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AP Fact Check

Verify the latest news with AP Fact Check. AP fact checkers combat misinformation by debunking false and misleading claims.
The drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is photographed from the Washington Monument, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tierney L. Cross)

FACT FOCUS: A look at Trump’s false and misleading claims about the Reflecting Pool

In April, President Donald Trump announced that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was being renovated to address long-standing cosmetic and structural issues.
 
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President Donald Trump dances after speaking at an event at the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

FACT FOCUS: Trump boasts about the economy but there’s more to the story

 
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The Washington Monument is seen in the background of the now drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

No evidence? No problem. Trump pushes ahead on false claims that Reflecting Pool was vandalized

 
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at an announcement event of a city-wide, discounted grocery plan for city-run municipal grocery stores, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

FACT FOCUS: No, you won’t need an ID to shop at city-owned grocery stores in New York City

 
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People breach barbed wires as they attempt to cross from the Moroccan northern town of Fnideq to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo)

Runaway online rumors sparked frantic rush by migrants to the Spanish territory of Ceuta

 
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Images of NYC Mayor Mamdani 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.
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FACT FOCUS: Trump exaggerates, misstates facts on Washington crime

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House about Dulles International Airport modernization, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FACT FOCUS: Trump blames Minnesota governor for cyberattacks against the state. Cites no evidence

 
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Migrants rest outside the Temporary Center for Immigrants (CETI) after crossing from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. CETI is the Spanish acronym for the migrant reception center. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)

FACT FOCUS: Migrant crossing in Spain’s Ceuta breeds unsubstantiated claims

 
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Arizona voters come and go as cast their ballots at a polling location on primary election day, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

FACT FOCUS: Posts falsely claim Obama urged noncitizens to vote in 2016

 
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President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Washington. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)

Trump says these documents prove his false claims of election fraud. Here’s what they really say

 
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Three boys play in the shallow waters of the Strait of Hormuz, as a plume of smoke rises from an explosion in the background, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)

FACT FOCUS: A look at US and Iranian claims of control over the Strait of Hormuz

 
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington,, July 11, 2017, during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services committee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FACT FOCUS: Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death spurs false claims

 
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President Donald Trump speaks at a lunch in the White House Rose Garden, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trump says Walmart cut prices at his request, but Walmart statement omits administration’s role

 
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President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's policy conference at the Washington Hilton, Friday, June 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FACT FOCUS: Experts say Trump’s claims linking Democrats to communism are inaccurate

 
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This frame grab of footage aired Wednesday, July 1, 2026, by Iranian state television shows a vessel that ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz. (Iranian state television via AP)

FACT FOCUS: Iran claims a foreign ship got stuck in Strait of Hormuz. But it is tied to Tehran

 
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Hannah Liu, 26, of Washington, holds up a sign in support of birthright citizenship, May 15, 2025, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FACT FOCUS: A look at the Trump administration’s challenge to birthright citizenship

 
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Norwegian players Erling Haaland, left, Alexander Soerloth (7), Kristoffer Ajer (3) and teammates celebrate after defeating Senegal in a World Cup Group I soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FACT FOCUS: Norway brought its own food to the World Cup. But not because it distrusts US products

 
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a news conference, in Jerusalem, Monday June 15, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun, Pool Photo via AP)

FACT FOCUS: Netanyahu’s claims about Iran’s nuclear program run counter to public evidence

 
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The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

The Trump administration says it is cutting student loan interest. Here are some facts and context

 
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U.S. President Donald Trump walks away after a group photo of leaders at the G7 summit, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FACT FOCUS: Trump says illegal immigration increased car insurance premiums. Experts say otherwise

 
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A motorist fills up the tank of a vehicle at a Conoco gasoline station Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

FACT FOCUS: Is inflation a red state vs. blue state issue? It’s increasing no matter how you cut it

 
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Beef is displayed for sale at a grocery store Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Trump claims he’s making food more affordable but his examples ignore the big picture

 
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Tourists ride bicycles near the Lincoln Memorial, as a blue protective coating as part of a renovation project to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, is seen in the background, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Washington. The Washington Monument stands in he background. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

FACT FOCUS: Trump says Obama and Biden spent ‘hundreds of millions’ on reflecting pool. They did not

 
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A woman waters beet seedlings in Denver on April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson, File)

Gardeners often hear about supposed hacks and quick fixes. Here are some common ones debunked

 
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President Donald Trump speaks about prescription drug prices in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FACT FOCUS: Trump falsely accuses Maryland of sending ‘illegal’ mail-in ballots to voters

 
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American Electric Power's John Amos coal-fired power plant in Winfield, W.Va., is seen across the Kanawha River from Poca, W.Va., March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FACT FOCUS: Trump distorts recent revisions of scientific projections of global warming

 
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