On June 13 2023 — amid a hugely weaponized disinformation narrative about queer and trans people timed to correspond with Pride Month — an iFunny commenter responded to a Pride flag-related post with a claim: “Despite being 2 percent
Publication: 4chan
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘We’re Not After Children, We Just Want to Live Our Lives’ Doctored Pride Image
On June 9 2023, a Twitter user shared a screenshot of a tweet featuring a purported photograph of a man wearing a “trans kids are sexy” shirt at an unspecified Pride event: That screenshot was shared as a response to a user objecting to ch
Snopes→ Pic Doesn’t Show Paul Pelosi Jr. with ‘Tied Up Asian Girl Doing Lines of Coke’
A picture shared by conspiracy theorists since 2019 made the rounds again following the alleged hacking of Hunter Biden's iCloud account.
Snopes→ Online Pics Do Not Show Joe Biden Naked with Young Girl
Following the alleged hacking of Hunter Biden's iCloud account, a tweet falsely claimed that pictures showed his father, President Joe Biden, naked with his own daughter.
Snopes→ Online Photo Does Not Show Hunter Biden with Underage Girls
Following the alleged hacking of Hunter Biden's iCloud account, a picture was passed around that showed a man on a couch surrounded by five young girls.
Snopes→ Hunter Biden’s iCloud Account Allegedly Hacked by 4chan User
A "data dump" supposedly revealed the contents of an iCloud account associated with an iPhone and iPad owned by U.S. President Joe Biden's son, Hunter.
Truth or Fiction?→ 4Chan’s /Pol/ Seeks to Sow Discord With #AskMeWhy
On or around August 6 2021, a Twitter hashtag (#AskMeWhy) emerged, appearing on numerous tweets asserting that vaccination campaigns were “racist”: I wonder if @NYCMayor has seen this one?#vaccinediscrimination#askmewhy #MedicalApartheid
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Mexico Planning Joint Military Intervention with Canada If Trump Refuses to Leave Office’
On November 11 2020, a screenshot of a purported article featured the headline “Mexico Planning Joint Military Intervention with Canada If Trump Refuses to Leave Office”: The screenshot showed a story dated November 9 2020, with NPR repor
Truth or Fiction?→ Joe Biden, Arrogation, and ‘The Office of the President-Elect’
On November 10 2020, disinformation purveyors began pushing memes containing claims that the transition team for Joe Biden — the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential elections — invented the “Office of the President-Elect,” and
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Ending White Privilege Intersects Ending Jewish Privilege’ Flyer
In June 2020, as protests against ongoing racism and police brutality continued throughout the United States and beyond, a curious image appeared: The image showed a flyer taped to a cork board with text that said: ENDING WHITE PRIVILEGE… Privi
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the California Department of Social Services Mandating COVID-19 Testing for Eligible Families — and Threatening to Place Children in Foster Care?
In early May 2020, a letter attributed to California’s Department of Social Services circulated on Facebook. It purportedly mandated that recipients of programs like MediCal and CalFresh immediately submit to testing for COVID-19 antigens or ant
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Supporters Sabotage the Iowa Caucus Hotlines on Election Night?
On February 6 2020, a number of news organizations reported that the chaos during (and following) the Iowa caucus was exacerbated by a flood of calls to an election night hotline made by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump to further confuse the
Truth or Fiction?→ Online Trolls Seize on Anti-Semitic NYC Attacks for Anti-Black Disinformation Effort
In the wake of a series of anti-Semitic attacks in New York City during Hanukkah 2019, online troll sites and fake social media accounts moved to foment both disinformation and tension by pitting Jewish and Black communities against one another. As CN
Truth or Fiction?→ This Is Not Angela Merkel With Adolf Hitler
On September 26 2019, a since-suspended Twitter account (@4truthbombs) shared an image purporting to show a very young Angela Merkel with a previous, infamous chancellor — Adolf Hitler: The disinformation attempt appeared not long after Merkel spo
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘YesJuliet’ Instagram Murder Rumors
On July 14 2019, rumors began spreading on Instagram, Reddit, Discord, 4Chan, Twitter, and other social media sites about purported disturbing posts shared by Instagram user @YesJuliet about an alleged murder of a 17-year-old girl named Bianca Devins
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Company Policies’ Poster
In March 2019, a poster of “Company Policies” spread on Facebook (archived here) and other sites, purportedly illustrating draconian — yet believable — rules for employees at an unidentified company: Many versions of the image appear
Snopes→ Did Nike Offer ‘People of Color’ a 75 Percent Off Coupon?
Users of the controversial online forum 4Chan produced racially-charged and potentially dangerous fake coupons, in the aftermath of Nike's endorsement deal with Colin Kaepernick.
Snopes→ Was a ‘Pedophiles Are People Too’ Notice Posted Near an Oregon School?
A sign reading "Pedophiles are People Too" was briefly pinned to a telephone pole near a school in Oregon, but this poster was likely created as part of a troll campaign.
Snopes→ Did a Sign for Starbucks Racial Bias Training Single Out White People?
A sign informing Starbucks customers that stores would be closed in order to "educate white people about their racism" was not created by the coffee chain.
Snopes→ Is This the First Caravan Member to Be Granted Asylum in the United States?
A cynical attempt to smear asylum seekers in the 2018 “caravan” of immigrants is actually a 2009 photo from a pornographic website.
Snopes→ Is Starbucks Offering Coupons for Black Customers Only?
A Starbucks coupon for customers of "African-American heritage" only was a piece of divisive propaganda pushed by a popular internet forum.
Snopes→ Did People Start Licking Toilets as a Protest Against Donald Trump?
A grotesque hoax involving doctored images of people in bathrooms managed to trick some Internet users.
Snopes→ Does Barack Obama’s Official Portrait Contain Secret Images of Sperm?
Far-right pundits went off the deep end after African-American artist Kehinde Wiley's portrait of Barack Obama was unveiled.
Snopes→ Did Nancy Pelosi Scold a Democrat for Standing at the State of the Union Address?
Images showing Nancy Pelosi pointing a finger at a Linda Sanchez are authentic, but a video of the event tells a different story.
Snopes→ LGBTP? No, ‘LGBT’ is Not Adding a ‘P’ for Pedosexual
Claims that the LGBT community is adding a "P" for "pedosexual" originated with a homophobic smear campaign.
Snopes→ Did an Anonymous 4chan User Predict the Las Vegas Shooting Three Weeks in Advance?
There is no proof that a vague post the day before the anniversary of 9/11 "predicted" the mass shooting on 1 October 2017.
Snopes→ Starbucks Dreamer Day
Starbucks Dreamer Day was a hoax concocted on 4chan's /pol/ forum as a way to drive a wedge between liberal groups.