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Don’t get spun by Internet rumors
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m...@facts.only.now
Oct 25, 2012, 5:23:11 PM10/25/12
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Don’t get spun by Internet rumors
Just because you read it on somebody’s blog or in an email from a
friend or relative doesn’t mean it’s true. It’s probably not, as we
advised in our special report “Is this chain e-mail true?” back on
March 18, 2008. On this page we feature a list of the false or
misleading viral rumors we’re asked about most often, and a brief
summary of the facts. But click on the links to read the full
articles. There is a lot more detail in each answer.
Has President Barack Obama signed 900 executive orders, some of which
create martial law?
No. Obama’s executive orders do not create martial law. And so far he
has signed 139 executive orders — not 900.
Sept. 25, 2012
Did the government buy 79 percent of all vehicles sold by General
Motors in June?
No, that viral rumor is false. All fleet customers combined —
including rental car companies and state and local governments —
accounted for less than one-third of GM’s June sales.
Sept. 12, 2012
Are Obama’s early records “sealed”?
No. Many records that presidential candidates don’t ordinarily
release do remain confidential, but they are not “sealed” by a court.
The 16 claims in a widely distributed graphic are mostly false or
distorted.
July 31, 2012
Does the Obama administration intend to “force gun control and a
complete ban on all weapons for U.S. citizens” through a United
Nations treaty?
No. The administration plans to negotiate a treaty to regulate the
international export and import of weapons. It says that it won’t
support any treaty that regulates the domestic transfer or ownership
of weapons, or that infringes on the Second Amendment.
June 27, 2012
Did Barack and Michelle Obama “surrender” their law licenses to avoid
ethics charges?
No. A court official confirms that no public disciplinary proceeding
has ever been brought against either of them, contrary to a false
Internet rumor. By voluntarily inactivating their licenses, they avoid
a requirement to take continuing education classes and pay hundreds of
dollars in annual fees. Both could practice law again if they chose to
do so.
June 14, 2012
Is General Motors becoming ‘China Motors’ using taxpayer dollars?
No. The restructured GM is still based in Detroit and is still
one-third owned by the U.S. government. But it sells nearly as many
cars in China as in the U.S. and has continued expanding operations
there.
June 8, 2012
Did President Obama secretly sign a law that makes it a crime to
protest against him or ask him a question he doesn’t like?
No. He openly announced the signing of a bill overwhelmingly passed
by Congress that slightly revises a 1971 law against trespassing into
areas under Secret Service protection.
May 7, 2012
Is the National Association of Realtors lobbying to repeal a 3.8
percent “sales tax” on homes before it takes effect in 2013?
No. There’s no such “sales tax” in the new health care law. And
Medicare premiums aren’t going to $247 either. But these virulent
falsehoods keep going around.
April 30, 2012
Is “Obama’s finance team” recommending a 1 percent tax on all bank
transactions, as a chain e-mail claims?
No. This idea was first floated in 2004 by one House member, who says
it would replace the federal income tax and eliminate the national
debt. So far it has gone nowhere.
Sept. 8, 2010; Updated: June 5, 2012
Is there any truth in the e-mail claiming to give “a few highlights
from the first 500 pages of the Healthcare bill”?
Barely. We examined all 48 claims, finding 26 of them to be false and
18 to be misleading, only partly true or half true. Only four are
accurate.
Aug. 28, 2009
Are three former Fannie Mae executives “economic advisers” to Obama?
No, claims made in a chain e-mail are false. Jim Johnson advised on
non-economic matters but quit after a week. Franklin Raines says he
took a “couple of calls” but was never an adviser. We find no evidence
Tim Howard ever had a connection to the Obama campaign.
Oct. 9, 2008
Will Muslim Americans be exempt from the mandate to have health
insurance?
The Muslim faith does not forbid purchasing health insurance, and no
Muslim group has ever been considered exempt under the definitions
used in the health care law.
May 20, 2010
Is President Obama giving away several Alaskan islands to Russia?
No. The U.S. has never claimed ownership of the islands identified in
viral emails and websites. They lie far closer to the coast of Siberia
than to Alaska.
March 27, 2012
Is President Obama responsible for Chinese companies building U.S.
bridges with stimulus money, as reported by ABC News?
No. A viral email distorts an ABC News report. California officials
hired a Chinese contractor and rejected federal money to avoid federal
“Buy American” laws.
Feb. 17, 2012
How much has the federal debt gone up under Obama?
During his first three years in office, it rose $4.7 trillion, an
increase of 45 percent. Partisan graphics circulating via email and
Facebook are both incorrect.
