In December 2019, a rumor Casey Anthony was pregnant with twins swept Facebook, and a circulating article claimed: Casey Anthony, the woman famously acquitted in 2011 of murdering her daughter Caylee, is confirmed to be pregnant again. This time with
Publication: disinformation
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Private Prisons Suing States for Millions of Contract Quotas?
A long-popular October 2018 Facebook post continued spreading through late 2019, alleging that private prisons were suing states over unmet contract quotas promising a minimum number of profitable inmates. A status update read “SO WE JUST NOT GO
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Trump Filmed After ‘Forgetting to Wear His Toupee’?
A Twitter prankster released a video mocking United States President Donald Trump on Twitter on November 29 2019, though it gained less attention than a previous effort. The nine-second clip was edited to show the president removing a baseball cap to
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Rep. Ilhan Omar ‘Recruited by a Foreign Government’?
On November 25 2019, the co-founder of a far-right group supporting United States President Donald Trump took to Twitter to misrepresent allegations against Democratic Party Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Ryan Fournier, a leader of the group Students F
Truth or Fiction?→ Did BBC Edit a Clip of Boris Johnson Getting Laughed at in a Televised Forum?
The British Broadcasting Corporation faced accusations of political bias in November 2019 after social media users spotted the difference between a television audience’s live reaction to a question directed at UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and
Truth or Fiction?→ Trump Regurgitates ‘Crowdstrike’ Conspiracy Theory in Call to Fox News
United States President Donald Trump called into a Fox News program on November 22 2019, spending nearly an hour pushing an already-debunked conspiracy theory that was also refuted during the congressional impeachment inquiry against him. During his c
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Fox News Taken Off American Forces Network Radio?
A series of tweets in November 2019 pushed the claim that Fox News had been made unavailable for United States military service members. The claim came after the right-wing network’s treatment of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman following his testimon
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Democrats Spent $40,000,000 of YOUR Tax Dollars Trying to Impeach Trump’ Posts
On October 28 2019, a Facebook user shared the following status update (archived here), claiming that Democrats spent $40,000,000 in an attempt to impeach United States President Donald Trump: White text against a purple smoke background ass
Truth or Fiction?→ Donald Trump Falsely Claims He Opened Apple Texas Facility During Visit
On November 20 2019, United States President Donald Trump followed up a visit to an Apple computer-making facility in Texas with a claim that was outright false. “Today I opened a major Apple Manufacturing plant in Texas that will bring high pay
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘You Will Fail’: White House Claims Resurrect Bogus Accusations Against Obama, Clinton
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham’s unfounded claim on November 19 2019 called to mind past disinformation charges against Democratic Party presidents on their way out of office. As CNN reported, Grisham accused staff members for for
Truth or Fiction?→ UK’s Conservative Party’s Communications Team Briefly Rebrands to Mislead Public
As a December 12 2019 general election looms over the UK and the rhetoric around its third election since 2015 grows ever louder, distractions and political stunts have hit a fever pitch, injecting misinformation and outright disinformation into its p
Truth or Fiction?→ Conspiracy Theorist Roger Stone Is Latest Trump Associate to be Convicted
Roger Stone — a longtime ally to both President Donald Trump and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — was convicted on November 15, 2019 on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering, and lying to Congress. The 67-year-old self-proclaimed “d
Truth or Fiction?→ Report: Coordinated Russian Disinformation Could Be ‘Significantly Impactful’
Russian disinformation efforts resulted in their content being shared on more than 100 online outlets as part of a two-pronged approach covering both social media and ginned-up websites, according to a report commissioned by the Senate Intelligence Co
Truth or Fiction?→ Archived Tweets Show Bolivian Interim President Smearing Indigenous ‘Satanists’
Amid a chaotic upheaval and ouster of Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales, allegations swirled online around Jeanine Añez — the opposition leader who claims she is next in line for the presidency — and tweets she made litera
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Christians Being Told to Stop Saying That Jesus Is the ‘Son of God’ Because It Offends Muslims?
An April 2019 text-based status update meme on Facebook claimed (without citation, as usual) that Christians are being told to “stop calling Jesus the ‘Son of God,'” because it “offends Muslims”: White text aga
Truth or Fiction?→ Congress ‘Rejects’ Social Security Increase: Facebook Users Regurgitate Bogus Claim
In a prime example of easily digestible disinformation finding ready distribution on Facebook, a citation-free, years-old claim ginning up outrage against lawmakers was resurrected as a text-based graphic in September 2019, and has been shared thousa
Truth or Fiction?→ Hotel Cleaner Who Stole Sperm from a Millionaire’s Used Condom Won Child Support Battle, Millions?
On November 10 2019, a story about a hotel cleaner stealing a millionaire guest’s used condom to covertly impregnate herself and receive millions of dollars in child support was shared by the Facebook page “Waploaded.com Media”: T
Truth or Fiction?→ Who Runs ‘Journalist Excellence Worldwide’?
In early November 2019, the Facebook page “Journalist Excellence Worldwide” began making engagement inroads, with content shared to large groups and newly-viral, unrelated pages. However — no matter how convincing a page might appear at
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook Claims We’re ‘Clickbait.’ And It Won’t Explain Why.
Even as Facebook hides behind “free speech” concerns to justify a lack of action against the spread of far-right content, it does reserve the right to determine what constitutes “clickbait” with no explanation as to how that de
Truth or Fiction?→ Canadian School Falsely Accused of Suspending Student Over ‘Rainbow Poppy’
A recent political candidate in Canada accused her teenage cousin’s school of suspending the girl over an item that may not even be available in their country. Cyara Bird said in a November 7 2019 Twitter post that the 17-year-old Stonewall Coll
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi Released by U.S. President Barack Obama?
One day after the October 26 2019 death of Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Qurayshi, Facebook user Linda Jo Law shared a claim (archived here) that the former Islamic State leader had been held at an American prison camp until he was released by United Stat
Truth or Fiction?→ Bogus ‘Energy Saver’ Boxes Continue Targeting Online Shoppers
Even for the dodgy nature of online sales, a dubious “product” appears to have rebranded itself in a particularly brazen manner. A reader alerted us in November 2019 about Ökowatt, which claims on its website that to be “used for ec
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This Isn’t About Free Expression’: Twitter Chief Dorsey Announces Ban on Political Ads
Twitter’s chief executive officer has announced that his platform will ban political advertisements, saying that they represent new challenges to political discourse. “This isn’t about free expression. This is about paying for reach,
Truth or Fiction?→ Seattle November 3 2019 False Flag Attack Rumor
Rumors of a “false flag” terror attack in Seattle on November 3 2019 spiked in popularity in specific shadowy corners of social media in late October 2019, although by that point, the highly specious claims were several weeks old. A Septem
Truth or Fiction?→ Does McKamey Manor Award $20,000 to Successful ‘Extreme Haunted/Horror House’ Attendees?
In late October 2019, a number of news organizations ran stories essentially advertising an “extreme haunted house” known as McKamey Manor, widely reporting that anyone who successfully endured the attraction would be awarded $20,000 by it
Truth or Fiction?→ Conservative Versus Liberal, ‘Taken at a California Public High School This Year’ Meme
In October 2018, Facebook user Matt Gaelitz shared a slide titled “Conservative vs. Liberal” along with a status update: Taken at a California public high school this year. This is what indoctrination is all about. On June 4 2018, the same
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘University of Oxford Clapping Ban’ Rumor
In October 2019, a number of tabloids claimed that the University of Oxford had “banned clapping,” a move made at the behest of “snowflakes” made “anxious” by applause. The Daily Mail was one of those outlets, repo
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Mississippi Man Hack His Way Into Helping ‘Food Stamp’ Recipients?
A persistent meme that resurfaced on October 23 2019 about a modern-day Robin Hood is in reality a prank posted by someone out of “social media fun.” The graphic shows a photograph of a man besides a Fox News logo, accompanied by a short d
Truth or Fiction?→ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Grills Facebook Chief Executive Officer Over Fact-Checking, Political Ads
Democratic Party Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez challenged Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg on his policy allowing disinformation to be run in political advertisements on the social media platform during the tech magnate’s testimo
Truth or Fiction?→ A Friendly Reminder Children Need a Lanyard to Trick or Treat in Nichols Hills?
On October 23 2019, an Imgur screenshot purportedly showed a post to Reddit’s r/okc, containing a “friendly reminder that your children must have a resident’s lanyard to Trick or Treat in Nichols Hills”: Originally posted one
Truth or Fiction?→ Did New York State Kick 26,000 Students out of School Over Vaccinations — Only to Still Have Chickenpox Cases?
On October 19 2019, a Facebook user shared a letter sent by a Rocky Point, New York school district concerning reported cases of chickenpox, along with a list of its symptoms and other information about the virus: Alongside the letter (dated October
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook Antitrust Investigation Expands to 47 Attorneys General
An antitrust probe against Facebook has expanded into nearly the entire continental United States and beyond, New York State Attorney General Letitia James said on October 22 2019, with 46 states and one territory taking part. James said in a statemen
Truth or Fiction?→ Cream of Tartar and Orange Juice to Quit Smoking?
In October 2019, a post circulated on Facebook advising smokers to use potassium bitartrate — commonly known as cream of tartar — along with orange juice as an effective and inexpensive way to quit smoking successfully. Alongside a blurry image
Truth or Fiction?→ The Anti-Semitic Origins of ‘You Cannot Legislate the Poor Into Prosperity’
A quote attempting to justify largesse that has endured thanks to social media, but not without spreading disinformation about its origins. The statement has commonly been attributed online to evangelical leader Adrian Rogers, a former president of th
Truth or Fiction?→ MIT Science Professor Accused of Spreading Disinformation Resigns From Science Journal
A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has resigned from the board of a prestigious science journal after he was accused of spreading conspiracy theories about a chemical weapons attack in Syria in 2017 and a major scientific journ
Truth or Fiction?→ Italy’s President Mozzarella, Allies Back to Ancient Rome?
United States President Donald Trump hosted Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the White House on October 16 2019, leading to viral claims Trump misstated Mattarella’s name as “mozzarella” before embarrassingly describing a frie
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Republicans Hold 33 Benghazi Hearings and Make Hillary Clinton Testify for 11 Hours?
In October 2019, the Facebook page “Occupy Democrats” shared the following tweet, which claimed that Republicans held 33 “Benghazi hearings” — and that Hillary Clinton testified for eleven hours as they ran their course: R
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Canada Legalize Bestiality?
In October 2019, a Facebook user shared the following post (archived here), with a headline claiming that Canada had legalized “sex with animals”: That Facebook user wrote: Sick fucks. Only,one Judge a woman was against it They are maki
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Charlie Chaplin Say ‘Love Is Enough to Get Everything Done’?
The perils of blindly sharing “feel-good” remarks, even when they’re combined with photographs of a beloved celebrity, is evident once again in one of the latest iterations of a graphic falsely quoting actor Sir Charles Spencer Chapl
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Chick-fil-A Funding Anti-Gay Violence in Uganda?
On October 12 2019, the following tweet appeared and renewed interest in claims that chicken-themed fast-food chain Chick-fil-A directly funded violent, anti-gay political movements and laws in Uganda: Today Uganda announced a bill to legalize murde