❌

Reading view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.

Did Francesca Hong win the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Hope Karnopp ／ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce Fact Briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

Francesca Hong, a candidate for governor in Wisconsin, has not won the Democratic primary – because the election hasn’t happened yet.

A viral post on X claims Hong “just won” the Democratic primary for governor. But Wisconsin’s primary to narrow down candidates for governor and other partisan offices isn’t until Aug. 11, 2026. The general election is Nov. 3.

In other words, Wisconsin voters won’t see Hong on the ballot until late summer.

A Marquette University Law School poll – published the same day as the misleading post – found 11% of Wisconsin voters said they plan to vote for Hong in the primary, compared to 10% for Mandela Barnes. A majority of voters, 65%, were undecided.

Polls do not determine election outcomes, and there is no guarantee that Hong will maintain that lead over the next six months.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Did Francesca Hong win the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Wisconsin Watch partners with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to produce more Fact Briefs

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Matthew DeFour ／ Wisconsin Watch
A large crowd gathers in a downtown plaza near a building with a sign reading "THE NEW FASHIONED," with high-rise buildings and a city skyline in the background.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Wisconsin Watch has a new partner in the fight for facts.

Ahead of another pivotal election year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin Watch are teaming up to produce more Fact Briefs, 150-word answers to yes/no questions based on claims made in the infosphere.

Wisconsin Watch has partnered with Gigafact since 2022 to produce more than 600 bite-sized fact checks. We’re part of a network of 18 nonprofit newsrooms across the country working to equip the public with accurate information to inform civic discussion.

The Journal Sentinel, part of the USA Today Network and the largest newsroom in Wisconsin, was an early adopter of PolitiFact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking nonprofit founded in 2007.

As Journal Sentinel Editor Greg Borowski writes in a column today at jsonline.com, the switch to Fact Briefs will appeal to readers seeking accurate information quickly and with a clearer true-or-false format, rather than PolitiFact’s six-tiered “score card” for assessing whether a claimant is telling the truth. Fact Briefs focus less on the claimant, and more on the claim itself.

“This partnership will increase the number of Wisconsin-focused items and allow us to present them more quickly and in ways we think readers most want to get them,” Borowski writes.

The facts matter, even more so in a world where politicians and media influencers seem to habitually get away with bending, breaking or simply disregarding the truth. Fighting for the facts isn’t about picking a political side or committing to a particular worldview, it’s about nurturing a shared reality that forms the basis of a free and civilized society.

That’s why the courts, teachers, scientists, the folks managing your investment accounts and even the refs checking the instant replay cameras take the facts so seriously. Why should our political discourse be any different?

We’re excited to grow our capacity to keep the public informed, but we continue to need the public’s support. Whether this new partnership will continue after the November election will depend on support from Wisconsin Watch donors. Click here to find out more about how you can support the fight for facts.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

Wisconsin Watch partners with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to produce more Fact Briefs is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Does Wisconsin have more registered voters than adults?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Hope Karnopp ／ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce Fact Briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

Wisconsin doesn’t have more registered voters than the adult population.

The claim, recently recirculated by President Donald Trump, combines two voter lists to misrepresent the number of active, eligible voters in Wisconsin.     

Wisconsin’s adult population is around 4.8 million, according to Jan. 1 estimates from the state Demographic Services Center.

On Feb. 1, Wisconsin had around 3.6 million active, registered voters, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. 

The state has 4.6 million inactive voters on a separate list. Voters move to the inactive list if they die, move to a new state or are convicted of a felony, for example.

Adding those two numbers produces a total of 8.2 million, more than the state’s total population.

State law requires an inactive list for record-keeping purposes. Plus, it helps clerks prevent fraud by catching someone registering under a dead person’s name, for example.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Does Wisconsin have more registered voters than adults? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Do solar panels work in cold or cloudy climates?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Sue Bin Park ／ Skeptical Science
Reading Time: < 1 minute

YES

Solar panels still generate electricity on cloudy days and in cold weather, albeit less.

Clouds cut output as less sunlight reaches the panels, but they continue producing power from indirect light. Snow cover can temporarily block light, though it is typically not obstructed by thin layers of snow. Additionally, most solar panels in the U.S. run more efficiently in cooler weather, as heat lowers performance.

