x
Breaking News
More () »

Fact-checking a viral post: Sanders' minimum wage and taxes

A popular meme that compares Bernie Sanders’ $15 minimum wage proposal with a high tax rate is getting a lot of attention online, but is it true?

DENVER —

As 9Wants to Know continues with The Bubble experiment, popular memes that go viral in each bubble may need to be fact-checked. 

RELATED: What happens when a Democrat and a Republican see opposite social media news feeds

It’s unknown exactly who started the meme, but it’s being shared by popular right-wing personalities on Twitter and Facebook. 

Versions of the post are also being shared by thousands of people in Facebook groups. 

First, let’s take a look at one version of the meme which is PARTIALLY true: 

Sanders has pushed for a national $15-an-hour minimum wage. That’s TRUE and has been widely reported. 

The part of the post that is false is where the meme states “he wants to tax anyone making above $29,000 a year 52%.” 

There is no record we could find where Sanders said he would tax everyone above a $29,000 income at that rate. 

In a document posted on his website, Sanders did propose such a 52% tax rate could be applied to someone making an income above $10 million.

By applying the false tax rate, someone making $15-an-hour would only really be making $7.20 an hour, according to the meme. 

Several fact-checking websites have also deemed versions of this posting incorrect, such as Snopes, Politifact, and Factcheck.org

RELATED: We set up 3 laptops with 3 different newsfeeds. Here's what we've seen so far

> Which issues do you care about most? We’re conducting a survey to learn the politics that interest you, what will impact your vote, what input we can provide and which resources you need ahead of our 2020 election coverage. Take the survey here.  

SUGGESTED VIDEOS | Local stories from 9NEWS

Before You Leave, Check This Out