MBFC's Daily Vetted Fact Checks for 08/23/2026 (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

MISLEADING	Claim by Donald Trump (R): The U.S. experienced “a horrible four years” of violent crime under Joe Biden. FactCheck.org rating: Misleading (Violent crime rose slightly early in Biden’s term but fell in 2023 and 2024, ending lower than in Trump’s final year in office.) Trump’s Misleading Crime Drop Claims Donald Trump Rating
TRUE	Claim via Social Media: ICE detained Eissa Hashemi and his wife, Maryam Tahmasebi, as well as their teenage son, because Hashemi’s mother was a spokesperson for the Iranian government during the 1979 hostage crisis. Snopes rating: True (Tahmasebi describes how, despite not having any criminal record and living in the U.S. as permanent residents with valid green cards, ICE agents detained her husband without warning before also detaining her and their teenage son in what she described as “bloodline punishment” for her mother-in-law’s role as a translator in the 1979 hostage crisis.) Iranian woman was involved in 1979 hostage crisis. Her son and his family were detained by ICE for it
BLATANT LIE	Claim by Byron Donalds (R): Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly said he supports “gender-changing surgeries on kids.” PolitiFact rating: False (The ad deceptively edited a clip of Jolly quoting someone else about gender-affirming care; Jolly did not mention surgery, and PolitiFact found no public example of him supporting gender-affirming surgeries for children.) Byron Donalds’ ad deceptively edited David Jolly clip on gender-affirming care
FALSE	(International: Spain): Videos show migrant toppling a cross and a burning church in Ceuta, Spain Lead Stories rating: False (Neither video used to support the claim is from the Spanish enclave. The first shows an incident from July 2026 in West Bengal, India, while the second shows a fire at a convent in Cuenca, central Spain, in May 2024.) Fact Check: Videos Do NOT Show Migrant Toppling Cross Or Burning Church In Ceuta, Spain — Separate Incidents, Different Countries

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.

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