Skeptics Stack Exchange
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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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Is Social Security headed for insolvency?

I can drag up a bunch of different articles either claiming that the US Social Security system is or is not headed for insolvency. The most recent reference to the concept was in a PBS interview with John Bogle: I start off, simply put, with Social…
MrHen
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Did a US court rule that the MMR vaccine causes autism?

The question of whether MMR vaccines cause autism has been addressed already on Skeptics.SE, and then again when new documents came to light. This question is not about rehashing those facts, but is about a July 2013 Whiteout Press report claiming…
Oddthinking
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Why do we not have vehicles that meet or exceed the MPG ratings of vehicles that were available in the 1990s

I'm seeing some conspiracy theories making the rounds which claim that car-manufacturers are intentionally making cars that aren't as fuel efficient as they used to be. They often point to the Geo Metro and claim it got 50 mpg, which is better than…
jshen
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Is atheism the fastest growing "religion" in the history of the United States?

First of all, yes, atheism isn't a religion. Taking from the Wikipedia link, atheism is defined as Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist. Penn Jillette claims (at 5:54) I believe, if you counted atheism…
Sam I Am
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Did the United States spend $118,000 to study if a metal replica of Thanos could snap his fingers?

According to this video, Rand Paul states the United States spent $118,000 USD to see if a metal replica of Thanos could snap his fingers. Is this what they were trying to figure out with these funds? We spent $118,000 to study if a metal replica,…
Evan Carroll
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Were 1 in 6 protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention FBI agents?

At a press conference today, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene made this claim: In 1968 at the Democratic National Convention where there were 10,000 protestors. One out of six were federal undercover agents. You do the math and that’s…
LShaver
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Will SpaceX's fleet of rockets triple the entire United States demand for methane/natural gas?

According to Energy Consulting Group's "SpaceX's Starship May Nearly Triple US Natural Gas Demand" page, Our analysis indicates that a fully configured Starship launch (booster and Starship) will use about a 1000 tonnes of methane in the form of…
Evan Carroll
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Must churchgoers be registered with the government in Kansas City?

According to this article and to this Reddit thread, linking the article in fact: Kansas City, Missouri, officials are now requiring every church to submit a list of members and attendees along with their names, addresses and telephone numbers to…
Ionică Bizău
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Did Elizabeth Warren plagiarize recipes and publish a book called "Pow Wow Chow"?

From the Daily Mall Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren is yet again in hot water after new allegations have surfaced that she plagiarized her 'Cherokee' recipes in the book Pow Wow Chow from the New York Times and other…
Evan Carroll
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Is the comeback of measles in the US "largely due to anti-vaxers?"

From CNN: In some recent years, there have been fewer than 100 cases nationwide. But the [measles] virus has made a comeback in other years, including 2019 -- largely due to anti-vaxers, experts say. The article doesn't include any statements by…
Barry Harrison
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Is this chart of executive branch criminal prosecutions accurate?

I am curious about the accuracy of the numbers quoted. In particular, are the Republican numbers inflated or Democratic numbers deflated? The original source says: The chart below only includes people who served in the administration, and…
alex_d
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Do 40,000 people die in the United States for every 1% increase in unemployment?

In the 2015 movie The Big Short, the character of Ben Rickert, played by Brad Pitt, makes the following statement to two investment bankers. If we're right (about the housing market collapsing), people lose homes. People lose jobs. People lose…
DenisS
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Did a counter-protester at Charlottesville use a spray and lighter after being threatened with a gun and attacked with a flag?

According to Independent Mr Long said: At first it was peaceful protest. Until someone pointed a gun at my head. Then the same person pointed it at my foot and shot the ground. ... Another extremist later lunged at Mr Long with a confederate…
Maria check profile
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Did Antifa distribute this pamphlet?

This is the pamphlet I'm talking about: The evil white race must be destroyed! The white racist and their Heeb masters must be purged from the face of the earth! The children of the white racists are the future of the white race. This is where we…
loktari
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Does Planned Parenthood impose abortion quotas on its clinics and provide incentives to its workers to meet those quotas?

A recent article in the National Review asserts that Planned Parenthood has long been imposing abortion quotas on its clinics nationwide, incentivizing its workers to convince women to terminate their pregnancies This assertion seems to be based…
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