Fact Check: 2021 Year In Review

Another big year for election and pandemic disinformation.

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We all hoped that 2021 would be an improvement from the year before. But in terms of disinformation, the news cycle never sloowed down, In many ways it was a repeat of 2020—lots of disinformation related to the pandemic and election conspiracies. So, in 2021, The Dispatch Fact Check continued to work tirelessly on familiar forms of ddisinformation. Coronavirus and vaccine misinformation continued apace, and new conspiracies popped up in other areas like the events of January 6. We’ve assembled a list of some of the most significant (and strangest) pieces of disinformation of the year, and enter into the new year hoping to leave them all behind. 

Election Disinformation

The Dispatch Fact Check
Assessing the Various Claims in Mike Lindell’s ‘Absolute Proof’
Close to a month into Joe Biden’s presidency, Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow and a Donald Trump supporter, has released a two-hour documentary called Absolute Proof purporting to show that Trump won the 2020 election. The film premiered on February 5 and aired several times on One America News, w…
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2 years ago · 54 likes · 19 comments · Khaya Himmelman

 

The Dispatch Fact Check
Fact Checking Trump’s Claims From His Call With Brad Raffensperger
In a phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Saturday, President Trump pleaded with Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn the results of the election in Georgia, which Joe Biden won by 11,779 votes. The Washington Post…
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2 years ago · 52 likes · 85 comments · Khaya Himmelman
The Dispatch Fact Check
Fact Checking Donald Trump’s WSJ Letter to the Editor
On October 27, the Wall Street Journal published a letter to the editor from Donald Trump, responding to “Pennsylvania’s 2020 Election.” In it, Trump maintains that the 2020 election was “rigged.” The former president recycled familiar—and previously debunked—voter fraud claims to make his case…
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a year ago · 54 likes · 60 comments · Khaya Himmelman

 

The Dispatch Fact Check
Fact Checking Donald Trump’s Speech From the ‘Save America March’
Shortly before a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, President Trump gave a speech in front of a “Save America March” during which he went through a litany of familiar conspiracy theories and false voter-fraud allegations about…
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2 years ago · 35 likes · 5 comments · Khaya Himmelman

January 6 Disinformation

The Dispatch Fact Check
Were Antifa Supporters Among Those Who Overtook the Capitol Building?
Viral social media posts claimed that two prominent participants in the riot that overtook Capitol Hill Wednesday were actually leftists or Antifa members…
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2 years ago · 92 likes · 78 comments · Alec Dent
The Dispatch Fact Check
Debunking the Conspiracy Theories Claiming That Antifa Led the Attack on the Capitol
Following the storming of Capitol Hill by Trump supporters on Wednesday, many on the pro-Trump right attempted to shift blame for the attack to Antifa instead. Two connected conspiracy theories started to spread: one claiming that two men at the riot had been identified as leftists and Antifa members, the other…
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2 years ago · 156 likes · 123 comments · Alec Dent

 

The Dispatch Fact Check
Fact Checking Joe Biden’s Comment on the Death of Brian Sicknick
During a press conference after his meeting with Vladmir Putin on Wednesday, President Joe Biden was asked about Putin justifying crackdowns on political opposition by saying he didn’t want something like the January 6 attack on the Capitol to happen in Russia. Biden…
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a year ago · 17 likes · 20 comments · Alec Dent
The Dispatch Fact Check
Do Reports That Militia Members Planned to Storm the Capitol ‘Undermine’ the Case for Impeachment?
An article from PJ Media claims that “the Washington Post Admits Trump Did Not Incite the Capitol Riot” and that reports that some rioters planned their attack in advance “completely undermine[s] the entire case Democrats made for impeaching Trump.” As evidence, the article links to a recent…
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2 years ago · 28 likes · 15 comments · Alec Dent

COVID-19 Disinformation 

The Dispatch Fact Check
Could the mRNA Vaccines Permanently Alter DNA?
An article from The Defender, a news website that describes itself as “an online news site to evade official censorship, to report fact-based news and sponsor the kind of honest debate that terrifies the new generation of corporate and government commissars,” claims that scientific research suggests that coron…
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a year ago · 24 likes · 2 comments · Khaya Himmelman

 

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  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    Perfect picture to caption this year in review! Thanks for your hard work this past year. If I’d thought of it sooner I’d say it would be funny to do a fake fact check of Dave Barry’s Year in Review.

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  2. Avatar photo
    Jerry Masters

    Because you checked, I didn't need to.
    I'm grateful for not having to spend any time on stuff about which both my grandmothers would have known better than to have bothered with.
    Bravo TD.

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  3. Avatar photo
    BikerChick

    I had to look up the difference between disinformation and misinformation. Intent to mislead (dis) is the difference between the two.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Mike B

      I almost wrote "mis/disinformation" in a comment but it seemed awkward so I settled for dis.

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      1. Avatar photo
        Man-Eating Cow

        Misinformation is a lot easier to cure, so it's appropriate to focus on disinformation.

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  4. Avatar photo
    Dave K

    It really is sad how many of these ludicrous stories get accepted and passed on by so many people. I spent much of 2020 debunking facebook posts for someone close to me me, yet after about the 10th or 12th time I showed it was false, she still kept believing several of them. When you want something to be true, I guess you just believe it no matter the facts.

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    1. Avatar photo
      BikerChick

      You're tenacious. I would "hide" that person and say to myself "can't cure stupid."

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      1. Avatar photo
        Unity von Centrist McUnifier®

        BikerChick, as a completely frivolous aside, I like your new profile picture. Supercute hairstyle.

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      2. Avatar photo
        Man-Eating Cow

        There's one "conservate" website that used to be pretty good, pre-Trump, where I can still sometimes find clever sayings and amusing memes. However, I took to blocking anyone who posted antivaccination memes or praise for invermectin, or who used the word "cuckservative" non-ironically, or who insisted on calling Senator Romney "Pierre Delicto", just because life is too short.

        As a result, when I visit the site, about two-thirds of comments are blocked. Sad.

        I have a tradition of unblocking everyone I've blocked anywhere on the Web on New Year's Day, on the theory that everyone deserves a second chance. I'm usually pretty busy the first couple weeks of January re-blocking those who prove they aren't yet ready for a second chance. There are some Disqus usernames I have unblocked and promptly re-block every year now for some years; another tradition of sorts.

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  5. Brian Gross

    @TheDispatch, there are multiple spelling/grammar issues in your introductory paragraph. Please review and correct.

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  6. James M. Labosky

    Great job folks!

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  7. Avatar photo
    J. Eric

    Thanks!

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  8. Avatar photo
    Monte

    Thanks for this email. I am signed to recieve The Fact Check and it was one of my favorite parts of The Dispatch.

    But, for some reason this email was the first Fact Check I've received in months. Any ideas why?

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    1. Avatar photo
      JohnM.

      Same here.

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      1. Avatar photo
        David Eggleston

        Me three.

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  9. Avatar photo
    Man-Eating Cow

    Just got email confirmation of my annual renewal. Happy New Year to the whole Dispatch gang.

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  10. Avatar photo
    Azlefty

    At this rate, you are sure to run out of disinformation to debunk in the next few weeks.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Man-Eating Cow

      From your mouth to G-d's Ear. Alas, G-d seems very interested in leaving us to our own devices, from His keen interest in seeing what is really in our hearts and minds.

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