On March 29 and 30 2021, social media posts claiming the minimum wage would be $44 in 2021 if it had risen at the same rate as “Wall Street bonuses” were enormously, virally popular on Twitter and Imgur: Had the minimum wage increased at
Publication: TruthOrFiction
Truth or Fiction?→ Ben Shapiro ‘My #Redpill Moment’ Tweet
A March 27 2021 Facebook post purportedly featured a tweet from commentator Ben Shapiro, in which he described experiencing what he called his “#redpill moment” at age seven during a birthday at school: The tweet, which was dated March 26 2
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Physical Books Continue to Massively Outsell E-Books Every Year’
On March 27 2021, the Facebook page “Little Free Library” shared a screenshot of a tweet by Twitter account @UberFacts: Physical books continue to massively outsell e-books every year — UberFacts (@UberFacts) March 17, 2021 It said
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Miss Universe Parade of National Costumes’ Facebook Post
In March 2021, a February 2016 Facebook image gallery circulated, purportedly showing the “Parade of National Costumes” in a Miss Universe pageant. The page also commented, “Please watch this FULLY XD.” Roughly 35 images were at
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘It’s Now Illegal to Offer Someone Water in a Voting Line in Georgia’
On March 26 2021, Imgur user ZUXUX shared a screenshot of a tweet by journalist Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller), claiming it was “now illegal to offer someone water in a voting line in Georgia”: Good morning. It’s now illegal to offer someone
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook’s Zuckerberg Falsely Tells Lawmakers ‘We Don’t Allow’ Disinformation in Ads
Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg misrepresented his company’s disinformation policy on advertising while testifying to federal lawmakers on March 25 2021. Zuckerberg made the false claim — which flies in the face of his comp
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Nose Only Mask for Eating’ Purportedly Developed by Mexican Researchers
On March 25 2021 a Rumble.com post went viral, titled “ABSURD: Researchers Design New Mask to Wear While EATING.” What followed was not a news item, nor a video. After a lengthy advertisement played, the “content” of the post wa
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Abe Lincoln Statue Vandalized with Poop, Paint; Arrested Suspect is a Black Lives Matter Leader’
On March 24 2021, the disinformation-friendly Daily Wire published an item with the headline, “Abe Lincoln Statue Vandalized With Poop, Paint; Arrested Suspect Is A Black Lives Matter Leader.” It began: A Black Lives Matter activist in Boi
Truth or Fiction?→ Online Conspiracy Theorists Swarm ‘HRC’ Suez Canal Boat Jam
Reports of a container ship creating a traffic jam on the Suez Canal in Egypt quickly became grist for online conspiracy theorists, who spun the story into another smear against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. As the BBC reported, the Ever G
Truth or Fiction?→ Kaitlin Bennett ‘WAP’ Tweet
In March 2021, screenshots of a tweet attributed to “Kent State gun girl” Kaitlin Bennett began circulating in which Bennett interpreted the song “WAP,” an explicit and sexually provocative song that has become grist for the far
Truth or Fiction?→ Walmart ‘Going Plastic Bag Free’ Giveaway Posts
On March 23 2021, a purported (and popular) Walmart post circulated on Facebook, promising a “$75 voucher” and pledging Walmart would “go plastic bag free” in 2021. That post was intermittently accessible and formatted as an alb
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘BLM Trapped 100 Shoppers’ in Wegman’s in Rochester, Explained
On March 23 2021, right-wing websites started pushing claims that Black Lives Matter protesters had “trapped” more than a hundred grocery shoppers inside a Rochester, New York Wegman’s supermarket: BREAKING: BLM Protesters Mob Stor
Truth or Fiction?→ Cinnamon Toast Crunch ‘Shrimp Tails’ Twitter Controversy
On March 22 2021, Twitter user Jensen Karp (@JensenKarp) alerted the official Twitter presence of Cinnamon Toast Crunch that he had found what appeared to be “shrimp tails” in his box of cereal: Ummmm @CTCSquares – why are there shr
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The Cost of a Standard Unit of Insulin’
On March 22 2021, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) published a Facebook post and tweet purportedly listing the cost of “a standard unit of insulin” in the United States, and comparing it to the same standard unit in other developed nations:
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Chuck Todd Host a Panel on Violence Against Asian-Americans Without One Asian-American Guest?
