As COVID-19 continued its grim progress in the second half of 2021, a September 1 2021 Imgur text post simply titled “Perspective” claimed that more people died in Florida “in the past two weeks” than in the totality of the war
Publication: Fact Checks
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Botswanan Doctors’ Group Call for Ivermectin as a COVID-19 Treatment?
As the global COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage amid a toxic stew of online disinformation campaigns and official grandstanding, anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists circulated a purported press release from a group in Botswana in early September 20
Truth or Fiction?→ Phoenix Koi Chinese Restaurant Vaccine Discount Sign
On September 2 2021, an Imgur account shared an image that was purportedly of a sign from Phoenix Koi Chinese Restaurant, offering a “95% discount” for vaccine card holders, and some additional commentary, too: Featured in the image was a
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?→ ‘Comedy Central Caves to Cancel Culture’
On September 1 2021, a Newsweek article bearing the leading headline, “Comedy Central Caves to Cancel Culture, Removes Episode from ‘The Office’ Line-up” was identified as virally popular by Trendolizer; it covered the showR
Truth or Fiction?→ Taliban ‘Hanging from Blackhawk’ Video
On August 30 2021, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted a video that purportedly showed members of the Taliban hanging an interpreter from a Blackhawk helicopter in Afghanistan: This horrifying image encapsulates Joe Biden's Afghanistan catastrophe:
Truth or Fiction?→ McDonald’s and the Roman Road
In late August 2021, the following post about a McDonald’s restaurant incorporating an archaeological discovery into its floor appeared on the Reddit sub r/interestingasfuck and r/damnthatsinteresting: A Roman Road was discovered while
Truth or Fiction?→ Carrie Prejean Encinitas School Board Video
On August 30 2021, video of a woman later identified as Carrie Prejean Boller spread virally on Twitter; the clip depicted Prejean Boller “speaking out” against masks at a school board meeting in the southern California city of Encinitas on
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘8 Googling Tips’ Twitter Thread
An August 28 2021 Twitter thread by Chris Hladczuk (@chrishlad) described “8 Googling tips you probably didn’t know” — and in addition to the thread’s popularity in tweet form, it also was virally popular on Facebook and i
Truth or Fiction?→ Sea Urchins Wearing Hats
An August 25 2021 Facebook post about sea urchins wearing hats (shared to the group “Heck this is super wholesome”) featured a screenshot of a November 22 2020 tweet by @valfrogkamen: sea urchins protect themselves by putting rocks and sh
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Independence From Britain Celebrated Somewhere Every Seven Days on Average?
On March 4 2019, the Twitter account @qikipedia tweeted: Independence from Britain is celebrated somewhere in the world, on average, one in every seven days. No citation was included alongside the tweet, which was also shared to Facebook and RedditR
Truth or Fiction?→ 9/11 Stair Climb Treadmill Post
In late August 2021, a September 2018 Facebook post recirculated — purportedly a candid image captured at a gym, depicting a firefighter “on the stair climber in full equipment” ascending 110 floors in memory of the firefighters kille
Truth or Fiction?→ Camilla Canepa and #ProtectYourFamily
A June 2021 Facebook post about the death of Camilla Canepa spread virally in August 2021, iterations of which received thousands of shares on Facebook, with its “vaccine info” box glaringly absent: Camilla Canepa Facebook Posts and the #P
Truth or Fiction?→ Leviticus 13:45-46
On August 21 2021, a Facebook account shared a Twitter screenshot which purportedly quoted Leviticus 13:45-46 in reference to ongoing debates regarding masks and social distancing: The Bible doesn't mention anything about masks, so quit referenc
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘States With a Population Less Than DFW’
In August 2021, a May 2020 map purportedly depicting “states with a population less than DFW” (Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas) continued circulating on Facebook: In an appended post, the sharer wrote: “Wow this just blew my mind ”. H
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Eating One Hot Dog Takes 35 Minutes Off Your Life’
On August 23 2021, the New York Post tweeted that eating one hot dog “takes 35 minutes off your life,” citing a “new study”: Eating 1 hot dog takes 35 minutes off life, study suggests https://t.co/9a9kHICofd pic.twitter.com/AX
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Thatcher Effect’
In August 2021, an October 2018 post about the “Thatcher effect” and “thatcherized images” spread on Facebook, from a post originally shared by a New Hampshire-based optometrist’s office. It read: The Thatcher Effect. T
Truth or Fiction?→ Uncensored Library in Minecraft
On August 23 2021, an Imgur user shared the following meme, which describes a “censored library” that exists within the game Minecraft and explaining its purpose within the popular video game: Text at the bottom of the meme read: There i
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Danny DeVito Lose His ‘Verified’ Status on Twitter?
Actor Danny DeVito’s show of support for Nabisco workers gained attention on Twitter not just for the sentiment, but for the accusations that followed of reprisal from the platform. “Support Nabisco workers striking for humane working hours
Truth or Fiction?→ Why is OnlyFans Banning Content?
