Melissa Goldin

FACT FOCUS: Misrepresented images spread after US and Israel strike Iran As the U.S. and Israel continued to strike Iran on Monday following a major attack over the weekend that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, misrepresented images related to the war ...

What's real and what's not amid the Iran war: apnews.com/article/fact...

Biden flies commercial from Reagan National Airport and winds up stuck in delays like everyone else Former presidents are just like us. Joe Biden has gotten stuck in delays while flying commercially from Reagan National Airport.

My favorite story today, via @megkinnardap.bsky.social:

"The woman who took the aisle seat next to the former president first set down her coffee on the arm rest they shared, deposited a bag in the overhead compartment, then sat down and realized her seatmate was the nation’s 46th president."

YouTube video by Associated Press AP fact checks Trump’s State of the Union address

Fact-checking the State of the Union in video form, direct from the White House! m.youtube.com/watch?v=9x0D...

FACT FOCUS: A look at Trump's false and misleading claims in his State of the Union speech President Donald Trump has spent the last year boasting of his accomplishments while mocking the record of his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Trump's State of the Union speech tonight was full of inaccuracies. Get the facts here: apnews.com/article/fact...

FACT FOCUS: A look at Trump's false and misleading claims ahead of the State of the Union President Donald Trump is delivering the first State of the Union address of his second term. Priorities for the Republican’s administration have centered largely on the economy, immigration, crime, e...

In preparation for the State of the Union tonight: apnews.com/article/fact...

A look at false claims made by the Trump administration as it revokes a key scientific finding While announcing that he was rolling back the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 endangerment finding, President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made false claims regarding the gover...

The Trump administration revoked the 2009 endangerment finding yesterday, making multiple false claims in the process: apnews.com/article/gree...

Boy who appeared in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl show is not the 5-year-old detained by ICE in Minneapolis Social media users incorrectly identified a young boy who was part of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday as Liam Conejo Ramos.

A 5-year-old detained by ICE did not make a cameo in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show. Read more: apnews.com/article/fact...

YouTube video by Associated Press Images of Zohran Mamdani with Jeffrey Epstein are AI-generated

And here it is in video form: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSnw...

FACT FOCUS: Images of NYC mayor with Jeffrey Epstein are AI-generated. Here's how we know Images circulating online that show New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a child with millionaire financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are generated by artificial intelligence.

Viral images of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani with Jeffrey Epstein are not real. They were generated with AI. Read more: apnews.com/article/fact...

FACT FOCUS: A look at false and misleading claims made during Trump's first cabinet meeting of 2026 President Donald Trump has held his first cabinet meeting of 2026, focusing on the economy, housing, energy, health initiatives and drug prices.

Another cabinet meeting, more false claims: apnews.com/article/fact...

YouTube video by Associated Press AI-altered images spread confusion about the shooting death of Alex Pretti

An image of ICU nurse Alex Pretti spread online in recent days. The problem? It was altered with AI. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWsF...

FACT FOCUS: As cold hits, Trump asks, where's global warming? Scientists say it's still here In social media, President Trump is questioning global warming because of a chilly severe winter storm hitting the U.S.

Global warming still exists, despite Trump's doubts. Read more from the AP's @borenbears.bsky.social: apnews.com/article/trum...

I agree! It's my pleasure.

Thank you for the kind words! :)

FACT FOCUS: White House shares altered image showing arrest of civil rights attorney in Minnesota The Trump administration is misrepresenting the arrest of civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong for her role in an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota ch...

A civil rights attorney was not crying as she was arrested for her role in an anti-immigration enforcement protest in Minnesota. The White House shared an altered image alleging otherwise. Read more: apnews.com/article/fact...

FACT FOCUS: Trump highlights familiar false claims as he reviews his first year back in office A look at false and misleading claims made as President Donald Trump marks his first year back in office by highlighting accomplishments at Davos and at a White House briefing.

One year in, many false claims: apnews.com/article/fact...

I got confirmation from DHS that he doesn't work there. Tarrio also denied working for ICE on social media. Plus, the origin of the claim, that his name appeared in leaked ICE documents, didn't hold up based on my research.

Ah, I see. As @dbdant.bsky.social referenced, this is a statement we decided to let speak for itself, as that was ICE's response to my inquiry. Certainly wasn't trying to say whether it was accurate.

Just curious, which quote seems questionable to you?

FACT FOCUS: Former Proud Boys leader falsely identified as an ICE officer Social media users are falsely claiming that Enrique Tarrio, a former Proud Boys leader, is working as an officer for the federal agency. But this is false.

No, Enrique Tarrio is not an ICE officer: apnews.com/article/fact...

FACT FOCUS: Minneapolis shooting prompts spread of misrepresented and fabricated images online Misrepresented and fabricated images spread widely on social media in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Minneapolis woman Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday...

Misrepresented and fabricated images are running rampant on social media in the aftermath of the Minneapolis ICE shooting. Read more: apnews.com/article/fact...

A Craigslist ad seeking child actors for Minnesota day care center was posted as a prank This is false. The ad, which was posted Jan. 1 in Craigslist's Hennepin County, Minnesota, section for general labor jobs, was bait for an online prank show, its cohost Joey LaFleur told The Associate...

Was a Craigslist ad for child actors at a Minnesota day care center real? Nope, it was posted as a prank: apnews.com/article/fact...

FACT FOCUS: Trump repeats false claims as he discusses US raid to extract Venezuela's president President Donald Trump has held a news conference to explain a U.S. raid on Venezuela to extract President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

And one from over the weekend: apnews.com/article/trum...

FACT FOCUS: Fabricated and misrepresented images shared widely online after US removal of Maduro Misrepresented and fabricated images of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro have spread widely on social media since his capture over the weekend.

There's been no shortage of misinformation following the capture of Nicolás Maduro. My latest: apnews.com/article/fact...

FACT FOCUS: Trump blames Biden for the agricultural trade deficit. It's not that simple As President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion farm aid package this week to help U.S. farmers hurt by tariffs, he placed responsibility for the U.S. agricultural trade deficit on former President ...

Who's at fault for the agricultural trade deficit? Well, it's complicated. apnews.com/article/fact...

FACT FOCUS: Trump says tariffs can eventually replace federal income taxes. Experts disagree President Donald Trump has long praised tariffs as key to increasing wealth in the United States, idealizing Gilded Age policies that preceded the implementation of a modern federal income tax.

Can revenue from tariffs one day replace revenue from federal income taxes? According to experts, no way. Read more: apnews.com/article/fact...

FACT FOCUS: It is not illegal for voters to show ID in New York and California As the leadup to the 2026 midterm elections begins, social media users — among them billionaire X owner Elon Musk, who briefly served as a top advisor to President Donald Trump — have claimed that it ...

Most voters don't need to show ID at the polls in New York or California, but they can if they want to: apnews.com/article/fact...

FACT FOCUS: Trump gets it wrong claiming no murders in DC for the last six months In addition to pardoning two North Carolina turkeys at the annual White House ceremony, President Donald Trump discussed his crime-fighting efforts in Washington, D.C., claiming that it’s been six mon...

There have unfortunately been murders in D.C. in the last six months, despite what Trump says: apnews.com/article/fact...

You can learn more about the panels at the links below:
events.rochester.edu/event/bright...
events.rochester.edu/event/philos...

And it was of course a treat to visit to the Campus Times office, where I spent many a sleepless night putting together the paper as an undergrad.