On October 20 2019, a Facebook user shared the following meme which showed a snowy road labeled “This is the United States” to the left side, and “This is Canada” to the right: Underneath the photographic portion of the meme,
Publication: Fact Checks
Truth or Fiction?→ Daniel Everett and the Amazonian Tribe that ‘Deconverted’ Him
A former evangelist’s journey to becoming an advocate for a tribe native to the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has endured not only through his own efforts, but through the reproduction online of a famous photograph of him. In October 2019, a Reddi
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Rolling Stone’ List of Top 100 Singers of All Time
On October 20 2019, the Twitter account “Classic Rock in Pics” shared a purported Rolling Stone magazine list of the top 100 singers of all time: Rolling Stone Magazine list of Top 100 Singers of All Time. Thoughts?https://t.co/nq2WAO
Truth or Fiction?→ Cream of Tartar and Orange Juice to Quit Smoking?
In October 2019, a post circulated on Facebook advising smokers to use potassium bitartrate — commonly known as cream of tartar — along with orange juice as an effective and inexpensive way to quit smoking successfully. Alongside a blurry image
Truth or Fiction?→ Elizabeth Warren Credited With a Bernie Sanders Debate Quote
On October 17 2019, a Twitter user shared the following NBC News screenshot, purportedly showing its misattribution of commentary made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts): NBC took one of Bernie’s best quo
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Coney Island Sideshow Save Hundreds of Premature Babies in the Early 1900s?
On October 15 2019, a Facebook post with images relayed a purported history of neonatology and the role of a man named Dr. Martin Couney, who created a sideshow of tiny infants as a way of covering the costs of saving premature babies: Black-and-w
Truth or Fiction?→ Can Consuming Too Much Coffee Under Stress Cause Schizophrenia Symptoms?
On October 15 2019, the Facebook page “Weird Facts” shared the following “fact meme,” which claimed that the combination of a lot of coffee and a lot of stress could cause symptoms of schizophrenia — presumably in people no
Truth or Fiction?→ The Anti-Semitic Origins of ‘You Cannot Legislate the Poor Into Prosperity’
A quote attempting to justify largesse that has endured thanks to social media, but not without spreading disinformation about its origins. The statement has commonly been attributed online to evangelical leader Adrian Rogers, a former president of th
Truth or Fiction?→ Zinaida, Get Your Gun
On October 16 2019, a Tumblr screenshot was shared to Imgur and the Facebook page “Revolution Porn”; the post contained an illustration of a young girl reaching for a gun as a man in Nazi regalia looked the other way with text about the s
Truth or Fiction?→ Italy’s President Mozzarella, Allies Back to Ancient Rome?
United States President Donald Trump hosted Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the White House on October 16 2019, leading to viral claims Trump misstated Mattarella’s name as “mozzarella” before embarrassingly describing a frie
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Send a Letter Telling Erdogan, ‘Don’t Be a Fool’?
As criticism continued to swirl around President Donald Trump for his Middle East policy, a Fox Business Channel host produced a letter from him on to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey seeking “a good deal.” A photogr
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Taco Bell Meat Contaminated with Metal Shavings?
On October 15 2019, an Imgur user shared the following screenshot of a purported Newsweek article, which appeared to be reporting on a Taco Bell recall involving meat contaminated with metal shavings: Its submitter’s title joked that “the
Truth or Fiction?→ Do People Ingest Five Grams of Plastic Per Week?
On October 15 2019, the Facebook page “Using Less Plastic” shared a meme which claimed that “a new study” had found that humans ingested an average of five grams of plastic per week, about the same amount contained in an avera
Truth or Fiction?→ Mount Rushmore Before Carving
In October 2019, a post circulated showing a natural rock formation known as “Six Grandfathers” before it was carved into what most Americans now call “Mount Rushmore.” The original tweet was shared in July 2017 by @TheAriDee:
Truth or Fiction?→ Frida Kahlo: ‘You Deserve a Lover’
In October 2015, the Facebook page “Sacred Dreams” shared an image and purported quotation attributed to Frida Kahlo, sometimes referenced in shorthand as “you deserve a lover”: Alongside a suspiciously modern-appear
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Republicans Hold 33 Benghazi Hearings and Make Hillary Clinton Testify for 11 Hours?
In October 2019, the Facebook page “Occupy Democrats” shared the following tweet, which claimed that Republicans held 33 “Benghazi hearings” — and that Hillary Clinton testified for eleven hours as they ran their course: R
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Canada Legalize Bestiality?
