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

CLAIM: Troops in Washington turned their backs on President Joe Biden’s motorcade as it passed on its way to his inauguration at the U.S. Capitol.

THE FACTS: In accordance with safety protocols, some National Guard members were positioned with their backs to Biden’s motorcade as it made its way through Washington to the U.S. Capitol. But social media users are falsely suggesting a video shot by an ABC reporter shows Guard members turning their backs on Biden in a show of disrespect. 

CLAIM: When Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn into office on Wednesday, she placed a black clutch purse on top of the Bible so she wouldn’t have to touch the holy book.

THE FACTS: Harris rested her hand on a Bible stacked on another Bible as she was sworn into office. But on Thursday, social media users were sharing a photo from Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony along with false claims that Harris avoided touching the Bible during her oath of office.

CLAIM: A video shows a military band played the song “Hit the Road Jack” outside the White House before Donald Trump said farewell to Washington.

THE FACTS: The audio in the video of the Army band’s pre-inauguration rehearsal was altered. 

CLAIM: Donald Trump pardoned “Tiger King” star Joe Exotic before leaving office as president of the United States.

THE FACTS: Social media posts circulating widely on Wednesday falsely claimed the eccentric Oklahoma zookeeper featured in the 2020 Netflix documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” received a pardon from Donald Trump in his last hours as president. 

CLAIM: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is in charge of overseeing the Capitol Police, is responsible for security failures that allowed the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol to happen.

THE FACTS: Pelosi does not oversee day-to-day operations of the Capitol Police.

CLAIM: Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, created a channel on the popular messaging app Telegram and posted several dozen times there, sharing videos, images and phrases such as “nothing can stop what is coming” and “THE TRUTH WILL SHOCK THE WORLD.”

THE FACTS: Hyten’s spokeswoman, Maj. Trisha Guillebeau, confirmed to the AP that the general does not have a Telegram account and that the creator of the channel is impersonating him. The Telegram channel titled “General Hyten” was created on Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-inauguration-joe-biden-ap-fact-check-capitol-siege-media-5b23e3a04930c594aa6e2bb9278af6bd?utm_medium=APFactCheck&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow