Teen Fact-Checking Network

The MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN) publishes daily fact-checks for teenagers, by teenagers. The program is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network’s code of principles.

TFCN fact-checks are unique in that they debunk misinformation and teach the audience media literacy skills so they can fact-check on their own. On average, 86% of respondents polled on the MediaWise Instagram account recently reported they were more likely to fact-check on their own after watching a TFCN fact-check story.

This program is currently producing media literacy and fact-check videos designed for YouTube. Watch now on our YouTube channel.

Follow @MediaWise on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube to see new fact-checks posted daily and learn how you can apply to be part of this program.

Find our Editorial Standards and Ethics Policies here.

All Fact-Checks

CRT copy
Our rating: Mixed bag

No, Georgia did not ban discussion of race in schools

Loren Miranda
bad insta stat
Our rating: Not legit

Instagram stat about pregnancies and vaccines needs context

Ian Fox
Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode24
Our rating: Mostly not legit

No, using your phone while it’s charging won’t send electric waves through your body

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode26
Our rating: Legit

Did a 1997 Archie comic predict virtual school in 2021?

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Our rating: Not legit

Does Pepsi make pork parasites appear?

There just isn’t any scientific evidence that consuming this burnt orange and sugar concoction can restore someone’s senses.
Our rating: Not legit

Sorry, eating a burnt orange with sugar likely won’t bring back your senses

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode27
Our rating: Mostly not legit

Is Georgia’s voting law that bans food and water the same as in Biden’s home state of Delaware?

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode20
Our rating: Not legit

Video falsely claims COVID-19 test swabs contain ‘nanobots’

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode25
Our rating: Not legit

No, California theme parks aren’t banning screaming on rides because of COVID-19

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode23
Our rating: Not legit

Did a 1950s PSA predict the coronavirus?

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode19
Our rating: Mostly not legit

Claims that Bill Gates is going to ‘block the sun’ lack context

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Our rating: Legit

These robots dancing to ‘Do You Love Me’ are legit

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode15_v2
Our rating: Mostly not legit

No, this video does not contain audio from Mars

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode11
Our rating: Not legit

No, a Democratic senator did not call for the death penalty of Republicans who challenged election results

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode17
Our rating: Not legit

Does homework spelled backward translate to ‘child abuse’ in Latin?

Mediawise_ITL_Thumbnail_Episode14_v1
Our rating: Not legit

No, that isn’t Slenderman lurking in Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’

There has been a lot of vaccine misinformation circulating the web, including the false claim that there is a tracking chip inside the COVID-19 vaccine. While there is a radio-frequency identification chip on the outside of some syringes, it’s there to track the vaccine doses, not people.
Our rating: Needs context

No, there is not a chip placed inside the coronavirus vaccine

The Vaccinate Humanity Foundation YouTube channel is falsely associating itself with actual organizations to make it look like it is a credible source of vaccine information. In reality, they are linking Bill Gates and the U.N. to a bunch of negative claims about vaccines.
Our rating: Not legit

No, 5 UK nurses did not die from the COVID-19 vaccine

on Jan. 19, Media Matters reported that in a 2018 Facebook comment, Greene agreed with the conspiracy theory that the Parkland shooting was a planned event done to crack down on gun rights. Just after her social media remarks resurfaced, so did a video of her supposedly confronting Parkland survivor David Hogg just weeks after the shooting. Here's how we fact-checked it.
Our rating: Mostly legit

Viral video shows Marjorie Taylor Greene confronting Parkland shooting survivor

In a speech, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky would benefit from an increased stimulus package, since “10 of the poorest 25 counties in the United States of America are located in Kentucky.” The claim needs context.
Our rating: Needs context

Are 10 of the 25 ‘poorest counties’ located in Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky?

Claims that Bill Gates is calling for mandatory vaccinations stem from an edited and out-of-context video. While Gates has said we need vaccines “available” to almost every person in order to get back to normal, he has never said people should be forced to take it.
Our rating: Legit

No, Bill Gates is not calling for ‘mandatory’ vaccinations

While this YouTube title accuses the protesters in the video of taking part in a violent mob and storming the U.S Capitol, it actually shows people protesting the GOP’s health care bill in 2017.
Our rating: Not legit

No, this video does not show Trump supporters with disabilities storming the Capitol

A small number of people did develop Bell’s palsy after receiving the vaccine. But experts have not found a link between the vaccine and the condition.
Our rating: Legit

‘No record’ of Nashville nurse who claims to have developed Bell’s palsy from COVID-19 vaccine

Contrary to claims on YouTube, a Facebook video filmed by Donald Trump Jr. was recorded prior to the Capitol riots.
Our rating: Legit

No, the Trump family did not host a riot watch party

A video supposedly showing two women being arrested in an airport after participating in the violent Capitol protests went viral on social media.
Our rating: Not legit

No, that viral airport arrest TikTok does not show Capitol rioters

Amelie de Leon | Teen Fact-Checker
Sally Ride is most remembered for being the first American woman to go to space, breaking boundaries and stereotypes with her diligence and intelligence. But according to a now-viral YouTube video, her journey to space also included... 100 tampons.
Our rating: Mostly legit

TFCN Fact-check: Did NASA send a woman to space with 100 tampons?

