The Latest Fact Checks curated by Media Bias Fact Check 02/20/2024

Media Bias Fact Check selects and publishes fact checks from around the world. We only utilize fact-checkers who are either a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) or have been verified as credible by MBFC. Further, we review each fact check for accuracy before publishing. We fact-check the fact-checkers and let you know their bias. When appropriate, we explain the rating and/or offer our own rating if we disagree with the fact-checker. (D. Van Zandt)

Claim Codes: Red = Fact Check on a Right Claim, Blue = Fact Check on a Left Claim, Black = Not Political/Conspiracy/Pseudoscience/Other

Fact Checker bias rating Codes: Red = Right-Leaning, Green = Least Biased, Blue = Left-Leaning, Black = Unrated by MBFC

TRUE	Claim via Social Media: The largest reservoir of water in space is equivalent to 140 trillion times all the water in Earth’s oceans. Snopes rating: True (Confirmed by NASA) Largest Reservoir of Water in Space Holds 140 Trillion Times More Water Than Earth’s Oceans?
BLATANT LIE	Claim via Social Media: Because “17 million immigrants” were “let in” the U.S, “ foot and mouth disease is back. We got rid of that fifty years ago.” PolitiFact rating: False (The disease was eradicated in the U.S. in 1929. Humans could carry the virus on clothes, shoes or other items, but there’s no evidence the disease has reemerged in the U.S.) Social media claim wrong about number of immigrants and reemergence of livestock disease
BLATANT LIE	Claim by Matt Roeske: Viruses don’t exist, terrain theory explains why diseases occur. Health Feedback rating: Inaccurate (Viruses do exist and their existence has been demonstrated through multiple scientific techniques, such as cell culture, genome sequencing, and electron microscopy.) Instagram reel promotes the baseless claim that viruses don’t exist, ignoring more than a century of science about infectious diseases
FALSE	Claim via Social Media: Texas law says a woman who gets an abortion in Texas faces a “$10K fine, life in prison.” FactCheck.org rating: False (Texas law specifies that those who get an abortion are not to be penalized.) Texas Abortion Recipients Not Subject to Penalty, Contrary to Online Claims
FALSE	Claim by Marjorie Taylor Greene (R): “If Joe Biden is not mentally fit to stand trial, then he certainly isn’t mentally fit to be President of the United States.” Newsweek rating: False (Hur’s report does not state that Biden is mentally unfit to stand trial. Hur said that Biden could not remember significant dates when interviewed, such as when his son died, and that a jury would likely view him as “a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” However, Hur did not make any assessments about Biden’s ability to stand trial, and there is no evidence that questions this.) Fact Check: Was Joe Biden Ruled Mentally Unfit to Stand Trial?
TRUE	(International: Russia): Did Alexey Navalny appear healthy hours before his death in a Russian jail? WUSA9 rating: True VERIFYING three claims about Alexey Navalny’s life and death \| wusa9.com

Disclaimer: We are providing links to fact-checks by third-party fact-checkers. If you do not agree with a fact check, please directly contact the source of that fact check.