The social media platforms admitted to deleting posts on evictions in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, but said this was due to a technical glitch.
Publication: instagram
Truth or Fiction?→ Ohio Mom Shaina Bell’s Arrest for Working Without Childcare Leads to Viral Outcry, a Popular GoFundMe
On February 12 2021, local news organization WFMJ shared a Facebook post reporting on the arrest of 24-year-old Shaina Bell of Liberty Township; Bell allegedly left her two-year-old child in the care of her ten-year-old while working a shift at a near
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Doctor Erase $650,000 in Medical Debt for 200 People?
A retiring doctor’s act of generosity earned him national media attention and created an online buzz — while also inadvertently underlining gaps in reporting from some of the news organizations telling his story. Dr. Omar Atiq’s deci
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Florida Teacher Fired for Blaming the Capitol Riot on ‘Antifa’?
A Florida woman was dismissed from working as a substitute teacher for a Florida charter school system after she was caught on video attempting to justify the seditious January 6 2021 attack on the United States Capitol building. The unidentified woma
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘RubyFreeman_Georgia’ Instagram Post
On December 5 2020, a screenshot of an Instagram post began circulating around the usual far-right fringe forums, attributed to a woman named Ruby Freeman (@rubyfreeman_georgia): An admission of election fraud by Ruby Freeman, DemocRAT vote counter
Truth or Fiction?→ Activists Accuse Facebook of Ignoring Warning on Neo-Nazi Groups’ Spread
An activist group combating the proliferation of white supremacist propaganda online accused Facebook in a November 2020 report of failing to act when alerted to the spread of one such network on its platforms in 2018. “Facebook’s leadersh
Truth or Fiction?→ Nutella PR and Accidentally Racist Halloween ‘Ghosts’
Around October 29 2020, a purported Nutella Puerto Rico (@NutellaPR) Halloween post — an apparent screengrab from Facebook or Instagram featuring Ku Klux Klan-like ghosts — began circulating on Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook: Some posts ab
Truth or Fiction?→ Mike Pence, LGBTQ Communities, and ‘a Radical Social Agenda’
Vice President Mike Pence’s political history drew renewed attention online in October 2020 as a meme criticizing him spread online in October 2020. The graphic, which was originally posted by poet Andrea Gibson on Instagram, reads: Mike Pence s
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Dr. Luke Die from COVID-19?
A pair of people on social media managed to create some online confusion around music producer Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, a.k.a. “Dr. Luke,” on October 4 2020 — apparently independently of one another. The posts both claimed, falsel
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Facebook Offering to Pay Conservatives to Delete Their Accounts?
A Facebook page catering to right-wing users shared a post in September 2020 misconstruing a new study by the platform as being an incentive program for users in their political sphere. The September 2020 post claims that Facebook “is offering
Truth or Fiction?→ Does ‘Qabalista’ by Selki Girl Trigger ‘Out-of-Body Experiences’?
In late June and early July 2020, a rumor on TikTok’s #witchtok hashtag held that the album Qabalista by Selki Girl “triggered astral projection” or other strange experiences; a video with hundreds of thousands of engagements involve
Truth or Fiction?→ This Photograph Does Not Show a Woman Who Was Beaten and Sexually Assaulted at a BLM Protest
In mid-June 2020, the following meme circulated on Facebook and Instagram, purportedly a screenshot of a Facebook post by a woman claiming she was “beaten and raped” by three people of color at a Black Lives Matter protest:
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This Fool Actually Tattooed Will Smith on His Face’
On May 15 2020, Facebook user Ed Lawson shared the following image, which purportedly depicted a man who had had Will Smith’s face tattooed over his own face: The post was extremely popular, but not every commenter was convinced that t
Truth or Fiction?→ Tamla Horsford’s Death Investigation Reopened: ‘This Picture Literally Gives Me the Chills’
On June 14 2020, a Facebook user shared the following post about the death of Tamla Horsford: Viral Posts about Tamla Horsford in June 2020 An appended image of eight women — seven white and one black — was captioned “This picture l
Truth or Fiction?→ The Washington Monument Struck by Lightning and the Tower Card
During ongoing protests against police brutality and a lunar eclipse on June 5 2020, numerous posts on Facebook asserted that the Washington Monument had been struck by lightning — many of those claims appearing alongside an image of the “
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘George Floyd Challenge’ Image Spreads Virally, Provenance Unknown
On May 31 2020, a Facebook screenshot of an Instagram post circulated virally, purportedly depicting two white teenagers grinning as they engaged in what was labeled a “George Floyd challenge” — a tasteless recreation of the circum
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Venice in Quarantine’: Did Flamingos Flock to Quiet Canals?
Quirky or uplifting news was in high demand as the COVID-19 pandemic dragged on, which was likely the reason that a Facebook post (“Venice … in quarantine,” archived here) purportedly showing flamingos in the deserted canals of Venic
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Dear Georgia IDGAF’ Meme
On April 21 2020, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp made the controversial decision to “re-open” some of his states non-essential businesses in spite of a spreading COVID-19 pandemic; that night, a meme addressed to Georgia residents advised, &#
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Jon Bon Jovi Photographed Washing Dishes Inside a Restaurant?
Rock star Jon Bon Jovi attracted a new fan and new admiration online after a Facebook user shared his own testimonial praising the singer and entrepreneur for putting in work to help others amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In his March 27 2020 post, Garry
Truth or Fiction?→ Is a ‘Coronavirus Challenge’ on Social Media Prompting Teens to Infect Themselves With COVID-19?
Amid wall-to-wall reporting on a novel coronavirus and COVID-19 in late March 2020, articles breathlessly claimed that a “coronavirus challenge” or “COVID-19 challenge” was spreading on platforms like TikTok and Twitter, inciti
Truth or Fiction?→ Prolific Web Artist Qinni Dies at 29
Well-loved DeviantArt and social media artist Qing Han, known to fans as Qinni, has died. She was 29. DeviantArt, a platform on which Qinni maintained a massive following (and which honored Qinni in 2017), confirmed Qing Han’s death in a tweet:
Hoax-Slayer→ ‘We Sent You a Mail That Must be Read’ Instagram Scam Email
According to this email, Instagram Support has "sent you a mail that must be read". The message urges you to click a link to view the "necessary details and instructions". The post ‘We Sent You a Mail That Must be Read’ Instagram Scam Ema
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Mississippi Man Hack His Way Into Helping ‘Food Stamp’ Recipients?
A persistent meme that resurfaced on October 23 2019 about a modern-day Robin Hood is in reality a prank posted by someone out of “social media fun.” The graphic shows a photograph of a man besides a Fox News logo, accompanied by a short d
Truth or Fiction?→ Spooky Season, Activated Charcoal in Food, and Medication
On September 19 2019, a Facebook user shared a warning (archived here) that urged fans of the “spooky season” to avoid foods colored with activated charcoal due to its purported ability to prevent your body from absorbing medications. Al
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Greenland’ Boat in Arctic Ice Picture
On September 25 2019, a Reddit user shared a dramatic image to r/pics, titled simply “Greenland”: Greenland from pics Six days earlier, a different user shared the image to r/MostBeautiful, earning a fraction of th
Truth or Fiction?→ Storm Cloud in Benevento
On September 25 2019 a Reddit user shared a thread titled “Storm Cloud Benevento, Italy” to the r/pics subreddit: Storm Cloud Benevento, Italy. from pics On Reddit, the image quickly moved to the top of r/all. Its
Truth or Fiction?→ Ash Soto and her Vitiligo Body Art
In late 2016, the story of Ash Soto’s story and how she lives with vitiligo spread across social media. Years later, readers continue to highlight her approach to empowering people who, like her, live with the condition in which cells stop produ
Truth or Fiction?→ Are ‘School Shooting Hoodies’ With Faux Bullet Holes Real?
In September 2019 a Facebook user shared the following screenshots (archived here) of a since-deleted tweet, depicting three hoodies (Virginia Tech, Columbine, and Sandy Hook) and a comment — “Ok, this is a NEED”: A link to the orig
Truth or Fiction?→ Tim Allen Meme: ‘Obamacare Website Costs More Than Trump’s Wall’
On September 14 2019, the Facebook page “ChairmanSizer” shared the following meme (archived here), claiming that actor and comedian Tim Allen was quoted as claiming that maintaining the official Affordable Care Act’s website costs mo
Hoax-Slayer→ Instagram ‘Copyright Violation’ Phishing Scams Continue
If you use Instagram, be wary of fake notification messages claiming that your account has violated copyright and is set to be deleted. The post Instagram ‘Copyright Violation’ Phishing Scams Continue appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Truth or Fiction?→ Instagram Copyright Hoax
A recurring online hoax spread even further on August 20 2019, when a wave of high-profile people posted a fake, long-debunked notice about Instagram’s terms of use that eventually ended up on Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s Instagram ac
Hoax-Slayer→ Nonsensical ‘Instagram Privacy Policy’ Hoax Circulating Rapidly
This rapidly circulating post supposedly gives notice to Instagram that "it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents". The post Nonsensical ‘Instagram Priva
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘YesJuliet’ Instagram Murder Rumors
On July 14 2019, rumors began spreading on Instagram, Reddit, Discord, 4Chan, Twitter, and other social media sites about purported disturbing posts shared by Instagram user @YesJuliet about an alleged murder of a 17-year-old girl named Bianca Devins
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 This Picture Show the ‘Youngest Parents in the World’?
On February 26 2019, a Facebook user shared the following post (archived here), purportedly showing the world’s youngest parents: Aside from a caption (“Man Wtf”), no included information explained how the original poster had divine
Hoax-Slayer→ PHISHING – Instagram Users Targeted via Fake Infringement Notices
Phishing scammers are targeting popular Instagram accounts by sending fake copyright infringement notices. The post PHISHING – Instagram Users Targeted via Fake Infringement Notices appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Bit Windy Today’ Wind Turbine Failure Video
On February 22 2019, the Facebook page “What did I just see?” shared a video (linked here) captioned “Bit windy today,” purportedly depicting the failure of a wind turbine during an intense weather event: The clip quickly sp
Snopes→ Gay Muslim Comic Gone from Instagram After Indonesia Warning
The Ministry of Communications said in a statement Instagram had "fulfilled" its request made in a warning letter for the account to be removed.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Medical Scan of an 80-Year-Old Woman Reveal a Calcified Fetus?
On December 11, 2018, a Facebook user shared the following image and caption purportedly showing a genuine calcified fetus: 80 year old lady [emoji], went to have a cat-scan, and they found a fetus that’s been in her cervix for 30 years The reference
Snopes→ Instagram Co-Founders Resign from Social Media Company
Chief Executive Kevin Systrom said in a statement that he and Mike Krieger, Instagram's chief technical officer, plan to leave the company in the next few weeks.