Questions tagged [united-states]
Use this tag for questions about claims based in the United States, or limited to the United States.
1,381
questions
77
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Did Donald Trump exclude Muslim countries in which he does business from the recent entry ban?
This image states that:
Trump is poised to sign an Executive Order banning entry to the United States from These 7 Muslim contries:
Iran, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia
Conspicious in ...
77
votes
4answers
22k views
Does the US Armed Forces refuse to recruit anyone with an IQ less than 83?
In this video, Jordan Peterson claims the following.
You can't induct someone into the Armed Forces in the US if they have an IQ of less than 83.
He claims that the armed forces needs an accurate ...
76
votes
6answers
14k views
Has the US COVID-19 lockdown resulted in more years of life lost than COVID-19 itself?
Published in The Hill on May 25, 2020, an opinion piece by Scott W. Atlas, John R. Birge, Ralph L. Keeney, and Alexander Lipton claims that as of the time of writing, in the United States, COVID-19 ...
76
votes
3answers
21k views
Is this pie graph describing US government spending accurate?
This graphic is doing the circuit on Facebook. Is the pie chart an accurate depiction of US government spending?
Look closely at this chart of federal spending.
Military 57%
Education 6%
...
76
votes
1answer
19k views
Does the Wall Street Journal change headlines based on location?
I found saw a recent image going around on Facebook:
https://m.facebook.com/thebenfergusonshow/photos/a.10150670938916638.382006.95356211637/10154308573296638/?type=3&source=48
The picture shows ...
76
votes
1answer
22k views
Did a thief think he could conceal his identity from security cameras by putting lemon juice on his face?
McArthur Wheeler, a man who robbed two banks after covering his face with lemon juice in the mistaken belief that, because lemon juice is usable as invisible ink, it would prevent his face from being ...
75
votes
2answers
24k views
Did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweet that businesses should stay closed until the November elections?
A friend of mine just forwarded me a screenshot of the following May 20, 2020 (now-deleted) tweet purportedly from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose nickname and Twitter handle is AOC.
It's vital that ...
75
votes
2answers
17k views
Did Trump order tear gas to be used on protesters to clear a pathway to a church for a photoshot?
There are dozens of articles out there like this one which states that Trump ordered the use of tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters so he could do a photoshoot. However I recently read that ...
75
votes
3answers
13k views
Have any financial traders gotten a large shipment of a commodity sent to themselves by mistake?
Certain oil futures contracts went negative in April 2020 over the difficulty of storing crude oil. With this came a resurgence of stories of hapless traders receiving the actual commodities that were ...
74
votes
4answers
17k views
Are thousands of Islamic terrorists entering the United States?
In an interview with an Ohio television station, the 2016 Republican nominee for President said:
when you have radical Islamic terrorists probably all over the place, we’re allowing them to come in ...
74
votes
2answers
24k views
Does Shell get $2 billion a year in subsidies from the US government?
While browsing reddit, I saw the following graphic from the Late Stage Capitalism subreddit:
(Two stick figures are shown, the second one with Shell's logo for a head)
This is Bob.
Bob gets $...
73
votes
4answers
33k views
Is there a death penalty if you jump off a building (and don't die) in New York?
According to dumblaws.com, in New York (City? State? or both?):
The penalty for jumping off a building is death.
It is the second most-voted weird law in NY in ranker.com also:
If Jumping Off ...
73
votes
1answer
10k views
Did the maps for services such as Snapchat, CitiBike and StreetEasy label New York City as “Jewtropolis” for a brief amount of time?
While checking my Twitter feed this morning (August 30, 2018) I came across this tweet that claimed that services like Snapchat, CitiBike and StreetEasy renamed New York City as “Jewtropolis.” ...
73
votes
3answers
13k views
Is any male over 15 years of age considered a combatant if killed by a drone strike?
In the essay "We have always fought" by Kameron Hurley, she makes the following claim:
We don’t kill “fifteen year old boys” but “enemy combatants” (yes, every boy 15 and over killed in drone ...
72
votes
1answer
15k views
In Massachusetts, can someone be “arrested and fined up to fifty-thousand dollars” for reporting suspicious behavior in a women's bathroom?
A Massachusetts political advertisement No On 3, Keep MA Safe says:
What does Massachusetts Question 3 mean to you? It means any man who says he is a woman can enter a women's locker room, dressing ...
72
votes
2answers
16k views
Does Melania Trump's security cost double the National Endowment for the Arts' budget?
