On April 19 2022, Imgur power user OctopussSevenTwo shared a purported news screenshot, which reported that a Minnesota man had been charged for throwing a “death party” in honor of his ailing wife. That same day, a user shared a slightly d
Publication: Fact Checks
Truth or Fiction?→ No, a Man Wasn’t Awarded $450K Over an ‘Unwanted Birthday Party’
On April 18 2022, a significant part of online discussions focused on a man who was purportedly awarded $450,000 for an “unwanted birthday party.” An April 16 2022 tweet by @SaycheeseDGTL summarized the claim, claiming that a Kentucky man s
Truth or Fiction?→ AriZona Iced Tea Inflation Meme
On April 18 2022, a popular Facebook post from “The Other 98%,” concerning AriZona Iced Tea’s unchanging price tag (USD$0.99) and ongoing discourse regarding inflation, was shared to Imgur: Most of the meme was text-based, but it f
Truth or Fiction?→ Gilbert Gottfried Trump is Like ‘Hitler Without the Warmth’ Quote
On April 14 2022, an Imgur account shared a quote meme attributed recently deceased comedian Gilbert Gottfried, comparing former U.S. President Donald Trump to “Hitler without the warmth”: That post wasn’t the only piece of Trump-re
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the Damaged Russian Warship Moskva the ‘Snake Island’ Ship?
On April 14 2022, several Imgur posts referenced the Russian warship Moskva — typically in conversations related to an earlier incident on Snake Island and discussions around conflicting claims about whether it “sank” after coming und
Truth or Fiction?→ Loren Culp Facebook ‘Unpublishing’ Tweet
On April 11 2022, Washington state candidate Loren Culp tweeted a screenshot of a purported warning from Facebook, claiming that this was proof that the social network planned to “unpublish” his page: Just before my primary election in ab
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘It’s Day 47: Ukraine Has Now Lasted Longer Than France Did in World War II’
On April 13 2022, a Reddit screenshot suggesting that Ukraine “lasted longer than France did in World War II,” in terms of how long the European country has been resisting Russia’s invasion, made its way across platforms: That post
Truth or Fiction?→ Republicans ‘Stormed Out in Anger’ After Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmation
On April 12 2022, prolific Imgur user Lanhdanan shared a screenshot of a tweet by Brian Tyler Cohen, asserting that Republicans “stormed out in anger” after Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to the United States Supreme Court ear
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The Mayor of North Pole, Alaska is a Man Who Legally Changed His Name to Santa Claus … He’s Now Running for Congress Against Sarah Palin.’
On April 12 2022 an Imgur user shared a screenshot of the following tweet about a purported candidate from Alaska challenging a full plate of hopefuls, including former governor Sarah Palin (R), for a seat in Congress: The mayor of North Pole, Alaska
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The Landlord’s Game’ and Monopoly’s Origins
On April 4 2022, a Facebook user shared an image and a post about The Landlord’s Game, on which popular board game Monopoly was purportedly based. Alongside two images of The Landlord’s Game, the author explained similarities and differen
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Rod Serling Warn of ‘a Sickness Known as Hate’?
A warning from a dimension “not only of sight and sound but of mind” resonated across Twitter in April 2022, thanks to a post from the daughter of the man who created it. Anne Serling, whose father Rod created the seminal anthology series &
Truth or Fiction?→ Thurgood Marshall Confirmation Vote vs. Ketanji Brown Jackson
On April 7 2022, the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. CNN reported on the historic confirmation: The Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday [A[ril 7 2022] in a hi
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Lithuania Has Imposed an Inexpensive Sanction on Russia,’ Ukrainian Heroes Street
On April 5 2022, a screenshot of a Facebook post circulated on various platforms, claiming that Lithuania had imposed “an inexpensive sanction on Russia” by renaming a road the “Street of Ukrainian Heroes”: Although the screens
Truth or Fiction?→ DirecTV Drops One America News Network From its Lineup
On April 5 2022, an Imgur user shared a post saying, “DirecTv dropped OAN today!” — alongside an image of OAN’s logo. On Twitter, several prominent accounts made similar claims: OAN has officially been booted from DirecTV’s
Truth or Fiction?→ Tennessee Marriage Bill
On April 5 2022, an Imgur user shared a screenshot of a tweet from Occupy Democrats, which claimed that Tennessee Republicans had introduced a bill eliminating any age requirement for marriage: BREAKING: Tennessee Republicans introduce a bill that
Truth or Fiction?→ Satellite Images Disprove Kremlin’s Claims That Bucha Massacre Was ‘Staged’
On April 3 2022, photographs appearing to show a massacre by invading Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Bucha spread globally — and Russian state media claimed that the mass deaths were “staged.” On that date, Russian state medi
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Hermit Crabs Line Up to Exchange Shells?
On April 2 2022, Twitter user @cottoncandaddy stated they just learned “hermit crabs who need new shells” will “gather … and trade shells”: I just learned that if a hermit crab finds a new shell that is too big it will w
Truth or Fiction?→ Insulin Cap Vote Results
On April 1 2022, several popular Imgur posts covered an insulin cap vote in the House of Representatives, with the primary assertion that the votes to make the lifesaving medication affordable fell along party lines: Pure evil: 193 House Republicans
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Words Are Energy And Cast Spells’ Bruce Lee Meme
A March 22 2022 quote meme that claimed Bruce Lee once said “words are energy” and “that’s why it’s called spelling” was shared by the page “Anxiety Freedom Today” on Facebook: Underneath a black-and-wh
Truth or Fiction?→ The Fairness Doctrine and Ronald Reagan
On March 28 2022, an Imgur user shared a meme (“The Father of Fake News”) about President Ronald Reagan, the Fairness Doctrine, and the Federal Communications Commission’s purported role in the rise of partisan “news”: Te
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘1970 and 2022 Are as Far Apart as 1970 and 1918 … I’m Just Going to Need a Minute’
In early 2022, social media posts claiming “1970 and 2022 are as far apart as 1970 and 1918” circulated on Facebook and Twitter. Typically, the posts appeared as status update images, and variations read: “I was just reminded that 197
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘NASA Has Outdone Themselves, This Is an Image of the Entire Observable Universe’
On March 19 2022, a Facebook user shared what looked like a cropped Twitter screenshot, depicting a purported NASA image of the “entire observable universe”: Text on the “night mode” screenshot read: NASA has outdone themselves
Truth or Fiction?→ Applebee’s Gas Prices Email
On March 23 2022, Twitter user Rob Gill (@vote4robgill) shared images of a purported internal Applebee’s “gas prices” email — which included commentary about a spike in gas prices enabling Applebee’s management to sharply
Truth or Fiction?→ Pembroke Pines ‘Don’t Say Gay’ School Walkout
On March 22 2022, Twitter user @diabeyonce shared a purported video showing high school students conducting a protest walkout against Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill: i am in full blown tears dude pic.twitter.com
Truth or Fiction?→ Hugh Thompson and the My Lai Massacre
In mid-March 2022, posts about a warrant officer named Hugh Thompson and his role in the My Lai massacre circulated on social media, including a tweet describing that time period as the 50-year anniversary of that incident: Today is the 50th annivers
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a GOP Senator Say the Supreme Court Shouldn’t Have ‘Weighed In’ on Interracial Marriage?
