"sentence": "However, Judge Susan Webber Wright of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas dismissed the lawsuit on 1 April 1998, holding that \"the governor's alleged conduct does not constitute sexual assault,\" that \"plaintiff's allegations fall far short of the rigorous standards for establishing a claim of outrage under Arkansas law,\" that \"plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that she has a case worthy of submitting to a jury,\" and that \"there are no genuine issues for trial in this case.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/jonesappeal073198.htm"
],
"sentence": "When it came to light a few months later that Clinton had lied under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky during proceedings in Jones' lawsuit, Jones filed an appeal to reverse the dismissal and have her claims reinstated. On 13 November 1998, Clinton settled the matter by offering to pay Jones $850,000 in exchange for her agreement to drop her appeal, without admitting to or apologizing for the conduct alleged by Jones."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/27/18241849/michael-cohen-house-testimony-stormy-daniels"
],
"sentence": "Porn actress Daniels (the stage name of Stephanie Clifford) said she first met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada in July 2006. The two engaged in sex in Trump's hotel room, she claimed, and continued an \"intimate relationship\" into the following year. Daniels discussed her relationship with Trump in a 2011 interview for In Touch magazine, but the interview was not published at that time, reportedly because Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, threatened to sue over it when the magazine reached out to ask for comment."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-lawyer-arranged-130-000-payment-for-adult-film-stars-silence-1515787678"
],
"sentence": "In January 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's personal attorney, Cohen, had arranged to pay Daniels $130,000 just weeks before the 2016 U.S. presidential election in exchange for her signing a nondisclosure agreement related to her alleged 2006 affair with Trump."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-daniels/trump-says-he-did-not-know-about-130000-payment-to-stormy-daniels-idUSKCN1HC2SN"
],
"sentence": "On 5 April 2018, Trump denied to reporters that he knew about the payment to Daniels. When pressed about why the payment had been made, Trump replied, \"You'll have to ask Michael Cohen\" and asserted he didn't know where the $130,000 had come from. Four days later, acting on a warrant from federal prosecutors in New York's Southern District obtained in part on a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller's office, FBI agents seized a variety of material from Cohen's New York City office, home, and hotel room, including documents related to Cohen's payment to Daniels and to Karen McDougal, another woman who had alleged an affair with Trump."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.vox.com/2018/5/2/17313770/trump-stormy-daniels-giuliani-hush-money-michael-cohen",
"https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/385974-trump-defends-payment-to-stormy-daniels-after-giuliani-revelation"
],
"sentence": "A month later, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, now a member of Trump's legal team, said that Trump had personally repaid Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels, and that the reimbursement had been \"funneled through a law firm.\" The following day, Trump contradicted his earlier claim that he didn't know about the payment by acknowledging that he had repaid Cohen, but he asserted the money \"had nothing to do with the campaign.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.justsecurity.org/61785/muellers-roadmap-major-takeaways-cohen-manafort-filings/",
"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/cohen-testimony-campaign-finance-violation-check-13649011.php"
],
"sentence": "Whether Trump himself could be charged with engaging in a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws for his involvement in the hush money payments is still a matter of legal debate, but the issue took a dramatic turn in February 2019 when Cohen revealed before Congress that he was paid reimbursement for the hush money directly from Trump's personal bank account after Trump became president."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/27/michael-cohens-testimony-includes-three-remarkable-allegations-against-trump/"
],
"sentence": "\"Cohen's public testimony directly implicates Trump in serious campaign finance violations,\" former FECGeneral Counsel Lawrence Noble told the Washington Post. \"Assuming Cohen is telling the truth about the purpose of the checks, the checks are documentary evidence supporting the allegation that Trump had Cohen pay Daniels $135,000 in hush money and then reimbursed Cohen.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.vox.com/2018/8/21/17764990/michael-cohen-plea-deal-trump-sdny-jail-cooperation"
],
"sentence": "All in all, events proved the FBI had good reason to raid Cohen's office, as they gathered evidence of multiple federal crimes (beyond just campaign finance violations) to which Cohen pleaded guilty. Bill Clinton's payment to Paula Jones was a settlement of a civil lawsuit that did not involve any criminal matter or criminal wrongdoing, and thus it was of no legitimate interest to law enforcement. The only commonality between the two cases was that they involved payments by politicians to women, but for very different reasons and circumstances."
}
] |
false
| null |
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-trump-lawyer-payoffs/
|
What was the reason behind the FBI searching the office of Trump's attorney instead of Bill Clinton's?
|
David Mikkelson
|
03/06/2019
|
[
"A meme presents a false equivalency between presidential payoffs to women made in completely different cases 20 years apart."
