On February 19 2019, a woman shared a harrowing account via Facebook which reported that a phony Uber driver in Tampa had nearly successfully abducted her for the purposes of sex trafficking. In her post, Emmy Hurley described the purported brush with
Publication: disinformation
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the Red Cross Assisting Migrant Caravans with Tents and Supplies?
In October 2018 a Facebook user shared the following status update, alleging that the Red Cross was providing tents and food to a group of people moving through Mexico to the United States to request asylum at its southern border: Against a red backgr
Truth or Fiction?→ Shocking Video of ‘Abortion Doctor’ Saying He ‘Loves Killing Babies’?
On February 7 2019, Facebook user Marcus Rogers shared a video post captioned: “SHOCKING VIDEO of Abortion Doctor GROWLING and Saying He loves Killing Babies. This is just DISGUSTING [emoji] AND YOU KNOW, they don’t want you to see this one
Truth or Fiction?→ Is This the League of Nazi Women, Who ‘Always Wore White’?
On February 5 2019, Facebook user Anna Love shared the following image in a status update, claiming that the photograph shows Nazi Socialist women wearing their customary white attire: In the status update field, Love wrote: The League of Nazi Sociali
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Muslim Principal Ban Crucifixes in a Virginia School?
On January 30 2019, Facebook page “The Blacksphere” shared the following meme, purportedly depicting a Virginia principal named Mamasai Mamakusa: The meme was likely outrage-bait which implied that the nonexistent principal’s hijab c
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Man Lose His Penis to Frostbite After Urinating Outside During a Cold Snap?
In early February 2019, the Facebook page Sexy Atheists shared a link to an article titled “Chicago Man Loses His Penis To Frostbite After Peeing Outside,” which appeared to report: The bitter cold in Chicago has kept hospitals busy, with
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Martin Luther King, Jr. Say ‘the Dream’ Cannot Survive if Women Have Abortions?
In January 2019, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the passage of a new abortion law in New York state occurred in close proximity, facilitating the circulation of the following quote meme: The above-reproduced quote meme included a photograph of King a
Truth or Fiction?→ Were More ‘American Blacks’ Killed by ‘Illegal Immigrants’ Than Police in Recent Years?
In January 2019, the following Facebook status update circulated with the claim that undocumented immigrants caused the deaths of more black Americans than officer involved shootings in years prior: White text on a black background unaccompanied by im
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Taxpayers Foot the Bill for the Trump Family’s Dinner at His Property While Furloughed Workers Went Unpaid?
On January 24 2019, a Facebook user shared the following shutdown related meme to Facebook: Beneath a photograph of Donald Trump, his children, and their spouses, text stated: So get this … Last Night, Taxpayers Paid Donald Trump To Feed Donald
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Preacher Say Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Was ‘Summoning Demons’ by Dancing?
On January 25 2019, the Facebook page “Pass The 28th Amendment (Complete Removal Of The Church From The State)” shared a news article about a preacher who purportedly claimed that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) was “summo
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Nathan Phillips Lying About His Military Service in Order to Raise Money?
In the wake of the days-long Covington Catholic controversy, rumors spread about its central figures, Native American rights activist Nathan Phillips of the Omaha Nation and student Nick Sandmann. As the story continued to unfold, pushed along by a
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Activist Nathan Phillips in a Skrillex Video About ‘Attacking Police’?
After a mid-January 2019 Covington Catholic controversy made Native activist Nathan Phillips and student Nick Sandmann virally famous, dueling narratives struggled in a public narrative muddied by smears. Phillips was quickly accused by Big League Pol
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Covington Catholic Student’s Mother Tweet That She Wished Natives Received More ‘Smallpox Blankets’?
In the middle of the Covington Catholic controversy on January 21 2019, rumors circulated that Julie Sandmann (mother of Nicholas Sandmann) had published a tweet wishing “smallpox blankets” had killed additional Native Americans. Julie Sand
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the President Tweet in Support of a Covington Catholic Student?
On January 19 2019, Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann was named in a viral video after a clip of his interaction with Native American activist Nathan Phillips at the National Mall spread across social media. In the ensuing controversy, a tweet
Snopes→ Is Facebook Kicking People Out of Groups Who Don’t Participate?
The technology giant has been taking measures to improve "meaningful" interactions on the platform.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Texas Ranchers Find ‘Prayer Rugs’ Near the U.S.-Mexico Border?
Amid a flurry of headlines about the government shutdown and Michael Cohen on January 18 2019, President Donald Trump tweeted a highly dubious claim that ranchers on the southern United States border had found “prayer rugs” as part of a pl
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Nancy Pelosi Refusing to Meet with Any U.S. Citizen Who Had a Family Member Murdered by ‘an Illegal’?
In January 2019, a Facebook user posted a status update that has since become virally popular. It said: IMAGINE THAT NANCY PELOSI IS REFUSING TO MEET WITH ANY U.S. CITIZEN WHO HAD A FAMILY MEMBER MURDERED BY AN ILLEGAL. The post appeared on its own
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Growing Vegetables in Your Own Yard Now Confirmed as a Criminal Offense?
In January 2019, the Facebook page “Herbs, Health, and Happiness” shared a Natural News item titled “Growing vegetables in your own yard now confirmed as a criminal offense by Florida courts … INSANITY is now LAW.” The sh
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Undocumented Immigrants Send $56 Billion in ‘Pure Cash’ to Their Home Countries Last Year?
Against the backdrop of a long-running federal shutdown, purportedly over border wall funding, a Facebook user shared the following meme in January 2019: It read: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SENT $56 BILLION IN PURE CASH TO THEIR HOME COUNTRIES LAST YEAR ALONE
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Rashida Tlaib’s ‘Raping and Pillaging… What Goes Around Comes Around’ Tweet Real?
In January 2019, a tweet attributed to Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib began circulating in questionable screenshot-only form on Twitter and Facebook: Dated January 4, 2019, it read: Americans have spent decades raping and pillaging my people. What goes a
Truth or Fiction?→ United States President Donald Trump’s Immigration Speech
On the evening of January 8, 2019, United States President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office on the topic of immigration and what he calls a humanitarian and national security crisis on the country’s southern border as a shut
Truth or Fiction?→ Do ‘The Most Brilliant Scientists’ Not Vaccinate Their Own Children?
On January 7, 2019, the Facebook page for NaturalNews.com shared a video, the premise for which was contained in its title: “The most brilliant scientists working for the U.S. government do NOT vaccinate their own kids.” The same video was
Truth or Fiction?→ Does a Protester’s Sign Say ‘We Will Defeat America Using the Weakness of Liberal Leaders’?
In late 2018 and early 2019, an image circulated of a man holding a sign that read: “We Will Defeat America By Using The Weakness Of Liberal Leaders”: The image rarely appeared with any backstory, and it served as something of a Rorschach
Truth or Fiction?→ Is This a Picture of Used Syringes Recovered in ‘Democrat Run’ San Francisco?
On December 20, 2018, the Facebook page Try Decaf shared a photograph, purportedly showing used needles “found on the streets of Democrat run San Francisco”: As of January 4, 2019, the image had been shared thousands of times. Angry users
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Muslim Men Attack a UK Serviceman on New Year’s Eve?
On January 1, 2019, British far-right activist Tommy Robinson (née Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon) shared a post with photographs of an injured man, claiming that fifteen Muslim men had seriously assaulted a British serviceman one day prior in Ba
Truth or Fiction?→ How to Slow the Spread of Disinformation: A Guide for Newsrooms
Every day, a new fake story emerges with the power to affect policy or further corrode relationships, from interpersonal to international. This is corrosive disinformation, as different from garden-variety scams and hoaxes as a molehill is from a mount
Truth or Fiction?→ Did ‘Migrants’ Demand $50,000 Each to Leave the United States?