NBC News presenter Chuck Todd came under fire on March 21 2021 for addressing a mass shooting that killed eight people in the state of Georgia earlier in the week — six of whom were of Asian descent — without asking any Asian-Americans for
Truth or Fiction?→ Yes, Krispy Kreme Is Giving Free Donuts to Vaccinated People in 2021
On March 22 2021, a number of outlets reported that Krispy Kreme was supporting the drive to vaccinate Americans against COVID-19 with an interesting promotion — one free donut per vaccinated person per day in 2021. On that date, a WAGA-TV articl
Truth or Fiction?→ Trump and Biden’s Vaccine ‘Promises’
On March 18 2021, u/Mech0T1 shared a screenshot to Imgur showing a tweet by Qasim Rashid (@QasimRashid), contrasting vaccine-related “promises” with purported vaccination  rates of vaccination between former United States President Dona
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Metal Coasters Made from Cars Wrecked in Drunk Driving Accidents’
A March 18 2021 Imgur post (“Stay Safe”) featured the following image, purportedly showing bar coasters made of metal salvaged from cars which were destroyed in drunk driving accidents: Text on the top of the image read: Local bar has meta
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Scotty from ‘Star Trek’ Inspire a Woman to Not Take Her Own Life?
Actor James Doohan’s relationship with a fan was remembered fondly online in March 2021 to commemorate what would have been his 100th birthday. Fans of the Canadian actor’s work on the original series of Star Trek honored the occasion onlin
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘President Harris’: Biden Misspeaks During Vaccine Update
Just after 3:30 on March 18 2021, “President Harris” trended on Twitter alongside short clips of United States President Joe Biden’s larger remarks about the vaccine rollout status: BIDEN: "When President Harris and I…&qu
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Coffee with Cotton Candy’ Facebook Post
A March 9 2021 Facebook meme purportedly shows a fanciful coffee with a cotton candy cloud perched above it — arranged so that the heat from the hot drink created cotton candy “rain”: Words on the image read: This coffee is served wit
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Cop Who Blamed a ‘Very Bad Day’ for Fatal Georgia Shootings Promote Racist Shirts?
The Georgia law enforcement spokesperson who drew criticism for apparently downplaying the motive behind a rash of fatal shooting attacks on March 17 2021 came under even more scrutiny online, after reports that he promoted shirts pushing a racist R
Truth or Fiction?→ The ‘Yellow Square’ Instagram Controversy, Explained
On March 17 2021, the day a spree shooter reportedly killed eight people at three Asian spas, the verified Instagram account @88rising shared a simple yellow square — content which led to significant and tense discourse. The Incident On March 16
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Imagine Living in This Apartment Complex in Hong Kong’
A March 13 2021 Facebook post reading “imagine living in this apartment complex in Hong Kong” generated a lot of interest (and shares): On Facebook No additional context or comment was included by the original poster; the post was shared t
Truth or Fiction?→ How Homeless People Can Receive Third Stimulus and an ‘EIP’
On March 15 2021, @Hamdia_Ahmed tweeted about homeless people not having access to the first or second stimulus payments — adding that anyone who is experiencing homelessness could receive the third stimulus with something called an “EIP r
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Meghan Markle Could be Running for President in 2024’
A pair of posts in March 2021 illustrated how a narrative can be laundered across several blogs — in this case, one of the many attempts to speculate about Meghan Markle’s possible goals after her departure from an active role in the Britis
Truth or Fiction?→ PragerU ‘Racism = Bad’ Graphic
On March 13 2021, the Facebook page Comrade Britney shared the following Gravel Institute (@GravelInstitute) tweet from one day prior, depicting a purported PragerU graphic describing “leftist logic” as “racism = bad”: HmmR
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Banks Collected More than $30 BILLION in Overdraft Fees in 2020’
On March 11 2021, the Facebook page “Memes to Radicalize Your Friends” shared an undated screenshot of a tweet by @katmauvearts, which contained the claim that banks collected had collected a total of $30 billion in overdraft fees from Amer
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a High School Basketball Announcer Caught Using a Racist Slur Against Players?
