MBFC's Daily Vetted Fact Checks for 08/17/2024 (Weekend Edition)

Media Bias Fact Check selects and publishes fact checks from around the world. We only utilize fact-checkers that 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: Photos shared in August 2024 authentically showed U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance wearing a dress and a blonde wig. Snopes rating: True ( Halloween Party. The photos were not digitally manipulated, not AI-generated, and indeed showed JD Vance.) Yes, Photos Do Show JD Vance Wearing Dress and Blonde Wig While at Yale Law School
BLATANT LIE	Claim by Donald Trump (R): “We’re losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border. We had it down to the lowest number and now it’s worse than it’s ever been.” Politifact rating: Pants on Fire (That number is significantly higher than recorded figures. Although fentanyl deaths continued to climb after Trump left office and only recently started to plateau, experts say his characterization of the death toll is incorrect.) Trump drastically inflates annual fentanyl death numbers Donald Trump Rating
BLATANT LIE	Claim via Social Media: Photo from an Aug. 14 campaign event in Michigan shows “JD Vance couldn’t fill a small room.” PolitiFact rating: False (The photo misleads about the crowd size at Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance’s Aug. 14 campaign rally in Byron Center, Michigan. It was shared on X almost two hours before Vance took the stage.) Photo misleads on crowd size at Vance’s Michigan rally
FALSE	(International: Australia): $43 quadrillion of gold was found in a 15km-deep tunnel. Australian Associated Press rating: False (No such tunnel exists.) Simple maths disproves gold-filled Vatican tunnel claim

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.