On February 15 2023, a popular tweet showed a screengrab of a purported headline (“To Save Money, Maybe You Should Skip Breakfast”) in the Wall Street Journal on February 14 2023: Groceries too expensive? Just stop eating, you poors. Als
Publication: engagement bait
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘First Article Of Impeachment Laid Out Against Joe Biden,’ February 2022 Headline
On February 9 2022, Trendolizer identified an article that was purportedly (and partly) headlined, “First Article of Impeachment Laid Out Against Joe Biden.” Trendolizer flagged it as virally popular;Â Facebook shares of the link looked lik
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Dawn Hand Soap or Dish Soap?
Facebook’s “Reels” feature prioritizes TikTok-like videos. That this is an imperfect system is not in dispute, and in fact the feature is prioritizing misleading content — including an October 6 2021 clip claiming that Dawn dish
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Squirrel Teeth’ Fashion Trend
On November 14 2021, a Facebook user shared images of “squirrel teeth,” a purported “fashion trend” to the Facebook group “بن بريم للطبخ والØلويات وكل مايخص المطبخ والتدابير الÙ
Truth or Fiction?→ Pierce Brosnan: ‘She Is in My Eyes the Most Beautiful Woman in the World …’
On October 21 2021, a virally popular Facebook post by the page “NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP!!!” attributed to Pierce Brosnan a saccharine, condescending commentary about his wife Keely Shay Smith, who was apparently unworthy of being named
Truth or Fiction?→ Do National Son’s Day and National Daughter’s Day Even Exist?
On September 27 2021, Facebook user Owen Youngman posted about “National Son’s Day” and “National Daughter’s Day,” two purported “National Days” prompting significant social media engagement. YoungmanR
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook Data Mining Posts
On September 22 2021, actor Wil Wheaton shared a warning about data mining on Facebook (one of many circulating at the time), advising followers to educate themselves about data mining. Facebook Warnings About Data Mining in September 2021 Wheaton̵
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Biden And Harris Served With Impeachment Charge’
On September 2 2021,  a story with the shocking headline “Biden And Harris Served With Impeachment Charge – Gun-Toting Boebert Accuses Them Both Of Dereliction Of Duty” popped up as post that quickly went viral. A Facebook post by “
Truth or Fiction?→ Golliwog Facebook Post
In June 2021, an indifferently punctuated January 2020 Facebook “golliwog” post was widely shared — along with a demonstrably false claim that the offensive content was at risk of being censored: The engagement-baiting text, which wa
Truth or Fiction?→ No, Mr. Potato Head Is Not Gender Neutral Now
On February 25 2021, social media erupted into outrage over a widely-aggregated Associated Press item claiming that the children’s toy previously known as Mr. Potato Head was being changed to be “gender neutral”: Mr. Potato Head is
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Cannabis Ice Cream’
In mid-2020, a purported photograph of “cannabis ice cream” circulated on Facebook as a mildly engagement-baiting poll asking whether readers were for or against the putative dessert: Earlier iterations of the image featured the
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘I Just Tested Positive for Coronavirus’ Engagement Bait Spreads on Facebook
On July 25 2020, Facebook user Stiven Flores shared the following photograph, with a claim he had “just tested positive for coronavirus” and an aggressive push for others to share the post in order to collect “prayers”: Alongsi
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Budget Breakdown of a 25-Year-Old Who Makes $100,000 a Year and Is Excellent with Money’
As COVID-19 related economic woes dragged on in August 2020, a Facebook user shared a CNBC “budget breakdown” chart — which involved a 25-year-old man earning $100,000 a year: On August 14 2020, the user shared the above ch
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘If You See the Baby You Are Part of a Minority Who Can See Paranormal Things’
A June 9 2020 Facebook post featured a grainy, black and white image of a baby at a window — as well as a claim the “minority” of people were unable to see the baby, and that those who did were able to see “paranormal things&#
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Choose’ or ‘Pick’ Your ‘Quarantine House’ and Other Engagement Bait During COVID-19
Chances are in early April 2020 you saw many “choose your quarantine house” or “pick your quarantine house” memes on social media, the global pandemic version of “would you live in a cabin with no wifi for a month for a m
Truth or Fiction?→ Fake ‘Thailand’s Seven New Provinces’ Post Resurfaces on Social Media in Thailand
An online hoax dating back to at least 2015 about Thailand having seven new provinces continued to spread as recently as January 2020, according to news and fact-checking organization Agence France-Presse. The news service reported that a post pushin
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Don’t Abbreviate 2020’ Warning
Beginning in early 2020, many people on social media have likely encountered a “legal warning” advising they not abbreviate the date in a month/day/year (or day/month/year) format in 2020, thanks to the purported ability of all and sundry
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook #HocusPocus ‘Witch Checker’
In early October 2019, a Facebook status update meme appeared with the claim that people who type #HocusPocus into comments of a post could activate Facebook’s “witch checker” feature: Myriad posts involving re-worded variants o
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Tommy Lee Write a Lengthy Anti-Trump Screed on Twitter?
On August 7 2019, musician Tommy Lee shared a screenshot of a longer post to Twitter, commentary in which he purportedly began “You Trumpsters better pray that liberals never gain control of the WH again”: pic.twitter.com/XLT4DQJo5b &mda
Truth or Fiction?→ The Parable of the Stolen Cookies
If you use Facebook, chances are you’ve stumbled upon the videos of Jay Shetty — perhaps the one that is very vaguely titled “Before You Judge Anyone, Watch This,” which is a parable about airport cookie theft: The same story wa
Truth or Fiction?→ Scams and Hoax Accounts Proliferate on Instagram
April 2019 saw the culmination of a months-long popular uprising in the country of Sudan, when its former president Omar al-Bashir stepped down from his post. The Sudanese military quickly took control of the country in what it called a transitional p
Truth or Fiction?→ Does an Image Show Dogs Euthanized in a Single Day in an Average American Shelter?
On June 2 2019, the Facebook page “Pawz” shared the following post (archived here), tugging on readers’ heartstrings by claiming that the photograph represented routine daily euthanizations in an average shelter: A caption implied
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Facebook Donating $1 for Every Share Towards a Puppy’s Tumor?
On May 10 2019, the Facebook page “Therapy Dogs Give Love” shared the following image and plea (archived here), claiming Facebook was donating $1 for every share of an image of a puppy with a “tumor”: Alongside an image of a
Truth or Fiction?→ Do the Colors You See in a Photograph Reveal Left or Right Brain Dominance?
On May 3 2019, @CNYcentral shared the following tweet featuring a photograph of a shoe with a claim that the colors in which it appeared to render revealed whether a reader is either “left-brained” or “right-brained”: WHAT COL
Truth or Fiction?→ Santorini Holidays Facebook Giveaway Scam
Over a quarter of a million Facebook users have shared a purported giveaway shared by the page “Santorini Holidays” (archived here) in April 2019. A featured album of (admittedly beautiful) pictures is captioned as follows: We’re goi
Truth or Fiction?→ #911 Facebook Green Line or Snitch Meme
A long-circulating Facebook status meme of indeterminate claims that typing #911 in a comment will generate a green line or green bar, confirming that the user commenting is “not a snitch.” Variations of the meme (which date back to March
Truth or Fiction?→ Does This Grandma Want You to Share Her Photo to Mark Her 100th Birthday?
On January 7, 2019, the Facebook page “Animals & Nature” shared a seemingly wholesome plea on the part of the purported poster’s 100-year-old grandma: Alongside the purported centenarian’s image, a caption pleaded: Today’
Snopes→ Facebook to Downrank Posts that Ask You to Like or Share
The social network announced an algorithm change targeting "engagement bait."