A girls’ high school basketball game in Oklahoma received national scrutiny — but through no fault of the players — in March 2021 after one of the participating coaches posted audio of an announcer smearing his players with a racist s
Truth or Fiction?→ $1400 ‘Stimmy’ Per Adult and Child, $250 or $300 a Month Per Child?
A March 10 2021 Facebook status update about the March 2021 stimulus appeared to contain further information about what the relief bill entailed: $1400 stimmy per adult. $1400 stimmy per child $300 a month per child starting in July (5 and younger) $
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Congresswoman Ilhan Omar Propose a ‘Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act,’ But While ‘Failing to Explain How Landlords, Banks’ Would Pay Bills?
On March 12 2021, Sean Hannity continued his disinformation offensive when he shared a post in a tweet that read, “THIS IS REAL: Omar Introduces Bill to ‘Cancel All Rent And Mortgage Payments Until April 2022′”: THIS IS REAL:
Truth or Fiction?→ On a ‘Scroll That Has 470+ Names of People Killed by MN Police,’ Was Derek Chauvin Involved in Five?
On March 7 2021, a tweet about the upcoming trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd appeared and started to quickly spread: The day before Derek Chauvin goes on trial in Minneapolis for the murder of George Fl
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Dove Remove ‘Normal’ from Packaging So People Don’t Feel ‘Excluded’?
On March 10 2021, Sean Hannity continued his barrage of disinformation about so-called “cancel culture” (which has replaced the phrase “political correctness”) by sharing a claim that Dove had removed the word “normalR
Truth or Fiction?→ Has Disney Canceled ‘Dumbo,’ ‘Peter Pan,’ and ‘The Aristocats?’
On March 9 2021, disinformation purveyor Sean Hannity tweeted at least twice to complain Disney had “canceled” the childrens’ films Dumbo, Peter Pan, and The Aristocats: THE PURGE! Disney Pulls Dumbo, Peter Pan, The Aristocats, Swi
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Please DO NOT Offer Yarn, String or Human Hair for Birds to Build Nests!
In March 2021, a Facebook post circulated, warning readers not to leave certain materials for birds to use in their nests: Please DO NOT offer yarn, string or human hair for birds to build nests! Every year we see both young and adult birds… Pos
Truth or Fiction?→ Far-Right U.S. Legislators Using Disinformation to Gain, Strengthen Positions
Even as acolytes of former United States president Donald Trump consider running to replace retiring Republicans, his allies already in the U.S. government are trying to throw up barriers to passing broadly popular legislation — but all are leani
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Princess Diana Lose Her ‘Royal Protection’?
On March 7 2021, a highly-anticipated interview of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by Oprah Winfrey aired, and among discourse about that interview was a claim that Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, lost her royal protection — which was in tu
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Bodies Float in Lake Superior?
In early March 2021, as the first signs of spring began to touch the Northern Hemisphere and melt the ice rimes from its lakes, a popular Facebook post claiming that bodies in Lake Superior don’t float was very popular: Well… Here’s
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Witches Stairs’
On March 3 2021, a Facebook user shared a post demonstrating “witches stairs” — purportedly found on occasion in very old New England homes and designed to prevent witches from accessing the next floor: Those are called Witches Stai
Truth or Fiction?→ Former Lowe’s Employee Jayjuan Young Says He Was Fired Over 37 Cents
A March 4 2021 Facebook post by Jayjuan Young addressed his termination from a job at Lowe’s Home Improvement, with an assertion that he was fired over a 37 cent register discrepancy: Tomorrow Would have been my Year at Lowe’s. In 11 months Iâ