Fact-checking Joe Biden

This week:  Fact-checking claims about Afghanistan … Viral photo of Florida COVID is actually accurate … Joe Biden on the Flip-O-Meter … False flag claim is false A weekly note from the editor-in-chief of    (AP) Is al-Qaida still in Afghanistan? As President Joe Biden defended his administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan, he suggested that al-Qaida was no longer a threat there. "What interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point with al-Qaida gone? We went to Afghanistan for the express purpose of getting rid of al-Qaida in Afghanistan, as well as getting Osama bin Laden. And we did," Biden said Aug. 20.  That's not accurate; officials in his own administration said the terrorist group is still active there. We rated Biden's statement False.  On the same day Biden spoke, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged that al-Qaida was a presence in Afghanistan, "and we've talked about that for quite some time." Kirby added that al-Qaida's presence isn't enough to merit a threat to the U.S. as it did 20 years ago.  Days later on Fox News Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said there are al-Qaida members in Afghanistan, but their capacity for a 9/11 type of attack has been diminished. A June United Nations report stated that some of al-Qaida's leadership resides in the Afghanistan and Pakistan border region. Al-Qaida is present in at least 15 Afghan provinces and "is reported to number in the range of several dozen to 500 persons." The Inspector General to Congress found that the Taliban maintains a relationship with al-Qaida, providing safe haven for the terrorist group while publicly denying its presence in Afghanistan.   Tricia Bacon, an associate professor who directs the Policy Anti-Terrorism Hub at American University, said that al-Qaida is seriously weakened, but it has also proven to be a resilient organization, capable of recovering from setbacks. A Taliban spokesperson said in an interview with Saudi Arabia's al-Hadath TV that al-Qaida is "not present," in Afghanistan though there may be "family ties'' between members of the two organizations. Bacon said that the Taliban is being disingenuous, and the statement does not "accurately reflect the situation on the ground." — Amy Sherman Share Tweet Forward The Latest from PolitiFact No, Liz Cheney didn't stop Donald Trump from leaving Afghanistan. U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, said that former President Donald Trump "was blocked from getting troops out of (Afghanistan) by Liz Cheney and others." We rated that Mostly False. Cheney sponsored an amendment that allowed troop reductions but required reports to confirm the safety of U.S. forces and the protection of national security. Also, Trump ignored the law: He did not produce a report as the amendment required when he began reducing troop levels. Trump continues lying about 2020 election. Trump recently claimed that a Milwaukee election official has acknowledged dropping off at 3 a.m. just the margin of ballots needed for a Biden win the state. PolitiFact Wisconsin rated this Pants on Fire. The root of the claim was a joke among officials that was either misinterpreted or purposefully twisted. The official in question never "acknowledged" dropping off ballots, nor has any election official said that they threw the election.  Pfizer's CEO has taken the company's vaccine. A post on social media claimed that Pfizer's CEO hasn't taken his own company's vaccine. We rated that False. The recent shows undated video of an interview with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla from December, before vaccines were widely available. Bourla was vaccinat ed in March.  Biden on the Flip-O-Meter. Biden said on ABC that it wouldn't have been possible to get out of Afghanistan without "chaos ensuing." But that's a different message from what he said in the months leading up to the planned withdrawal. That earns him a Full Flop on the Flip-O-Meter. Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help   Yes, I support PolitiFact! Make a tax-deductible donation to make this message go away. Seen this photo on social media? It's real A viral post on Reddit shows a dramatic photo of two people lying on the ground sick with COVID-19 seeking treatment. One appears curled against a wall, while another patient draped with a paper medical gown is curled up, face down. Unlike many of the viral posts we examine, this one is real. We rated it True.  Suzanne Lopez posted the photo taken by her husband Louie on Reddit, writing, "My husband (vaccinated, but positive) has been waiting 2+ hours for monoclonal therapy and he says he has never seen people so sick. Moaning, crying, unable to move."  The idea that, more than one year into the pandemic, COVID-19 patients in a major city in Florida would be lying on a floor moaning for help seemed improbable. But it's real, according to city and state officials, and local media. The photo was taken at one of multiple state-supported sites that opened in August to provide monoclonal antibody treatments that help COVID-19 patients avoid hospitalization or death. Nikki Kimbleton, a spokesperson for the city of Jacksonville, said in a written statement to PolitiFact that the volume of patients seeking the treatment more than doubled in recent days at the Jacksonville clinic, which is located at a public library. While the site provided 43 doses on Aug. 16, that rose in the following days to 97, 143 and 155.  Once the city realized the increase in patients seeking treatment, the city made sure the clinic had adequate supplies, including more wheelchairs, seats for patients waiting in line and signs directing patients to alert someone if they need assistance. Louie Lopez, who took the photo, told PolitiFact that he came down with symptoms then tested positive for COVID-19, even though he was vaccinated. His physician advised him to take Regeneron, so he signed up for an appointment. While he was waiting in line for his appointment, the two women in the photo arrived.  He said the woman in the yellow dress "was in the worst shape — she was moaning and in pain, and it was freezing in there. They brought one of those paper gowns and covered her up. She was just laying there." Later, clinic staff put the two women into wheelchairs.  Local TV news station News4Jax interviewed Toma Dean, the woman lying face down on the floor. Dean said that she was not vaccinated, and that she had been suffering with COVID-19 and pneumonia for two weeks. An emergency room doctor told her to get the monoclonal antibody treatment. She said the staff at the library were excellent and scrambled to get wheelchairs. (PolitiFact was unable to reach Dean directly.) DeSantis has set up sites for Regeneron across Florida. The product consists of two monoclonal antibodies, which are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system's ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses.  Read the full story.  — Amy Sherman Think you can determine fact from fiction? We invite you to participate in our free online course How to Spot Misinformation Online to learn how to recognize health misinformation on the Internet, with an emphasis on COVID-19 vaccines. This short training will have you feeling more confident finding facts on Facebook and other social media platforms. Plus, special guests Christiane Amanpour and Joan Lunden will share media literacy tips before you put your new skills to the test. Enroll today.  How to Spot Misinformation Online is made possible thanks to Facebook and AARP. Quick links to more fact-checks & reports  Half True: Joe Biden overshoots on visas for Afghans who helped U.S.   Firm led by top donor to Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis isn't a major Regeneron investor   Claim about COVID-19 vaccines and miscarriages based on flawed reading of study   Is it safer to be unvaccinated against COVID-19? In several ways, that's False   Posts correct about Trump administration's role in releasing key Taliban leader   COVID-19 vaccination does not violate the Nuremberg Code Do you smell smoke?  Here's your Pants on Fire fact-check of the week:  No, the U.S. Capitol bomb threat was not a "false flag." See what else we've rated Pants on Fire this week.  Have questions or ideas for our coverage? Send me an email at holan@politifact.com. Put "Fact-checking" in the subject line. Thanks for reading! Angie Drobnic Holan  PolitiFact Editor-in-Chief  Send this link to your friends so they can sign up for this email! Copyright © 2021 PolitiFact, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website, attended one of our events, or communicated with us. Our mailing address is: PolitiFact 801 3rd St S 33701 St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list.  Subscription Information This message was sent to  Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally