ZWF: No, the U.S. is not funding Hamas
Zander's Weekend Facts #88: Sunday, October 15, 2023
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, clarifying some misinformation on the United States’ involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 120 breaks down everything you need to know about Hunter Biden, his past actions, what he’s being investigated for, and whether it should result in the impeachment of his father, President Joe Biden. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, October 15, 2023:
The U.S. role in Israel-Hamas
As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to develop and dominate the global news cycle, the misinformation being spread online has been rampant.
Between fake images and videos circulating online, clips from video games being shared as reality, individuals claiming to have inside knowledge when that is not the case, and the owner of X (or whatever it’s called) having little care for its spread, not all of what you are seeing online in regards to the Middle East region at the moment is the truth.
While many observers of online misinformation have discovered that much of that content is being generated from within that region, there is one specific claim gaining traction in the United States.
In August, the United States reached a deal with Iran that would free five imprisoned Americans in exchange for releasing several jailed Iranian citizens and eventually giving Iran access to $6 billion in oil revenues that have been frozen in a South Korean bank since 2019. The stipulation with the money was that Iran would only be able to use the funds for humanitarian assistance.
The money was placed in a bank account in Qatar last month, with the Biden administration claiming that the Iranian government could only access the funds by going through a series of steps, including the Treasury Department overseeing any transfer.
The U.S. and Qatar announced on Thursday that they have temporarily frozen that account, preventing Iran from accessing the funds because of Iran’s connections to the Hamas terrorist group in Palestine. Iran hadn’t taken any money out of the account by the time it was frozen.
However, that didn’t stop many prominent American political figures from spreading misinformation over the last several days on the topic:
Seattle Times - Trump’s claim that U.S. taxpayer money funded Hamas attacks is false
Fact Check - Post Paints Misleading Picture of Biden’s Financial Support for Israel and Palestinians
Poynter - Did Iran fund Hamas’ attack on Israel with money freed by the US?
Despite what the former president might claim, (a man known for always telling the truth, clearly) American taxpayer dollars are not funding the attacks by Hamas on Israel.
Now, to actually get the truth on the unfolding situation, here’s where you should look:
NBC News - Israel-Hamas war live updates: Israel prepares ground attack as Gaza battles humanitarian crisis
AP News - Israel-Hamas war: Israeli military says it’s prepared for air, ground and naval offensive in Gaza
The New York Times - Israel-Hamas War: Humanitarian Crisis Worsens in Gaza as Invasion Looms, U.N. Says
What Zander’s been reading
With advertisements mixed in with search results, and low-quality products with thousands of “interesting” reviews recommended to you, it seems like the experience of shopping on Amazon isn’t what it once was.
Check out this week’s featured article at The Atlantic - The Best Thing About Amazon Was Never Going to Last
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Week 6: To open week six in the NFL, the Chiefs had little trouble with the Broncos on Thursday night, holding Denver scoreless for the first three quarters and winning 19-8 at home. Today’s action begins at 9:30 am et on NFL Network from London as the Ravens face the Titans. The games continue in the afternoon, with Seahawks-Bengals, 49ers-Browns, and Colts-Jaguars highlighting the 1:00 pm et window. At 4:00 pm et, the Jets host the Eagles, as the Lions take on the Buccaneers and the Raiders host the Patriots. On Sunday night, the Giants play the Bills, and the Cowboys face the Chargers on Monday night.
College Football Week 7: The Pac-12 took center stage at the top of College Football in week seven. In a back-and-forth thriller, #7 Washington took down #8 Oregon 36-33 after Oregon missed a game-tying field goal at the end of the game. #10 USC fell to #21 Notre Dame 41-20, #15 Oregon State took down #18 UCLA 36-24, and #16 Utah took down California 34-14. Outside of the West Coast, #11 Alabama survived Arkansas 24-21, Oklahoma State upset #21 Kansas 39-32, and Missouri surprised #24 Kentucky 38-21. #12 North Carolina beat #25 Miami 41-31, Arizona steamrolled #13 Washington State 44-6, #19 Tennessee held on against Texas A&M 20-13, and Pittsburgh took down #14 Louisville 38-21.
