NOT REAL NEWS: False stories from this week about stimulus bill, COVID vaccines, mask mandates AP Share: NEW YORK -- A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts: ___ House members were not given bonuses in $1.9T COVID bill Claim: The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill awards a $25 million bonus to members of the House of Representatives. The facts: The "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021," as the bill is titled, contains no allocation for bonuses or raises for House or Senate members. A Facebook post that circulated around the approval of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday promoted the false information, stating: "Did you know? Line 17 of the $1.9 TRILLION CV #Stimulus awards a $25 MILLION BONUS to House Reps?" It is not clear what "Line 17" means in the post since there's a line 17 on nearly every page of the 628-page bill. There are several passages that cite $25 million in funding, but no mention of congressional pay raises or bonuses. The sweeping package, approved by a 220-211 party-line vote, would give most Americans $1,400 checks and billions of dollars would be directed to schools, state and local governments and businesses. "That claim is false. In fact, there is no funding for the House of Representatives or Senate in the bill at all," Evan Hollander, communications director for the House Appropriations Committee, confirmed to The Associated Press in an email. The AP knocked down a similar false claim in March 2020 when a $2.2 trillion rescue package was passed.