United States President Donald Trump’s administration and other right-wing figures attempted to distance themselves on October 14 2019 from a violent propaganda video, as coverage spread of a scene altered to depict Trump gunning down his “
Publication: disinformation
Truth or Fiction?→ Did United States Attorney General Bill Barr Meet with Rupert Murdoch Before Shep Smith Left Fox News?
On October 11 2019, the Facebook page “The Other 98%” shared the following meme about the departure of anchor Shep Smith from Fox News and the behind-the-scenes meeting between Rupert Murdoch and United States Attorney General Bill Barr
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Kurdish Fighters Help the United States During World War II?
A major decision to abandon a Kurdish group that had been a key ally to United States troops in the Middle East was an overnight policy decision that was apparently based on a distortion of military history. On October 9 2019, the president defended h
Truth or Fiction?→ Disinformation Peddlers Push ‘October 16th’ Conspiracy Theory
A gaggle of specious blogs and social media accounts set about inflaming tensions for their followers in a set of posts reminiscent of other fake controversies. The posts center on vaguely-worded “threats” and wide-ranging military deploym
Truth or Fiction?→ Pro-Life Art: ‘The Neverborn Child’ Meme
In early October 2019, the Facebook disinformation page “ForAmerica” shared the following meme, insisting that it shows a “pro-life sculpture” called “the neverborn child”: Captions added to the image and a statu
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Footage Prove Elizabeth Warren Lied About ‘Visibly Pregnant’ Firing?
In early October 2019, a number of social media posts and attendant articles referenced a multi-layered claim that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) “lied” about being fired because she was “visibly pregnant.” Social medi
Truth or Fiction?→ The Constitution, Impeachment, a Paper Shredder, and Hillary Clinton’s Twitter
On October 7 2019, the following image appeared in a Facebook group. It purportedly showed an undated Fox News coverage still, further displaying what appeared to be a tweet from Hillary Clinton three days before: In the original post, a group
Truth or Fiction?→ Officials Say United States Not Vacating Syria, Contradicting Trump: Reports
Amid reports that Turkish forces had begun mounting an attack on Syria, two separate news outlets reported that United States officials had contradicted U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration that American troops would be vacating the Syria-T
Truth or Fiction?→ Recurring Disinformation Around Remembrance Day, Poppies, and ‘Upset Minorities’
An enduring piece of misinformation surrounding the Remembrance Day holiday and the Royal British Legion charity group resurfaced again in September 2019, despite the best efforts of fact-checkers the last few times the same exact disinformation appea
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?→ Facebook on Allowing Political Ads with Disinformation: ‘A Benefit to See What Politicians Are Saying’
Just one day after a report highlighting an ad for United States President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign based on a claim that Facebook’s own fact-checking partners had already debunked, the social media platform is claiming that al
Truth or Fiction?→ Lyndon LaRouche: An Explainer
An attempt to troll U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) in early October 2019 led to newfound attention for the devotees of failed political candidate, convicted felon, and one-time Marxist-turned-Democratic-presidential-candidate-turned-f
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘When We See Cancer in Pork, We Just Cut It Out And Still Sell It To Customers’ Claim
A February 2018 post (“An Experienced Butcher Admits: “When We See Cancer In The Pork, We Just Cut It And Still Sell It To Customers””) circulated widely on Facebook in October 2019, inspiring a fresh round of users vowing to never aga
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Scientists ‘Covering Up’ Global Warming Data?
Among the conspiracy theories bandied about by “nature”-themed blogs is the idea that scientists have conspired to gin up mass panics over the planet’s climate-warming emergency. One particularly hysterical claim was published by Nat
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the FBI Say Knives are Used in Five Times More Murders than Rifles?
On October 1 2019 , the website AmericanMilitaryNews.com shared a post headlined, “FBI stats show 5 times more murders by knives than rifles in 2018”: That was shared thousands of times in less than 24 hours. An additional item claim
Truth or Fiction?→ Is it Now Illegal to Say ‘Illegal’ in New York City?
In late September and early October 2019, a number of posts on social media claimed that New York City had made it illegal to call anyone “illegal” or an “illegal alien.” A September 30 2019 video post by Tim Pool was titled &
Truth or Fiction?→ Would Trump Get to ‘Run Two More Times’ If He Is Not Impeached?
While he himself debunked the claim within hours, several readers contacted us asking if a scenario posted by disinformation purveyor and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec on October 1, 2019 was plausible. “These Democrats don’t realize th
Truth or Fiction?→ Does a Video Show ‘Antifa Protesters’ Screaming at an Elderly Woman Crossing the Street?
In late September 2019, a video clip of masked people shouting at and blocking an elderly woman while she was using a walker to cross a street began to circulate on Twitter: Antifa protesters scream at & block elderly couple outside an event fea
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Trump Is Now Trying To Get Mike Pence Impeached’ Claim
On September 25 2019, Politicus USA published an article headlined, “Trump Is Now Trying To Get Mike Pence Impeached,” claiming in part: During a press conference, Trump said that if he is going to be investigated, Vice President Pence’s
Truth or Fiction?→ Vietnam Veterans Group: ‘Foreign Criminals’ Targeting Servicemembers for Online Exploitation
An advocacy group for military service members is calling on similar organizations as well as federal officials and social media platforms to take more steps to protect their fellow veterans from being manipulated by online disinformation. “Serv
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Bill Passed in Iran Allowing Men to Marry Their Daughters?
An August 12 2019 TheYouth.in article (titled “A controversial Bill passed in Iran, it allows men to marry daughters, draws flak from other nations?”) circulated for weeks after its publication on Facebook. The article included no apparent
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Confederate Flag’s Designer Call it a Symbol of White Supremacy, Not Southern Heritage?
In September 2019, a July 2015 blog post circulated on Facebook, bearing the headline: “Confederate Flag Designer Said It Is A Symbol Of White Supremacy — Not Southern Heritage.” When rendered on Facebook, the link prominently displayed
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Stella Brazier or Greta Thunberg Actually ‘Child Actresses’?
As part of their push to demonize young protesters demanding that their leaders recognize global warming, some far-right and climate change denier blogs have published the unsubstantiated claim that one Australian protester was actually performing, re
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump-Supporting Teens Trick Bernie Sanders into Posing with Them?
In late September 2019 a number of Facebook posters shared a photograph of Sen. Bernie Sanders posing with two high school girls in “Trump 2020” and “Make America Great Again” attire. Although some users shared it without a mis
Truth or Fiction?→ Esfuerzos Desinformativos Usan a George Soros Para Criticar a la Activista Greta Thunberg
La campaña de la activista Greta Thunberg insistiendo que líderes mundiales tomen medidas más fuertes con respecto al peligro climático fue recibida con más intentos de usar desinformación contra ella. Algunos usuarios de las redes sociales invo
Truth or Fiction?→ Online Disinformation Tries to Link Greta Thunberg with George Soros
As Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s campaign for world governments to meaningfully address climate danger gained more attention, so did the amount of online misinformation thrown at her. For some social media users, that meant invoking far-righ
Truth or Fiction?→ Were There No Flags at the Democratic Debate?
On August 1 2019, the following post was shared to Facebook (archived here), claiming no American flags were on display at an unspecified Democratic debate: View post on imgur.com Text on the image itself read: No American flags in an American presi
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Billions of Dollars ‘Stolen’ From Rep. Elijah Cummings’ District?
In July 2019, United States President Donald Trump once again recycled an old tactic of responding to criticism from Democratic Party lawmakers by pushing false and debunked claims about them. In this case, Trump singled out Maryland Rep. Elijah Cumm
Truth or Fiction?→ Is This a Photograph of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s Congressional District?
An also-ran right-wing candidate in New Jersey generated attention for himself online in September 2019 by spreading an online smear targeting a Democratic Party lawmaker. Joseph Rullo’s Facebook post, which was shared more than 6,800 times, sho
Truth or Fiction?→ Were ‘Alien Enthusiasts’ Shot and Killed at Area 51?
Amid the coverage of the social media-inspired gathering at the Area 51 military outpost in September 2019 was at least one online prank stating — falsely — that people had been killed at the event. The site, LATlmes.com (which looks enough like
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Ronald Reagan Say ‘Under No Pretext Should Arms and Ammunition Be Surrendered’?
Admirers of Republican Party stalwart Ronald Reagan may be disappointed to know that a graphic spreading online falsely credits him with a distorted version of a statement by two men who were not in idealogical alignment with the former United States
Truth or Fiction?→ Causes of Death Per Day and Rifles Meme
In September 2019, a number of memes about “causes of death” per day or per year in the United States circulated, largely as discourse surrounding purported retailer “bans” (but really, discontinuation of sales) of rifles. One
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Rep. Ilhan Omar Partied on 9/11 Anniversary’ Claim
On September 18 2019, United States President Donald Trump retweeted (archived here) a now-deleted claim that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) “partied” on the 18th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks: IIhan Omar, a member of AOC
Truth or Fiction?→ Is a Box of Ivanka Trump’s Footwear Marked ‘Tariff Exempt’?
In September 2019 an image circulated on Twitter, purportedly depicting a box of Ivanka Trump footwear products — bearing a big red stamp reading “tarriff [sic] exempt”: plus, this hit the fan… pic.twitter.com/WjG38IZWjm —
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Maxine Waters Say 700 Billion People Will Lose Healthcare Coverage in a Trumpcare Bill?
On September 17 2019, the purported young conservative-aligned Facebook page “Turning Point USA” shared the following meme (archived here), invoking an old favorite trope about the supposed ignorance or stupidity of women of color in power
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Democratic Lawmaker Introduce a Bill to ‘Euthanize Seniors’?
Known satire site the Last Line of Defense, or LLOD, continued pushing its content in September 2019, as they opened another affiliate site publishing the same kind of posts. Daily World Update, billing itself as “satire for flat earthers, Trum
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The Wall, It’s Real and It’s Magnificent’ Facebook Meme
On September 17 2019, the Facebook page “For America” shared the following border wall meme (archived here): An image of what was heavily implied to be United States President Donald Trump’ promised “border wall̶
Truth or Fiction?→ Do These Photographs Accurately Contrast Birmingham in 1940 with Birmingham in 2017?
In September 2019, the following image circulated on Facebook and other social media platforms, purportedly contrasting Birmingham, England in 1940 with Birmingham, England in 2017: At the top was a black and white image of what appeared to be soldie
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Donald Trump Say ‘Women, You Have to Treat Them Like S—‘ in a 1992 Interview?
On September 14 2019 the popular — but not always accurate — Facebook page “Occupy Democrats” shared a Donald Trump quote meme (archived here), alleging that the President said “women, you have to treat them like shit” in
Truth or Fiction?→ Tim Allen Meme: ‘Obamacare Website Costs More Than Trump’s Wall’
On September 14 2019, the Facebook page “ChairmanSizer” shared the following meme (archived here), claiming that actor and comedian Tim Allen was quoted as claiming that maintaining the official Affordable Care Act’s website costs mo