On March 6 2023, a Reddit account shared a screenshot of a tweet about Iowa “recouping” the homes of Medicaid recipients with a sarcastic post to the subreddit r/WhitePeopleTwitter: Iowa leading the way in caring for its citizens
Publication: TruthOrFiction
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook, Google Supplied User Data to Help Police Locate ‘Abortion Seekers’ in the United States?
On March 5 2023, popular posts on Reddit’s r/technology and r/politics featured an article claiming that Google and Facebook (Meta) supplied user data to police prosecuting “abortion seekers”: Facebook and Google are handin
Truth or Fiction?→ White Nationalist Nick Fuentes ‘Removed’ from CPAC, Livestreams Anti-Semitic Speech
On March 5 2023, Twitter video of a highly antisemitic and bigoted speech by white nationalist Nick Fuentes spread against a backdrop of news about Fuentes at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC): Yesterday, in Nick Fuentes’s speech,
Truth or Fiction?→ Blaise Ingoglia, Florida Republicans, and the ‘Ultimate Cancel Act’
On February 28 2023, a post about a Florida Republican lawmaker’s purported proposal to “cancel” the Democratic party in his state was popular on Reddit’s r/WhitePeopleTwitter: Florida Republicans introduce a bill to
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Eric Adams Trash the Separation of Church and State in Government?
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, ostensibly a Democratic Party member, used an interfaith breakfast event on February 28 2023 to dismiss the idea of separation of church and state within U.S. politics and cast himself in a theocratic light. Chris Sommer
Truth or Fiction?→ What Rupert Murdoch Said Under Oath About Fox News’ 2020 Election Claims
On February 28 2023, a popular post on Imgur asserted that Fox News “lied … about the 2020 election,” and that chairman and right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch testified to that fact under oath: Text on the meme was credited to Tw
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘You Must Remove the 🇺🇦 From Your Profile’ Twitter Pop-Up
On February 25 2023, Twitter user @walter_report shared a screenshot of a Twitter pop-up warning, which purportedly demanded that the account “remove the [Ukrainian flag emoji]” from their profile: You can’t be serious, @elonmusk? N
Truth or Fiction?→ Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Dragons and Dinosaurs’ Tweet
In late February 2023, screenshots of a particularly bizarre tweet about dinosaurs and dragons attributed to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) circulated on Reddit and Twitter: Since @RepMTG deleted this tweet, I decided to repost it for clarit
Truth or Fiction?→ Ukraine Marks One-Year Anniversary of Russia’s Invasion
Weaponized disinformation campaigns and more conventional attacks on February 24 2023 marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; amid retrospectives and updates, a popular Imgur post featured a video and commentary attribute
Truth or Fiction?→ Propublica’s Politwoops Archive in Peril — Can It Be Saved?
On February 24 2023, data journalist Derek Willis tweeted a “eulogy” for Politwoops, an archive of deleted tweets in the public interest maintained by investigative journalism organization ProPublica: For six years I had the responsibilit
Truth or Fiction?→ Bill Maher ‘Natural Immunity’ Study Tweet
On February 19 2023, a Twitter user tweeted a quote (with video) from talk show host and comedian Bill Maher, on the subject of a “big study” on “natural immunity” and how it held up against vaccines: Bill Maher: “Big story,
Truth or Fiction?→ EPA Chief, Ohio Gov. Drink Tap Water in Viral Video
On February 22 2022, a Reddit account shared the following video to r/therewasanattempt (the attempt was, in the words of the post, “by the Ohio Governor and EPA Chief to prove the tap water was safe by pretending to drink it”):
Truth or Fiction?→ Arizona Election Deniers Wilted When Asked for Proof: Report
Election deniers in Arizona folded when asked to provide proof of their voting-related conspiracy theories, according to a Washington Post report. The story was based on an investigation into “voter fraud” carried out by then-state Attorney
Truth or Fiction?→ Tennessee Seahorse Book Ban
On February 22 2023, two Imgur users (and one Redditor) shared screenshots of a tweet about Tennessee Republicans “trying to ban a book about seahorses” because it “normalizes gender fluidity”: But male seahorses can
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Ron DeSantis Say ‘You’d Never See Kurt Cobain or David Bowie Dressing Like Women’?