Winter generation can be lower due to shorter days, notably at middle latitudes; cities like Denver receive nearly three times more solar energy in June than December. This mainly affects what share of a home’s electricity solar covers, especially where heating raises demand. Average winter electricity use of U.S. homes is estimated to be six times that of summer use. 

Despite seasonal dips, solar still displaces fossil fuel electricity over the year, delivering large net emissions reductions across a panel’s multi-decade lifespan.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

This fact brief was originally published by Skeptical Science on February 19, 2026, and was authored by Sue Bin Park. Skeptical Science is a member of the Gigafact network.

Do solar panels work in cold or cloudy climates? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Do 80% of Americans support voter ID?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Polls show roughly 80% of Americans support requiring photo identification to vote.

Pew Research Center (August 2025): 83% of U.S. adults strongly favored or favored “requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote.” 

Rasmussen Reports (January 2025): Asked if requiring photo ID to vote is “a reasonable measure to protect the integrity of elections,” 77% of likely voters said yes.

Gallup (October 2024): 84% of U.S. adults favored “requiring all voters to provide photo identification at their voting place.” Also, 83% favored “requiring people who are registering to vote for the first time to provide proof of citizenship.”

The House-passed SAVE America Act, supported by President Donald Trump, is awaiting a Senate vote. It would require voter ID and proof of citizenship at the time of registration.

Thirty-six states request or require identification for in-person voting. Wisconsin requires it.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Do 80% of Americans support voter ID? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Is child marriage legal in most states?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Thirty-four states, including Wisconsin, allow for the marriage of a child under age 18, and 16 states have bans, according to counts by groups seeking to ban the practice.

The 16 include Minnesota and Michigan. 

The first bans were adopted in 2018.

Wisconsin allows a person who is at least 16 but under 18 to obtain a marriage license with permission of a parent or guardian.

A bill pending in the Legislature would eliminate that exception and require all people be 18 to marry. Co-sponsors have been added to the bill as recently as Feb. 9, but no hearings are scheduled.

Democrats sponsoring the bill say they want to stop men from marrying girls. 
No groups have registered to lobby for or against the bill.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Is child marriage legal in most states? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Who you gonna call? Panel will explore 911 dispatcher shortage

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten ／ Wisconsin Watch
Marked police vehicles are parked in a line in a parking lot along a residential street as a person walks to the left.
Reading Time: < 1 minute

In an emergency, we pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1 without much thought as to whether someone will answer. 

Increasingly though, communities across Wisconsin face a shortage of 911 dispatchers. 

Who will answer our calls if the crisis continues? And how can communities turn the shortage around?

That’s what we’ll explore in a free, virtual event on Feb. 18 from noon to 1:15 p.m. Reporter Miranda Dunlap will moderate a panel discussion featuring industry professionals and educators. The panelists are: 

  • Billi Jo Baneck, instructor, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.
  • Andrew Baus, associate dean, Moraine Park Technical College.
  • Gail Goodchild, emergency preparedness director, Waukesha County.
  • Tamee Thom, emergency communications center director, Chippewa County.

Goodchild and her team went from 20 vacancies in 2023 to just two in July 2025, according to Miranda’s reporting. We’ll ask Goodchild to share what steps Waukesha County took to make that happen, the challenges officials faced along the way and how things are going now. 

Baneck and Baus represent colleges where students train to become emergency telecommunicators. We’ll ask them what the training looks like, how they market their programs and more. 

Thom spent 21 years as a 911 dispatcher and has been leading Chippewa County’s emergency communications center for six years. We’ll ask her about the pros and cons of being a dispatcher and how the job has changed over the past two decades.

Register for the free event here. Submit a question for the panelists when you register, or email me at jzvandenhouten@wisconsinwatch.org. 

P.S. We’re launching an email newsletter focused on northeast Wisconsin! Cast a vote and sign up to receive the newsletter here. Watch for it in your inbox next month.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

Who you gonna call? Panel will explore 911 dispatcher shortage is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Do most people arrested by ICE have a criminal conviction?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

Most people taken into custody by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not have a criminal conviction, recent reports show.

PolitiFact reported Jan. 23 that as of Jan. 7, 74% of immigrants being held in detention did not have a criminal conviction.

The libertarian Cato Institute, saying it received leaked ICE data, reported in September that over the previous year, 73% taken into ICE custody had no criminal conviction; 8% had a violent or property conviction.

In late September, the number of people in immigration detention who had no criminal record outnumbered those convicted of crimes, The Guardian reported, citing ICE data.