On December 12, 2018, the Federalist Papers Project — a known purveyor of corrosive disinformation — published “Migrants DEMAND $50,000 Each to go Home, Or Else …” (filed under “opinion”), an article littered
Truth or Fiction?→ From Central America to the United States Border, a Journey of Lies
A highly publicized caravan of people traveling from Central America in order to turn themselves in at the United States border to request asylum — one of many groups who have done so over the years — has been dogged from start to finish by false
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Asylum-Seekers Writing Numbers on Their Arms at the United States Border?
Amid stories of unarmed adults and children getting teargassed over an international border by United States forces, infants being taken from their parents, and asylum-seekers being concentrated in detention camps, yet another image appeared to evoke a
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Teargas Used ‘Once a Month’ at the Border Under the Obama Administration?
The days following a cross-border chemical attack by American forces on unarmed members of a caravan of men, women, and children from Central America across the border with Mexico were filled with disinformation and outright propaganda as people and or
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Photographs Showing the United States Firing Teargas at a Crowd in Mexico ‘Staged’?
On November 25th, 2018, at the tail end of the long Thanksgiving weekend in the United States, the United States government closed down the San Ysidro port of entry — one of the busiest land crossings in the world — into and out of Mexico. When a g
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Leeds Trinity University Ban Capital Letters to Avoid Frightening Students?
In November 2018, an odd little article about a leaked internal memo at Leeds Trinity University appeared in the British tabloid the Express. According to the story, the university told professors not to use all capital letters in order to avoid R
Truth or Fiction?→ Does a Photograph Prove that Michael Avenatti (or Keith Ellison) Badly Beat a Woman?
A bombshell report about Michael Avenatti, a high-profile lawyer turned potential politician, appeared on celebrity news and gossip site TMZ in November 2018: Michael Avenatti, who became famous for representing Stormy Daniels in her battle with Pre
Truth or Fiction?→ Is a Caravan of Central American Asylum-Seekers Demanding Special Treatment?
An annual caravan of people traveling from Central America to the United States to seek asylum and refuge from extreme violence in their home countries has been beset by falsehoods, lies, and disinformation from start to finish — from baseless claim
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook Spread Fake News, Hired ‘Trackers’ to Smear Critics
In mid-November 2018, the New York Times published a bombshell report about Facebook that convulsed both traditional and social media. The beleaguered site has been at the center of scandal after fake news scandal from the mass displacement and genocid
Truth or Fiction?→ White Supremacist Arrested After Calling a Domestic Terror Attack ‘a Dry Run’
A man with ties to some of the most violent hate groups in the United States has been arrested and charged with illegal possession of firearms just weeks after his younger brother — also reportedly a known white supremacist — committed suicide. A
Truth or Fiction?→ Did United States President Donald Trump Threaten to Withhold Disaster Funding from California?
Sizable wildfires burning up and down California have killed at least 25 people and destroyed at least one entire Northern California town, Paradise. The exact toll and cost as of November 11, 2018 is still unknown, because at least two enormously dest
Truth or Fiction?→ Was the Thousand Oaks Shooter Identified as a Man of Middle Eastern Descent?
Mere hours after a gunman entered a nightclub in Thousand Oaks, California, murdering at least twelve people before shooting himself, the social media disinformation machine and its usual array of bots and paid trolls began to peddle unverified informa
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a CNN Reporter Assault a White House Employee?
The morning after a hotly-contested midterm election resulted in Republicans resoundingly losing control of the House, United States President Donald Trump held a rambling, bizarre press conference in which he alternately took credit for Republicans ma
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Members of a Refugee Caravan Defiling American Flags on Their Way to the United States?
An annual caravan heading from Central America to the southern United States border to seek asylum has been beset by rumors, misinformation, and dramatic disinformation during the 2018 election cycle. Participants in the annual event are generally fro