On August 20 2021, an Imgur user shared screenshots of a Twitter thread about the news that OnlyFans was banning sexually explicit content: A lot of people are getting the OnlyFans story wrong, and the reality of it is a lot more damaging and concer
Truth or Fiction?→ Bill Nye ‘There’s Already Enough Plastic in the Ocean’ Response Tweet
On August 16 2021, the Facebook page “Super News Supes” shared a screenshot in which science educator Bill Nye purportedly made a misogynistic comment about Kylie Jenner in a screenshot that was circulating as early as July 9 2019: In th
Truth or Fiction?→ NBC LA ‘Shot On-Site’ Tweet
On August 19 2021, the following screenshot circulated, featuring a tweet from @NBCLA: It was not immediately clear if the tweets from NBC Los Angeles/@NBCLA were real, or if they were intended as humorous fakes. They read: [1] “Come With Vax Pr
Truth or Fiction?→ Teddy Roosevelt: ‘I Again Recommend a Law Prohibiting All Corporations from Contributing to Campaign Expenses’
On August 18 2021, an Imgur user shared the following meme, which purports to contain a legitimate quote from U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt saying he recommended a “law prohibiting all corporations” from contributing to political campai
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Polio and Smallpox Never Reached Herd Immunity; They Were Eradicated by Vaccines’
On July 20 2021, a Facebook account shared the following image text, which contained the claim that polio and smallpox “never reached herd immunity”: Text across a nature-like background read: I don’t know who needs to hear this but
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘King George VI Having Fun’
On August 15 2021, the Facebook page “Classical Art Memes” shared an image titled “King George VI Having Fun”: Although the image was popular and generated engagement, no additional information was included alongside it. A rev
Truth or Fiction?→ Flight Out of Afghanistan
Just before 5PM on August 16 2021, high-profile Facebook accounts shared an image labeled as a “flight out of Afghanistan”; the same image had been shared to Reddit’s r/pics two hours prior: One of the flights out of Kabul.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Republican Party Webpage Praising Trump’s Afghanistan Deal Disappear?
As right-wing political figures scrambled to attack U.S. President Joe Biden for the devastation accompanying the Taliban advance across Afghanistan in August 2021, an official Republican Party webpage praising his predecessor for setting up the United
Truth or Fiction?→ U.S. Military Dogs Being Evacuated From Afghanistan
On August 16 2021, CNN reporter Natasha Bertrand shared an image on Twitter which puportedly showed dogs with the United States military dogs as they were getting moved out of Afghanistan as its cities rapidly fell to the Taliban: U.S. military dogs
Truth or Fiction?→ The Wismer House $10 ‘Fine’ for Overnight Parking
On August 15 2021, an Imgur account shared what looked like a parking ticket from “The Wismer House,” in a post titled “$10 gift certificate for parking over night instead of drinking and driving”: Although the yellow citatio
Truth or Fiction?→ Goatse Ring
In late July and early August 2021, screenshots of the following tweet circulated with a blast from the past — they appeared to depict a “Goatse ring” purportedly available for retail purchase: When you're a jewelry artist who m
Truth or Fiction?→ Robin Williams ‘Penpal’ Story
On August 9 2021, a Facebook account shared a screenshot of a comment by a person claiming to have been a penpal to Robin Williams, with a story that included a chance meeting at Disney World (or Disneyland): The text on the screenshot read: As a kid
Truth or Fiction?→ No, a Study Didn’t Find That ‘the Most Highly-Educated Americans Are Also the Most Vaccine-Hesitant’
On August 11 2021, the Twitter account for the extremely disreputable disinformation site ZeroHedge shared a link to a blog post, “Study Finds The Most Highly-Educated Americans Are Also The Most Vaccine-Hesitant”: Study Finds The Most Hi
Truth or Fiction?→ Campground Sign ‘Translated for Teenagers’
On August 9 2021, a Facebook post depicting a campground’s “text us” sign and a “teenager translation” went viral; iterations of the image were popular across social media: Every variation of the images of the signs we we
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The Starlight Barking’
On August 6 2021, the Facebook page “Premium Internet Curation” shared screenshots of a Twitter thread, the latter pertaining to The Starlight Barking — a purportedly bizarre sequel to the book from which 101 Dalmatians was adapted
Truth or Fiction?→ Ranking of the Most Common Birthdays
On August 5 2021, a Facebook account shared a purported list of “most common birthdays,” asking “Sooo I rank #154 of the most common birthdays… wbu ”: As of August 6 2021, the post had been shared more than 76,000 times.
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Japan’s Olympic Medals Made From Recycled Electronics?
On August 6 2021, an Imgur account shared the following image, which purportedly showed Japan’s 2021 Olympic medals, fashioned from recycled laptops and phones: Titled “Congrats on winning, here is some e-waste,” text above an image
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Zabol Priestess with a Golden Eye’
An August 4 2021 retweet imploring archeologists not to remove a golden eye from an unusually tall woman’s skeleton found in Zabol, Iran circulated across platforms, an allusion of sorts to the “2020 bingo” meme: Do. Not. Remove. T
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Italian Football Club Juventus Post a Photo with a Racist Anti-Asian Gesture?
The Italian football club Juventus spent August 5 2021 apologizing after posting — and then quickly deleting — a photograph featuring an anti-Asian racist taunt. The club’s womens’ team tweeted the photo showing defender Cecili
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘On This Day in 1944, Polish Resistance Fighters Liberated 348 Jewish Prisoners from the Gęsiówka Labor Camp’
On August 5 2021, an Imgur account shared the following “on this day in history” meme about the liberation of the Gęsiówka labor camp in 1944: A “flair” (“Historical”) marker on the post suggested that it was a
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Future Mercedes Drives Sideways’
On August 5 2021, an Imgur user shared a video they titled “Future Mercedes drive sideways,” which, as the title suggests, purportedly showed a futuristic-looking Mercedes-Benz with the ability to operate “sideways”: Future Mer