Your weekly fact-checks
#Politics
True: “Joe Biden was older on his first day as president than Ronald Reagan was on his last day.”
This is correct: Biden was two months older than 78 when he took office, which was about 10 weeks older than Reagan was on his final day as president. (Source: PolitiFact)
Misleading: Biden "In my first two years in office I’ve lowered the deficit by a record $1.7 trillion."
Biden gets his $1.7 trillion figure by comparing the deficit in fiscal year 2020 ($3.132 trillion) with the deficit in fiscal year 2022 ($1.375 trillion). The Congressional Budget Office in February 2021 already estimated the budget deficit would fall dramatically in fiscal 2021 and 2022 because emergency pandemic spending would lapse. (Source: The Washington Post)
Half-True: There is “$500 billion of unspent COVID money” that can be rescinded.
Government estimates show that more than $400 billion in COVID-19 relief money remained unspent as of Jan. 31. But government sources say a majority of that money has been allocated, meaning it’s earmarked to be spent and wouldn’t be eligible for rescission. Estimates about how much remains unspent and unallocated range from $70 billion to $90.5 billion. (Source: PolitiFact)
#Health
Lacks_Context: In a vegan world there would be no pandemics. 100% of pandemics are zoonotic in origin
If the entire population went vegan, that would remove one of the routes by which pathogenic viruses can jump into human populations. However, because there are a number of transmission routes, eliminating the consumption of animals will not fully eliminate pandemics. (Source: Science Feedback)
Barely-True: "Oil pulling” improves overall oral health, strengthens gums, helps prevent cavities, whitens teeth and reduces plaque.
Oil pulling is not recommended by the American Dental Association for improved oral health.Some studies have suggested the practice might have benefits, but experts say more research is needed. The most proven way to improve oral health, strengthen gums, prevent cavities, whiten teeth and reduce dental plaque, experts say, is to brush and floss regularly. (Source: PolitiFact)
Half-True: “Individuals released from incarceration are 129 times more likely to die of a drug overdose during the first two weeks after release.”
One study did find the cited ratio, but that research has limitations, especially the age of its data, which is more than two decades old. A more recent study found ratios that were lower: from 40 to 74 times higher. Regardless of the precise ratio, both studies show a significantly elevated risk of drug overdose for people recently released from incarceration. (Source: PolitiFact)
#Nordics
Falsk: Ny tendens: Facebook hackere overtager profiler og sender ondsindede beskeder fra dem
Den skræmmende tekst er slet ikke ny. Advarslen er de seneste mange år løbet som en steppebrand mange gange på det sociale medie i både ind- og udland - og har mange år på bagen (Source: Tjekdet)
Ikke Dokumenteret: Danmark er det OECD-land med den højeste selvmordsrate blandt indlagte med psykisk sygdome
I en rapport fra OECD topper Danmark ganske rigtigt en statistik over selvmordsraten under indlæggelse, men statistikken omfatter kun 19 af 38 OECD-lande, er præget af betydelige statistiske usikkerheder, og så er sammenligningsgrundlaget tvivlsomt. (Source: Tjekdet)
#Other
True: Stephen Hawking warned that artificial intelligence could mean the "end of the human race."
Hawking, who died in 2018, had indeed said so in an interview with the BBC in 2014. "Once humans develop artificial intelligence, it would take off on its own and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate." (Source: Snopes)
True: First Republic Bank was closed and sold to JPMorgan Chase on May 1, 2023, making it the second-largest U.S. bank failure in history
First Republic Bank became the second-largest failure in US bank history based on assets held at the time of its collapse, as reported by The Associated Press, The New York Times and Bloomberg, with Washington Mutual being the biggest. (Source: Snopes)
False: Northern Ireland has the highest levels of child poverty in the UK.
Poverty has no standard definition or agreed measurement, comparisons of poverty should bear this in mind. The evidence indicates that, compared with other parts of the UK, Northern Ireland's rate of child poverty is quite low. (Source: FactCheckNI)
Satire: Florida’s DeSantis ordered National Guard to block Disney entrances
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis did not order the U.S. National Guard to block all entrances to Disney World, contrary to claims circulating online that stem from a satirical website. (Source: Reuters)
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