The Latest Fact Checks from the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN) 9/13/2019

The code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network IFCN at Poynter is a series of commitments organizations abide by to promote excellence in fact-checking. The following fact checks come from IFCN fact checkers. (D. Van Zandt)

Claim by Kamala Harris: Says “Trump’s willing to build his vanity project of a border wall with money budgeted for a school for military children.”

PolitiFact rating: Yes, nine schools cut

Democrats target GOP, Trump on military money for wall

Claim by Nancy Pelosi: “Two million more people (were) without health insurance” in 2018, compared to 2017.

PolitiFact rating: New data says so

The latest on US health insurance coverage, income and poverty

Claim by Viral Quote: claims that Indian social activist Mahatma Gandhi once said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

CheckYourFact rating: False

FACT CHECK: Did Gandhi Say, ‘First They Ignore You, Then They Laugh At You, Then They

Claim by Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.: “One unnamed donor gave $17 million to the Leo-affiliated Judicial Crisis Network to block the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland and to support Gorsuch; then a donor — perhaps the same one — gave another $17 million to prop up Kavanaugh.”

PolitiFact rating: True

It’s true: millions in dark money spent to tilt courts right

Claim by Facebook posts: Says a photo shows President Ronald Reagan meeting with Taliban leaders in the White House.

PolitiFact rating: False

No, Ronald Reagan didn’t meet with the Taliban because the Taliban didn’t exist

International Fact Checks

Claim by multiple sources: Hong Kong school letters show students “beaten to death” at MTR

AFP Fact Check rating: False

Two Hong Kong school letters about student deaths are being used in a misleading context

Claim by Multiple sources: Pakistan government has imposed large taxes on the registration of motorcycles and rickshaws in southern Sindh province

AFP Fact Check rating: Misleading

A provincial Pakistani government has not raised vehicle registration fees by more than 1,100%

Claim by multiple sources: Hidden Chinese military base found in the Philippines

AFP Fact Check rating: False

This is not a photo of a Chinese military base in the Philippines — it shows a tunnel in Switzerland

Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources