NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

A roundup of some of the most popular but entirely untrue tales and visuals of the 7 days. None of these are legit, even even though they have been shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Listed here are the info:

___

Congress members did not raise own salaries in March 2022

Assert: Associates of Congress gave by themselves a 21% spend increase in early March.

THE Points: Social media buyers are misrepresenting a governing administration expending invoice that elevated funding for legislative office environment budgets — which associates of Congress use to employ and pay staff and go over other formal fees — not lawmakers’ salaries. Congress on March 10 approved the bipartisan $1.5 trillion federal government paying out bill, financing federal businesses by way of the rest of the fiscal yr and offering $13.6 billion to support Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion. After President Joe Biden signed the bill into legislation, several social media consumers commenced falsely boasting it involved a 21% pay bump for federal lawmakers. “Congress gave on their own a 21% raise,” read through a broadly shared tweet. “They need an excess 30+ grand a 12 months but they won’t raise minimum wage from $7.25 an hour?” But the monthly bill does not at all improve Congress members’ salaries, which have stayed the identical at $174,000 a yr considering the fact that 2009, according to a report from the Congressional Research Provider. A summary of the invoice from Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee suggests the monthly bill prevents “any spend increases in FY22” for members of Congress. In its place, the invoice includes $774.4 million for the Users Representational Allowance, a price range that permits each individual Household member to seek the services of and pay legislative personnel and handle other official costs. That $774.4 million range is $134.4 million better, or 21% a lot more, than the fiscal calendar year 2021 spending plan provided for the same objective, in accordance to a report from the Home Appropriations Committee. The House Ethics Committee describes on its internet site that users of Congress may only use the Customers Representational Allowance budget for “ordinary and important expenses” incurred as component of a member’s formal responsibilities. “The MRA may possibly not be utilised to pay for any charges connected to things to do or functions that are primarily social in nature, personal fees, marketing campaign or political bills, or Residence committee expenses,” the committee’s internet site claims. Best Democrats in the Household reported the greater MRA funding will aid lawmakers recruit and retain workers who have been leaving for far more aggressive opportunities. About 1 in 8 Washington-centered congressional staffers built fewer than a living wage in 2020, according to an assessment of income data by Challenge A person, a bipartisan advocacy team.

— Affiliated Press author Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report.

___

Green New Deal falsely discovered as the lead to of higher fuel charges

Claim: The Environmentally friendly New Offer is creating gasoline price ranges to spike.

THE Facts: The Inexperienced New Offer, a broad program meant to address local weather adjust, has not been enacted into legislation and is not impacting gasoline price ranges, specialists say. But posts boasting that the increase in U.S. gas price ranges is due to the regulations linked with the Inexperienced New Offer have circulated extensively on social media in modern days. “It’s Not Russia (they provide just 3% of our oil.),” a Facebook consumer wrote final 7 days. “It’s’ not the oil businesses, It Is the Eco-friendly NEW Offer polices. They are lying to us…” The assert is phony. The Green New Offer, a sweeping system backed by some Democrats to deal with weather alter, has not been enacted by the federal governing administration, professionals advised The Linked Press. “It’s like blaming what is happening in the planet on a boogeyman that does not exist,” stated Michael Wara, director of the local climate and strength plan program at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Surroundings. “That’s not appropriate.” The Environmentally friendly New Offer, which originally existed as a nonbinding resolution, known as for a “10-calendar year national mobilization” to shift the U.S. financial system absent from fossil fuels and substitute them with renewable resources, the AP documented in March 2019. But the resolution didn’t move Congress. Wara noted that Construct Back Far better, President Joe Biden’s roughly $2 trillion investing program, involved provisions that ended up encouraged by the Environmentally friendly New Deal, these types of as rebates for electric cars. However, the spending program has been stalled in Congress for months. Amy Myers Jaffe, a exploration professor and taking care of director of the Local weather Coverage Lab at Tufts College, claimed that significant fuel prices are not becoming brought on by other federal local weather modify-oriented insurance policies, both. There are many explanations gasoline selling prices have pushed better. The biggest driver is the cost of crude oil, which has been mounting above the previous yr. As a lot more men and women get on the highway right after currently being cooped up all through the pandemic, oil and gasoline suppliers that had scaled back again output throughout the pandemic lull in need are battling to maintain up. And decisions by the OPEC+ oil cartel, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, to only modestly boost the oil they unveiled to the current market kept price ranges substantial. Worldwide oil costs have climbed even higher as Russia, a major oil provider to the earth, invaded Ukraine and lots of prospective buyers shunned Russian crude, lessening the feasible international oil supply. “The latest spike in gasoline charges is tied to the spike in world wide crude oil selling prices. Global crude oil output dropped during COVID and has been fairly gradual to get better for a quantity of reasons, none of which are Green Deal connected,” Robert Johnston, an adjunct senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Electricity Plan, wrote in an email to the AP. “The essential reasons consist of OPEC manufacturing coverage, extremely powerful desire publish-COVID, reduced inventories, and now the main geopolitical disruption in Russia,” Johnston added.

— Associated Press author Josh Kelety in Phoenix contributed this report with added reporting from Linked Press author Cathy Bussewitz.