] |
A popular meme in March 2019 questioned why Bill Clinton had "paid Paula Jones $850K to go away" yet the FBI hadn't raided his lawyer's office. The meme was an obvious reference to two completely unrelated issues separated by decades: a 1994 lawsuit involving Clinton and a search warrant executed by the FBI in April 2018 at the office of President Donald Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen. In short, the major differences in the cases referenced by the meme one of which involved an FBI raid on a lawyer's office and the other not were as follows: Clinton openly paid Jones $850,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit well after he became president and well after Jones had had a chance to air her allegations to the public, press, and court system, while Trump secretly used an intermediary to pay hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels just ahead of a presidential election in order to keep her allegations that she had an affair with him from reaching the public and influencing the election results against him. Nothing Clinton did in settling Jones' civil lawsuit was illegal (or even potentially illegal), but Trump's payment of hush money to Daniels through his lawyer was possibly an illegal act on the part of Trump and/or Cohen, hence the raid on the latter's office but not the office of Clinton's lawyer. On 6 May 1994, Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton just days before the statute of limitations would have expired. In her lawsuit, she maintained that on 8 May 1991, she was working the registration desk at Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the Third Annual Governor's Quality Management Conference was being held, an event Bill Clinton (then governor of Arkansas) attended to deliver a speech. Jones alleged that an Arkansas state trooper, Danny Ferguson, approached her at the registration desk, told her that Clinton would like to meet with her, and escorted her to a business suite in the hotel where Clinton was staying. lawsuit According to Jones, once she entered Clinton's hotel suite he complimented her on her physical appearance, put his hand on her leg, attempted to kiss her on the neck, asked her if she was married, and finally lowered his trousers to expose his erect penis and asked Jones to "kiss it." When Jones rebuffed Clinton's advances, she said, he told her to "keep this between ourselves" and suggested that, in her words, he "could damage her in her job and even jeopardize her employment." Jones did not publicly discuss the incident until The American Spectator referenced it in a January 1994 article, apparently based on information provided by Trooper Ferguson: The American Spectator account asserts that a woman by the name of "Paula" told an unnamed trooper (obviously Defendant Ferguson), who had escorted "Paula" to Clinton's hotel room, that "she was available to be Clinton's regular girlfriend if he so desired," thus implying a consummated and satisfying sexual encounter with Clinton, as well as a willingness to continue a sexual relationship with him. These assertions are untrue. The American Spectator account also asserted that the troopers' 'official' duties included facilitating Clinton's cheating on his wife ... Since Jones ("Paula") was one of the women preyed upon by Clinton and his troopers, including by Defendant Ferguson, in the manner described above, those who read this magazine account could conclude falsely that Jones ("Paula") had a sexual relationship and affair with Clinton. Jones' reputation within her community was thus seriously damaged. Several months later, Jones filed her lawsuit against Clinton and Ferguson, seeking a total of $750,000 in compensation for damages and attorneys' fees on counts of sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation. The issue of whether Jones could sue a sitting president went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, who upheld an appellate court decision that "the President, like all other government officials, is subject to the same laws that apply to all other members of our society," and allowed Jones' case to proceed. However, Judge Susan Webber Wright of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas dismissed the lawsuit on 1 April 1998, holding that "the governor's alleged conduct does not constitute sexual assault," that "plaintiff's allegations fall far short of the rigorous standards for establishing a claim of outrage under Arkansas law," that "plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that she has a case worthy of submitting to a jury," and that "there are no genuine issues for trial in this case." dismissed When it came to light a few months later that Clinton had lied under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky during proceedings in Jones' lawsuit, Jones filed an appeal to reverse the dismissal and have her claims reinstated. On 13 November 1998, Clinton settled the matter by offering to pay Jones $850,000 in exchange for her agreement to drop her appeal, without admitting to or apologizing for the conduct alleged by Jones. appeal Porn actress Daniels (the stage name of Stephanie Clifford) said she first met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada in July 2006. The two engaged in sex in Trump's hotel room, she claimed, and continued an "intimate relationship" into the following year. Daniels discussed her relationship with Trump in a 2011 interview for In Touch magazine, but the interview was not published at that time, reportedly because Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, threatened to sue over it when the magazine reached out to ask for comment. threatened In January 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's personal attorney, Cohen, had arranged to pay Daniels $130,000 just weeks before the 2016 U.S. presidential election in exchange for her signing a nondisclosure agreement related to her alleged 2006 affair with Trump. reported The following month, Cohen confirmed that $130,000 had been paid to Daniels, but he maintained that he had used his personal funds for the payment, and that "Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly." On 5 April 2018, Trump denied to reporters that he knew about the payment to Daniels. When pressed about why the payment had been made, Trump replied, "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen" and asserted he didn't know where the $130,000 had come from. Four days later, acting on a warrant from federal prosecutors in New York's Southern District obtained in part on a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller's office, FBI agents seized a variety of material from Cohen's New York City office, home, and hotel room, including documents related to Cohen's payment to Daniels and to Karen McDougal, another woman who had alleged an affair with Trump. denied A month later, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, now a member of Trump's legal team, said that Trump had personally repaid Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels, and that the reimbursement had been "funneled through a law firm." The following day, Trump contradicted his earlier claim that he didn't know about the payment by acknowledging that he had repaid Cohen, but he asserted the money "had nothing to do with the campaign." Rudy Giuliani contradicted In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges, including five counts of tax evasion, one count of making a false statement to a financial institution, one count of being a "willful cause" of an unlawful corporate contribution, and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution, the latter two stemming from the "hush money" payments made to Daniels and McDougal. Prosecutors held that the payments made by Cohen violated federal campaign finance laws because they were meant to benefit the campaign but did not come from campaign contributions and were not reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The payments therefore constituted illegal in-kind contributions to the Trump campaign that violated laws limiting such donations to $2,700 and requiring their disclosure to the FEC. Whether Trump himself could be charged with engaging in a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws for his involvement in the hush money payments is still a matter of legal debate, but the issue took a dramatic turn in February 2019 when Cohen revealed before Congress that he was paid reimbursement for the hush money directly from Trump's personal bank account after Trump became president. legal debate revealed "Cohen's public testimony directly implicates Trump in serious campaign finance violations," former FECGeneral Counsel Lawrence Noble told the Washington Post. "Assuming Cohen is telling the truth about the purpose of the checks, the checks are documentary evidence supporting the allegation that Trump had Cohen pay Daniels $135,000 in hush money and then reimbursed Cohen." Washington Post All in all, events proved the FBI had good reason to raid Cohen's office, as they gathered evidence of multiple federal crimes (beyond just campaign finance violations) to which Cohen pleaded guilty. Bill Clinton's payment to Paula Jones was a settlement of a civil lawsuit that did not involve any criminal matter or criminal wrongdoing, and thus it was of no legitimate interest to law enforcement. The only commonality between the two cases was that they involved payments by politicians to women, but for very different reasons and circumstances. federal crimes Dowd, Katie. "Are These the Checks Donald Trump Gave Michael Cohen for the Stormy Daniels Payment?" San Francisco Chronicle. 27 February 2019. Goodman, Ryan and Andy Wright. "Mueller's Roadmap: Major Takeaways from Cohen and Manafort Filings." Just Security. December 8, 2018 Rupar, Aaron. "What's illegal About Trump's Hush Payments to Women, Briefly Explained." Vox. 12 December 2018. Kelly, Matthew. "In-Kind Contributions Are Boring ... Until Stormy Daniels Gets Involved." OpenSecrets.org. 3 April 2018. Lord, Debbie. "Michael Cohen Plea Deal: How Were Campaign Finance Laws Broken?" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 22 August 2018. Associated Press. "A Timeline of Key Moments in Trump-Stormy Daniels Saga." 4 May 2018. Kirby, Jen. "A Timeline of Trumpworld's Changing Story on Stormy Daniels." Vox. 4 May 2018. Samuels, Brett. "Timeline: Trump, Cohen, Stormy Daniels and $130,000." The Hill. 4 May 2018. Theobald, Bill. "Why Hush Money Michael Cohen Paid Stormy Daniels Was an Illegal Campaign Donation." USA Today. 14 December 2018. Kirby, Jen and Andrew Prokop. "Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty to 8 Federal Crimes." Vox. 21 August 2018. Stewart, Emily and Dylan Matthews. "The Michael Cohen-Stormy Daniels Subplot, Explained." Vox. 27 February 2019. Chalfant, Morgan. "Prosecutors Submit Redacted Cohen Raid Documents Under Seal, Teeing Up Public Release." The Hill. 28 February 2019. Reuters. "Trump Says He Did Not Know About $130,000 Payment to Stormy Daniels." 5 April 2018.
|
[
"finance"
] |
[
{
"image_caption": null,
"image_src": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1zUFWUUYx8Ppzl9wfHYSX7i9wKdXZ95-s"
}
] |
[
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/pjones/docs/complaint.htm"
],
"sentence": "On 6 May 1994, Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton just days before the statute of limitations would have expired. In her lawsuit, she maintained that on 8 May 1991, she was working the registration desk at Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the Third Annual Governor's Quality Management Conference was being held, an event Bill Clinton (then governor of Arkansas) attended to deliver a speech. Jones alleged that an Arkansas state trooper, Danny Ferguson, approached her at the registration desk, told her that Clinton would like to meet with her, and escorted her to a business suite in the hotel where Clinton was staying."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Paula_Jones_v._William_Clinton/Judge%27s_Opinion_Dismissing"
],
"sentence": "However, Judge Susan Webber Wright of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas dismissed the lawsuit on 1 April 1998, holding that \"the governor's alleged conduct does not constitute sexual assault,\" that \"plaintiff's allegations fall far short of the rigorous standards for establishing a claim of outrage under Arkansas law,\" that \"plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that she has a case worthy of submitting to a jury,\" and that \"there are no genuine issues for trial in this case.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/jonesappeal073198.htm"
],
"sentence": "When it came to light a few months later that Clinton had lied under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky during proceedings in Jones' lawsuit, Jones filed an appeal to reverse the dismissal and have her claims reinstated. On 13 November 1998, Clinton settled the matter by offering to pay Jones $850,000 in exchange for her agreement to drop her appeal, without admitting to or apologizing for the conduct alleged by Jones."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/27/18241849/michael-cohen-house-testimony-stormy-daniels"
],
"sentence": "Porn actress Daniels (the stage name of Stephanie Clifford) said she first met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada in July 2006. The two engaged in sex in Trump's hotel room, she claimed, and continued an \"intimate relationship\" into the following year. Daniels discussed her relationship with Trump in a 2011 interview for In Touch magazine, but the interview was not published at that time, reportedly because Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, threatened to sue over it when the magazine reached out to ask for comment."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-lawyer-arranged-130-000-payment-for-adult-film-stars-silence-1515787678"
],
"sentence": "In January 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's personal attorney, Cohen, had arranged to pay Daniels $130,000 just weeks before the 2016 U.S. presidential election in exchange for her signing a nondisclosure agreement related to her alleged 2006 affair with Trump."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-daniels/trump-says-he-did-not-know-about-130000-payment-to-stormy-daniels-idUSKCN1HC2SN"
],
"sentence": "On 5 April 2018, Trump denied to reporters that he knew about the payment to Daniels. When pressed about why the payment had been made, Trump replied, \"You'll have to ask Michael Cohen\" and asserted he didn't know where the $130,000 had come from. Four days later, acting on a warrant from federal prosecutors in New York's Southern District obtained in part on a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller's office, FBI agents seized a variety of material from Cohen's New York City office, home, and hotel room, including documents related to Cohen's payment to Daniels and to Karen McDougal, another woman who had alleged an affair with Trump."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.vox.com/2018/5/2/17313770/trump-stormy-daniels-giuliani-hush-money-michael-cohen",
"https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/385974-trump-defends-payment-to-stormy-daniels-after-giuliani-revelation"
],
"sentence": "A month later, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, now a member of Trump's legal team, said that Trump had personally repaid Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels, and that the reimbursement had been \"funneled through a law firm.\" The following day, Trump contradicted his earlier claim that he didn't know about the payment by acknowledging that he had repaid Cohen, but he asserted the money \"had nothing to do with the campaign.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.justsecurity.org/61785/muellers-roadmap-major-takeaways-cohen-manafort-filings/",
"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/cohen-testimony-campaign-finance-violation-check-13649011.php"
],
"sentence": "Whether Trump himself could be charged with engaging in a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws for his involvement in the hush money payments is still a matter of legal debate, but the issue took a dramatic turn in February 2019 when Cohen revealed before Congress that he was paid reimbursement for the hush money directly from Trump's personal bank account after Trump became president."
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/27/michael-cohens-testimony-includes-three-remarkable-allegations-against-trump/"
],
"sentence": "\"Cohen's public testimony directly implicates Trump in serious campaign finance violations,\" former FECGeneral Counsel Lawrence Noble told the Washington Post. \"Assuming Cohen is telling the truth about the purpose of the checks, the checks are documentary evidence supporting the allegation that Trump had Cohen pay Daniels $135,000 in hush money and then reimbursed Cohen.\""
},
{
"hrefs": [
"https://www.vox.com/2018/8/21/17764990/michael-cohen-plea-deal-trump-sdny-jail-cooperation"
],
"sentence": "All in all, events proved the FBI had good reason to raid Cohen's office, as they gathered evidence of multiple federal crimes (beyond just campaign finance violations) to which Cohen pleaded guilty. Bill Clinton's payment to Paula Jones was a settlement of a civil lawsuit that did not involve any criminal matter or criminal wrongdoing, and thus it was of no legitimate interest to law enforcement. The only commonality between the two cases was that they involved payments by politicians to women, but for very different reasons and circumstances."
}
] |
false
| null |
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