PolitiFact is reporting that President Donald Trump recently reiterated claims of noncitizen voting and Chinese election interference in the 2020 election, without providing evidence of affected results. It said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated on July 17 that foreign adversaries can access voting machines and change votes, citing their possession of "vital pieces" and access to the "key to the back" of machines. PolitiFact noted that while voting machines have weaknesses, election officials implement security measures like restricted access, locked storage, and lack of internet connectivity. It cited experts like J. Alex Halderman and Andrew Appel, who emphasized that there is no evidence of these vulnerabilities being exploited in U.S. elections and that most states use verifiable paper ballots.
PolitiFact launched "Well Informed," a new health journalism initiative this week. It said the project aims to provide fact-based answers to health-related questions, addressing trends seen on social media and news of health outbreaks. It reported that Well Informed has covered topics such as the FDA's false positive in a cyclosporiasis outbreak, the implications of permanent daylight saving time for sleep quality, Legionnaires' disease, and testosterone replacement therapy.
In other fact-checks, PolitiFact rated Sen. Jon Ossoff's claim that Republicans "doubled health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians and threw 300,000 Georgians off their insurance altogether" as Mostly True. It said the expiration of expanded Obamacare subsidies, supported by Republicans including Rep. Mike Collins, led to average net monthly premiums more than doubling in Georgia. PolitiFact also rated former Sen. Sherrod Brown's claim that a 2019 energy law, House Bill 6, was solely responsible for a $663 annual increase in electricity bills as Half True. It said Brown's figure for the increase was accurate, but other factors also contributed to the rising prices. Additionally, PolitiFact rated as True a social media claim that the U.S. previously tried and disliked year-long daylight saving time. It said a 1974 trial period, enacted during an oil crisis, was ended early due to public dissatisfaction with dark winter mornings and reports of traffic accidents.
PolitiFact also reported on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plan to annually test U.S. service members' testosterone levels, particularly for those aged 30 and older, with an opt-in for younger members. It said Hegseth described the initiative as "restoring and optimizing" natural capabilities, not artificial enhancement. PolitiFact noted that scientists do not agree on a single definition of low testosterone and that testosterone replacement therapy has both benefits and risks.