No, the Justice Department is not 'spying' on parents In a wall-to-wall blitz of TV interviews, congressional hearings, social media posts and some campaign ads in Virginia, Republicans say the Justice Department is cracking down on parents who dish out criticism at their local school board meetings. The Biden administration, they say, is using the FBI to "spy" on these public meetings and quash dissent at the front lines of democracy. But this GOP talking point hangs entirely on a one-page memo issued by Attorney General Merrick Garland that says threatening public officials is illegal and calls for meetings between federal and local law enforcement and training materials for school boards. The nation's nearly 14,000 local school districts hold public forums where hot-button issues such as covid-19 requirements and race can become subject to heated debate. Some people have been arrested for physical violence at these meetings over the last year. The Oct. 4 memo came in response to what Garland described as a "disturbing spike" in threats against public school officials. Inside the GOP, the move set off alarm bells. "Attorney General Garland is weaponizing the DOJ by using the FBI to pursue concerned parents and silence them through intimidation," tweeted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. On Fox News, Rep. Jim Jordan said, "Merrick Garland says he's going to use the Justice Department to spy on parents at school board meetings." In a new campaign ad in Virginia, Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin says: "Now the FBI is trying to silence parents. That's wrong." We gave these fast-spreading claims Four Pinocchios. The Garland memo says authorities are focusing only on criminal conduct such as threats and violence, not free speech. (The memo says "spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution.") Republican senators questioned top Justice Department officials this month about the memo, and the officials testified that parents seeking reforms were not being targeted. Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here. Did you hear something fact-checkable? Send it here; we'll check it out. The covid vaccine strike that wasn't The Southwest Airlines cancellations over the weekend are a good example of how news travels on two different tracks today. In traditional media, rumors that the cancellations were the result of a pilot protest over coronavirus vaccine mandates were dismissed for lacking evidence. Official sources, such as the airline, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Southwest pilots union, all issued statements saying the rumors were false. But in right-wing social media and TV, the rumors took on a life of their own. Lawmakers such as Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) tweeted in support of airline employees who supposedly were fighting vaccine mandates, and Fox News host Tucker Carlson praised the pilots for committing "the most basic act of nonviolent civil disobedience." We put together a timeline of events that explains how stray circumstances can be made to feed the rumor mill. The speculation appears to have started because the Southwest pilots union filed a lawsuit against the mandate on Friday — just before the airline suddenly canceled thousands of flights. But that does not mean the two actions are connected. Weather, holiday staffing issues and the way Southwest manages its fleet also played a role. We're always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP, @rizzoTK, @AdriUsero) or Facebook. Read about our process and rating scale here, and sign up for the newsletter here. Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup. | 
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