ICE data for fiscal 2026, through Nov. 15, showed 72% of booked detainees did not have a criminal conviction.

Under 30% of people arrested in crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and across Massachusetts had a criminal conviction, The New York Times reported in December.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Do most people arrested by ICE have a criminal conviction? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Do solar panels release more emissions than burning fossil fuels?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Sue Bin Park ／ Skeptical Science
Reading Time: < 1 minute

NO

Solar panels produce far less emissions than coal or natural gas.

“Lifecycle emissions” counts all aspects of raw materials, manufacturing, transport, installation, operation, and disposal. A major National Renewable Energy Laboratory review of thousands of studies found that while some emissions are generated when solar panels are manufactured and shipped, their lifetime emissions are much lower than fossil fuels. Coal’s lifecycle climate pollution is about 23 times higher than solar power, and natural gas about 11 times higher.

Solar panels also “pay back” their upfront emissions within a few years of operation, offsetting emissions from their manufacture. Since modern panels often last 30 years or more, they will continue to provide decades of low-emissions electricity after their payback.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

This fact brief was originally published by Skeptical Science on January 17, 2026, and was authored by Sue Bin Park. Skeptical Science is a member of the Gigafact network.

Do solar panels release more emissions than burning fossil fuels? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Do trees explode in extreme cold?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Sabrina Halvorson ／ North Dakota News Cooperative
Reading Time: < 1 minute

NO

Despite recent viral social media claims, trees do not literally “explode” like bombs in extreme cold.

What happens instead is a natural physical response to rapid and severe  temperature drops. When temperatures plunge well below freezing, moisture and sap inside a tree’s wood can freeze.

Water expands as it freezes, which can create stress between the colder, contracting outer bark and the relatively warmer inner wood. That stress can cause the bark or trunk to split suddenly, sometimes making a loud bang or crack that people describe as an explosion.

This rare phenomenon is most accurately called frost cracking or cold splitting and happens during abrupt temperature swings, not continuous cold. It can occur most often in species with higher moisture content or thin bark.

While the noise may be startling, such splits usually do not pose widespread danger to people indoors, though they can injure trees. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

This fact brief was originally published by North Dakota News Cooperative on January 22, 2026, and was authored by Sabrina Halvorson. North Dakota News Cooperative is a member of the Gigafact network.

Do trees explode in extreme cold? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Do the majority of Americans use social media to get health information?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

In two recent polls, a majority of U.S. adults said they use social media to get health information.

July 2025 by KFF, a leading health policy research nonprofit: 55% said they use social media “to find health information and advice” at least occasionally. Less than one in 10 said “most” of the information is trustworthy.

September 2024 by Healthline: 52% said they learned from social media health and wellness tools, resources, trends, or products they tried in the past year. About 77% expressed at least one negative view, such as “there is a lot of conflicting information.”

An April 2024 medical journal article said that over one-third of social media users perceived high levels of health misinformation, and two-thirds reported “high perceived discernment difficulty.”

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is conducting a long-term study to determine how social media affects the physical/mental health of adolescents.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Do the majority of Americans use social media to get health information? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Add your voice to Wisconsin Watch

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Wisconsin Watch
People walk in a line on a sidewalk next to a street, carrying papers, with the Wisconsin State Capitol dome centered in the background between downtown buildings.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Wisconsin Watch welcomes submissions of commentary pieces on issues important to Wisconsin for potential publication. 

We aim to produce journalism that helps residents navigate their lives, be seen and heard, hold power to account and come together in community and civic life. We’re looking for commentary from a diversity of voices and perspectives toward those goals. Submissions could take a variety of forms, whether a response to Wisconsin Watch reporting, an idea for solving a community challenge, a perspective you feel is missing from a public debate — or even a reflection on how you’re finding hope and community.

Guidelines

Guest commentaries reflect the views of their authors and are independent of the nonpartisan, in-depth reporting produced by Wisconsin Watch’s newsroom staff.

Length

We prefer that submissions run no more than 750 words and encourage clear, concise writing.

We want to hear from:

  • People who live in Wisconsin or otherwise care about its future.
  • People who are affected by issues of public concern. 
  • Subject matter experts who can offer context about important issues and explain how systems work.

Please include:

  • Concrete solutions to problems, supported by facts (such as estimated costs and proposed revenue sources), success in other places and scientific research.
  • An honest assessment of the challenges faced in dealing with an issue.
  • Links to authoritative, independent sources, including news reports on the topic at hand.
  • Civility, grace, decency.