MLB Playoffs: The Championship Series of the MLB Playoffs begin later today, as just four teams remain in the running for the claim of World Series champion. An all-Texas ALCS kicks off later tonight with the Texas Rangers hosting the Houston Astros. The Astros are attempting to become back-to-back World Series champions while the Rangers haven’t been to the final round of the postseason since 2011. All games in the ALCS will air on Fox or FS1. The NLCS begins tomorrow with the Arizona Diamondbacks taking on the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies are seeking revenge after falling in last season’s World Series, while the Diamondbacks are seeking just their second World Series appearance after winning the title in 2001. All NLCS games will air on TBS.
UEFA Euros Hosts: The governing soccer body in Europe announced the nations that will host the 2028 and 2032 editions of the EURO tournament last week. England and Ireland have been confirmed as the joint hosts in 2028, while Italy and Turkey will host the competition in 2032. The 2024 edition of the tournament will take place next summer in Germany. On Saturday, the United States Men’s National Team took on Germany in East Hartford, CT. The U.S. fell 3-1 after Germany scored three goals unanswered following Christian Pulisic’s 27th-minute strike. The U.S. plays once more in this international window, taking on Ghana on Tuesday in Nashville, TN at 8:30 pm et on TNT and Peacock.
WNBA Finals: The Las Vegas Aces dominated both games that have taken place so far in the 2023 WNBA Finals. The Aces took last Sunday’s Game 1 over the New York Liberty 99-82 and won Wednesday’s Game 2 104-76. Game 3 of the series tips off later this afternoon at 3:00 pm et on ABC in Brooklyn, NY. If the Aces win and sweep the five-game series, they’ll become the first WNBA team to win back-to-back championships since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002. If the Liberty, they’ll host Game 4 on Wednesday at 8:00 pm et on ESPN, while a potential Game 5 would occur on Friday at 9:00 pm et on ESPN in Las Vegas.
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
House Speaker: The U.S. House of Representatives is still without a Speaker almost two weeks after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted from the position. Last week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) won an internal vote to be the Republican nominee for Speaker, but was unable to garner enough votes within the conference, eventually dropping out. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) won an internal Republican vote on Friday but is also expected to come up short of the 217 overall votes needed to win the position. At least one Republican, House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), has now publicly expressed a desire to negotiate with Democrats in order to find a bipartisan solution to the current debacle.
North Carolina Election Laws: Republicans in the North Carolina legislature overrode vetoes from Democratic Governor Roy Cooper to pass changes to the state’s election laws last week. Among the laws taking effect are one removing the governor’s power of appointing members of the state election board and handing it to the state legislature, while another will end a three-day grace period where absentee ballots could have been received and counted if they were postmarked on or before Election Day. Republicans gained a supermajority in the state legislature after Rep. Tricia Cotham switched party affiliations in April.
George Santos: Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was charged by federal prosecutors with 23 counts including identity theft, wire fraud, and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. Santos is alleged to have been involved in a credit card scheme where his campaign would charge the credit cards of his donors repeatedly and above FEC limits. Santos was previously charged in May with wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and lying to the House of Representatives. A resolution to expel Santos from Congress was introduced by fellow New York House Republicans last week, which would need 2/3rds of the House to be approved.
Social Security: The Social Security Administration announced last week that Social Security benefits will rise by 3.2% next year. The change will see the average Social Security recipient have their monthly benefits increase by $50. The increase is much smaller than the 8.7% rise this year, which was the largest cost-of-living adjustment since 1982. Additionally, the September inflation report was released on Thursday, showing that the consumer price index rose 3.7% from 2022 and 0.4% from August.
California Food Additives Ban: California became the first state to pass a ban on four “toxic” chemical additives found in several foods. The bill prohibits brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, Propylparaben, and red dye No. 3 from being in foods manufactured, sold, or distributed in the state. A previous version of the bill also included titanium dioxide, which is a coloring agent found in Skittles, Starbursts, and Sour Patch candies. However, the substance was removed before the bill was passed but is currently in a similar bill making its way through the New York legislature.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, October 22, 2023.
