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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Did Allied forces use chemical weapons in Okinawa during World War II?

A Japanese friend of mine claimed that Allied forces used poisonous gas during the Battle of Okinawa. I asked for a link to such a claim, and got a link to this section of the Japanese language Wikipedia article on the Battle of Okinawa. The…
Andrew Grimm
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If comparing white populations, does the U.S. have the same murder rate as Belgium?

Ann Coulter recently made the following claim on the FOX News show 'Hannity': On the gun crimes, we keep hearing how low they are in Europe, and oh, they're so low, and they have no guns. If you compare white populations, we have the same murder…
Oliver_C
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Was Oppenheimer a spy passing nuclear secrets to Soviet agents?

From Los Angeles Times: A Soviet spy chief's memoirs published here today claim that the late J. Robert Oppenheimer, head of the U.S. atomic bomb project during and after World War II, passed nuclear secrets to Soviet agents. Was Oppenheimer a spy…
Carlo Alterego
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Is it illegal in any U.S. jurisdiction to be in neutral at a red light?

In this related question, I asserted that it was illegal to be in neutral gear while stopped at a red light. The first comment to that question challenged me to quote chapter and verse. Astonishingly, I may have been taken in by popular rumor. There…
KeithS
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Does Barack Obama have an aunt who was a homeless illegal alien that used government housing for 10 years?

Just found this one on Facebook. The people making the claim have 11k page likes (26th November 2012). She lived in a homeless shelter for 2 years. Lived in Government housing for 10 years. As an illegal alien. Her nephew is a…
Evan Carroll
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Was Iran Air Flight 655 shot down by mistake?

Iran Air Flight 655 is allegedly a case of "mistaken identity". Is it possible for AEGIS with most advanced radar system ever put on a ship, not to be able tell a difference between an F-14 and twice as large Airbus A300? Annotated US Navy report.
vartec
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Did Obama have a marine demoted for correcting him?

Someone sent me the following claim: a US Army person who had met with President Obama had suggested that he was wearing his American Flag lapel pin upside down. Obama had the woman removed from her assignment and demoted because she had corrected…
Jim McKevitt
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Is every elected US president related to George Washington?

According to a post on Slashdot: Every single elected president - INCLUDING Barack Obama, has a genealogy related to President George Washington. Note I did say Elected President. Gerald Ford is (as of yet), not known to be related to George…
Brian M. Hunt
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Is this photo of Occupy Wall Street authentic?

From Facebook: This photo is actually getting pulled off Facebook...so, the photographer added a lil text and renamed the file. Pass it on. I'm SURE the media doesn't want this one out there. Share it as much as you can. Leaving aside the claim…
Oddthinking
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Did the US government spend millions of dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly?

According to this site, "Washington is spending $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job." Is this true, and, if so, what program are they referencing?
jrdioko
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Does West Virginia have higher literacy rates than states like New York, California and New Jersey?

In response to Bette Midler saying that West Virginia is moving backward, and is poor, illiterate and strung out, (she apologised but didn't retract the statement as untrue) it's been claimed that West Virginia has higher literacy rates than highly…
Andrew Grimm
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Did CNN use "lightened" photos of Darrell Brooks?

I recently found an image of a tweet shared on Reddit showing CNN using a photo of Darell Brooks (the man who recently drove an SUV into a parade crowd) that makes him look more white. Presumably, that would be to fit a political agenda. The tweet…
Levi C. Olson
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Has Trump, as of January 2020, used military force less than any other president since Jimmy Carter?

Last week, David Brooks, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times claimed (archive): Love or hate him, Trump has used military force less than any other president since Jimmy Carter. There are probably a number of ways to measure this (troop…
Paul Draper
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Is food becoming less nutritious because of depletion of soil minerals and nutrients?

Over and over, I have heard and read claims that the soil growing much of the planet's crops is "depleted" and thus our foods do not have sufficient minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients. Five examples of such…
RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
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Do only 0.6% of rapes lead to incarceration in the US?

According to this website: https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system, out of every 1000 rapes, 994 perpetrators will walk free Similar percentages are presented for other types of crimes as well, but I find it a bit strange to…
user000001
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