The first US presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was filled with fiery rhetoric and contentious claims. This article delves into ten key claims made during the debate, providing fact-checks and context to separate truth from fiction.
President Biden has repeatedly asserted that he traveled over 17,000 miles with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a claim that has been fact-checked and found to be inaccurate. This claim, made during a speech on the Biden ‘Cancer Moonshot’ initiative, has been previously debunked by the Washington Post, which awarded the statement three Pinocchio’s for significant factual errors and contradictions.
A left-leaning fact-checking website, Snopes, has debunked claims made by President Biden and some media outlets that former President Trump called neo-Nazis ‘very fine people’ following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. The Trump campaign has seized on this fact check, calling the claim a ‘hoax’ and criticizing Biden for promoting a ‘lie’.
A video claiming to show the CEO of Gujarat demonstrating malfunctioning EVMs is circulating online. However, the video actually features members of the EVM Hatao Sanyukt Morcha, a group campaigning against EVMs. The claim that the video shows the CEO of Gujarat is false.
An image circulating on social media falsely claims to show the Muslim population voting in the 2024 Lok Sabha Election, while Hindus are not participating. However, this image is from 2022 and is unrelated to the upcoming election.
A viral video claiming to show a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader named Rajesh Biju being beaten outside his house in Tamil Nadu is misleading. The video is old and dates back to July 2023, when a fight broke out between two factions of the BJP in Nanganallur, Tamil Nadu. The incident was not related to any political rivalry or attack, but rather a personal dispute. The video has been shared with a false context to mislead or sensationalize the incident.
President Joe Biden has repeated a previously debunked claim that he used to drive an 18-wheeler. The claim, which he made during a campaign stop in Tampa, has been disputed by fact-checkers who found no evidence that the president ever held such a job. Biden also falsely claimed that his uncle, Second Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr., was shot down over New Guinea during World War II and never found because there were “a lot of cannibals” on the island. The official U.S. military account of Finnegan’s death does not match Biden’s claims.
Contrary to recent claims circulating online, Donald Trump did attend his daughter Ivanka’s university graduation ceremony in 2004. This has been confirmed by photos and media reports. Trump has stated that a possible trial may prevent him from attending his youngest son’s high school graduation, but this claim has not been verified.
A video clip of Rahul Gandhi has been circulating on social media, where he is heard promising to credit one lakh rupees annually and 8,500 rupees monthly to the bank accounts of unemployed youth who spend time on social media. However, this claim is based on a misleading edit of Gandhi’s speech. In the full video, Gandhi was actually talking about the Congress party’s ‘Right to Apprenticeship’ scheme, which is aimed at providing one-year apprenticeships to diploma and college graduates under the age of 25. The program includes an annual stipend of one lakh rupees for participants.
A video of a massive crowd is circulating online with claims that it shows visuals before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent rally in Jalore, Rajasthan. However, this claim is false.
