AP Fact Check

FILE - Law enforcement officers work at the campaign rally site for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is empty and littered with debris Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. On Friday, July 19, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming a law enforcement sniper assigned to Trump’s rally says the head of the Secret Service ordered him not to shoot the suspect accused of attempting to assassinate Trump.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts:

Claims online that a sharpshooter was told not to fire on the suspect in the Trump assassination attempt are false.

NOT REAL NEWS ROUNDUP

Online posts falsely claim a sharpshooter was told not to fire on the suspect in Trump shooting

Trump falsely claims babies can be seen to change ‘radically’ after vaccination

A photo that appears to show Trump’s ear with no damage after the attempted assassination is actually from 2022

No, Starbucks was not a sponsor of the Republican National Convention

More Fact Checks

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FACT FOCUS: A look at ominous claims around illegal immigration made at the Republican convention

FACT FOCUS: A look at false claims around the assassination attempt on former President Trump

Posts misrepresent photo to claim Trump was shot in the chest and saved by a bulletproof vest

Social media users are sharing the photo from the assassination attempt at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, to claim that the former president was shot in the chest.

Photo edited to make it appear Secret Service agents were smiling after attempt on Trump’s life

After the shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, social media users shared the altered image, with some suggesting that it was evidence that the assassination attempt had been staged.

Minutes after Trump shooting, misinformation started flying. Here are the facts

The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump has spawned a wave of conjecture and speculation online.

FACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One

False reports that President Joe Biden had a “medical emeregency” while traveling on Air Force One Friday circulated widely on social media after he arrived home in Delaware after a campaign stop in Wisconsin.

FACT FOCUS: Trump’s misleading claims about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol

Former President Donald Trump said during his debate with President Joe Biden last week that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol involved a “relatively small” group of people who were “in many cases ushered in by the police.”

FACT FOCUS: Trump wasn’t exonerated by the presidential immunity ruling, even though he says he was

Former President Donald Trump is turning to his social media platform to declare “total exoneration” after the Supreme Court ruled presidents have broad immunity when it comes to their actions while in office.

Here’s a look at some of the false claims made during Biden and Trump’s first debate

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have met for their first debate of the 2024 season, and there was no shortage of false claims.

FACT FOCUS: Associated Press video manipulated to make it appear Slovak flags banned at soccer match

Manipulated video from an Associated Press report circulated on the eve of the match between Slovakia and Ukraine at this year’s European Championship, with the false claim that Slovak flags had been banned from all games because of their similarity to the Russian flag.

Video of 8-foot-tall barricades at the Supreme Court is from 2022, not this week

Social media users are misrepresenting the 2-year-old video as new, falsely claiming that the Supreme Court is anticipating activity that would require additional security measures.

FACT FOCUS: Biden’s pause as he left a star-studded LA fundraiser becomes a target for opponents

Video from a fundraiser in Los Angeles for President Joe Biden is circulating on social media with claims that he froze up onstage as he exited the event.

Banners from HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ are not flying on New York bridges as videos online suggest

Social media users are sharing the videos ahead of the season two premiere on Sunday, claiming that the banners are real.

Video edited to make it appear Biden tried to sit down when there wasn’t a chair

As World War II veterans and world leaders gathered to honor the famed Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France, social media users shared the short clip to further an ongoing narrative that Biden is infirm.

Anti-abortion activist convicted for blockading a reproductive health clinic, not for praying there

Social media users are misrepresenting Harlow’s crimes, alleging that she is being put behind bars because she chose to pray beside the clinic.

AI could supercharge disinformation and disrupt EU elections, experts warn

Voters in the European Union are set to elect lawmakers starting Thursday for the bloc’s parliament, in a major democratic exercise that’s also likely to be overshadowed by online disinformation.

Posts spread image of satirical ‘Gayo’ condiment as real

As this year’s Pride Month kicked off on Saturday, the image spread out of context on social media, implying that “Gayo” is an actual product.

Sexist tropes and misinformation swirl online as Mexico prepares to elect its first female leader

As voters in Mexico head to the polls, a flurry of false, sexist and misleading posts on social media are blurring the lines between fact and fiction.

FACT FOCUS: Trump responds to guilty verdict with attacks and false claims

Former President Donald Trump on Friday sought to relitigate several aspects of his hush money trial, making several false and unsupported claims after being convicted on 34 felony charges by a New York jury.

Questions swirl around whether Trump can vote for himself in the 2024 election

After a New York jury on Thursday found Trump guilty of all 34 felony charges in his hush money trial, social media users claimed that the decision will prevent the former president from voting for himself in the upcoming election.

Posts misrepresent New York judge’s instructions to jury in Trump hush money trial

As jury deliberations began Wednesday in Trump’s trial, social media users spread false information about Merchan’s instructions to the seven men and five women who will determine the outcome in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

‘Statue of Liberty’ image was created using Photoshop, not ruins from the artist’s home

Social media posts are giving new life to yearsold claims that misrepresent the image using erroneous details about its origin and meaning.