Your weekly fact-checks
Our last newsletter of 2023 - WTF?! What The Fact - Edition
Let's finish the year with a glimpse at all the (literally) unbelievable claims which usually get filtered in this newsletter.
#Trump
Snopes
True: Donald Trump said that Jeffrey Epstein was a "terrific guy," and added, "It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."
This was a genuine quote from Trump, just over 14 years before he claimed victory in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
AFP
False: Donald Trump said that lemonade is killing people under Joe Biden
The captions are fabricated and appear to have originated with a comedy writer; the former president made no such comments.
PolitiFact
False: “They want to make our Army tanks all electric.”
The U.S. Army released a 2022 climate strategy document that says that "fully electric tactical vehicles are still years into the future.
#Other
PolitiFact
False: Video is evidence that Hillary Clinton is a reptile.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is a human, not a reptile.
Full Fact
False: People who think they are having a heart attack should cough repeatedly and very strongly.
This is incorrect advice. People who think they are having a heart attack should call an ambulance immediately. ‘Cough CPR’ is a longstanding myth that might make someone’s condition worse.
Full Fact
False: A "chemtrail" can be identified by the length of the white line left behind an aircraft, and how long it remains in the sky.
The size and duration of contrails—the white lines often seen trailing behind aircraft—differs depending on atmospheric factors, such as humidity.