We don’t want:

  • Misinformation, disinformation, falsehoods and logical fallacies.
  • Product advertising, fundraising appeals or links to fundraising pages.
  • Commentary from representatives of organizations that don’t disclose their donors or don’t clearly state their point of view.
  • Obscenity, personal attacks, name-calling.

We reserve the right to edit submissions for grammar, clarity, brevity, and legal or factual concerns. We may suggest edits to improve accessibility but will not alter the views expressed by the author. We may also request additional information for fact-checking purposes and reserve the right to decline publication.

Wisconsin Watch does not pay for guest commentary.

How to submit

Please email submissions to opinion@wisconsinwatch.org. We prefer that commentaries be included in the body of the email rather than as attachments. Include a one- or two-sentence bio with your organization, city of residence and any relevant background. Feel free to reach out with questions or to propose an idea for feedback.

Add your voice to Wisconsin Watch is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Does Wisconsin import about 15% of its electricity from other states?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Wisconsin, which produces less electricity than it consumes, imports on average 15% of its electricity from other states, federal statistics show.

In 2024, Wisconsin used about 73 million megawatt-hours of electricity. That included about 8 million – 11.1% – imported from other states.

Minnesota imported 10.3%.

Iowa (14.5%), Illinois (22.7%) and Michigan (14.6%) were net-exporters.

Wisconsin imported more in previous years:

2023: 14.8%

2022: 18.4%

2021: 14%

2020: 15.7%

About 10% of U.S. electricity generation is traded across state lines.

Wisconsin participates in a grid run by Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which aims to ensure power flows across 15 central U.S. states.

Electricity rates in Wisconsin, which produces most electricity from coal and natural gas, have exceeded regional averages annually for 20 years.

Wisconsin utility ratepayers owe nearly $1 billion on coal-powered plants that have been or soon will be shut down, Wisconsin Watch recently reported.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Does Wisconsin import about 15% of its electricity from other states? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Does the US Postal Service always postmark an election ballot on the day it is mailed?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

The U.S. Postal Service adopted a rule effective Dec. 24 clarifying that some mail is not postmarked when it is first received – at a post office, for example – but rather on a later date, during processing.

The rule doesn’t change practices, but instead is “intended to improve public understanding of postmarks and their relationship to the date of mailing.”

Postmarking can affect whether local officials accept election ballots.

Fourteen states, including Illinois, accept a mailed ballot if it is received after Election Day, as long as it is postmarked on or before Election Day.

Thirty-six states, including Wisconsin, require absentee ballots, including those cast by mail, to be received by the local election office by Election Day. They aren’t affected by the rule change.

Manual postmarks can be requested at post offices.

The postal service has been reducing operations, increasing postmarking delays, the Brookings think tank reported.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Does the US Postal Service always postmark an election ballot on the day it is mailed? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Did Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers allow unauthorized immigrants to get taxpayer-funded health care?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

Unauthorized immigrants are not eligible for federally or state-funded health coverage in Wisconsin. 

That includes Medicaid, Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and coverage purchased through the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) marketplaces.

Unauthorized immigrants also are not eligible for Wisconsin Medicaid or BadgerCare Plus.

Fourteen states, including Illinois and Minnesota, use state Medicaid funds to cover unauthorized immigrants, but Wisconsin does not.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Dec. 5 vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have banned public money from going toward health care coverage for unauthorized immigrants.

Republicans said the bill was meant to be pre-emptive.

On Dec. 10, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor in 2026, incorrectly said Evers’ veto allowed unauthorized immigrants “to continue to get taxpayer-funded health care.”

When Evers vetoed the bill he criticized it for “trying to push polarizing political rhetoric.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Did Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers allow unauthorized immigrants to get taxpayer-funded health care? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Are toxic heavy metals from solar panels posing a threat to human health?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Sue Bin Park ／ Skeptical Science
Reading Time: < 1 minute

NO

Toxic heavy metals in solar panels are locked in stable compounds and sealed behind tough glass, preventing escape into air, water, or soil at harmful levels.

Most concern focuses on cadmium and lead. 40% of new U.S. panels use cadmium telluride, which does not dissolve in water, easily turn to gas, or approach the toxicity of pure cadmium.

