Your weekly fact-checks
#Health
True: A year after fall of Roe, 25 million women live in states with abortion bans or tighter restrictions
Most Republican-led states have restricted abortion. Fourteen ban abortion in most cases at any point in pregnancy. Twenty Democratic-leaning states have protected access to abortion. (Source: AP News)
Mostly True: You can pay for a bus ticket in Romania by doing 20 squats.
A so-called "health ticket" was introduced that allowed individuals to use public transportation for free by completing 20 squats. However, the organizers only implemented it in one city for a limited time. (Source: Snopes)
Missing context: Almost 100,000 extra people have died of heart attacks and strokes in England because NHS care standards have collapsed since the pandemic.
Almost 100.000 more people than expected died with cardiovascular disease in England, between the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 and late May 2023. However, this doesn’t mean that these extra deaths were exclusively caused by poor NHS care standards. (Source: Full Fact)
#OceanGate
False: The Titan submersible was discovered empty
False: The Titan submersible was found with all five passengers alive.
False: The five people aboard the Titan submersible “have been found dead.”
Wreckage of the submersible has been found.
#Politics
True: In a 2006 TV interview, then-U.S. Sen. Joe Biden described marriage as being "between a man and a woman."
Correct Attribution. However in 2012, Biden changed his position and he signed the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, which gave federal recognition to same-sex and interracial marriages. (Source: Snopes)
False: Boris Johnson will receive a £115,000-a-year pension for life.
Former prime ministers can claim a maximum of £115,000 a year for expenses incurred while fulfilling public duties associated with being a former prime minister. It’s not correct to describe this as a pension. (Source: Full Fact)
#Other
True: A Mickey Mouse gas mask was produced during World War II.
A Mickey Mouse gas mask was produced during World War II. Walt Disney designed the masks. About 1,000 Mickey Mouse respirators were eventually produced, but the civilian gas mask — for children or adults — was not really a notable presence on the home front. (Source: Snopes)
Satire: Google Maps is adding a feature that allows drivers to challenge each other to a race.
A mockup of the feature was posted on Twitter but the account is dedicated primarily to satirical UI designs. (Source: Snopes)
#WTF?! What The Fact?! of the week
False: Man Sues McDonalds For Still Being Depressed After Eating Happy Meal
This claim is from a website that has a disclaimer saying all of its content is "fiction ... and shouldn't be taken as real." (Source: Lead Stories)
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