In November 2019, the Facebook page “Weird History” shared the following meme, which claimed that a four-megaton atomic bomb remained missing near Georgia — and that it might be live: Under an image of a Cold War-style bomb or missil
Publication: TruthOrFiction
Truth or Fiction?→ Did BBC Edit a Clip of Boris Johnson Getting Laughed at in a Televised Forum?
The British Broadcasting Corporation faced accusations of political bias in November 2019 after social media users spotted the difference between a television audience’s live reaction to a question directed at UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and
Truth or Fiction?→ Trump Regurgitates ‘Crowdstrike’ Conspiracy Theory in Call to Fox News
United States President Donald Trump called into a Fox News program on November 22 2019, spending nearly an hour pushing an already-debunked conspiracy theory that was also refuted during the congressional impeachment inquiry against him. During his c
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Treason for the Season’
On November 19 2019, a purported Fox News “Treason for the Season” chyron was shared to two subreddits, r/CrappyDesign and r/theyknew: Treason for the season! from CrappyDesign Both posts were titled “Treason
Truth or Fiction?→ Ivanka Trump and the Alexis de Tocqueville Quote
On November 21 2019, Ivanka Trump tweeted a quote attributed to political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville in 1835 about a “decline in public morals” and impeachment: “A decline of public morals in the United States will probably be
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Fox News Taken Off American Forces Network Radio?
A series of tweets in November 2019 pushed the claim that Fox News had been made unavailable for United States military service members. The claim came after the right-wing network’s treatment of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman following his testimon
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Democrats Spent $40,000,000 of YOUR Tax Dollars Trying to Impeach Trump’ Posts
On October 28 2019, a Facebook user shared the following status update (archived here), claiming that Democrats spent $40,000,000 in an attempt to impeach United States President Donald Trump: White text against a purple smoke background ass
Truth or Fiction?→ Donald Trump Falsely Claims He Opened Apple Texas Facility During Visit
On November 20 2019, United States President Donald Trump followed up a visit to an Apple computer-making facility in Texas with a claim that was outright false. “Today I opened a major Apple Manufacturing plant in Texas that will bring high pay
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘$60 Women’s Self-Defense Kit Sold by a Black-Owned Business’ Facebook Post
A popular November 17 2019 Facebook post purportedly shows a women’s self-defense kit in the style of a makeup bag, and the collection of stylish items was described as being sold by a black-owned business: Its image showed iridescent brass kn
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Julia Roberts Supposed to Play Harriet Tubman in a 2019 Biopic?
In November 2019, just after the film Twitter was outraged over news that white actor Julia Roberts was “suggested” by a studio executive to play Harriet Tubman, a black woman and a former slave turned abolitionist hero: Julia Roberts
Truth or Fiction?→ Are These Really Donald Trump’s Notes?
On November 20 2019, as United States’ ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland’s testimony sent shockwaves through political and punditry circles, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a hasty press conference on his way to a flight to
Truth or Fiction?→ Ken Starr Statement on Impeachment Inquiry Spreads Without Full Context
Amid impeachment inquiry hearings on November 20 2019, a partial transcript from a Fox News telecast spread online and gave some readers and listeners the impression that one of the right-wing network’s analysts had concluded that United States
Truth or Fiction?→ Greta Thunberg Time Traveller Picture
Around November 18 2019, several tweets compared photographs of Greta Thunberg side by side with a generations-old image of a girl with a strong resemblance to the young modern-day activist, suggesting that she is a “time traveler“: So
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘You Will Fail’: White House Claims Resurrect Bogus Accusations Against Obama, Clinton
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham’s unfounded claim on November 19 2019 called to mind past disinformation charges against Democratic Party presidents on their way out of office. As CNN reported, Grisham accused staff members for for
Truth or Fiction?→ UK’s Conservative Party’s Communications Team Briefly Rebrands to Mislead Public
As a December 12 2019 general election looms over the UK and the rhetoric around its third election since 2015 grows ever louder, distractions and political stunts have hit a fever pitch, injecting misinformation and outright disinformation into its p
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Your Page is at Risk of Being Unpublished’ Facebook Warning
On November 19 2019, a number of Facebook page administrators received messages from the social media platform bearing the warning: “Your page is at risk of being unpublished” for various actions. One poster on Reddit’s r/facebook on
Truth or Fiction?→ Scary Movie ‘I See White People’ Mandela Effect
Among the nooks and crannies of the internet lurk new generations of paranormal stories, rumors of alternate universes, and shared institutional memories that are presented as proof of parallel timelines bleeding into one another in a broader theory p
Truth or Fiction?→ South Dakota’s $449,000 Anti-Meth Initiative Goes Viral — for the Wrong Reasons
South Dakota’s push to fight methamphetamine addiction won instant attention when it launched on November 18 2019 — but perhaps not for the reason Gov. Kristi Noem and state officials intended. According to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspap
Truth or Fiction?→ Allegations Swirl Around Pete Buttigieg’s ‘Douglass Plan’
Democratic Party presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and his campaign have come under criticism after Black leaders in South Carolina questioned their inclusion in a statement promoting his plan to address racial inequality should he be elected. The
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Students Today Depend on Paper Too Much, Don’t Know How to Write on a Slate’ 1815 Quote
In November 2015, Facebook page “The Credible Hulk” shared the following screenshot purportedly showing a lament from an 1815 school principal’s publication suggesting the students of the day had grown too dependent on paper, and la
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The Little White Envelope for the Man Who Hated Christmas’ Posts
In November 2019, a nearly year-old “Maui 24/7” post titled “THE LITTLE WHITE ENVELOPE” (alternately: “the Man Who Hated Christmas”) circulated virally on social media: Text attached to an image told a heartstri
Truth or Fiction?→ What Happened to ‘The Man in the High Castle’ Swastika Props?
