copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2024-07-25): Yes, It's True – Bill Gates' 275,000 Acres Of Farmland Grows The Potatoes For McDonald's French Fries [...] According to an investigative report issued by NBC News, among the nearly 300,000 acres of farmland owned by the billionaire is a 14,500-acre plot in Washington state that is so vast it can be seen from space. This plot is dedicated to growing potatoes, some used to make McDonald's French fries. [...] This article Yes, It's True – Bill Gates' 275,000 Acres Of Farmland Grows The Potatoes For McDonald's French Fries originally appeared on Benzinga.com © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2024-07-08): No, McDonald’s french fries don’t all come from potatoes grown on Bill Gates’ farms [...] "In case you didn’t know every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland," the text in the July 8 Facebook photo reads. The caption said, "Reasons why you should never put a McDonald’s French Fry in your mouth again." [...] Like those, this claim is untrue. We rate the claim that "every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland" False.
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2023-09-28): Posts on Facebook falsely claim all McDonald’s French fries come from Bill Gates and a "genetically modified potato farm". [...] The text on the image says: "in case you didn’t know every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from Bill Gates and genetically modified potato farm. EVERY SINGLE ONE. [sic]" This is not true. [...] The claim in the posts may have come from reports that Mr Gates’ investment firm, Cascade Investments, owns a farm named 100 Circles Farm, which is listed as a potato supplier on the McDonald’s USA website.
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2021-06-11): Next time you savor a McDonald’s french fry, remember to thank Bill Gates for the tasty spud. As reported in The Post, the soon-to-be single computer magnate happens to own more farmland than anyone else in the United States. Known for loving fast food — although his burger of choice comes from the Washington-based chainlet Burgermaster — Gates, according to NBC News, grows potatoes for McDonald’s in fields so vast they can be scoped from outer space. [...] Considering that Gates is said to own 269,000 acres of fertile land in 18 states, it’s easy to imagine him keeping track of it all on some souped-up series of spreadsheets. If so, gangs of divorce lawyers — including some who worked on the Jeff Bezos bust-up — have surely been scrutinizing the potato haul. Gates, the fourth-richest person in the world, married his impending ex, Melinda, without a prenuptial agreement, so they will be splitting property via a so-called "separation contract."
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2021-02-10): Gates has spent years quietly diversifying his $129 billion fortune through asset manager Cascade Investments to include at least 224,000 acres of U.S. farmland since at least 2014, when the acreage was rapidly increasing in value. But a few weeks ago, The Land Report Editor Eric O’Keefe revealed Gates’ field-topping stake in cropland — as well as that he’s now the 49th largest private owner of land in the country, period. O’Keefe unearthed this information after tracking the unnamed buyer of a conspicuously expensive single transfer of Washington acreage in 2018. The Tri-City Herald’s Wendy Culverwell reported that a farm partnership "with no clear interest in Washington" was behind the $171 million purchase of 14,500 acres in the Horse Heaven Hills area of southwest Benton County. The land is occupied by 100 Circle Farms, which produces potatoes for McDonald’s french fries. [...] "As best as can be discerned, I believe that Bill Gates’s farmland portfolio is a long-term hold. Keep in mind that one of Bill’s closest friends is Warren Buffet, the ultimate buy-and-hold investor," O’Keefe says.
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2021-06-09): They own the soil where the potatoes in McDonald’s french fries grow, the carrots from the world’s largest producer and the onions that Americans sauté every night for dinner. But they’re far better known for their work in tech and in trying to save the climate. [...] Data gathered by The Land Report and NBC News show that their land holdings range from 70,000 acres in north Louisiana, where their farmland grows soybeans, corn, cotton and rice, to 20,000 acres in Nebraska, where farmers grow soybeans. They bought and later sold an additional 6,000 acres in Georgia, NBC News found. In Washington, the Gateses own more than 14,000 acres of farmland that includes potato fields so massive that they are visible from space and some of which are processed into french fries for McDonald’s. And in Florida, farmers grow carrots on their property. These land holdings are separate from their previous investments in companies that support large-scale farming like Monsanto and the tractor manufacturer John Deere. [...] Along the Columbia River border between Washington and Oregon, the Gateses purchased 100 Circles Farm, a 14,500-acre plot of land, for $171 million in 2018, according to property and business records. There, on Gates’ parcels, an industrial farm grows potatoes for McDonald’s french fries. Cascade declined to comment on its specific land holdings.