Right-wing Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana (R) quickly backtracked on March 22 2022 after offering interracial marriage as an example of issues that the Supreme Court, in his opinion, should leave up for individual states to decide. Braun made the remark to
Truth or Fiction?→ Home Depot ‘Privilege’ Document
On March 22 2022, the Twitter account @libsoftiktok shared a purported Home Depot “privilege” worksheet, assumed by readers to be an internal training document for employees of the home improvement chain: Home Depot has gone woke pic.twit
Truth or Fiction?→ Netflix ‘Love is Sharing a Password’ Tweet
On March 22 2022, a purported Twitter screenshot was shared on Imgur and elsewhere, quoting a tweet by Netflix — “Love is sharing a password”: The post was titled “Keeping this here for when they eventually delete their tweet
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Credit Bureaus to Strip 70% of Unpaid Medical Debt’
On March 18 2022, a “big if true” CNBC headline suggesting that credit bureaus were planning to remove medical debts from consumer credit reports made the rounds on social media: US Credit Bureaus to strip 70% of unpaid medical d
Truth or Fiction?→ June 2008 Gas Prices
On March 14 2022, Twitter user Qasim Rashid tweeted about purported oil and gas prices in June 2008, in contrast with their prices in March 2022: Oil & Avg Gas $ June 2008:•Oil: $181.58/barrel•Gas: $4.10/gallon Oil & Avg Gas $ Mar 2022:
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Russia Reportedly Asked North Korea for Help with Its Failing Invasion,’ North Korea Said Russia Was ‘Too Insane for Us’
On March 16 2022, an Imgur screenshot of a tweet by @XSovietNews suggested that a British tabloid (specifically, The Mirror) wrote an entire news story about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine based solely on a single satirical post to social media:
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Mark Twain Say ‘The Truth Has No Defense Against a Fool Determined to Believe a Lie’?
On March 15 2022, an Imgur user shared a quote meme suggesting that American author Mark Twain once said that “the truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie”: On the meme, an illustration of Twain was accompanied by
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘An Octopus Walking On The Beach … 🐙’
On March 15 2022, the account @UberFacts shared purported video of an “octopus walking on the beach” on Twitter, but with certain odd details. For example, the octopus appeared to have nine tentacles. A search quickly indicated that the
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Soviet Flags in Texas’ Meme
On March 14 2022, an Imgur account shared the following meme, which purportedly showed “Texans” flying Soviet flags — in ostensible support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: Titled “Deplorable,” the post showed five
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Ukrainian Refugee Kids Arrive in Italy … You Won’t Believe What the Italian Kids Did Next’
On March 14 2022, Twitter user @BenPhillips76 shared a purported video of Ukrainian refugee children on their first day of school in Naples, Italy: Ukrainian refugee kids arrive in Italy, and start at local schools. On their first day they enter ner
Truth or Fiction?→ Missouri ‘Ectopic Pregnancy’ Bill
On March 10 2022, Imgur and Twitter users shared a viral tweet concerning an abortion bill in Missouri’s ectopic pregnancy provision — purportedly making any life-saving treatment of the complication “illegal”: NEW A bill in
Truth or Fiction?→ Chabad Emissaries’ Shabbat Evacuation Effort
On March 6 2022, several popular Facebook posts shared an image and story about how Ukrainian-speaking Chabad emissaries spent Shabbat making phone calls to urge Ukrainian Jews to evacuate; a version of the post was broken up into several tweets on th
Truth or Fiction?→ VP Kamala Harris ‘Laughing at Refugees’
On March 10 2022, far-right blogger and serial plagiarist Benny Johnson claimed that “[only] Kamala Harris would find it appropriate to laugh when talking about the topic of Ukrainian Refugees,” attaching a purportedly illustrative video c
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This is Not a Renaissance Painting, This is a Picture Someone in Poland Took of the Window of a Train from Lviv’
On March 9 2022, an Imgur user shared a screenshot of a tweet, which contained a photograph with remarkably artistic qualities: This is not a renaissance painting. This is a picture someone in Poland took of the window of a train from Lviv… pic
Truth or Fiction?→ $6.09 Gas Prices in California Meme
Amid ongoing discourse about rising gas prices in the United States on March 9 2022, an Imgur post purportedly showed a photo of a gas station displaying prices of $6.09 a gallon for regular, $6.23 for “plus,” and $6.29 for “supreme&#