In October 2019, a Facebook user shared the following post (archived here), with a headline claiming that Canada had legalized “sex with animals”: That Facebook user wrote: Sick fucks. Only,one Judge a woman was against it They are maki
Truth or Fiction?→ Was $6 an Hour in 1980 Equivalent to More Than $18 Today?
In October 2019, the following image (essentially a “Boomers vs. Millennials” debate) appeared, claiming that a $6 wage in 1980 was equivalent to $18.73 in January 2017: An apparent Tumblr screenshot began: my internship boss was
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Charlie Chaplin Say ‘Love Is Enough to Get Everything Done’?
The perils of blindly sharing “feel-good” remarks, even when they’re combined with photographs of a beloved celebrity, is evident once again in one of the latest iterations of a graphic falsely quoting actor Sir Charles Spencer Chapl
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Chick-fil-A Funding Anti-Gay Violence in Uganda?
On October 12 2019, the following tweet appeared and renewed interest in claims that chicken-themed fast-food chain Chick-fil-A directly funded violent, anti-gay political movements and laws in Uganda: Today Uganda announced a bill to legalize murde
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?→ ‘Columbus Set Out to Prove the Earth Was Round’
In October 2019, a number of memes about the legacy of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus circulated on Facebook around Columbus Day, among them a meme about the claim that he “proved” that Earth is round: In the above meme, the
Truth or Fiction?→ The ‘Inspirational’ History of KFC’s Colonel Sanders
The man behind the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food chain led a truly colorful life, but a recurring meme dating back at least as far as 2016 obscures the facts in favor of presenting a more “inspirational” version. One version of the purp
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?→ Do Four in Ten Cancer Patients Really Lose Their Life Savings?
An October 11 2019 Imgur repost of a Bernie Sanders tweet appeared alongside the caption “this is how you know he would fight for the people if he is elected our president”: That tweet read: It’s not coincidental that the top health
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Smiling Babies Have to Look Away from People Because They’re ‘Overwhelmed with Joy’?
An October 10 2019 post to Reddit’s r/wholesomememes featured an uplifting claim by way of screenshot, claiming that when babies first start “emoting,” they have to look away after a few seconds of smiling: Overwhelming jo
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?→ Was the Original Super Mario Bros Only 40 KB (While Modern Screenshots of One Frame Are 283 KB)?
In October 2019, the following post appeared on Reddit’s r/gaming, claiming that the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) title Super Mario Bros. was 40 KB (kilobytes) of data, and the appended modern screenshot contained a comparative
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Toddler Subjected to Months of Abuse Because of a ‘Cookie’ Analogy?
In September 2019, a Facebook user shared an image and a harrowing story about the purported sexual abuse of a toddler that went unreported for months because the young girl supposedly was not taught anatomically correct words: Alongside a photograph
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Protest Banner Unfurled at Trump’s Las Vegas Hotel?
A protest video against United States President Donald Trump circulated online on October 9 2019 drew heavy attention online for its message on a computer-generated banner: A video shows the “banner” seemingly being unfurled at the Trump
Truth or Fiction?→ ’95-Year-Old Former President Jimmy Carter Building a House With a Black Eye’ Meme
On October 8 2019, a Reddit user shared the following animated image to r/gifs, purportedly showing former United States president Jimmy Carter building homes for Habitat for Humanity while still visibly recovering from a fall-related injury (as evid
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 a Facebook ‘Default Setting’ Sign Users Up for Recurring Donations?
As we have said many times, any Facebook post that begins with a variation of “copied from a friend” should raise suspicions. Despite this, users of the social media platform continue to do their part to spread misinformation and disinform
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?→ If You Made $5,000 a Day Starting in 1492, Would You Still Have Less Money Than Jeff Bezos?
On October 7 2019, a screenshot of a tweet began circulating across the internet. It read: If you worked every single day, making $5000/day, from the time Columbus sailed to America, to the time you are reading this tweet, you would still not be a bi
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?→ 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?→ 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?→ 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?→ ‘Sometimes Dogs or Wolves in Movies Need CGI Tails Because They’re So Excited to be Doing a Good Job Acting’
On October 6 2019, the following post spread rapidly on Facebook, concerning wolves and dogs in the movie industry and how they may sometimes need computer-generated editing to make them look less happy or excited: View post on imgur.com Beneath an