This viral post was found at The Resistance with 16,000 shares in less 12 hours. It's from @chapmanchapman who seems to be commenting on Trump cutting the National Endowment for the Arts.
The est. ...
72
votes
1answer
15k views
Is it “perfectly legal” to walk topless in New York City?
A travel advertisement aired on the radio in Italy states that it is "perfectly legal" to be topless in New York City; is this true?
The ad doesn't say anything else useful to the question.
71
votes
4answers
12k views
Did COVID-19 take the lives of 3,100 Americans in a single day, making it the third deadliest day in American history?
This image is doing the rounds on Facebook:
The image reads:
Yes, people die everyday. Yes we know it's not you because you are reading this.
Cancer takes approx. 1,600 Americans a day.
Heart ...
71
votes
4answers
11k views
Did thousands of women die every year due to illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade?
Dr. Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood, has repeatedly said that thousands of women died every year as a result of abortions prior to Roe v. Wade:
We face a real situation where Roe could be ...
71
votes
1answer
17k views
Did a computer error lead to 6,000 votes switching from Joe Biden to President Trump?
thegatewaypundit writes:
A so-called computer ‘glitch’ fix in one of Michigan’s counties has
led to 6,000 votes switching from Joe Biden to President Trump. The
Head of the Republican Party has ...
71
votes
1answer
17k views
Was George H. W. Bush the “youngest pilot in the US Navy”?
According to this Miller Center,
Bush enlisted in the Navy on his 18th birthday and became notable as the youngest pilot to earn his wings in World War II.
And, again, on The Independent,
he ...
70
votes
2answers
14k views
Did Martin Gugino, 75, who was injured at the Buffalo, NY protest, provoke the police?
Today on Twitter, Trump has made a claim that a 75-year old man previously filmed being pushed and falling to the pavement by police might be an ANTIFA provocateur.
Buffalo protester shoved by ...
70
votes
2answers
17k views
Did Muslims celebrate the attack on 9/11 in New Jersey in 2001?
Donald Trump claimed this in November 2015:
"I
watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of
people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of
people ...
70
votes
1answer
18k views
Are there 300,000 items in the average American household, and 10,000 items in the average European household?
There is a trope that can be found in many articles discussing topics such as consumerism or minimalism: the average number of items that can be found in an average household. The number that is ...
69
votes
2answers
17k views
Does a COVID-19 test in USA cost consumers more than $US3000?
Yesterday a famous Italian singer, Vasco Rossi, posted on Instagram saying that confirmed COVID-19 cases in USA are low because very few people are checked due to the test costing $3,200. (In Italy, ...
69
votes
2answers
13k views
Is the infant mortality rate among African-American babies in Youngstown, Ohio greater than that of babies in Iran?
In a town hall meeting on June 2, 2019 with Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH), the candidate stated the following (emphasis mine)
Now, a lot of people don't know, but Youngstown, Ohio is 50 percent ...
69
votes
2answers
14k views
Were World War II scrap drives in the United States truly necessary for the procurement of raw materials?
I’ve been reading up on World War II scrap drive efforts in the United States, and am wondering if these (mostly) community-based efforts actually contributed enough raw materials to the war effort ...
69
votes
2answers
12k views
Did 122 Guantanamo prisoners released by Obama return to the battlefield?
A recent tweet by Donald Trump says:
122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!
According to a ...
69
votes
1answer
13k views
Are black Americans responsible for more than 50% of homicides?
I have read comments and articles (an example) that claim that African-Americans are responsible for more than 50% of all homicides in the United States of America.
How credible is this claim?
68
votes
2answers
24k views
Did Bernie Sanders say that a woman cannot be president?
During the January 2020 Democratic debate at 43:27 the moderator asked Bernie why he said that a woman cannot win an election https://youtu.be/Ppm_mqo9Tyc?t=2607 . Bernie responds by denying that he ...
68
votes
2answers
18k views
Did millions of illegal immigrants vote in the 2016 USA election? [duplicate]
According to president elect Donald Trump, millions of people voted illegally:
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of ...
67
votes
2answers
14k views
Are one-third of Americans 'killed by strangers' killed by police?
According to Granta - Violence in Blue,
One-third of all Americans killed by strangers are killed by police.
Is this true?
67
votes
6answers
7k views
Did the National Rifle Association (NRA) block research into statistics related to gun control?
About 30,000 Americans die every year from gun-related deaths (a number likely to exceed those dying from automobile-related accidents very soon if trends continue). About 1 in 3 of those are ...
