A year after the Capitol riot, former President Donald Trump promoted a misleading and unproven claim about Georgia’s 2020 election.
Author: McKenzie Sadeghi, USA TODAY
Fact check roundup: Debunking false narratives about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
In the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, USA TODAY fact-checked a wide array of conspiracy theories and false narratives. Here’s a look.
Fact check: Workers fired for refusing a vaccine are unlikely to qualify for unemployment
Employment experts say workers who are fired for refusing a vaccine are generally ineligible for unemployment benefits, but there are some exceptions.
Fact check: Photo of Olivia Rodrigo at White House press briefing altered to add President Joe Biden
The manipulated image online uses a 2015 photo of Biden at the swearing-in ceremony of then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon.
Fact check: Viral image of plastic bags filled with gas is from 2019
An image claiming to show gas-filled plastic bags amid the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline was actually taken in 2019 in Mexico.
Fact check: Posts on days without police killings in 2021 are true
Posts using data from Mapping Police Violence to claim there were only three days in 2021 where police officers didn’t kill someone are true.
Fact check: George Floyd’s death ruled a homicide, not fentanyl overdose
Autopsies concluded George Floyd’s death was a homicide. Levels of fentanyl were present in Floyd’s system, but not enough to be considered fatal.
Fact check: Flipped photo falsely claims Biden has a body double and is left-handed
A viral photo of Joe Biden has been digitally flipped to make him look left-handed, and to make the false claim that he has a body double.
Fact check: Rush Limbaugh deactivated his Twitter account; he wasn’t suspended
Social media posts falsely claim Rush Limbaugh was suspended from Twitter. The conservative radio host deactivated the account himself.
Fact check: Viral images compare handling of Black Lives Matter protests and Capitol riot
Posts on social media use images to compare law enforcement’s treatment of Black Lives Matter protests with the Capitol breach.