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2024-03-25): On March 21, 2024, a claim about Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates and McDonald's french fries received renewed interest when a conspiracy-promoting account on X (formerly Twitter) reshared a portion of a meme claiming the billionaire "owns … land in Washington state used to grow the potatoes for McDonald's fries." This is a factual statement. Though a version of this meme that has previously gone viral made additional false claims — that potatoes produced on that farm are genetically modified, and that the farm is the sole supplier of potatoes to McDonald's — it is true that a farm Gates owns is a significant supplier of McDonald's french fry potatoes. [...] There have been no reported changes in ownership of 100 Circle Farms since Gates' purchase. While the farm does not produce GMO potatoes, and is not the sole supplier of McDonald's french fries, as is claimed in some memes, it is factual that Gates owns farmland responsible for producing a significant amount of the company's french fries. For that reason, we rate this claim as "True."
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2021-06-17): In fact, the multi-billionaires are responsible for one of the world’s most popular fried foods – the humble McDonald’s French fries. Potatoes used by the US fast-food giant, carrots and onions are among the fresh produce grown across farmland owned by the Gates, according to recent data gathered by The Land Report and NBC News. [...] From soybeans, corn, cotton and rice grown across about 28,300 hectares in Louisiana to producing potatoes across more than 5,700 hectares of land in Washington – fields so huge that they are visible from space – the agriculture investment portfolio makes Bill Gates the largest private owner of farmland in the US.
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2021-06-10): - According to NBC, land that he owns in Washington state is used to grow potatoes that make McDonald's fries. [...] Bill Gates is the largest private farmland owner in the US — and according to a new report from NBC, potatoes that make McDonald's fries grow in his fields. Citing data by The Land Report and its own research, NBC said that potatoes for McDonald's fries are grown in fields in Washington state that are so vast that you can see them from space.
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2021-06-10): They own the soil where the potatoes in McDonald’s french fries grow, the carrots from the world’s largest producer and the onions that Americans sauté every night for dinner, according to this report by April Glaser for NBC. [...] In Washington, the Gateses own more than 14,000 acres of farmland that includes potato fields so massive that they are visible from space and some of which are processed into french fries for McDonald’s. Along the Columbia River border between Washington and Oregon, the Gateses purchased 100 Circles Farm, a 14,500-acre plot of land, for $171 million in 2018, according to property and business records. There, on Gates’ parcels, an industrial farm grows potatoes for McDonald’s french fries. Cascade declined to comment on its specific land holdings.
Claim: “Every single McDonald’s french fry comes exclusively from potatoes grown on Bill Gates-owned farmland.” (Facebook post, 2024-07-08)
Evidence (2024-03-29): A March 25 Snopes "fact-check" verified that Gates does own a farm in Washington that grows potatoes for McDonald’s. But Snopes said statements made by other memes — claiming Gates supplies McDonald’s with all of its french fries and that they are grown at a "genetically modified potato farm" — were untrue. [...] "McDonald’s potatoes are sourced from farms all over the world. One potato supplier listed on the McDonald’s USA website is owned by Bill Gates’ investment firm, but it’s not true to say all potatoes used by the fast food chain are from Mr Gates." [...] Full Fact said the Gates-McDonald’s french fry memes got it wrong on the issue of genetically modified potatoes. "None of the potatoes from 100 Circles Farm are genetically modified," Full Fact said.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-07-07): When senators introduced their version of the Green New Deal in February 2019, Harris was one of 11 Democrats who were original co-sponsors. In a Medium post published the day the resolution was introduced, Harris wrote that she was "proud" to have signed on as an original Senate co-sponsor.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2019-06-28): A number of Democratic primary candidates have proclaimed their support for the Green New Deal or something like it. But the first person to actually endorse it on the debate stage either Wednesday or Thursday night was Senator Kamala Harris of California. (Former Governor John Hickenlooper was the first to mention the idea, saying that he "admired the sense of urgency" but that "we can’t promise every American a government job.") Asked by Chuck Todd to describe her climate-change plan, Harris replied briskly and corrected his terms: The rapid warming of the planet should be called the "climate crisis" because "it’s an existential threat to us as a species." She mentioned visiting the site of last year’s wildfires in California "while the embers were smoldering." "That’s why I support a Green New Deal," she said. "It’s why on day one as president, I will reenter us into the Paris Agreement."
