Claim 1: “Our crime rate is skyrocketing.”

• Fact Check: This claim is incorrect. Crime rates, including violent and property crimes, have actually seen a significant decline in both 2023 and early 2024. Preliminary FBI data shows a 13% decrease in murders and a 6% reduction in violent crime in 2023 compared to the previous year. The first quarter of 2024 continued this trend, with murders down by 26% and overall violent crime down by 15%. Multiple sources confirm this downward trend, contradicting Trump’s assertion.

Claim 2: “We’re experiencing the worst inflation in 100 years. Some say it’s 48 years, but I don’t believe that.”

• Fact Check: This statement is misleading and inaccurate. The peak inflation rate during President Biden’s administration was 9.1% in June 2022, the highest since 1981—around 40 years ago, not 100 years or even 48 years. Additionally, inflation has significantly decreased since then, with July 2024 seeing a rate of 3.2%, similar to levels observed in 2011.

Claim 3: “The biggest threat isn’t global warming, where sea levels will rise by one-eighth of an inch over the next 400 years… which would give us more oceanfront property, right?”

• Fact Check: This claim is false and grossly misrepresents the facts. The global average sea level is currently rising at a rate of about 0.17 to 0.19 inches per year, not over 400 years. This rate is accelerating, with NASA reporting a notable increase between 2022 and 2023. The consequences of rising sea levels are severe, particularly in coastal areas like Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago is located.

Claim 4: “You’ve got a huge audience listening… around 60 million or something.”

• Fact Check: This claim is exaggerated. At the time Trump made this remark, only 1.1 million accounts were listening to the conversation. It appears Trump may have confused this with the number of views on his X post sharing the conversation, but the vast majority of those views did not equate to listeners.

Claim 5: “Kamala Harris wants to release all the prisoners in detention, and some of these guys are really dangerous. This was just reported today.”

• Fact Check: This claim is baseless. There is no evidence to support the idea that Vice President Kamala Harris wants to release all detainees. Trump seems to be misinterpreting Harris’ past statements from 2019, where she advocated for closing privately-run immigration detention centers—not for releasing all prisoners.

Trump’s conversation with Elon Musk was riddled with inaccuracies, many of which have been debunked multiple times before. It’s crucial for public discourse to be based on accurate information, especially on issues as significant as crime, inflation, and climate change. By fact-checking these claims, we hope to provide readers with a clearer understanding of the truth, ensuring that misinformation does not go unchecked.

For All Social Media Fans

Misinformation refers to false or inaccurate information that is unintentionally spread. It can occur due to misunderstandings, misinterpretations, or errors. Misinformation is often shared innocently, without malicious intent.

Examples of misinformation include:

• Rumors: Spreading unverified stories or claims.
• Mistaken Identity: Incorrectly attributing an event or statement to the wrong person.
• Outdated Information: Sharing facts that were once true but have since changed.

Fake news refers to websites that share mis or disinformation. This might be via satire sites like The Onion, but it also refers to those pretending to be trustworthy news sources.

Sometimes, people use the term ‘fake news’ to discredit true information. As such, it’s better to use more general terms such as ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’.

Disinformation is false information that someone or a group spreads online while knowing it’s false. Generally, they do this for a specific intention, usually for the purpose of influencing others to believe their point of view.

3 quick things to know about misinformation

1. Fake news vs misinformation

‘Fake news’ refers to false information and news online. However, it’s more appropriate to use ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’.

Misinformation is false information spread by people who think it’s true.

Disinformation is false information spread by people who know it’s false.

2.What forms can misinformation or ‘fake news’ take?

Misinformation comes in different forms

Mis/disinformation and fake news might look like:

• social media hoaxes
• AI adverts
• phishing emails
• popular videos
• sponsored posts

Misinformation is hard to spot for children who might not yet have the skills to fact-check. It can spread on social media, through satire news websites, via parody videos and other spaces.

3.How does misinformation impact children?

Mis/disinformation is an online harm

Misinformation can impact children’s:

• mental health
• physical wellbeing
• future finances
• views towards other people.

It can also lead to mistrust and confusion related to the information they come across online.

What is misinformation?

Misinformation is false information that is spread by people who think it’s true. This is different from ‘fake news’ and disinformation.

Fake news refers to websites that share mis or disinformation. This might be via satire sites like The Onion, but it also refers to those pretending to be trustworthy news sources.

Sometimes, people use the term ‘fake news’ to discredit true information. As such, it’s better to use more general terms such as ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’.

Disinformation is false information that someone or a group spreads online while knowing it’s false. Generally, they do this for a specific intention, usually for the purpose of influencing others to believe their point of view.

How social media spreads false information

From sock puppet accounts to scam ads, social media can help spread misinformation to thousands if not millions of people at once. Unfortunately, social media algorithms make it so any interaction helps the content reach more people.

Angry reactions on Facebook or comments calling a post out as false only helps the poster reach more people. This is because the algorithm only understands whether something is popular or not. It can’t tell if information is false; that’s why users must report false information rather than engage with it.

Misinformation and disinformation pose a significant threat to societies worldwide, with particularly severe implications for countries like India. Spread of false information is critical risk perceived by experts across the globe. Addressing this challenge requires a multifaceted approach, including media literacy education, robust fact-checking mechanisms, and increased digital literacy among the population.