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‘Obama phones’? No, they’ve been around for years

National
By Catharine Richert
October 28, 2009

The latest chain e-mail to land in our in box says

a new program gives free phones to welfare recipients

. But we found the e-mail was glossing over some key details — such as the fact that the program has been around for many years. We rated the claim Barely True.

Our Sources

See item for sources.

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Catharine Richert
Ed Schultz
stated on May 5, 2010 in a broadcast of the Ed Show:
“Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu received almost $1.8 million from BP over the last decade.”
Pants on Fire!
By Catharine Richert • May 14, 2010
Mary Landrieu
stated on May 4, 2010 in an interview on CNN:
“In the last 10 years we’ve only had 7,000 barrels of oil spilled in the Gulf … not counting hurricanes. This well is spewing that amount every day and a half.”
Mostly True
By Catharine Richert • May 13, 2010
Harry Reid
stated on May 11, 2010 in a speech on the Senate floor:
On Sandra Day O’Connor: “I think one reason she was a good judge is she had no judicial experience” before she joined the Supreme Court.
False
By Catharine Richert • May 12, 2010
J.D. Hayworth
stated on April 28, 2010 in an interview on the Fox Business Network:
“Up until two weeks ago, John McCain was a leading proponent of amnesty. Now with me challenging him, suddenly he has changed.”
Pants on Fire!
By Catharine Richert • May 5, 2010
Katrina vanden Heuvel
stated on May 2, 2010 in a roundtable discussion on ABC's 'This Week':
“At the moment, energy companies spend 0.25 percent on R&D.”
True
By Catharine Richert • May 3, 2010
Arlen Specter
stated on April 21, 2010 in an interview on MSNBC's Daily Rundown:
 “Congress can tell [the Supreme Court] which cases they ought to hear. We have that authority.”
True
By Catharine Richert • April 29, 2010
George Will
stated on April 25, 2010 in a panel discussion on ABC This Week:
 “What the Arizona law does is make a state crime out of something that already is… a federal crime.”
Mostly True
By Catharine Richert • April 28, 2010
Bob Corker
stated on April 25, 2010 in an interview on ABC's This Week:
The Banking Committee voted a 1,336-page bill “out of committee in 21 minutes with no amendments, with the understanding that before the bill came to the floor, we would reach this bipartisan agreement.”
Mostly True
By Catharine Richert • April 25, 2010
House Natural Resources Committee Republicans
stated on April 5, 2010 in a news release posted on his website.:
“Obama did not open new lands to offshore drilling – all of these areas were already open for drilling once Congress and President Bush lifted the moratorium in 2008. Instead, President Obama yesterday announced what areas he would CLOSE to offshore drilling.”
Mostly False
By Catharine Richert • April 23, 2010
Paul Ryan
stated on March 31, 2010 in a speech to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs:
In 2004, “20 percent of U.S. households were getting about 75 percent of their income from the federal government. … Another 20 percent were receiving almost 40 percent.”
Mostly False
By Catharine Richert • April 21, 2010
Richard Shelby
stated on March 25, 2010 in a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner:
“The bill reported out of committee sets up a $50 billion slush fund that, while intended for resolving failing firms, is available for virtually any purpose that the treasury secretary sees fit.”
False
By Catharine Richert • April 16, 2010
Stephen Colbert
stated on April 12, 2010 in an interview on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report":
John Paul Stevens is the only Protestant on the U.S. Supreme Court.
True
By Catharine Richert • April 14, 2010
Barack Obama
stated on March 31, 2010 in an announcement at Andrews Air Force Base :
On oil drilling
No Flip
By Catharine Richert • March 31, 2010
Lindsey Graham
stated on March 24, 2010 in an appearance on the Fox News show "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren:
“The average student will be spending $1,700 to $1,800 more during the life of their loan because of this surcharge.”
False
By Catharine Richert • March 30, 2010
Charlie Crist
stated on March 28, 2010 in a U.S. Senate primary debate on FOX News Sunday:
“The average cost for health insurance in Florida went from about $600 a month for an individual to about $150 a month.”
False
By Catharine Richert • March 29, 2010

‘Obama phones’? No, they’ve been around for years

Clear
Alexander Vindman
stated on July 27, 2026 in an X post:
Then-Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody transferred “$10 million in taxpayer money meant for children’s health care to a campaign fund.”
Half-True
By Samantha Putterman • August 13, 2026
Ron Johnson
stated on August 10, 2026 in a Fox News Digital video:
There is “an 82% miscarriage rate with women who got the (COVID-19 vaccine) injection in the first or second trimester.”
False
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Donald Trump
stated on August 10, 2026 in remarks in the Oval Office:
When the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are given together in the combined MMR vaccine, “there could be a possibility they’re quite lethal.”
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman, Madison Czopek • August 11, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on August 10, 2026 in remarks while signing an executive order:
There are vaccines the size of a “bottle of soda … poured into a little child’s body.”
Pants on Fire!
By Grace Abels, Louis Jacobson • August 11, 2026
X posts
stated on August 8, 2026 in X posts:
Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed “openly calls for Sharia law in America.”
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman • August 10, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on August 4, 2026 in a Fox News interview:
Prices are “all coming down now. The food, the groceries, it’s all coming down.”
Mostly False
By Louis Jacobson • August 10, 2026
Mike Rogers
stated on August 5, 2026 in a campaign statement:
Abdul El-Sayed “believes America deserved 9/11.”
Pants on Fire!
By Caleb McCullough • August 7, 2026
Byron Donalds
stated on July 22, 2026 in X post:
“Senate Bill 484 ensures that utility rates will not go up due to data centers.”
Half-True
By Samantha Putterman • August 7, 2026
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“DOJ Epstein files reveal Senator Ed Markey was part of Epstein lobbying effort.”
Mostly False
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En Venezuela, “Estamos ganando cientos de miles de millones de dólares (en ingresos petroleros), y ellos también”.
False
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stated on August 4, 2026 in a Fox News interview:
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False
By Louis Jacobson • August 6, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on August 3, 2026 in remarks in the Oval Office:
“There was vandalism” at the Reflecting Pool.
False
By Amy Sherman, Louis Jacobson • August 4, 2026
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on August 2, 2026 in an interview with Dana Bash on CNN:
The U.S. “had the highest death rate from COVID of any nation on earth.”
False
By Grace Abels • August 4, 2026
United Democracy Project
stated on July 28, 2026 in an ad:
“With our democracy on the line against Donald Trump in 2024, El-Sayed told Democrats to vote uncommitted — even after Gov. (Gretchen) Whitmer warned those efforts would help elect Donald Trump.”
Half-True
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stated on July 27, 2026 in a debate:
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Mostly False
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stated on July 23, 2026 in X post:
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False
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Senate Leadership Fund
stated on July 25, 2026 in an ad:
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stated on July 21, 2026 in an X post:
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Social Media
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stated on July 6, 2026 in an interview:
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