Like many electronics, panels contain small amounts of lead. These parts are locked behind tempered glass that resists hail, heat, and breakage. Even in high-temperature fires, the glass melts and binds to the metals, trapping 99.9% of them.

During manufacturing and disposal, heavy metals are handled under safety and waste rules. Per unit of electricity, solar releases far less heavy metals than fossil fuels.

Studies and safety reviews find that heavy metals pose no qualifiable danger to health during the regular manufacture, use, or regulated disposal of solar panels.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

This fact brief was originally published by Skeptical Science on December 14, 2025, and was authored by Sue Bin Park. Skeptical Science is a member of the Gigafact network.

Are toxic heavy metals from solar panels posing a threat to human health? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Are homosexual acts criminalized in 65 countries?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Homosexual acts are illegal in 65 countries, according to several reports.

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Madison-area Democrat, alluded to the number Dec. 3.

Human Dignity Trust, which uses litigation to challenge laws that target people based on sexual orientation or gender identity, says all or parts of 65 countries criminalize same-sex, consensual sexual activity. All criminalize men; 41 criminalize women. 

The continent with the most bans is Africa, with 32 countries.

In North America, the maximum punishment in Jamaica, Grenada and Saint Vincent is 10 years imprisonment.

The ILGA World advocacy group also counts 65 countries, including seven that impose the death penalty: Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, parts of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Uganda and Yemen.
76crimes.com, which tracks anti-LGBTI laws, says 65 is down from 92 in 2006. The latest to criminalize homosexuality was Burkina Faso in West Africa on Sept. 1, 2025.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Are homosexual acts criminalized in 65 countries? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Has biennial state funding for the Wisconsin DNR dropped by $100 million over 30 years?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

State funding of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has been reduced by more than $100 million per biennium in the past 30 years.

A key factor: smaller debt payments.

DNR received $334.3 million in state general purpose revenue in the 1995-97 state budget and $226.2 million in 2025-27.

That’s a reduction of $108.1 million, or 32%.

Between the two periods, debt service dropped from $234.7 million to $103.4 million. 

A Wisconsin Reddit user posted Nov. 22 about the cuts.

A 2023 report on DNR by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum said those savings have been used to fund Medicaid, K-12 schools, prisons and tax cuts. Republicans have controlled all or part of the state budget process for all but one cycle since 1995.

The DNR is charged with protecting and enhancing air, land, water, forests, wildlife, fish and plants and provides outdoor recreational activities.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Has biennial state funding for the Wisconsin DNR dropped by $100 million over 30 years? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Can Wisconsin require state jobs go only to Americans?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

The state of Wisconsin generally cannot consider U.S. citizenship or national origin in hiring for state jobs.

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany of northern Wisconsin, who is running for governor in 2026, said Nov. 17 he would ensure state jobs “go to Americans.”

His congressional and campaign offices did not respond to requests for comment. 

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that states cannot restrict public employment to citizens.

Both public and private employers are generally barred by federal law from treating people differently based on national origin or ethnicity.

Wisconsin laws prohibit discrimination by public or private employers based on national origin or ancestry.

The state’s hiring handbook says the state can hire only people legally in the U.S., but “shall not refuse to hire aliens based on their foreign appearance, accent, language, name, national origin, citizenship, or intended U.S. citizenship.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Think you know the facts? Put your knowledge to the test. Take the Fact Brief quiz

Can Wisconsin require state jobs go only to Americans? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Was the cost of the Thanksgiving meal less this year than last, despite most grocery prices being higher?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: ND News Cooperative
Reading Time: < 1 minute

YES

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2025 Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Survey finds that the average price of the classic holiday meal for 10 people is about 5% lower than in 2024.

The decline is driven primarily by a steep drop in turkey prices—down roughly 16% from 2024—as supplies recovered from earlier losses caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza. With flocks rebuilt and production stabilized, the cost of the turkey fell enough to outweigh price increases in several side dishes.

Items such as sweet potatoes, some vegetables, and dairy products rose in price this year, while a few other components saw modest declines or remained steady.

Overall grocery inflation remains a factor for many households, but the turkey reduction exerted such a strong influence on the total basket that the combined meal cost decreased compared to last year. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

This fact brief was originally published by North Dakota News Cooperative on November 25, 2025, and was authored by Sabrina Halvorson. North Dakota News Cooperative is a member of the Gigafact network.

Was the cost of the Thanksgiving meal less this year than last, despite most grocery prices being higher? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

❌