As the fourth and final season of Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle aired, a post to Reddit’s r/oddlysatisfying asserted that producers were proactive in post-production handling of the show’s many swastikas and other Nazi memora
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Hong Kong Protester Looks Like a Post Apocalyptic Survivor’
On November 17 2019, the following image was shared to Reddit’s r/pics, titled: “Hong Kong Protester looks like a post apocalyptic survivor. May HK have the strength it needs to survive”: Hong Kong Protester looks like a p
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Chrome’s Reopen Closed Tab Gone?
If “Reopen Closed Tab” has disappeared from your Chrome browser, you’re not alone — a number of posts on Facebook and Twitter appeared as people saw the function began vanishing from their drop-down menus: Uhhhh Chrome is removin
Truth or Fiction?→ Goodstein’s ‘States of Matter’ Opening Quote
On November 15 2019, an Imgur user shared a screenshot of a tweet about the purported opening paragraph from a textbook by California Institute of Technology professor David Goodstein called States of Matter: The beginning to every book should have
Truth or Fiction?→ Conspiracy Theorist Roger Stone Is Latest Trump Associate to be Convicted
Roger Stone — a longtime ally to both President Donald Trump and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — was convicted on November 15, 2019 on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering, and lying to Congress. The 67-year-old self-proclaimed “d
Truth or Fiction?→ Does an Ohio Law Allow Students to Give Wrong Answers Because of Religious Belief?
On November 14 2019, several news outlets reported that a new law in Ohio allowed students to “give wrong answers” due to their “religious belief.” A widely-shared Patheos blog post on that day began as follows: Anti-intellectu
Truth or Fiction?→ Report: Coordinated Russian Disinformation Could Be ‘Significantly Impactful’
Russian disinformation efforts resulted in their content being shared on more than 100 online outlets as part of a two-pronged approach covering both social media and ginned-up websites, according to a report commissioned by the Senate Intelligence Co
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Bernie Sanders Say ‘Abolish ICE’ While Elizabeth Warren Said ‘We Need ICE’?
In November 2019, the following meme purporting to quote Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) on ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) presented the former’s position as “abolish ICE,” and
Truth or Fiction?→ Chef Uses Molecular Gastronomy to ‘Incredibly’ Bake a ‘Clear’ Pumpkin Pie?
An October 17 2019 post on the site CanYouActually.com, “Chef Uses Molecular Gastronomy To Incredibly Bake A Clear Pumpkin Pie,” racked up tens of thousands of shares across social media platforms: There’s nothing more traditional than p
Truth or Fiction?→ Did an Irish Suffragist Follow Winston Churchill for a Week Ringing a Bell Whenever He Tried to Speak?
In November 2019, the Facebook page “Cheerful Nihilism” shared the following meme, about historical tensions between a suffragist from Ireland named Mary Maloney and Winston Churchill: Above a black and white image of a man on a stage, a
Truth or Fiction?→ Mitch McConnell: ‘Completely and Utterly Perplexed’ by Those Who Argue Perjury, Obstruction of Justice Aren’t High Crimes?
In November 2019, a screenshot from Reddit circulated on social media, quoting Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) as saying he was baffled by people who argued “perjury and obstruction of justice are not high crimes and misdemeanors” when r
Truth or Fiction?→ Archived Tweets Show Bolivian Interim President Smearing Indigenous ‘Satanists’
Amid a chaotic upheaval and ouster of Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales, allegations swirled online around Jeanine Añez — the opposition leader who claims she is next in line for the presidency — and tweets she made litera
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Donald Trump Fined $2 Million for Misappropriating Funds Donated for Veterans but Used for His Campaign?
In November 2019, a constellation of Facebook posts appeared, collectively making one claim: that United States President Donald Trump was fined $2 million after a judge ruled that funds he had raised were improperly diverted to finance his campaign.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Americans are So Brainwashed, They Think They Won the Space Race’ Meme
On November 9 2019, a post to Reddit’s r/socialism made a titular claim that Americans “think they won the space race”: Americans are so brainwashed that they think they won the space race. from socialism Ano
Truth or Fiction?→ Lawmaker Brings World War II Discharge Letter to Light Online
A New Jersey congressman attracted some attention online with a historical post apropos of Veterans Day in November 2019 — and some skepticism. “I’d like to share a letter that a constituent of mine recently found in the papers of her fa
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Old Farmer’s Almanac Predict an Alarming Number of Snowstorms This Winter?
A November 1 2019 ReturnToNow.net post headlined “Old Farmer’s Almanac Predicts An Alarming Number of Snowstorms This Winter” was shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook. and was likely to continue spreading. ReturnToNow.net is cl
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Christians Being Told to Stop Saying That Jesus Is the ‘Son of God’ Because It Offends Muslims?
An April 2019 text-based status update meme on Facebook claimed (without citation, as usual) that Christians are being told to “stop calling Jesus the ‘Son of God,'” because it “offends Muslims”: White text aga
Truth or Fiction?→ Congress ‘Rejects’ Social Security Increase: Facebook Users Regurgitate Bogus Claim
In a prime example of easily digestible disinformation finding ready distribution on Facebook, a citation-free, years-old claim ginning up outrage against lawmakers was resurrected as a text-based graphic in September 2019, and has been shared thousa
Truth or Fiction?→ Hotel Cleaner Who Stole Sperm from a Millionaire’s Used Condom Won Child Support Battle, Millions?
On November 10 2019, a story about a hotel cleaner stealing a millionaire guest’s used condom to covertly impregnate herself and receive millions of dollars in child support was shared by the Facebook page “Waploaded.com Media”: T