___

Pfizer’s inventory has not been eradicated from the NYSE

Claim: Pfizer has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

THE Details: Drug maker Pfizer Inc., which makes a COVID-19 vaccine, has not been eliminated from the NYSE, a corporation spokesperson confirmed. Several social media people cited a distinct U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission type as proof that Pfizer has been taken out from the stock exchange. The kind options the text, “NOTIFICATION OF Removal FROM LISTING AND/OR REGISTRATION.” “PFIZER delisting from NYSE. How is this not much even larger news? This suggests they know they will crash!!! Share,” stated a tweet that shared an impression of the sort. Yet another tweet posted on Monday states, “Pay focus – this is important: 3/07/2022: Pfizer requests to be delisted from the NY Stock Exchange.” But the claims are phony. The kind being shared on social media really worries the delisting of a credit card debt security, which is tradeable corporate financial debt, identical to a bond. The sort was filed by the NYSE on March 7. “The .250% Notes owing 2022 were being euro denominated notes that were being paid out in total on March 7, 2022 in accordance with their terms and maturity day,” the Pfizer spokesperson wrote, referring to Pfizer’s debt stability. “As a result, the .250% Notes because of 2022 are no extended remarkable and as a result are delisted from the NYSE.” In other text, after the credit card debt is compensated off, it is delisted. The spokesperson included that Pfizer’s prevalent inventory carries on “to be detailed on the New York Stock Exchange.” Ludwig Chincarini, a professor of finance at the College of San Francisco, explained to The Associated Push that company debt investing is popular, even though it generally isn’t executed in exchanges and is carried out in the “over the counter market.” “Companies problem debt all the time mainly because they borrow,” he stated. “It’s one more variety of financing.” “What comes about is the notes matured, they’re completed, so the trade has to take away them and they have to notify the SEC,” Chincarini added. A spokesperson for the NYSE declined to remark. The Securities and Exchange Fee did not respond to the AP’s request for remark.

— Josh Kelety

___

Movie of Ukrainian funeral procession misrepresented

Claim: A recent video reveals sacred Christian materials staying transferred from a Kyiv cathedral to a secure bunker.

THE Points: The video clip dates back to at minimum 2015 and exhibits a Ukrainian funeral procession, not the transfer of a Christian sacrament to a bunker for safekeeping. Amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, some social media users are miscaptioning the somber video of a funeral procession from many yrs in the past to suggest it demonstrates latest footage of a spiritual ceremony in the embattled Ukrainian cash. Established to people songs, the blurry clip follows a procession of cars and trucks driving by means of a city as folks kneel together the streets. A Twitter user shared it final week, falsely claiming it confirmed the “Blessed Sacrament” — a reference to the consecrated bread or wine utilized to celebrate Communion in some Christian denominations — currently being evacuated from a cathedral. The user, who identifies themself in their Twitter bio as deacon, wrote: “Transfer of the Blessed Sacrament from Kyiv Cathedral to a bunker.” The submit received additional than 3,000 retweets and 11,000 likes. But the video clip was taken yrs in advance of the latest Russian invasion of Ukraine and does not show the transfer of sacraments. The similar footage was posted on line in April 2015 and once more on YouTube in November 2015. The lengthier 8-moment video clip exhibits a motor vehicle procession flanked by crowds of people today kneeling and looking at as it passes. At some point, the autos cease and a casket is carried by means of a crowd. Even though the video clip does not condition in which the footage was captured, numerous folks can be viewed waving Ukrainian flags. A single of the vehicles also displays a Ukrainian license plate with a code for Lviv, however it’s unclear whether that is where by the footage was filmed. Textual content shown at the beginning of the movie states: “Ukrainians satisfy the cyborg hero who died at the fingers of the Russian occupiers,” and textual content at the end reads, in aspect: “Glory to the heroes of Ukraine.” The term “cyborg” has been utilised to explain a team of Ukrainian troopers who fought at an airport in the Donetsk location during assaults in 2014.

— Linked Press author Sophia Tulp in Atlanta contributed this report.

___

Florida did not repeal its point out gas tax

Assert: Florida, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, has eradicated its tax on gasoline.

THE Information: Florida’s longstanding point out gas tax has not been repealed. In reality, Florida lawmakers permitted a program to temporarily suspend the gasoline tax for one particular month in Oct 2022. Posts declaring that Florida has removed its fuel tax have circulated greatly on social media platforms in current times. “Florida just removed their Point out Tax on Gasoline!!! Red Condition main the way…,” reported a tweet posted on Tuesday with additional than 27,000 likes. But Florida has not eliminated regional gas taxes. Social media customers are misrepresenting a plan that was a short while ago permitted by Florida lawmakers that would suspend gas taxes this calendar year for the month of Oct. The provision is portion of a $112.1 billion state budget that was accredited by lawmakers on Monday, The Related Push documented. The charge of the one-thirty day period suspension will be paid out for by federal coronavirus relief dollars. Republicans have explained that lawmakers selected Oct, a thirty day period just before statewide elections, due to the fact there are ordinarily significantly less travelers in Florida then. Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, a business-backed group that scrutinizes state paying, said that the fuel tax has existed for decades and hasn’t been eradicated. “It’s misinformation, it’s not proper. We will suspend it for one thirty day period, the month of October 2022,” Calabro informed the AP. “All we handed was a one particular-month reprieve,” said Democratic Florida state Sen. Annette Taddeo. “The fuel tax is however right here.” Bethany Wester, a spokesperson for the Florida Division of Profits, wrote in an e-mail to the AP that the momentary gasoline tax suspension will “affect anyone who buys motor gasoline in Florida in the course of the exemption interval.” Republican Gov. DeSantis experienced at first known as for a 5-thirty day period suspension of the state’s gasoline tax in reaction to inflation he blamed on Democratic President Joe Biden, the AP described. With gas rates in the U.S. hitting record highs, governors and lawmakers in other states have also identified as for suspending gas taxes.

— Josh Kelety

___

Discover AP Fact Checks in this article: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck

___

Observe @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck