Just twelve accounts are responsible for fully two-thirds of online disinformation about vaccines — but social media platforms still aren’t doing much about them. In a follow-up to a report tracking a majority of disinformation about vaccin
Publication: natural news
Truth or Fiction?→ Special Forces Did Not Raid a ‘CIA Server Farm’ in Frankfurt to Seize Dominion Servers
In November and December 2020, following Donald Trump’s resounding loss by millions of votes in the presidential election to Joe Biden, rumors spread by those trying to cope with their loss centered around persistent and increasingly ludicrous c
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Have ‘Advance Knowledge’ of COVID-19?
In mid-March 2020, as the United States continued to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the anti-science blog Natural News posted a “story” pushing the claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC, “appears
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?→ Are Scientists ‘Covering Up’ Global Warming Data?
Among the conspiracy theories bandied about by “nature”-themed blogs is the idea that scientists have conspired to gin up mass panics over the planet’s climate-warming emergency. One particularly hysterical claim was published by Nat
Snopes→ Does Sniffing Rosemary Increase Memory by 75 Percent?
Such quantitative sounding claims are great for viral shares and page views but are meaningless when one digs into their origins.
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Growing Vegetables in Your Own Yard Now Confirmed as a Criminal Offense?
In January 2019, the Facebook page “Herbs, Health, and Happiness” shared a Natural News item titled “Growing vegetables in your own yard now confirmed as a criminal offense by Florida courts … INSANITY is now LAW.” The sh
Snopes→ Was a Healthy Nine-Year-Old Girl Paralyzed by a Flu Shot?
The story of a heartbreaking illness following a routine flu shot has been used to scare people from getting the vaccine, but a causal relationship between the two is uncertain.
Snopes→ Is Cream of Tartar an Effective Treatment for Migraine Headaches?
Numerous websites list cream of tartar as a home remedy for headaches, but the scientific claims made to support the notion are rooted in junk science.
Snopes→ Did a Scientific Study Prove That “Conspiracists” Are “The Most Sane of All?”
A conspiracy theory website drew a series of baseless or incorrect conclusions from a study that looked at the online comments of 9/11 truthers.
Snopes→ ‘Natural News’ Creator’s Newest Site Focuses Entirely on Teenaged Mass Shooting Survivor
Mike "Health Ranger" Adams is behind a web site dedicated to attacking David Hogg, who survived a February 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left seventeen people dead.
Snopes→ Did Ditching Common Core Cause a Florida School’s Test Results to Improve?
Articles criticizing the Common Core curriculum draw causal connections where none exist.
Snopes→ Do Cell Phones Cause Brain Damage and Create ‘Snowflakes and Crybullies’?
A story in an "alternative health site" falsely states mobile phones are causing people to go insane.
Snopes→ Does an ‘Increase’ in Arctic and Greenland Ice Cast Doubt on the Reality of Global Warming?
Single data points presented without context do not interfere with the scientific consensus on climate change.
Snopes→ Did a Second Gunman Shoot From the Fourth Floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel?
Conspiracy theorists spread false information that a second person targeted a country music concert crowd on the Las Vegas Strip during a deadly mass shooting that left scores dead.