In January 2019 amid an ongoing government shutdown, a May 2018 Occupy Democrats meme showed up once again on Facebook: Under a photograph of Melania Trump and President Trump, text stated: Today, Melania Trump announced her new agenda, focused on
Publication: Politics
Truth or Fiction?→ Sen. Mitch McConnell Posing With Confederate Flag?
In early January 2019, an image that appears to show Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) posing in front of a large Confederate flag while receiving what appears to be either giving or receiving an award surfaced to circulate on social media: Alongsi
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Democrat Government Shutdown’ Explained
In mid-January 2019, the Facebook page “I Love My Country” shared a status update meme with the title, “Democrat Government Shutdown Explained”: Amid scattered images of United States President Donald Trump, Sen. Chuck Schumer
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Tlaib and Omar Did NOT Co-sponsor Bill to Recognize Muslim Holidays as Federal Holidays
Did Congressmen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib co-sponsor a bill to recognize muslim holidays as federal holidays? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a satire site that was launched just a few weeks ago and which seems to have scored
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Nancy Pelosi Refusing to Meet with Any U.S. Citizen Who Had a Family Member Murdered by ‘an Illegal’?
In January 2019, a Facebook user posted a status update that has since become virally popular. It said: IMAGINE THAT NANCY PELOSI IS REFUSING TO MEET WITH ANY U.S. CITIZEN WHO HAD A FAMILY MEMBER MURDERED BY AN ILLEGAL. The post appeared on its own
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ocasio-Cortez Did NOT Accuse Math Of Sexism In Tweet
Did Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweet out a message that read: The math suggests my economic plan doesn't add up. Could it be because I'm a WOMAN??? No, that's not true: the fake tweet originated from a Christian-themed satire we
Truth or Fiction?→ Did President Trump Say ‘Illegal Immigration’ Has Been a Problem in the U.S. for ‘Thousands of Years’?
On January 6, 2019, the following status update appeared, paraphrasing purported comments made by United States President Donald Trump which described “illegal immigration” as an American problem for “thousands of years”: Th
Lead Stories→ Fake News: President Trump Did NOT Urge Americans To Boycott Chinese Restaurants
Did President Donald Trump use Twitter to urge Americans to boycott Chinese restaurants as part a trade war with China? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a satirical website. It is not real. The story originated from an article p
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Will NOT End the Shutdown Monday Morning AND Get the Wall
Will President Donald Trump end the government shutdown on Monday morning through a set of executive orders? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Republica
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Irreplaceable Joshua Trees Destroyed Because of the Government Shutdown?
On January 10, 2019, the Facebook page “The Other 98%” shared a meme about Joshua trees which were purportedly destroyed due to the 2018-2019 federal government shutdown: Atop two images of trees, text read: During the shutdown, with Joshu
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the United States Give Jordan $500 Million to Build a Wall on its Border with Iraq?
On January 8, 2019, just after President Donald Trump addressed the United States on the matter of his intent to construct another border wall, the Facebook page “The American Dreamer” shared the following meme: Text overlaid on an image
Truth or Fiction?→ Do You Have the Right as a Juror to Refuse to Enforce ‘Bad Law’?
On January 5, 2018, the Facebook page “Think Liberty” posted this photograph of a woman holding a sign: The sign and caption said: As a juror, you have the right to refuse to enforce any bad law in the case brought before you. #TheMoreYouK
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Vice President Pence NOT Kicked Out Of Iceland
Was Vice President Mike Pence refused entry to Iceland on January 7, 2019 because that country has a White Southern Baptist travel ban in force? No, that's not true: the story originated from a satire blog but looked real enough to many peopl
Lead Stories→ Fake News: MSNBC NOT To Air Obama’s 2004 Convention Speech During Trump’s Address to Nation
Is MSNBC planning to air an old Obama speech during President Trump's immigration speech scheduled for tonight? No, that's not true: the story was just a bit of satire from the Borowitz report mocking the recent controversy over if the major
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Tlaib Did NOT Apologize For "Impeach The Motherfucker" Comment, Did NOT Mean To Say "Imprison The Motherfucker"
Did Rashida Tlaib apologize for her "impeach the motherfucker" comment against President Donald Trump and did she mean to say "imprison the motherfucker" instead? No, that's not true: the viral story making that claim came from a satirical bl
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Democrats Put Up a Four-Mile Fence Around the DNC in 2016?
On December 28, 2018, a Facebook user commented on a debate over border wall funding by sharing a photograph of a purported four-mile long fence erected around the Democratic National Convention (DNC): Alongside the image, the user posted a comment: A
Truth or Fiction?→ Did President Barack Obama Shut Down the Government to ‘Force Obamacare’ in 2013?
On December 29, 2018, a Facebook user posted a status update claiming that a federal shutdown over border wall funding was similar to one in 2013 — and it was purportedly initiated by President Barack Obama: This was nearly identical to a December 2
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the IRS Suspending Tax Refunds During the Government Shutdown?
On December 22, 2018 the United States government shut down, suspending the functions and payrolls of numerous federal agencies. As the shutdown continued into January 2019, concern and rumors began to spread over whether tax refunds issued by the Int
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Jerry Jones Did NOT Give Ted Nugent a Night at Texas Stadium and $3 Million For Wall Benefit Concert
Did Texas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones give Ted Nugent the use of the Texas Stadium for a benefit concert to build a border wall on the U.S. Southern border? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a liberal satire website that also invente
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Supreme Court Did NOT Rule 5-4 That Oaths Not Taken on Bibles Are Illegal
Did the U.S. Supreme Court rule five to four that oaths not taken on the bible are illegal? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Republicans about the need
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pelosi Did NOT Say She Will Skip Trump and Negotiate Directly With Putin
Is Nancy Pelosi negotiating directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the government shutdown? No, that's not true: the story was made up by the satire section of a magazine, it is not real. The story originated from an artic
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pelosi Daughters NON EXISTENT Drug Trafficking Charges DID NOT Mysteriously Disappear
Did the drug trafficking charges against two of Nancy Pelosi's daughters mysteriously disappear after their mother became Speaker of the House? No, that's not true: the charges didn't exist in the first place. The story was published by a lib
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Nancy Pelosi’s Daughters NOT Arrested Smuggling Contraband at the Border
Were Nancy Pelosi's daughters, Pamela, 22, and Loreen, 25 arrested at the Mexican border carrying cocaine and "bloogies"? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters
Truth or Fiction?→ Are More Americans Killed Annually by Lack of Affordable Healthcare Than in Terror Attacks or Undocumented Immigrants?
On December 20 2018, the Facebook page Teanderthal Party posted the following meme about healthcare, “illegal immigration,” terror attacks, and the mortality rate in the United States: It stated: FACT: More Americans die every year from la
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Donald Trump Say Generals at the Pentagon Were Better Looking and Stronger Than Tom Cruise?
On January 2, 2018, the Facebook page Union Thugs shared a meme attributing a quote about Pentagon generals and how they compared to actor Tom Cruise: The quote was bookended with commentary from the meme’s maker. It read: An actual thing the P
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pelosi Did NOT Offer To Build The Wall In Exchange For Full Gun Ban
Did Nancy Pelosi offer to build Donald Trump's planned Southern border wall in exchange for a full gun ban in the United States? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump sup
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Family Did NOT Donate $1 Billion To Wall Fund
Did the Trump family donate a billion dollars to Brian Kolfage's GoFundMe campaign to build a wall on the US-Mexico border? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporter
Lead Stories→ Fake News: President Trump Did NOT Order Drug Tests for All Members of Congress
Did ¨President Trump order drug test for all congressmen and -women so he could replace the ones that failed it with people appointed by himself? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate g
Lead Stories→ Fake News: President Trump Did NOT Order DOJ To Stop Using Arabic Numerals
Did President Donald Trump sign an executive order telling the Department of Justice to stop using Arabic numerals? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Re
Truth or Fiction?→ Did President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Call Same-Sex Marriage ‘Evil’?
On December 27, 2018, a brief video appeared to show Trump administration Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussing homosexuality and referring to the Rapture, which according to certain sects of evangelical Christianity is the end of the world in whic
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pat Robertson Did NOT Say Global Warming Won’t Affect America Because God is Protecting Trump
Did Pat Robertson say global warming won't affect America because God is protecting Trump? No, that's not true: the fake quote was launched by a satirical website. Even though it went viral it is not true. The story originated from an articl
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Mike Pence NOT To Resign ‘At The Request of the President’
Did President Donald Trump ask his Vice President Mike Pence to resign on January 1st? No, hat's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Republicans about the need to a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Canadian GoFundMe Did NOT Raise $6B In Two Hours To Pay For Privacy Hedge Along Entire US Border
Did Canadians react to the GoFundMe set up to fund a border wall between the United States and Mexico by starting a GoFundMe for a privacy hedge between Canada and the United States and did it raise $6B in two hours? No, that's not true: the n
Truth or Fiction?→ Is a Meme About Taxes Europeans Pay for Their ‘Free Stuff’ Accurate?
On December 18, 2018, a Facebook user shared this meme about tax and purported socialism in several European countries: In addition to a chart listing purported figures for Germany, England, Italy, and Greece, its text read: JUST WANTED TO SHOW ALL O
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Adviser Katrina Pierson Appear to Scold the Late John McCain for His Silence on Dossier?
A December 20, 2018 tweet from political operative Katrina Pierson was widely examined and commented on when its syntax made it appear that Pierson was chiding Sen. John McCain — who died the previous August — for his silence: Since everyone is
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Democrats Did NOT Cave, Did NOT Authorize Full Funding Of Wall To Avoid Shutdown
Did the Democrats cave and authorize full funding of president Donald Trump's border wall project? No, that's not true, the political struggle over the budget is still going on. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to
Lead Stories→ Fake News: GoFundme Wall Donations NOT To Be Diverted to Climate Change Programs
Will all the donations made to the GoFundMe campaign to build a wall on the Southern border of the United States get redirected to climate change programs? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to
Truth or Fiction?→ Is a Mike Huckabee Tweet About the Clinton Foundation Real?
Following news on December 18, 2018 that the Trump Foundation would close, a tweet attributed to former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee in which he appeared to think that the Clinton Foundation was closing circulated in screenshots on social media. In
Truth or Fiction?→ Could Robert Mueller’s Investigation Turn a Profit Thanks to Asset Seizures?
On December 14, 2018, documents released by the Department of Justice clocked the cost of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election at over $25 million: The Justice Department’
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the DHS ‘Walls Work’ Memo Real?
On December 12, 2018, a purported Department of Homeland Security memo about the proposed border wall began circulating on social media. Titled “Walls Work,” its original wording was widely described widely as “bizarre” due