We are monitoring social media, national and international media, and fact-checking websites in order to share the Fake News making the rounds each week.
The world of news is complex – and false stories and images are often widely shared on social media. Blasting News’s editorial team spots the most popular hoaxes and misleading information every week to help you discern truth from falsehood. Here is some of the most popular Fake News of the week from around the world. Don't be fooled!
Please send us fake news tips or claims to check at this email: factcheck@blastingnews.com or at this BlueSky account @bnfactcheck.bsky.social: Read this page for our submission guidelines.
1. No, The Atlantic didn’t publish an article titled “Trump is literally Hitler”
The Lie: Elon Musk and other profiles on X (former Twitter) published a screen shot of an alleged op-ed written by The Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in which he portrayed Donald Trump as the new Adolf Hitler. The article is false.
The Truth:
- The Atlantic never published this article that is clearly photoshop. The Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published an op-ed on October 22nd titled “Trump: ‘I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had’”, in which he writes: “In their book, The Divider: Trump in the White House, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser reported that Trump asked John Kelly, his chief of staff at the time, “Why can’t you be like the German generals?” Trump, at various points, had grown frustrated with military officials he deemed disloyal and disobedient.”
- The screenshot of the article was edited by the X profile @indian-bronson using an image from the Washington Post and a made-up title.
- Despite Donald Trump echoing white suprematists' narrative, high ranking democrats or liberal analysts and journalists had compared the former president to Adolf Hitler. However, few republicans, including the vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, compared Trump to Hitler. In a private conversation in 2016 Vance said that Trump is like Hitler. RFK Jr. did the same in 2016 in his podcast.
Links:
Trump: ‘I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had’:
J.D.
Vance Trump/Hitler:
https://archive.ph/ovezz
Fake post on X:
2. No, Donald Trump will not give a massive tax cuts only to billionaires
The Lie: Donald Trump will only “give billionaires and corporations massive tax cuts,” Kamala Harris said in a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Oct 18, 2024
The Truth:
- Trump plans to extend the income and corporate tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including individual income tax cuts set to expire in 2025. The Tax Policy Center estimates that over half of these benefits would go to individuals earning $450,000 or less.
- Trump has proposed eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, tips, and overtime pay to benefit middle-income families. He also suggests reducing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% for U.S.-based manufacturers.
- Bloomberg estimates these proposals could reduce federal revenue by $10.5 trillion over 10 years. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget warns these cuts could significantly worsen Social Security’s financial stability.
Links:
Harris Remarks (Archive)
Trump tax cuts plan (Archive):