On February 22 2023, an Imgur account shared a screenshot of a tweet which purportedly quoted Florida’s far-right governor Ron DeSantis (R) on music stars Kurt Cobain and David Bowie “never … dressing like women”: Top comments
Truth or Fiction?→ Einstein ‘Capitalism As It Exists Today’ Quote
On February 18 2023, a Facebook page shared the following quote meme, attributing commentary about capitalism to scientist and inventor Albert Einstein: A watermark (“Redfish”) appeared at the top of the meme, and text at the bottom read &
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Goodyear Blimp Over Daytona’
On February 20 2023, an Imgur user shared a purported image of the Goodyear Blimp, flying over the Daytona 500 with a “don’t shoot” message on the side (a reference to a recent controversy over possible “spy balloons“): T
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Nikola Tesla Say ‘When You Understand That Every Opinion Is a Vision Full of Personal History …’
On February 16 2023, a metaphysics-focused Facebook page attributed a quote (“When you understand that every opinion is a vision full of personal history … you will begin to understand that every judgment is a confession”) to invento
Truth or Fiction?→ Trump, Ohio, Train Breaks, and Deregulation
On February 17 2023, the following image, which referenced former United States President Donald Trump, the February 3 2023 Ohio train derailment, and environmental regulations, appeared on Imgur and quickly made its way across platforms: A viral ima
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Wyoming Republicans Opposing a Minimum Marriage Age?
Republican lawmakers in Wyoming drew both increased coverage and criticism in February 2023 for their opposition to a bill — sponsored by one of their own party members — that would set a minimum age for marriage. The measure, House Bill 00
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘To Save Money, Maybe You Should Skip Breakfast’ WSJ Headline
On February 15 2023, a popular tweet showed a screengrab of a purported headline (“To Save Money, Maybe You Should Skip Breakfast”) in the Wall Street Journal on February 14 2023: Groceries too expensive? Just stop eating, you poors. Als
Truth or Fiction?→ Britney Spears Stage Crasher Finds Online ‘Fame’ Thanks to Junk Website
A 37-year-old man arrested for crashing the stage at a Britney Spears concert in 2017 found a different type of attention online in 2023 thanks to his mugshot appearing on an online “fake news” site. Jesse Webb was arrested on August 9 2017
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Meanwhile in Ohio’ ‘Death Plume’ Image
On February 13 2023, a Facebook account shared the following image, purportedly a photograph of a huge, dark plume of smoke near the site of a train derailment in Ohio: An attached status update referenced unrelated news about “unidentified obj
Truth or Fiction?→ Sandy Hook Survivor at the Michigan State University Shooting
On February 14 2023, in the wake of a mass shooting at Michigan State University just hours before, several social media accounts claimed that a Sandy Hook survivor was a student there: One of my MSU students was from Sandy Hook. Her first grade t
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘He Gets Us’ Ads and Abortion Access Lawsuit
On February 12 2023, Judd Legum tweeted about “He Gets Us”/Jesus advertisements, claiming that the campaign was financed by the “same group” that is “seeking to ban abortion medication nationwide”: Just FYI, the sa
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Elevator ‘Close Door’ Buttons Work?
On February 11 2023, a Reddit account on r/todayilearned resurrected a long-running rumor when they claimed that 80 percent of elevator “close door” buttons were not functional 80 percent of the time: TIL 80% of Elevator “Clos
Truth or Fiction?→ The NFL Invokes Pat Tillman’s Name at the Super Bowl — But Ignores How He Died
Before Super Bowl LVII even began, the National Football League (NFL) drew criticism for distorting the circumstances behind the death of former player and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman in a promotional effort. The telecast featured a video package on T
Truth or Fiction?→ Ursula Le Guin on J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter
As social media controversies over the expressed views of fantasy writer J.K. Rowling and a game based on her Harry Potter series continued into February 2023, a quote resurfaced attributed to famed author Ursula Le Guin on the subject of Rowling’
Truth or Fiction?→ Reporter Evan Lambert Arrested While Covering Ohio Train Derailment
On February 9 2023, a popular post to Reddit’s r/news was titled “Reporter arrested during news event on Ohio train derailment,” and a subsequent post to Imgur depicted the same headline: Reporter arrested during news event
Truth or Fiction?→ Netflix Canada ‘Password Sharing’ Screen
On February 9 2023, the top post on Reddit’s r/all (originally on r/mildlyinfuriating) included a photograph of a Netflix password sharing warning purportedly observed in Canada: Netflix rolled out their Bullshit in Canada. from m
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The Graves of a Catholic Woman and Her Protestant Husband, Who Were Not Allowed to Be Buried Together, Holland, 1888’
On February 7 2023, Twitter account @historydefined shared an image described as the graves of “a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband,” buried side by side in neighboring cemeteries: The graves of a Catholic woman and her Protestant
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Twitter Files’ Hearing Further Exposes How It ‘Bent and Broke’ Rules for the Trump Administration
A House Oversight Committee ostensibly geared toward showing “suppression” of information regarding the laptop of Hunter Biden — the son of United States President Joe Biden and a frequent target of far-right conspiracist fantasies
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Food Shortages Are Starting to Become Quite Serious All Over the Planet’
On February 7 2023, a @zerohedge tweet (featuring a blog post titled “Food Shortages Are Starting To Become Quite Serious All Over The Planet”) attracted thousands of views: Food Shortages Are Starting To Become Quite Serious All Over The
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This Tweet Large Marge Wrote Should Get Her Kicked Out of Congress’
During and after U.S. President Joe Biden’s February 8 2023 State of the Union address, “Large Marge” was a Twitter trend, referencing an outburst by far right conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) at the event.
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Tulsa the ‘First American City Attacked from the Air’ in 1921?
In February 2023, a 2013 Facebook post recirculated, indicating that the first American city to be “attacked from the air” was Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921: In the image above, a sepia-toned image of people walking with their hands in the air
Truth or Fiction?→ Greece, Turkey, and ‘Earthquake Diplomacy’
On February 6 2023, a massive earthquake near the city of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey affected Turkey and Syria. A popular post on Reddit’s r/todayilearned claimed that Greece and Turkey had a standing agreement about “earthquake diplomacy”
Truth or Fiction?→ Did CBS Say Bad Bunny Was ‘Singing in Non-English’?
The CBS television network and the Grammy Awards both came under criticism on February 6 2023 for refusing to provide Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny with suitable closed-captioning. Viewers posted screenshots from the broadcast showing captions reading
Truth or Fiction?→ Chinese Spy Balloons Under Trump
On February 5 2022, a popular post to Reddit’s r/worldnews suggested that a Chinese spy balloon controversy was not the first of its sort — positing that “at least” three similar incidents occurred during the Trump administratio
Truth or Fiction?→ Were People in Austin Filmed Going Into a Dumpster for Food?
A scene capturing the lengths some people in Austin, Texas had to go to for food in early February 2023 drew attention outside the state. The footage of people taking food from a dumpster was posted by local news outlet KEYE-TV on February 2 2023; the
Truth or Fiction?→ After Fred la Marmotte’s Death, Winter-Watching Animals are Divided
The announcement that the groundhog Fred la Marmotte had died, on the day residents in a Quebec town were set to mark his winter prediction, touched off not just a somber Groundhog Day for his constituents but a split between his colleagues. Canadian m