The head of Oklahoma’s state Department of Education drew local and national criticism after a July 6 2023 meeting for a seemingly evasive answer to a question about the infamous 1921 attack on Tulsa’s “Black Wall Street” —
Publication: History
The Dispatch→ Rage Against the Ism
Don’t reduce your life to the abstract.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Banner for This Juneteenth Event Feature Two White People?
A popular image featuring a banner showing white people while promoting a national holiday with roots in Black American history is legitimate — and showed the source of criticism around a Juneteenth event in Greenville, South Carolina. The photog
The Dispatch→ Picking a President: Back to the Future?
Former President Donald Trump. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for The Washington Post via Getty Images)Character mattered in the 18th century, just as it matters in 2024. Continue reading Picking a President: Back to the Future? »
Logically→ The golli*** doll does not originate from Egypt
Logically→ AI-generated image falsely shared as real face of the model for the Statue of Liberty
The Dispatch→ Cleveland Rocks
Grover Cleveland. (Photo by Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images)The nation’s 22nd and 24th president is underappreciated. Continue reading Cleveland Rocks »
The Dispatch→ Hitting Rewind on ‘Woke’
A sign at a "Be Woke Vote" exhibit in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2020. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)This isn’t the first time a slogan became a tool for sowing cultural confusion.Continue reading Hitting Rewind on ‘Woke’ »
Logically→ Microchips have been found in fossils, proving the existence of an ancient advanced civilization.
The Dispatch→ The Other Legacy of Watergate: Nicknames
A handcuffed G. Gordon Liddy, a member of the White House "Plumbers,” arrives at Los Angeles Count jail to await arraignment on charges of conspiracy and burglary stemming from the 1971 break-in at the office of Dr. Daniel Ellsberg. (Photograp
The Dispatch→ One, Maybe Two, Cheers for Partisanship
Martin Van Buren, eighth president of the United States. From painting by Alonzo Chappel. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images.)Democracy doesn’t work at scale unless you add a competitive element.The post One, Maybe Two, Cheers for Parti
Logically→ An ancient Meso-American artifact closely resembles Batman.
This image shows an sculpture created in 2014 that has frequently been misrepresented as an ancient artwork.
Snopes→ Photos From Space: The Seconds Before NASA’s Spacecraft Crashed Into an Asteroid
Here's what happened in the seconds before the collision — a first of its kind.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This Unbelievable Photo Is of the RMS Queen Elizabeth Ship Pulling Into New York Harbor in 1945 … ‘
On August 20 2022, the Facebook page “USA Military Families” shared a striking image, purportedly a photograph of American troops heading to New York at the end of World War II in 1945; the image was shared to Imgur three days later: An I
Logically→ The water level at Plymouth Rock proves the sea level has remained unchanged since 1620.
Plymouth Rock cannot be used as an accurate measure of sea level. The sea level trends show rising sea levels due to global warming.
Snopes→ 9 Excellent Resources for New York History Research
There's much more to historical research than old, dusty books.
Logically→ This image shows a 282-year-old East India Company ship returning to London for the first time since 1787.
The image, taken in 2007, shows a replica of Sweden's Gotheborg ship on the Thames at Tower Bridge. The original shipwrecked in 1745.
Logically→ Swami Vivekananda and Ramana Maharshi influenced the Indian revolt of 1857.
Swami Vivekananda and Ramana Maharshi were born years after the Indian revolt of 1857 ended.
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?→ 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?→ ‘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?→ ‘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?→ Apollo 11 Customs Form
On April 29 2021 (a day after the passing of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins was reported), historian Michael Beschloss tweeted an interesting image — specifically, a purported United States Customs declaration form filed after the crew of th
Hoax-Slayer→ Pearl Harbor Box Brownie Photographs
This remarkable series of photographs depicts the Japanese attack on the United States at Pearl Harbour in 1941. The post Pearl Harbor Box Brownie Photographs appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Truth or Fiction?→ Is There a Painting of J. Marion Sims’ Experiments on Black Women at the Alabama State Capitol?
Amid the removal and re-evaluation of statues commemorating historical figures in June 2020, a Facebook post that spread widely in June 2020 conflated a statue of a gynecologist who experimented on enslaved Black women with a painting depicting him al
Truth or Fiction?→ Origin of the Word ‘Spinster’
The word “spinster” generally conjures up a mental picture of mean little old ladies who have never been married, glaring at young people from behind their living room curtains (which are lacy and yellowed with age, naturally) with their m
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Cotton Feed Sacks Turned Into Clothing in the 1930s?
While it may not be a case of deliberately misstating the context, the rediscovery online of a pioneering journalist’s photograph in 1939 by people on social media came with a far more optimistic view of the circumstances behind it than had prev
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Ronald Reagan Say ‘Under No Pretext Should Arms and Ammunition Be Surrendered’?
Admirers of Republican Party stalwart Ronald Reagan may be disappointed to know that a graphic spreading online falsely credits him with a distorted version of a statement by two men who were not in idealogical alignment with the former United States
Hoax-Slayer→ 1956 Hard Disk Drive – Disk Storage Unit for 305 RAMAC Computer
Long circulated message claims that an attached photograph shows a massive hard disk drive designed for use with the 1956 305 RAMAC computer The post 1956 Hard Disk Drive – Disk Storage Unit for 305 RAMAC Computer appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Snopes→ Senate Backs Major Public Lands, Conservation Bill
The hodgepodge bill offered something for nearly everyone, with projects stretching across the country.
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Two-Thirds of Millennials Not Know What Auschwitz Is?
In late December 2018, the Facebook page for Yahoo! Now shared a link to an article with a comment that two-thirds of millennials “don’t know what Auschwitz was”: The post linked to an article aggregated to Yahoo! from Newsweek on Apr
Snopes→ Is This a Photograph of Susan B. Anthony Being Beaten on the Street?
A "get out the vote" meme highlights a photograph that was crucial to garnering public support for the British suffragette movement.
Snopes→ Did Paul Krugman Say the Internet’s Effect on the World Economy Would Be ‘No Greater Than the Fax Machine’s’?
In a 1998 article about the pitfalls of making predictions about technological progress, the Nobel Prize-winning economist questioned the future role of the Internet.
Snopes→ Fascism, Corporations, and Merriam-Webster
A popular meme quotes confused and inaccurate claims about the purported links between fascism and modern corporations.
Snopes→ Did Armed Delaware Students Scare Off a School Shooter in 1973?
A pro-gun rights meme gets some facts right, but misrepresents the truth behind an old high school yearbook photograph.
Snopes→ Was a Violently Racist Carnival Game Once Popular in America?
In the not-so-distant past, white carnival goers threw eggs or balls at African Americans in a game popularly known as "Hit the Nigger Baby."
Snopes→ Were Alligators Ever Kept as White House Pets?
According to popular lore, an assortment of United States presidents from John Quincy Adams to Herbert Hoover shared space in the West Wing with giant reptiles.
Snopes→ Did Dwight Eisenhower Reject the Idea of ‘Soviet-Style’ Military Parades?
A meme intended to undermine Trump's request for a military rally wrongly attributes a quote to Eisenhower.
Snopes→ Was ‘America First’ a Slogan of the Ku Klux Klan?
The white supremacist group made frequent use of the slogan more recently embraced by President Donald Trump, though they did not, as some claim, invent it.
Snopes→ Did the Black Panthers Create the WIC Food Program?
An Internet meme credits the Black Panther Party with inventing Women, Infants, and Children, a federal program that provides food assistance to impoverished mothers and children.