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2019-03-14): Since the ambitious and controversial Green New Deal debuted last month, Republicans and Democrats have sparred over the cost of the measure — a nonbinding resolution that broadly outlines how the U.S. should address climate change over the next decade. [...] The Green New Deal, which hasn’t yet come up for a vote in either chamber, is a nonbinding resolution that calls for the country to address climate change by reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions through a "10-year national mobilization." The proposal requires that the transition to clean energy be done in a way that is sensitive to vulnerable populations, and includes other large-scale goals, such as providing all Americans with health care, housing and economic security. [...] The Green New Deal, he said, is a set of ambitions, not policies, and how much things cost will depend on what the policies are.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-08-17): "We see the hope of her presidency as something really refreshing," said Kaniela Ing, national director of The Green New Deal Network, noting that Harris was an original co-sponsor of the group’s signature legislation as a senator in 2019. She has a record of "making sure that Black and brown and low-income communities aren’t disproportionately impacted by corporate pollution," Ing said, "so we’re jumping into the race, something folks didn’t necessarily expect from a coalition like ours." [...] Harris was in the city to announce the recipients of $20 billion in so-called "green bank" grants, the largest ever federal investment in financing for community-based climate projects. The grantees, eight groups of nonprofit lenders, would be a key conduit for ensuring that the IRA’s clean energy money gets to disadvantaged and rural communities. A former staffer in the vice president’s office, who was not speaking for the campaign and asked not to be named, said Harris saw the program as an opportunity to draw on her experience working on access to capital issues in the Senate. (She co-sponsored the record $12 billion in funding for community development financial institutions that was included in the 2020 pandemic relief bill.)
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-10-02): Harris, remember, was one of 11 original cosponsors of Sen. Ed Markey’s Green New Deal resolution in the Senate. That resolution had no practical effect, but was rather a far-reaching statement about what U.S. climate policy should be. It was never adopted by the Senate. Harris signed onto the Green New Deal in 2018, before she joined the Biden administration. Still, that stance might offer a clue about her inclinations before they were constrained by the Biden presidency. [...] The Green New Deal is not really (or realistically) an issue anymore — except to Republicans who want to use it against Harris.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-09-13): The comment by Harris, a longtime climate hawk who backed the original Green New Deal, surprised supporters and opponents alike — and conflicted with frequent boasts by Harris and President Joe Biden that they are champions in the fight to slow global warming. [...] "Harris missed a critical opportunity to lay out a stark contrast with Trump and show young voters that she will stand up to Big Oil and stop the climate crisis,’' said Stevie O’Hanlon, a spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, one of the groups behind the Green New Deal. [...] "There is only one presidential candidate who is a champion for climate action and that is Kamala Harris,’' said Alex Glass, speaking for Climate Power, a liberal advocacy group. Harris "laid out a clear vision to invest in clean energy jobs and lower costs for working families,’' Glass said.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-09-13): The comment by Harris, a longtime climate hawk who backed the original Green New Deal, surprised supporters and opponents alike - and conflicted with frequent boasts by Harris and President Joe Biden that they are champions in the fight to slow global warming. [...] "Harris missed a critical opportunity to lay out a stark contrast with Trump and show young voters that she will stand up to Big Oil and stop the climate crisis,’’ said Stevie O’Hanlon, a spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, one of the groups behind the Green New Deal. [...] "There is only one presidential candidate who is a champion for climate action and that is Kamala Harris,’’ said Alex Glass, speaking for Climate Power, a liberal advocacy group. Harris "laid out a clear vision to invest in clean energy jobs and lower costs for working families,’’ Glass said.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2020-10-08): Fact check: Did Harris co-sponsor Green New Deal, and does Biden support it? The Green New Deal came up frequently during the debate, with Pence pointing out that Harris was "the first Senate co-sponsor of the Green New Deal" and that the proposal "is on their campaign website." [...] The Green New Deal is an ambitious and comprehensive environmental justice policy plan supported by progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. In her capacity as California’s junior senator, Harris was a co-sponsor of the original bill.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-07-12): Donalds told Bream that Harris had "co-sponsored, fully sponsored this radical Green New Deal, which will cost the American people $100 trillion." [...] However, we confirmed through public documentation that Harris did co-sponsor Senate legislation backing the Green New Deal and, to date, still supports the measure’s principles. [...] Donalds said Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-07-23): Climate action has run through Harris’s career for decades. As California’s attorney general, Harris sued big oil companies like BP and ConocoPhillips, and investigated Exxon Mobil for its role in climate change disinformation. While in the Senate, she sponsored the Green New Deal resolution. And as vice president, Harris made the crucial tie-breaking vote to pass Democrats’ historic climate bill. [...] Advocates say Harris’s record on climate couldn’t be more different from her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump – a man who has vowed to pull the US out of its climate commitments and to "drill, baby, drill." [...] Whether on lead pipes or dispersing billions in climate funding, Regan said Harris is a leader who "doesn’t do surface – she digs in."
