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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Measles Is Harmful, Contrary to Flimsy Social Media Claims of Long-Term Benefits

Measles Is Harmful, Contrary to Flimsy Social Media Claims of Long-Term Benefits
March 14, 2025

Measles is an extremely contagious vaccine-preventable disease that can lead to death or disability. It also wipes out immune memory for several years after an infection. As an outbreak in Texas continues to expand, social media posts have claimed without sufficient support that measles infections are beneficial later in life against cancer and other diseases, an idea health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has echoed.

Study Focused on Feminine Hygiene Products, Not Transgender Men

Study Focused on Feminine Hygiene Products, Not Transgender Men
March 14, 2025

The Department of Agriculture announced the cancellation of a $600,000 grant to study the development of feminine hygiene products made of natural fibers. The USDA, Department of Government Efficiency and social media posts misleadingly claimed the study was of “menstrual cycles in transgender men.” The university behind the study said it was focused on making safer products to “benefit all biological women.”

Full-Time Employment Increased Under Biden, Contrary to Rick Scott’s Claim

Full-Time Employment Increased Under Biden, Contrary to Rick Scott’s Claim
March 13, 2025

As we reported in January, President Donald Trump inherited a resilient economy experiencing continued growth in jobs, including an increase in full-time workers. But Republican Sen. Rick Scott recently painted a much different picture, calling the pre-Trump economy “crappy” and falsely claiming that full-time employment was “dropping almost the entire Biden administration.”

Both Sides Spin Who Would Benefit from Extending Trump Tax Cuts

Both Sides Spin Who Would Benefit from Extending Trump Tax Cuts
March 12, 2025

With the Republican-controlled Congress moving forward with President Donald Trump’s call to extend the 2017 individual tax cuts, Democrats and Republicans are spinning the facts about who would benefit. Several Democrats have framed the tax cuts as exclusively benefiting billionaires, while Trump has suggested everyone in America would see a tax cut.

Trump’s Flawed Claim that Tariffs Made the U.S. Its ‘Richest’

Trump’s Flawed Claim that Tariffs Made the U.S. Its ‘Richest’
March 11, 2025

In arguing for more tariffs on goods imported to the United States, President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. was its “richest” or “wealthiest” during the late 1800s and early 1900s because of tariffs. In multiple ways, his claim is wrong or misleading.

RFK Jr. Misleads on Vitamin A, Unsupported Therapies for Measles

RFK Jr. Misleads on Vitamin A, Unsupported Therapies for Measles
March 7, 2025

In the midst of a growing measles outbreak in Texas that has killed one child, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has misleadingly focused on vitamin A, including from cod liver oil, and two non-standard medications as treatments for measles.

White Nationalist Group Is Still Active, Contrary to Social Media Claims

White Nationalist Group Is Still Active, Contrary to Social Media Claims
March 7, 2025

Social media posts, some pointing to comments by podcaster Joe Rogan, are spreading unsupported claims that members of the Patriot Front are federal agents and that the group disbanded after the recent leadership change at the FBI. But days after Kash Patel was confirmed as FBI director, the Patriot Front had two public rallies, and its website refutes the claims.

FactChecking Trump’s Address to Congress

FactChecking Trump’s Address to Congress
March 5, 2025

In his first address to a joint session of Congress in his second term, President Donald Trump distorted the facts on fraud, immigration, aid to Ukraine, the economy, autism and more.

Trump Exaggerates on U.S. and European Aid to Ukraine, Loans

Trump Exaggerates on U.S. and European Aid to Ukraine, Loans
March 4, 2025

As President Donald Trump has sought to secure rights to Ukraine’s minerals as compensation for U.S. aid to fight the Russian invasion, he has repeatedly overstated the amount of aid provided by the U.S. compared with Europe and exaggerated the extent to which European assistance – unlike U.S. aid — is in the form of guaranteed loans.