Your weekly fact-checks
#TrumpCheck
FactCheck.org
False: "Well, you saw what happened, they caught thousands of votes in New Jersey where illegal aliens were allowed to vote."
Trump claimed that "tremendous numbers" of illegal aliens were found voting illegally in New Jersey, and later cited a DHS figure of 35,152 noncitizens registered to vote in the state (part of a wider claim of roughly 278,000 nationwide). In reality, New Jersey officials identified 6,600 noncitizens erroneously registered due to a software error, with only about 400 having actually voted, a number too small to have affected any election outcome, and experts say Trump's higher DHS-derived figures lack credible supporting methodology.
FactCheck.org
False: The MMR vaccine could be "quite lethal".
Trump claimed the combined MMR vaccine could be "quite lethal" when given together, suggesting a 5% risk, and argued that splitting it into three separate shots would be safer and reduce autism. In reality, deaths from the MMR vaccine are exceedingly rare and essentially confined to severely immunocompromised children; there's no published evidence that separating the shots reduces risk or autism rates, and a 5% death rate would be so high it would have been immediately obvious in decades of safety data on the vaccine.
Snopes
True: U.S. President Donald Trump said, "You know, grass is like human beings. Grass has a life also."
In August 2025, Trump made one of his first — if not the first — public remarks of this kind, specifically using the word "lifetime." He said, "You know, grass has a lifetime like people have a lifetime. And a lifetime of this grass has long been gone when you look at the parks where the grass is old, tired, exhausted."
#Politics
Agence France-Presse - AFP
False: Michigan has more registered voters than voting-age eligible citizens.
Michigan's term-limited Governor Gretchen Whitmer is not on the ballot in 2026, but long-debunked misinformation claiming there were more registered voters than voting-age eligible citizens when the Democrat was reelected in 2022 recirculated ahead of the state's primary. In fact, active registrations in 2022 were well below the eligible voting population, and an expert said election officials rigorously check for records that should be removed.
WebQoof - The Quint
False: Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina said she would finish radical Muslim terrorists and turn Bangladesh into a single province with PM Modi's help.
The video being quoted is from an AI-generated audio clip being shared to falsely claim that she spoke about taking action against radical Muslim terrorists in Bangladesh and uniting the country with PM Modi's help.
Snopes
Mostly True: U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted against or blocked measures mandating employees receive sick leave in 1993, 2015, 2020 and 2022.
McConnell voted against a range of sick leave measures over the four years, with one exception: on March 18, 2020, he voted for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, an emergency pandemic bill mandating paid sick time through the end of 2020. Earlier that day, though, he voted against an amendment that would have strengthened the bill and extended benefits through 2021, and as Senate majority leader he later blocked efforts to extend the paid sick leave mandate past Dec. 31, 2020.
#Healthcare
Thip Media
False: NIV Developed a Chandipura Virus Vaccine in 2005.
The claim that NIV had already developed a Chandipura virus vaccine by 2005 is false; NIV's 2005 work focused on virus genetics, transmission and growth methods, not vaccine development. NIV reported an experimental inactivated vaccine candidate tested in mice only in 2011, and no licensed human vaccine exists even now.
#Economy
Agence France-Presse - AFP
False: Spain has announced it will replace the USD with Chinese yuan.
After US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off trade relations with Spain following a tense meeting with NATO leaders in early July, social media posts falsely claimed that Madrid had announced plans to replace its use of US dollars with the Chinese yuan. But Spanish authorities have denied issuing any such directive and annual reports from the Bank of Spain indicate that the country continues to hold assets in US dollars.
Snopes
Mostly True: As of spring 2026, the U.S. Government is spending $5 million in taxpayer money to cover horse statues in Washington, D.C., in gold.
Trump's administration awarded a $5 million contract, paid for with government funds, for the "full conservation and regilding" of four "equestrian bronze sculptures" in Washington, D.C., which will include applying 23.75-karat gold leaf onto the horses. However, it's unclear how much of the $5 million would specifically go to the application of gold leaf, as the work includes conservation cleaning and repair. However, given the high cost of gold, it's likely that a substantial chunk of the funds will be spent on gold leaf and its application.
#Conflict
Lead Stories
False: Video shows Iranian jets being shot down over Tel Aviv by a laser system.
There is no credible evidence that such an incident ever took place. An AI detection tool concluded that the video was very likely AI-generated, assigning it a 99.1% confidence score, and the video contains visual inconsistencies commonly associated with AI-generated content.
Misbar
False: Iran destroying a parked U.S. B-2 stealth bomber at an American air base in Saudi Arabia.
A viral video claiming to show Iran destroying a U.S. B-2 stealth bomber at a Saudi air base is misleading, actually depicting Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi-controlled Hodeidah Port from July 2024. The strikes were retaliation for a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv, and no credible reports support any Iranian attack on a U.S. bomber in Saudi Arabia; the false claim is circulating amid ongoing but unresolved US-Iran negotiations mediated by Oman.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Snopes
True: NRATV digitally added Ku Klux Klan hoods to Thomas the Tank Engine characters during a segment.
In September 2018, NRATV host Dana Loesch's show "Relentless" digitally added Ku Klux Klan hoods and burning tracks to Thomas the Tank Engine trains as a satirical punchline mocking the show's introduction of new female and international characters. Loesch's segment also omitted that female characters had long existed on the show and failed to mention the initiative was a UN-Mattel collaboration promoting diversity goals. This prompted Mattel to publicly disavow the imagery, calling it inconsistent with its values.
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