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-08-11): Climate advocates have highlighted Harris’ record stretching back two decades to her time as San Francisco district attorney, saying she’s worked throughout her career to protect the environment, as well as communities that suffer disproportionately from pollution. [...] Harris has picked up endorsements from groups including the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and the Green New Deal Network, a coalition of groups that held back support for Biden’s reelection. Also backing the vice president are prominent advocates for aggressive action on climate change, including former U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee and Steven Chu, who was energy secretary under former President Barack Obama. [...] After she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, Harris pushed for more aggressive climate policies. She co-sponsored the Green New Deal, a sweeping proposal for climate action championed by the progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., which was not ultimately adopted. When she ran in the Democratic primary for president in 2019, Harris supported a ban on the oil and gas drilling technique known as fracking. Harris’ campaign says she no longer supports such a ban. Pennsylvania, a battleground state seen as key to the race for the White House, is a major natural gas producer.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-07-16): Donalds told Bream that Harris had "co-sponsored, fully sponsored this radical Green New Deal, which will cost the American people $100 trillion." [...] However, we confirmed through public documentation that Harris did co-sponsor Senate legislation backing the Green New Deal and, to date, still supports the measure’s principles. [...] Rep. Byron Donalds said Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2019-07-02): S.Res.59 - A resolution recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal. [...] | Cosponsor statistics: 14 current - includes 11 original Cosponsors by U.S. State or Territory
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-07-21): Proposed a $10 trillion climate plan and co-sponsored the Green New Deal. Called for a ban on fracking. [...] As a senator, she was an original co-sponsor of the non-binding resolution defining the Green New Deal, a blueprint for a large-scale mobilization aimed at transitioning the U.S. to 100 percent clean energy within a decade while providing people with job guarantees and "high-quality health care." She was joined by liberals such as Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). [...] In 2017, Harris was an original co-sponsor of Sanders' plan for free college, which aimed to eliminate tuition and fees for all students attending two-year colleges and middle-class students at four-year public institutions.
Claim: Kamala Harris "co-sponsored, fully sponsored" the Green New Deal. (Byron Donalds, 2024-07-07)
Evidence (2024-08-05): "What the Green New Deal really is, is understanding that everything’s connected," Ing said. "Making sure our tax dollars aren’t just going to kill children abroad, but to build schools and hospitals here at home. … Local control of resources, self-determination of our communities. That’s the vision Kamala Harris, given her background—being bused to schools, really being a product of a lot of our social programs—really understands." [...] The Green New Deal Network endorsement brings to the fore one of the fundamental questions the Harris campaign faces in the coming weeks—whether she should seek to edge out Trump by peeling off moderate-to-conservative voters or by consolidating support of the party’s progressive base. [...] The Trump team’s bill of particulars against Harris may read like a winning resume to progressives: the lawsuit she filed as California attorney general to stop the Obama administration’s plan to permit fracking off the Pacific coast; her co-sponsorship of the Green New Deal when she was in the Senate; and statements she has made expressing support for banning plastic straws and encouraging less red meat consumption.