Facts Matter: Biden not sending relief checks for high gas prices

As high gas prices continue to set records nearly each day, a recent social media post claims help from the federal government is on the way.

"President Biden confirm(ed) everyone will receive their $1k gas checks this week!!" a June 12 Facebook post read. "Long as you don't owe da state you will get the full amount which is $1k this week!! Most of you should have gotten it on yesterday. This is for all states!!!"

But this is not happening, according to PolitiFact. Even if you don't owe money to "da state," you will not be receiving $1,000 in relief funds from the government.

In the post, the Facebook user said they received their stimulus check, but it "was $7 kuh I owe da State." Also included were two photos showing someone holding their fingers over the name and address on what appears to be a government check.

A proposed House bill concerning relief for Americans - the Stop Gas Price Gouging Tax and Rebate Act - has been stuck in a congressional committee since it was introduced in March.

Some insurrectionists were carrying guns

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has been broadcasting a series of public hearings, aired live on many news stations.

Following the Day 1 proceedings, Fox News host Tucker Carlson was talking about the insurrection.

"Just to be clear on terms, an insurrection is when people with guns try to overthrow the government. Not a single person in the crowd on Jan. 6 was found to be carrying a firearm. Not one," the host said during the June 10 broadcast of "Tucker Carlson Tonight."

But that's wrong on two counts, according to PolitiFact. Court documents show that some of the rioters carried firearms. And a gun is not necessary to have an insurrection.

The case files reviewed by PolitiFact show several defendants detained at the Capitol were carrying firearms.

An Alabama man detained at the Capitol was carrying two pistols. In his truck, parked in the area, officers found three loaded firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a crossbow, machetes, a stun gun and 11 Molotov cocktails.

A Texas man and a Maryland man were each charged separately with bringing a handgun onto Capitol grounds.

Also, an insurrection is defined as a violent uprising against the government. A weapon isn't necessary. However, on Jan. 6, many of the Capitol rioters were armed with items used as weapons, including bats, flagpoles, fire extinguishers, chemical sprays and skateboards.

Death comparison misuses data

A recent social media post claims that in a comparison, more people have died from the COVID-19 vaccines than have died from being shot by a rifle.

The post, circulating on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, includes a graphic showing 454 people were killed by rifles in the U.S. in 2020 while it lists 20,622 deaths from COVID-19 vaccines in 2021.

But this use of the data is misleading, according to The Associated Press.

The vaccine data comes from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, site, which is run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. The site is a portal for people to share the adverse effects they experienced after taking a vaccine.

Anyone can go to the portal and report any symptoms they have experienced, even if it had nothing to do with a vaccine. Health officials follow up on any serious events people have entered. An explainer on the site states the portal may include "information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental or unverifiable."

The CDC has verified nine deaths caused by rare blood clots related to the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.

The number of rifle deaths listed in the post comes from an FBI report categorizing firearm deaths by type of weapon. While there were 454 rifle deaths reported in 2020, there are an additional 5,000 homicides by firearm in which there is no weapon category.

Overall, there were 13,620 firearm deaths in 2020.

Sun, not sunscreen, can cause skin cancer

The temperature, and false claims about the weather, are on the rise.

"With summer around the corner, this is your reminder that the (sun) does not cause cancer. Chemicals in sunscreen baking into your skin does," reads a Facebook claim posted last month.

But that's false, according to USA Today. In fact, the opposite is true.

Ultraviolet radiation in sunlight is a cause of skin cancer, experts have said, and sunscreen is effective in blocking those rays from getting to the skin.

"The efficacy of this blockage is reflected in the SPF rating, with higher SPF suggesting that it is safer to stay in the sun longer," Harvard University professor Dr. Timothy R. Rebbeck told USA Today.

• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.