Dakota Access Pipeline

FACT CHECK: Dakota Access Pipeline Not a Threat to Drinking Water

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CLAIM: The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe claims that the Dakota Access Pipeline threatens their drinking water supply. “The [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] is taking our clean water and sacred places by approving this river crossing…Protecting water and our sacred places has always been at the center of our cause,” said the tribe’s former chairman, David Archambault.

RATING: False

FACT CHECK

Pipelines, according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration, are “one of the safest and least costly ways to transport energy products” and “safely deliver trillions of cubic feet of natural gas and hundreds of billions of ton/miles …

Anti-Keystone Group Fundraises Off Pipeline Foe’s Viral Video

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CLAIM: Multiple news outlets reported that the person at the center of a new viral video is also a seasoned anti-pipeline advocate and has fought against the Keystone XL Pipeline.

RATING: True

FACT CHECK

The Native American activist at the center of a new viral video is also a seasoned pipeline foe with ties to one of the nation’s more prominent anti-pipeline groups.

Nathan Phillips “is a longtime pipeline fighter and water protector,” according to the Bold Nebraska, a leading anti-pipeline group run by liberal firebrand Jane Kleeb, who gained national notoriety for her opposition to TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline. …

CLAIM: #NoDAPL Protesters Shoulder Financial Burden

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A new case study out of the University of Colorado Boulder’s First Peoples Investment Engagement Program makes a number of claims about the costs associated with the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Among them is the assertion that the activists who partook in the movement suffered a significant financial burden.

“Water protectors, as protesters at the camp were known, came from all over the United States and around the world to express their support. … Each of these individuals incurred costs including, but not limited to, travel expenses, food and supplies, and time spent away from work and other …

CLAIM: Dakota Access Pipeline Is Unnecessary, Will Lead to Financial Loss

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A 2016 study produced by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Sightline Institute concluded that the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) was an unnecessary investment and ran the risk of becoming a “stranded asset.”

RATING: 100% False

The November 2016 report stated that, “Bakken oil production will continue to decline, and existing pipeline and refinery capacity in the Bakken will be more than adequate to handle the region’s oil production. Fast forward two years and these dire predictions have proven to be the exact opposite of what’s currently going on in one of the country’s most resilient …

Claim: Did police set fire to anti-pipeline protest camp in North Dakota?

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Rating: 100% False

Background: On February 1, 2017, the Alternative Media Syndicate published a photograph of burning tents alongside a headline claiming that police had raided an anti-pipeline protest camp, dismantling tipis and burning what remains. The image cited in the article is a screen from the HBO film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (a historical drama about Native Americans) as evidence.

What really happened? Law enforcement arrested 76 protesters Wednesday afternoon after they attempted to create a new campsite on private property. According to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, officers entered the camp after protesters failed to …

Claim: Dakota Access Pipeline protesters challenge free press

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Rating: 100% True

Background: On October 11, 2016, reporters covering the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline were confronted and threatened with bodily harm while. In a video released by NBC North Dakota, masked demonstrators can be seen surrounding the news crew and aggressively challenging their right to report on the unfolding protests. “You guys need to go to your car and get the f**k out of here,” said a protester. “Shut the f**k up. If you keep talking dude I’m going to f**king kick your ass bro,” said another as the journalists scramble to retreat from the public roadway …