67
votes
1answer
14k views
Did Trump's inauguration cake copy the design of Obama's 2013 inauguration cake?
We have now learned that Trump continued to offer up
Apprentice-season-four-quality optics at the “Salute to Our Troops”
inaugural ball, where he served guests a spectacular nine-tiered cake
made ...
66
votes
4answers
8k views
Was there a Bowling Green Massacre in 2011? [closed]
A number of news outlets are publishing claims by Kellyanne Conway that the Obama administration put a moratorium on refugee admissions following a "Bowling Green massacre" in 2011.
However, I can'...
66
votes
1answer
25k views
Did a raid by a SWAT team from Joe Arpaio's office end with a house on fire and deputies laughing as a dog burned in it?
I've seen references to the article Dog Day Afternoon (Phoenix New Times, August 2004) in a few places around the internet. It tells a story of:
An incompetent SWAT team under Arpaio's jurisdiction (...
66
votes
2answers
14k views
Did Ohio pass a law granting students the right to give scientifically wrong answers consistent with their religious beliefs?
The Patheos blog and WKRC local12 report:
The Ohio House on Wednesday passed the "Student Religious Liberties Act." Under the law, students can't be penalized if their work is scientifically wrong ...
66
votes
4answers
29k views
Do 33% of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives?
I've seen this statistic reported on several sites (for example, Those Who Don't Build Must Burn and Want To Do Meaningful Work? Keep Reading. Literally), along with a list of other startling numbers.
...
65
votes
4answers
12k views
Do airlines in North America make around $10 profit per customer?
A quick google search returns several articles such as this one claiming that airlines make less than $10 in profit from each customer.
I feel there are a few reasons to doubt this premise:
You can ...
65
votes
1answer
15k views
If smoking causes lung cancer, why has a decline in smoking not led to a decline in lung cancer?
According to the CDC, smoking prevalence among US adults (18+) has decreased quite a bit over the years:
1974: 37.1% of the population
1980: 33.2
1990: 25.5
2000: 23.3
2010: 19.3
According to cancer....
65
votes
2answers
15k views
Are Democrats more likely to believe Astrology is a science?
In an answer on politics.SE, a Northwestern University study was highlighted, whose main findings included:
more Democrats than Republicans think astrology is scientific
Using Fisher’s Exact Test, ...
65
votes
2answers
18k views
Did Fox News win a court case for the right to lie?
Project Censored have an 2010 article titled The Media Can Legally Lie:
In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against ...
65
votes
1answer
22k views
Did Donald Trump say republicans are the dumbest voters in the country?
I saw this image going around Twitter lately:
If I were to run, I'd run as a republican. They're the dumbest group of voters in the country. They love anything on FOX News. I could lie and ...
64
votes
5answers
18k views
Has BLM raised over 1 billion dollars but not yet performed any neighborhood cleanup, school funding, food aid or housing services?
This Twitter post by James Woods claims that the Black Lives Matter movement has raised over 1 billion dollars but has not yet performed any neighborhood cleanup, college funding, student economic ...
64
votes
3answers
28k views
Did Donald Trump “[imitate] a disabled reporter”?
During her speech at the Golden Globes, Meryl Streep said the following:
But there was one performance this year that stunned me. It, it sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good. It was -...
64
votes
2answers
22k views
Did Susan B. Anthony make these statements regarding suffrage for women and former slaves?
Telesur posted an article on 8 November 2016 which claims Susan B. Anthony made a number of statements under the headline "White Women Pay Tribute to Susan B. Anthony, Notorious Racist":
...
64
votes
4answers
9k views
How accurate are these nine charts of the economy under the Obama Administration?
I've seen the image below around and would like to know the accuracy of the charts. The original image I was sent was fairly low quality and a reverse image search lead to a bunch of right-leaning ...
63
votes
3answers
16k views
Did Henry Ford say “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”?
Did Henry Ford say
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.
63
votes
2answers
14k views
Are there any laws preventing the copying of keys containing a DO NOT DUPLICATE stamp?
While I worked at Walmart during college in the states, we would copy keys for customers, unless the key looked like this.
We were told that it was illegal to copy such keys, however, customers would ...
63
votes
2answers
11k views
Did the United States reject an offer by North Korea to freeze their nuclear missile development?
In a recent interview, Noam Chomksy claims that the United States rejected an offer from North Korea and China that would have frozen the North Korean nuclear missile program in exchange for the ...
