Questions tagged [united-states]

Use this tag for questions about claims based in the United States, or limited to the United States.

The United States of America (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, the States, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district.

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Were the Japanese suing for peace prior to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

In the United States, it is a widely-held belief that an invasion of the Japanese main islands would have been necessary were it not for the use of atomic bombs (putting aside the question of whether a demonstration in an unpopulated area may have…
Larry OBrien
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Are Americans ignorant about the geography of the world?

Jenny Jinx tweeted (244 retweets, 31 favorites) Seriously, the Czech Republic released a statement to correct stupid Americans. I am so ashamed. Good grief. http://bit.ly/11mROu5 The linked press release states that the Czech Republic is not the…
Andrew Grimm
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Does increased gun ownership in the US correlate with a reduction in violent crime rates?

This is somewhat of the converse of the question Is Gun Control Effective: A quote of famous musician and gun advocate Ted Nugent has been making the rounds on the Internet again lately: Where you have the most armed citizens in America, you have…
Beofett
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Does 20% of the population pay 80% of Federal income tax in the US?

I have heard this used in arguments (and even used it myself several times): that 20% of the US population pays 80% of the taxes. But I am starting to wonder if that is statistically accurate. Also, as a sub-question, I have also heard that 40% of…
Ephraim
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Did Fauci argue that gain-of-function research is worth risking a global pandemic?

In a related question, it's asked whether the Wuhan Lab conducted gain-of-function research, as claimed by Sean Hannity of Fox News. But moments later in the same piece Hannity says that Anthony Fauci admitted that gain-of-function research was…
Fizz
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Is there a wealth gap in Boston where the median net worth of white households is $247,500 while the median net worth for black families was $8?

This quote—or some variant of it—has been floating around the news and social media world; this comes from Boston.com on July 26, 2019: According to a 2015 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the median net worth of white households in…
Giacomo1968
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Did millions sign up for association health plans after President Trump's executive order?

President Trump just said this in an interview with the New York Times: Now here’s the good news. We’ve created associations, millions of people are joining associations. Millions. That were formerly in Obamacare or didn’t have insurance. Or didn’t…
Keshav Srinivasan
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Will 36,000 people die per year due to the repeal of the ACA?

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders recently tweeted: As Republicans try to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they should be reminded every day that 36,000 people will die yearly as a result. (emphasis mine). How accurate is this statement? Where is the…
Chad
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Is the US the only country where anyone can declare their own candidacy for president?

A statement by Robert Reich on Facebook makes the following claim: America is the only democracy in the world where anyone can declare himself or herself a candidate for the presidency. Which makes it all the more important that we distinguish…
Flimzy
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Did Snowden reveal that ISIS is a USA-Israel tactic?

This reports claims regarding ISIS which evolved since 2003 assuming erstwhile names like ISI,ISIS and now IS: The former employee at US National Security Agency (NSA), Edward Snowden, has revealed that the British and American intelligence and the…
skept101
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Did a Florida woman get 20 years jail for firing warning shots in the air?

In the wake of the recent Zimmerman trial, Shan Diddy (@shannycat81) posted a tweet that was retweeted over 7,000 times, including by noted skeptic, Paul Provenza. Meanwhile, ALSO in Florida, a Black single mother gets 20 years in jail for firing…
Oddthinking
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Have over 1 million people in the US been tested for the coronavirus as of March 30th?

President Donald Trump touted a new coronavirus test that produces results in minutes as opposed to days and announced Monday that more than 1 million Americans have been tested for the disease. “The numbers have been incredible on testing,” Trump…
Daniel R Hicks
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Do more Americans want the Bidens investigated than Trump impeached?

An October 7th segment of Fox News and Friends is available on YouTube McCarthy: More people want to investigate Biden than impeach Trump House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy says at 3m19s: More people in America want to investigate what…
Fizz
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In California, is water from the north diverted into the Pacific Ocean?

Possibly addressing the Californian wildfires, president Donald Trump claims that in California "water coming from the north" is "being diverted into the Pacific Ocean". Governor Jerry Brown must allow the Free Flow of the vast amounts of water…
SQB
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Did the FBI plant an informant in the Trump campaign during the Obama administration?

Donald Trump has tweeted allegations of the US's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) planting spies in his 2016 presidential campaign: Wow, word seems to be coming out that the Obama FBI “SPIED ON THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN WITH AN EMBEDDED INFORMANT.”…