On May 31 2020, a Facebook screenshot of an Instagram post circulated virally, purportedly depicting two white teenagers grinning as they engaged in what was labeled a “George Floyd challenge” — a tasteless recreation of the circum
Publication: disinformation
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Dallas Business Owner Killed During a Protest Against Police Brutality?
Right-wing Twitter accounts distorted footage of an attack on a would-be vigilante during a demonstration against police extrajudicial killings in Dallas on May 30 2020. One clip disseminated online pushed the claim that the man — later identifi
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Colorado Revise its COVID-19 Death Count from 1150 to 878 — and ‘Admit’ They Were Counting Deaths from Other Causes?
A May 16 2020 Facebook post claiming that Colorado had revised its COVID-19 death count from 1150 to 878 and “ADMITTED” that the state was including deaths from other causes in its count to make the virus seem more lethal took off across
Truth or Fiction?→ Obamagate, Explained
Chances are you saw at least a passing reference to “Obamagate” in May 2020, and chances are similar you (like many) struggled to understand what “Obamagate” might actually be. We’ll do our best to break it down. WhatR
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Derek Chauvin Photographed Alongside Donald Trump at a Campaign Rally?
In the aftermath of the extrajudicial killing of 46-year-old George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, social media users spread a photograph online that they claimed showed one of the officers alongside United States President Donald
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Amy Cooper Make Campaign Donations to Obama, Buttigieg, and John Kerry?
Amid the fallout of Amy Cooper’s firing for her racist harassment of Christian Cooper in May 2020, some social media users began trying to parse her political leanings as an evidence-free opinion piece in a British publication added fuel to the
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘McDonald’s Crucifixion’ Image Repurposed as Purportedly ‘Protesting Stay at Home Orders’
In late May 2020, a photograph of three purported protesters of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders circulated which purported to show three men “crucified” outside a McDonald’s. A since-deleted Facebook post originally stated: I have no
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Michigan Send Absentee Ballots to 7.7 Million People?
On May 20 2020, United States President Donald Trump attempted to smear the Michigan secretary of state’s office in a tweet regurgitating one of his most thoroughly debunked claims. “Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ah
Truth or Fiction?→ There’s No ‘New Evidence’ Face Masks Pose Health Risks to Healthy People During the COVID-19 Pandemic
On May 18 2020, ScienceTimes.com posted a story with a frightening and shocking headline: “New Evidence Shows Wearing Face Mask Can Help Coronavirus Enter the Brain and Pose More Health Risk, Warn Expert.” The page picked up quite a lot o
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook Fact-Checking Platform Dangerously Labels Mask Meme ‘False,’ Discourages Use of Masks Against Expert Guidelines
In May 2020 — in the middle of a global COVID-19 pandemic — a screenshot of a dangerously misapplied Facebook fact-checking flag began circulating which falsely and dangerously contradicts best practices around the use of masks in public p
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Pride Parades Cancelled Over COVID-19 Without Sparking Armed Protests?
Right-wing personality Tomi Lahren’s attempt to criticize “liberals” on Twitter was refuted when several other users pointed out that she was attempted to gin up controversy that was already moot. “To the pro-eternal shutdown c
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Say Any Protester Carrying a Firearm Will Be Arrested?
A British tabloid’s story on a right-wing demonstration in Michigan circulated via social media with a headline with a much different connotation than the one actually seen on its website. For Facebook users, the Daily Mail’s story on a Ma
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Woodstock Occur ‘in the Middle of a Pandemic’?
On May 1 2020, the American Institute for Economic Research reported that Woodstock was held during a pandemic — information which, in a vacuum, could pass for a charming piece of late 1960s nostalgia. But this information does not exist in a
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Incredibly Terrible’: L.A. Times’ ‘Mutant Coronavirus’ Story Put Under The Microscope
A Los Angeles Times story reporting the appearance of a “dominant” new strain of COVID-19 has prompted criticism for relying on a document that had not been vetted through a traditional peer-review process. The May 5 2020 story covers the
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Ventura County COVID-19 Testing and Removing Children from Homes?
Among early May 2020 rumors about “forced testing” Americans for COVID-19 (occasionally with increasingly hysterical rumors about purported home intrusions under H.R. 6666) was a consistent claim that the government sought to remove childr
Truth or Fiction?→ Does House Bill 6666 (the TRACE Act) Allow the Government to Enter Your Home, Test for COVID-19, and Take Your Children or Parents?
In early May 2020, a number of panicked posts about proposed legislation (H.R. 6666, also called the Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone, or TRACE Act) began spreading on social media, including a May 8 2020 video with a massive 2.5 million vie
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?→ Do These X-Rays Show What COVID-19 Does To Your Lungs?
A graphic exhorting social media users to take COVID-19 seriously only added to the disinformation surrounding the disease. The meme, which began circulating on Facebook in May 2020, shows four different chest X-rays. The caption claims that the fourt
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Hydroxychloroquine 60¢ a Pill, Remdesivir $1000 a Dose, Now Do You See Why They are Pushing the New Drug and Not the Old One?’
On May 1 2020, a Facebook user shared the following post, which contained the claim that antiviral medication remdesivir had replaced hydroxychloroquine as a favored hopeful treatment for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 because the former medica
Truth or Fiction?→ Researcher Behind Retracted Paper Launches Anti-Fauci Campaign
The researcher-turned-anti-vaccine activist whose work was publicly redacted by a leading journal resurfaced in May 2020 to attack National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci and accuse him of spreading disinformation
Truth or Fiction?→ COVID-19 HIPAA Face Mask Exemption ‘Passes’
Chances are in early May 2020 you saw at least one Facebook post depicting a somewhat-official looking printable document: A viral image claiming that Americans in any state where masks had been mandated or otherwise advised in public places were spe
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Right-Wing COVID-19 Protester Carry a Sign Displaying a Nazi Slogan?
Several photographs emerged online on May 1 2020 purportedly showing right-wing protesters — and in one case a child — displaying a Nazi slogan. But at least one of the images was manipulated digitally. As the Associated Press reported, a
Truth or Fiction?→ Is There ‘No Scientific Proof’ That Social Distancing Prevents the Spread of Coronavirus?
On April 22 2020, a KUSI News item (“USC Professor Joel Hay says there is no scientific proof social distancing prevents spread of coronavirus”) appeared containing a claim that proved particularly popular among people who opposed COVID-19
Truth or Fiction?→ Medical Community Refutes Bakersfield Doctors’ Attempts to Minimize COVID-19
Two California-based doctors’ attempt to compare COVID-19 to the common flu has incurred criticism and debunking from not only their local colleagues, but medical professionals at the state and national level. In a rare step, the American Colleg
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Quarantine is When You Restrict the Movement of SICK People’ Facebook Meme
On April 28 2020, amid ongoing coverage of astroturfed anti-lockdown protests, a Facebook post claimed that quarantine was intended to “restrict the movement of sick people” (archived here): White text against a red and blue background r
Truth or Fiction?→ Can Ultraviolet Light Be Injected Into the Body to Fight COVID-19?
As attention swirled around “sarcastic” remarks concerning the use of household disinfectants to treat COVID-19, some social media users attempted to gin up more support for United States President Donald Trump by fixating on another theor
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Barack 6, Hussein 7, Obama 5, Covid=19’
As criticism rolled in against far-right protesters demanding their “freedom” to potentially help spread COVID-19, some social media users were apparently taken in by digital manipulation. Readers mocking the “grassroots” prot
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the New York Times ‘Officialize’ Kim Jong-Un’s Death?
As uncertainty surrounded the medical status of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, at least one unknown party took advantage of the moment to sow disinformation. A bogus Twitter account billing itself as “@nytimesoffcial” — an apparent
Truth or Fiction?→ Who Is Mark Grenon?
The Florida merchant claiming credit for United States President Donald Trump’s remarks concerning the use of disinfectants as a “cure” for COVID-19 has a history of pushing other conspiracy theories despite legal and journalistic in
Truth or Fiction?→ Did H1N1 Infect 1.4 Billion People and Kill Nearly 600,000 Worldwide?
Under “tweets that didn’t age well,” on April 2 2020 pundit Bill Mitchell criticized measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 — claiming that the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic infected 1.4 billion people worldwide and killed a
Truth or Fiction?→ Was There a ‘Canine Coronavirus Vaccine in 2001’?
On April 22 2020, screenshots of an image post featuring a “canine coronavirus vaccine” appeared and was circulated alongside captured text about the vial dating back to 2001 (archived here): Text over a battered vial labeled
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a ‘Hot Mic’ at Coronavirus White House Briefing Reveal a COVID-19 Conspiracy?
On April 20 2020, purported “hot mic” footage from a White House coronavirus press briefing appeared and quickly began circulating — involving discussion of what seemed to be fudged case-fatality rate numbers as well as the existenc
Truth or Fiction?→ Disinformation Linking COVID-19 to Hemoglobin Spreads to Spanish-Speaking Readers
The conspiracy theory pushing the idea that COVID-19 binds itself to patients’ hemoglobin has spread beyond English-language websites, and it is now targeting readers on social media and news organizations in Spanish. This version of the claim,
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Donald Trump Criticize ‘Obama’s Handling of This Pandemic’ in November 2009?
In mid-April 2020, screenshots of a tweet attributed to United States President Donald Trump on November 23 2009 began circulating, in which he purportedly criticized then-President Barack Obama’s handling of the H1N1 (also called swine flu) pan
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook Activity for Right-Wing ‘Gridlock’ Protests Surges
Facebook groups supporting or organizing anti-government protests continued to appear on the platform in mid-April 2020, despite the platform reportedly shuttering at least two such events. We found several groups using the “Operation Gridlock&#
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Los Angeles and NYC Announce ‘No More Concerts In 2020’?
A newly-created Twitter account’s unsubstantiated claim was still shared widely on the platform by readers perhaps dreading the long-term ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on Los Angeles and New York City. Touting it as “BREAKING NEWS
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Man ‘Die Twice’ From COVID-19?
Conspiracy-hungry social media users possibly itching for a chance to slam what they call “fake news” shared a morbid attempt at a joke on Facebook — and in doing so, ended up making light of an actual death resulting from the COVID-
Truth or Fiction?→ Will ‘Nebulized Hydrogen Peroxide’ Help You Avoid Contracting COVID-19?
A self-proclaimed “health activist” with a history of incurring warnings over his practices from the federal government used Twitter to push another questionable treatment idea involving COVID-19 (also called SARS-CoV-2 or “the coron
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the CDC Order All Deaths Be Recorded as a Result of COVID-19 — Even Heart Attacks and Accidents?
In April 2020, a conspiracy theory spread on Facebook and Twitter which maintained that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explicitly ordered that all deaths in the United States, regardless of their true cause, be attributed to t
Truth or Fiction?→ Is This a Photograph of Someone’s Kitchen After Microwaving Coronavirus Masks?
On April 7 2020 — in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic — a post began spreading on Facebook, warning people against microwaving face masks to sterilize them (alongside a photograph of the aftermath of a kitchen fire): Please don’t pass