June 30, 2020

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The tweet was like a word cloud of popular conspiracy theory topics: COVID-19, Russia, antifa and Hillary Clinton. And it looked like it came from former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Sanders has a couple verified Twitter accounts: @SHSanders45, where she last tweeted in 2019, @SarahHuckabee, where she actively tweets today. And she once tweeted from the handle @PressSec.

But an image being shared on Facebook that looks like she tweeted a conspiracy theory from yet another account is not actually from Sanders.

“It’s ‘odd’ that the ANTIFA insurgency happened just as COVID-19 loses steam,” the tweet reads. “It’s ‘odd’ that COVID-19 happened the moment impeachment failed. It’s ‘odd’ that impeachment happened the moment Russian hoax failed. The Russian hoax happened because Hillary lost? Notice the pattern?”

Sanders’ photo is used as the account’s avatar. But the name is not hers, though it’s easy to see why someone might be confused by it: Sarah Hucklebee.

Click here to read the full fact-check.

Facebook post claims it’s a felony to wear mask and carry concealed gun in North Carolina

A viral Facebook post said “you can be charged with a class H felony for wearing a mask and concealed carrying.” While a North Carolina law bars masking your identity while carrying a concealed weapon, it is currently suspended. Get the facts»

Did COVID-19 cases jump 845% in a central Texas county?

Coronavirus has hit hard in Texas’ Travis and Hays counties, which include Austin and its surroundings. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat whose district includes both counties, tweeted, “Hays County is one of the only places in Texas with more trouble (than Travis County): an incredible 845% increase in cases since June 7.” This claim is Mostly True. See why»

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Alex Mahadevan is a senior multimedia reporter at MediaWise. He can be reached at amahadevan@poynter.org or on Twitter at @AlexMahadevan. Follow MediaWise on TikTok.

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Alex Mahadevan is director of MediaWise, Poynter’s digital media literacy project that teaches people of all ages how to spot misinformation online. As director, Alex…
Alex Mahadevan

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