Security checkpoints and multiple layers of perimeter fencing stand around the entire south lawn of the White House on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Our rating: Not legit

TFCN Fact-check: Was this wall installed at the White House on Election Day?

Josh Phillips, Kieran Stenson
Voting stations set up in the South Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center for voters to cast their ballot in the Kentucky primary in Louisville, Tuesday, June 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Our rating: TFCN weekly roundup

TFCN Roundup: Is Sharpiegate legit? Did Melania Trump vote twice?

MediaWise TFCN staff
People demonstrate outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center where votes are being counted, Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Our rating: TFCN weekly roundup

TFCN Roundup: Did Trump call to stop counts where he leads, but not where Biden does?

MediaWise TFCN staff
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., left, and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., confer with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., seated, as Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee appeal to Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to delay the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Our rating: TFCN weekly roundup

TFCN Roundup: Did Democrat senators meet without masks?

MediaWise TFCN staff
Kanye West answers questions from Sr. pastor Joel Osteen during the 11 am service at Lakewood Church Sunday, November 17, 2019, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Our rating: Not legit

Fact-check: Is Kanye polling ahead of Biden and Trump in Kentucky?

Tori Foltz | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
In this April 3, 2020, photo, blue preservation solution is shown at Spectrum DNA in Draper, Utah. The company has developed the test kit to detect the coronavirus in patients’ saliva. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Our rating: Not legit

Fact-check: Will a COVID-19 vaccine alter your DNA?

Yacoub Kahkajian | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
Photo by: STRF/STAR MAX/IPx 2020 8/26/20 Three U.S. states are suing the Trump Administration over changes to the U.S. Postal Service ahead of the November election.
Our rating: Legit

Fact-check: Did the White House block access to face masks in April 2020?

Zachary Boudah | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
A doctored photo of white-robed Ku Klux Klan members carrying a sign that reads “Trump Pence” has spread across social media.
Our rating: Not legit

Fact-check: Did KKK members carry a banner endorsing Trump?

Charlotte Wismer | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Our rating: Not legit

Fact-check: Did Joe Biden say that Breonna Taylor should be arrested?

Lev Tumaykin | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
President Donald Trump prepares to sign four executive orders during a news conference, including one that deferred the collection of the payroll taxes that workers pay to help fund Social Security, on Aug. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Our rating: Needs context

Fact-check: Does the president want to defund Social Security?

Zachary Boudah | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
Members of the U.S. Navy amidst the coronavirus pandemic in New York City. (John Nacion/STAR MAX/IPx)
Our rating: Legit

Has the number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. already surpassed U.S. deaths in the Vietnam War?

Taylor Fang | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
Neal Browning receives a shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus, Monday, March 16, 2020, at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. Browning is the second patient to receive the shot in the study. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Our rating: Needs context

Coronavirus is more dangerous than the flu

A recent tweet by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk about the Obama administration's response to H1N1 needs more context.
Our rating: Needs context

Did the Obama Administration mishandle H1N1?

Carter Zupancich | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
Shows an Instagram post that claims the creator of Fortnite bought thousands of acres of forest
Our rating: Legit

Did the creator of Fortnite really buy thousands of acres of forest?

Carter Zupancich | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
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Our rating: Legit

Did NASA give spiders drugs to see how they would affect web-spinning?

Carter Zupancich | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
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Our rating: Legit

Did a teenager go blind from eating Pringles?

Julianna Raymond | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
Instagram post showing an alleged fact about giant mushrooms ruling the earth before trees.
Our rating: Needs context

Did mushrooms rule the earth before trees?

Jacob Aguilar and Emanuel Rodriguez | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checkers
Image shows YouTube Seth Flower examining a pair of Jesus Shoes with the rating "legit" over the video still.
Our rating: Legit

Holy Moly: Do these Nike shoes really have blessed water in them?

Caleb Heaton | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
We looked into whether a group of customers pulled a gun at a Popeyes that had run out of chicken sandwiches.
Our rating: Legit

Did someone pull a gun on a Popeyes employee over a chicken sandwich?

Angel Laclaustra | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
We looked into a suspicious image the allegedly showed Pope Francis licking a baby.
Our rating: Doctored

Did Pope Francis actually lick a baby?

Jade Marks | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
IMG_0898
Our rating: Needs context

Bee-lieve this? Were bees just voted the most important species?

Dean Bisco | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
An image seems to show a Los Angeles Times story about office employees taking a selfie with a dead corowkrer. But there's much more to the story.
Our rating: Doctored

Did this office take a group selfie with a dead guy?

Carter Zupancich | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
Tweet from Steven Crowder about cotton tote bags being bad for the environment.
Our rating: Needs context

Are cotton totes bad for the environment?

Caleb Heaton | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
bette Midler tweet about Amazon's carbon footprint being huge
Our rating: Needs context

How big is Amazon’s carbon footprint?

Taylor Fang | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
Photo of trump holding doctored hurricane map
Our rating: Doctored

Did President Trump show a doctored Hurricane Dorian projection?

Carter Zupancich | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
Picture of meme saying all batteries on earth store just 10 minutes of the world's energy needs.
Our rating: Needs context

Do all the batteries on Earth store just 10 minutes of our electricity needs?

Kush Patel | MediaWise Teen Fact-Checker
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Our rating: Legit

Did Andrew Luck’s physical toll really include six injuries throughout his six NFL seasons?

Kush Patel | MediaWise Teen Fact Checker