In honor of the Fourth of July, we rounded up 10 of our best fact checks focused on the holiday, as well as the Founding Fathers.
We hope that you sit back, relax and grab some delicious summer snacks while reading whether former First Lady Michelle Obama said in 2018 that the Founding Fathers "weren't born in America" or whether a rumored Kid Rock "Fourth of July on Central Park" concert really broke ticket sales in 2024.
You can also click here to read other urban legends we've written about involving Independence Day if you're craving more.
When Benjamin Franklin adapted a British manual for the American colonies, he included a recipe for how to induce an abortion. The recipe may not have actually been effective, given that it was prescribing herbs and ancient remedies far removed from how we perform abortions today. You can read more here.
An image that spread in 2018 purportedly comparing how Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Donald Trump celebrated the Fourth of July during their presidencies consisted of cherry-picked photographs, none taken on Independence Day. The image of Trump predated his presidency by several years. You can read more here.
After former President Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying records in a landmark hush-money case in May 2024, conservative commentator Benny Johnson posted a short video about the case on social media platforms that claimed all the Founding Fathers were felons. But determining whether the Founding Fathers committed treason is a moot point because the American Revolution succeeded. You can read more here.
Fake news, flawed reading comprehension and Islamophobia resulted in overblown accusations against the mayor of Minneapolis in 2018, when claims spread he had allowed a "Muslim animal sacrifice" at Vikings Stadium after not allowing Fourth of July fireworks to be held there previously. You can read more here.
No, Michelle Obama didn't say the signers of the Declaration of Independence were not "born in America" in 2014. She said "none of [the Founding Fathers] were born American; they became American," meaning they were born as British subjects in a colonial empire and chose to seek new opportunities for themselves by establishing America. You can read more here.
No, Kid Rock's rumored "Fourth of July on Central Park" concert didn't set a record for ticket sales in 2024. A post making that claim originated from a Facebook account that includes a satire disclaimer. You can read more here.
It's unproven whether the 1816 death of Gouverneur Morris, a signer of the Constitution, was caused by an infection after his urinary blockage was treated with a whalebone catheter. The claim spread in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade being overturned, which had people discussing on social media how the Constitution could be edited. You can read more here.
No, U.S. President Joe Biden didn't say Fourth of July celebrations could be canceled in 2021 if Americans did not do what they were told. Biden did encourage Americans to keep masking and stay vigilant, but he didn't warn anyone that he would cancel Fourth of July celebrations. You can read more here.
A video taken at the White House in 2023 didn't show Hunter Biden sniffing cocaine on the Fourth of July that year. The video was misleadingly edited in an attempt to draw attention to Biden's actions. There was no tangible evidence the video showed him sniffing cocaine on the balcony. You can read more here.
No, Thomas Jefferson didn't say, "When the speech condemns a free press, you are hearing the words of a tyrant." The Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia stated no such passage exists in Jefferson's writings. As such, we found it was "a fabrication of very recent origin." You can read more here.