Feb. 2, 2012
Did Obama issue a policy that “no U.S. serviceman can speak at any
faith-based public event”?
This claim in a chain e-mail is false. Army officials say there has
been no change in policy regarding “faith-based” events. And the event
the e-mail refers to wasn’t a “faith-based” one.
June 10, 2009
Does Obama plan to deny emergency brain surgery for patients over 70?
No. A man claiming on a radio talk show to be a brain surgeon lied
about that, and about a meeting of two associations of neurological
surgeons, those associations say.
Jan. 5, 2012
Is it true that members of Congress, their staffers and their family
members do not have to pay back their student loans?
Not true. Some congressional employees are eligible to have up to
$60,000 of student loans repaid after several years — just like other
federal workers. But that’s not the case for members of Congress or
their families.
Jan. 6, 2011
Did Obama order the military to drop the words “on behalf of the
president of the United States” when presenting the flag to the next
of kin at funerals?
A chain email that makes that claim is wrong. Spokespersons for the
Defense Department and the armed forces say that no change was
ordered.
Oct. 10, 2011
Does George Soros own the company buying many firms that make guns and
ammunition?
No. Contrary to a fanciful claim made in a viral email, the Freedom
Group is not linked to the liberal billionaire. The National Rifle
Association says the real owners are “strong supporters” of gun
rights.
Oct. 21, 2011
Did President Obama have his dog, Bo, flown to Maine in his own
private jet for the family vacation?
No. The family and staff took two small jets because the airport
couldn’t accommodate the usual presidential plane. Bo flew with
several staffers.
Sept. 16, 2010
Is it true that nobody remembers Obama attending Columbia University?
At least one of his classmates remembers him well, and the university
proudly claims Obama.
Feb. 16, 2010
Was President Obama’s tour bus made in Canada?
The shell of the $1.1 million bus came from Canada, but it was
converted for the Secret Service by a company in Tennessee.
Aug. 25, 2011
Is a chart claiming to show the “top 20 raises” to White House
staffers accurate?
It’s misleading. The salary increases for 19 of the 21 employees
listed resulted from promotions. Average pay for White House staff
actually declined.
Aug. 4, 2011
What about the “Congressional Reform Act of 2011??
A viral e-mail calls for fixing some abuses and excesses that don’t
exist, repeating misinformed claims that we’ve addressed before.
March 18, 2011
Do statistics in a chain e-mail give an accurate “report card” of
President Obama’s first two years?
Not exactly. The author made many minor mistakes and some major
omissions in describing the terrible economic conditions he attributes
to the president.
Feb. 25, 2011
Does Illinois pay a grandmother $1,500 per month per child to be the
foster parent to her eight grandchildren?
No. State officials have no record of such a case, and state law
would not allow it. This second-hand story spread by a Danville
urologist isn’t true.
Dec. 10, 2010
Has President Obama canceled the May 6 National Day of Prayer?
No. This widely circulated falsehood echoes similar claims made last
year when the president issued a pro-prayer-day proclamation but
didn’t hold White House services as President Bush had done.
April 29, 2010
Was Michelle Obama’s brother’s job saved with money from the stimulus
act?
This chain email is a hoax. It makes a ridiculously false claim about
Craig Robinson, who is the head coach of Oregon State University’s
men’s basketball team and the first lady’s older brother.
March 22, 2010
Did Obama loan $2 billion to Brazil’s oil company to benefit China and
George Soros?
The president had nothing to do with the loan, which the
Export-Import Bank approved for Brazil to buy U.S.-made equipment and
services.
Sept. 18, 2009
Is the ACLU suing to have cross-shaped headstones removed from
military cemeteries?
The ACLU has filed no such suit, and it hasn’t sued to “end prayer
from the military” either.
July 5, 2009
Did Obama accuse veterans of “selfishness” and whining? Would he have
forced them to “pay for their war injuries”?
This chain e-mail contains fabricated quotes and misrepresents a
budget idea that the White House scrapped.
May 12, 2009
Has a “smoking gun” been found to prove Obama was not born a U.S.
citizen? Did he attend Occidental College on a scholarship for foreign
students?
This chain e-mail is a transparent April Fools’ Day hoax. It
fabricates an AP news story about an nonexistent group, and makes
false claims about Obama and the Fulbright program.
May 7, 2009
Is Congress about to give Social Security to illegal immigrants?
No. Congress hasn’t voted on any measure to pay benefits to illegal
immigrants, and has no plans for any such vote.
March 1, 2009
(This long-standing falsehood was bandied about back in 2006 and
again during the 2008 presidential election.)
Was Obama born in the U.S.A.?
Yes. We give you the truth about Obama’s birth certificate.
Aug. 21, 2008
Updated Nov. 1, 2008
Is there a connection between FactCheck.org and Barack Obama or Bill
Ayers?
None, aside from benefiting at different times from the charity of
the late publisher Walter Annenberg. We are a project of the Annenberg
Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania and get funding
from the Annenberg Foundation, created by Walter Annenberg in 1989.
Ayers was one of three Chicago educators who applied for a grant from
the Annenberg Foundation in 1995, which was one of 5,200 grants the
foundation made during its first 15 years. That $49 million grant,
plus additional funds raised locally, funded the Chicago Annenberg
Challenge, which sought to improve Chicago public schools. Obama was
selected by Chicago officials (not Ayers) to chair the board set up to
administer Annenberg Challenge funds, and he headed it until 1999.
FactCheck.org came into being in late 2003. For other details see our
Oct. 10, 2008, article about Obama and Ayers, which includes a
sidebar: “FactCheck.org and the ‘Annenberg Challenge.’ “
Just because you read it on somebody’s blog or in an email from a
friend or relative doesn’t mean it’s true. It’s probably not, as we
advised in our special report “Is this chain e-mail true?” back on
March 18, 2008. On this page we feature a list of the false or
misleading viral rumors we’re asked about most often, and a brief
summary of the facts. But click on the links to read the full
articles. There is a lot more detail in each answer.
Has President Barack Obama signed 900 executive orders, some of which
create martial law?
No. Obama’s executive orders do not create martial law. And so far he
has signed 139 executive orders — not 900.
Sept. 25, 2012
Did the government buy 79 percent of all vehicles sold by General
Motors in June?
No, that viral rumor is false. All fleet customers combined —
including rental car companies and state and local governments —
accounted for less than one-third of GM’s June sales.
Sept. 12, 2012
Are Obama’s early records “sealed”?
No. Many records that presidential candidates don’t ordinarily
release do remain confidential, but they are not “sealed” by a court.
The 16 claims in a widely distributed graphic are mostly false or
distorted.
July 31, 2012
Does the Obama administration intend to “force gun control and a
complete ban on all weapons for U.S. citizens” through a United
Nations treaty?
No. The administration plans to negotiate a treaty to regulate the
international export and import of weapons. It says that it won’t
support any treaty that regulates the domestic transfer or ownership
of weapons, or that infringes on the Second Amendment.
June 27, 2012
Did Barack and Michelle Obama “surrender” their law licenses to avoid
ethics charges?
No. A court official confirms that no public disciplinary proceeding
has ever been brought against either of them, contrary to a false
Internet rumor. By voluntarily inactivating their licenses, they avoid
a requirement to take continuing education classes and pay hundreds of
dollars in annual fees. Both could practice law again if they chose to
do so.
June 14, 2012
Is General Motors becoming ‘China Motors’ using taxpayer dollars?
No. The restructured GM is still based in Detroit and is still
one-third owned by the U.S. government. But it sells nearly as many
cars in China as in the U.S. and has continued expanding operations
there.
June 8, 2012
Did President Obama secretly sign a law that makes it a crime to
protest against him or ask him a question he doesn’t like?
No. He openly announced the signing of a bill overwhelmingly passed
by Congress that slightly revises a 1971 law against trespassing into
areas under Secret Service protection.
May 7, 2012
Is the National Association of Realtors lobbying to repeal a 3.8
percent “sales tax” on homes before it takes effect in 2013?
No. There’s no such “sales tax” in the new health care law. And
Medicare premiums aren’t going to $247 either. But these virulent
falsehoods keep going around.
April 30, 2012
Is “Obama’s finance team” recommending a 1 percent tax on all bank
transactions, as a chain e-mail claims?
No. This idea was first floated in 2004 by one House member, who says
it would replace the federal income tax and eliminate the national
debt. So far it has gone nowhere.
Sept. 8, 2010; Updated: June 5, 2012
Is there any truth in the e-mail claiming to give “a few highlights
from the first 500 pages of the Healthcare bill”?
Barely. We examined all 48 claims, finding 26 of them to be false and
18 to be misleading, only partly true or half true. Only four are
accurate.
Aug. 28, 2009
Are three former Fannie Mae executives “economic advisers” to Obama?
No, claims made in a chain e-mail are false. Jim Johnson advised on
non-economic matters but quit after a week. Franklin Raines says he
took a “couple of calls” but was never an adviser. We find no evidence
Tim Howard ever had a connection to the Obama campaign.
Oct. 9, 2008
Will Muslim Americans be exempt from the mandate to have health
insurance?
The Muslim faith does not forbid purchasing health insurance, and no
Muslim group has ever been considered exempt under the definitions
used in the health care law.
May 20, 2010
Is President Obama giving away several Alaskan islands to Russia?
No. The U.S. has never claimed ownership of the islands identified in
viral emails and websites. They lie far closer to the coast of Siberia
than to Alaska.
March 27, 2012
Is President Obama responsible for Chinese companies building U.S.
bridges with stimulus money, as reported by ABC News?
No. A viral email distorts an ABC News report. California officials
hired a Chinese contractor and rejected federal money to avoid federal
“Buy American” laws.
Feb. 17, 2012
How much has the federal debt gone up under Obama?
During his first three years in office, it rose $4.7 trillion, an
increase of 45 percent. Partisan graphics circulating via email and
Facebook are both incorrect.
Feb. 2, 2012
Did Obama issue a policy that “no U.S. serviceman can speak at any
faith-based public event”?
This claim in a chain e-mail is false. Army officials say there has
been no change in policy regarding “faith-based” events. And the event
the e-mail refers to wasn’t a “faith-based” one.
June 10, 2009
Does Obama plan to deny emergency brain surgery for patients over 70?
No. A man claiming on a radio talk show to be a brain surgeon lied
about that, and about a meeting of two associations of neurological
surgeons, those associations say.
Jan. 5, 2012
Is it true that members of Congress, their staffers and their family
members do not have to pay back their student loans?
Not true. Some congressional employees are eligible to have up to
$60,000 of student loans repaid after several years — just like other
federal workers. But that’s not the case for members of Congress or
their families.
Jan. 6, 2011
Did Obama order the military to drop the words “on behalf of the
president of the United States” when presenting the flag to the next
of kin at funerals?
A chain email that makes that claim is wrong. Spokespersons for the
Defense Department and the armed forces say that no change was
ordered.
Oct. 10, 2011
Does George Soros own the company buying many firms that make guns and
ammunition?
No. Contrary to a fanciful claim made in a viral email, the Freedom
Group is not linked to the liberal billionaire. The National Rifle
Association says the real owners are “strong supporters” of gun
rights.
Oct. 21, 2011
Did President Obama have his dog, Bo, flown to Maine in his own
private jet for the family vacation?
No. The family and staff took two small jets because the airport
couldn’t accommodate the usual presidential plane. Bo flew with
several staffers.
Sept. 16, 2010
Is it true that nobody remembers Obama attending Columbia University?
At least one of his classmates remembers him well, and the university
proudly claims Obama.
Feb. 16, 2010
Was President Obama’s tour bus made in Canada?
The shell of the $1.1 million bus came from Canada, but it was
converted for the Secret Service by a company in Tennessee.
Aug. 25, 2011
Is a chart claiming to show the “top 20 raises” to White House
staffers accurate?
It’s misleading. The salary increases for 19 of the 21 employees
listed resulted from promotions. Average pay for White House staff
actually declined.
Aug. 4, 2011
What about the “Congressional Reform Act of 2011??
A viral e-mail calls for fixing some abuses and excesses that don’t
exist, repeating misinformed claims that we’ve addressed before.
March 18, 2011
Do statistics in a chain e-mail give an accurate “report card” of
President Obama’s first two years?
Not exactly. The author made many minor mistakes and some major
omissions in describing the terrible economic conditions he attributes
to the president.
Feb. 25, 2011
Does Illinois pay a grandmother $1,500 per month per child to be the
foster parent to her eight grandchildren?
No. State officials have no record of such a case, and state law
would not allow it. This second-hand story spread by a Danville
urologist isn’t true.
Dec. 10, 2010
Has President Obama canceled the May 6 National Day of Prayer?
No. This widely circulated falsehood echoes similar claims made last
year when the president issued a pro-prayer-day proclamation but
didn’t hold White House services as President Bush had done.
April 29, 2010
Was Michelle Obama’s brother’s job saved with money from the stimulus
act?
This chain email is a hoax. It makes a ridiculously false claim about
Craig Robinson, who is the head coach of Oregon State University’s
men’s basketball team and the first lady’s older brother.
March 22, 2010
Did Obama loan $2 billion to Brazil’s oil company to benefit China and
George Soros?
The president had nothing to do with the loan, which the
Export-Import Bank approved for Brazil to buy U.S.-made equipment and
services.
Sept. 18, 2009
Is the ACLU suing to have cross-shaped headstones removed from
military cemeteries?
The ACLU has filed no such suit, and it hasn’t sued to “end prayer
from the military” either.
July 5, 2009
Did Obama accuse veterans of “selfishness” and whining? Would he have
forced them to “pay for their war injuries”?
This chain e-mail contains fabricated quotes and misrepresents a
budget idea that the White House scrapped.
May 12, 2009
Has a “smoking gun” been found to prove Obama was not born a U.S.
citizen? Did he attend Occidental College on a scholarship for foreign
students?
This chain e-mail is a transparent April Fools’ Day hoax. It
fabricates an AP news story about an nonexistent group, and makes
false claims about Obama and the Fulbright program.
May 7, 2009
Is Congress about to give Social Security to illegal immigrants?
No. Congress hasn’t voted on any measure to pay benefits to illegal
immigrants, and has no plans for any such vote.
March 1, 2009
(This long-standing falsehood was bandied about back in 2006 and
again during the 2008 presidential election.)
Was Obama born in the U.S.A.?
Yes. We give you the truth about Obama’s birth certificate.
Aug. 21, 2008
Updated Nov. 1, 2008
Is there a connection between FactCheck.org and Barack Obama or Bill
Ayers?
None, aside from benefiting at different times from the charity of
the late publisher Walter Annenberg. We are a project of the Annenberg
Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania and get funding
from the Annenberg Foundation, created by Walter Annenberg in 1989.
Ayers was one of three Chicago educators who applied for a grant from
the Annenberg Foundation in 1995, which was one of 5,200 grants the
foundation made during its first 15 years. That $49 million grant,
plus additional funds raised locally, funded the Chicago Annenberg
Challenge, which sought to improve Chicago public schools. Obama was
selected by Chicago officials (not Ayers) to chair the board set up to
administer Annenberg Challenge funds, and he headed it until 1999.
FactCheck.org came into being in late 2003. For other details see our
Oct. 10, 2008, article about Obama and Ayers, which includes a
sidebar: “FactCheck.org and the ‘Annenberg Challenge.’ “
Mark Hill
Oct 25, 2012, 6:17:18 PM10/25/12
to
On 10/25/2012 3:23 PM, m...@facts.only.now wrote:
> Has President Barack Obama signed 900 executive orders, some of which
> create martial law?
Well sure he has, but what's worse was him going to sleep while our
> Has President Barack Obama signed 900 executive orders, some of which
> create martial law?
Embassy burned, then jetting off to Las Vegas the next day after blaming
it all on a youtube video:
While the Obama White House *ignored the frantic emails* from our Libyan
Embassy WHILE THEY WERE UNDER ATTACK, things were getting bad, very,
very bad...
http://www.examiner.com/article/lebanese-report-us-ambassador-raped-before-murdered
The Lebanese news organization Tayyar.org is reporting that the murdered
American ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, was raped prior to
his killing September 11, 2012.
Tayyar.com also reported via Google translation from the original
Arabic, Ambassador Stevens:
“
"...was killed and representation of his body in a manner similar to
what happened with Gaddafi, such as murder."
According to the BBC, when the former Libyan strongman Colonel Moammar
Gaddafi was initially captured:
“
"Still images from an analysis of amateur video footage taken in the
moments after Col Gaddafi's capture appear to show him being sodomised
with a pole or knife."
The Washington Times has posted a video clip (left) reportedly
originating from the Libyan Free Press confirming the sodomization of
Ambassador Stevens prior to his murder.
As translated by The Washington Times, the Libyan reporter stated:
“
"Libya - USA Ambassador in Bengazi sodomized and killed by his own
al-Qaeda puppets."
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1922193626001/was-there-a-live-feed-of-the-terrorist-attack-in-benghazi-/
Was there a live feed of the terrorist attack in Benghazi?
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/24/uk-usa-benghazi-emails-idUKBRE89N02E20121024
Emails: White House told of militant claim two hours after Libya attack
(Reuters) - Officials at the White House and State Department were
advised two hours after attackers assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission
in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11 that an Islamic militant group had
claimed credit for the attack, official emails show.
The emails, obtained by Reuters from government sources not connected
with U.S. spy agencies or the State Department and who requested
anonymity, specifically mention that the Libyan group called Ansar
al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks.
The brief emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, even
as it was still under way, to Washington.
U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were
killed in the Benghazi assault, which President Barack Obama and other
U.S. officials ultimately acknowledged was a "terrorist" attack carried
out by militants with suspected links to al Qaeda affiliates or
sympathizers.
Administration spokesmen, including White House spokesman Jay Carney,
citing an unclassified assessment prepared by the CIA, maintained for
days that the attacks likely were a spontaneous protest against an
anti-Muslim film.
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