A far-right Christian blog exaggerated the language of a Democratic National Committee resolution expressing support for people who do not practice any religion, painting it as an attack on the Christian faith itself. The post on Stream.org took issue
Publication: TruthOrFiction
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Share a Logo Identical to One Used by a White Nationalist Group?
While it denies any links to white nationalists, President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign spread a logo first used by a white supremacist group on August 28, 2019. The logo — a red and white lion’s head inside a blue band adorned wi
Truth or Fiction?→ How Much Ground Would the Amazon Rainforest Fires Cover Inside the United States?
While the final toll of their damage has yet to be assessed, enough fires had torn through the Amazon rainforest in August 2019 that a similar outbreak would devastate several regions in the mainland United States. A graphic first posted to Twitter on
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Olive Garden Funding Trump’s 2020 Campaign?
On August 26 2019, a Facebook user shared the following post (archived here), claiming Olive Garden was financially backing United States President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign: It seems that a few times a week, text-based status
Truth or Fiction?→ Nine Things a Woman Couldn’t Do in 1971
In August 2019 the Facebook page “Old Crone” shared the following post, listing nine everyday activities women were purportedly prohibited from doing up until the year 1971 (with some commentary about subsequent related liberties): Bene
Truth or Fiction?→ Did The Movie ‘Venom’ Get More Money Than Fire Relief for the Brazilian Amazon?
Following the August 2019 news that the G7 economic forum agreed to pledge $20 million to contain fires tearing through the Amazon rainforest, digital artist Todd Vaziri‘s note of perspective on Twitter struck a chord online. Vaziri — who has
Truth or Fiction?→ Can You Use Breastmilk Topically to Treat Various Conditions?
In August 2018, a post from “Parents R Us” about topical use of breastmilk to treat various conditions (archived here) appeared and has made the rounds online since, showing claims that have long been around in other forms as advice shar
Truth or Fiction?→ Were the Bones of Children Found on Epstein’s Island?
On August 20 2019, the Facebook page “The Trump Room” shared the following post (archived here), claiming that children’s bones were found on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island and questioning why this had not been reported: W
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Coroner Who Declared Jeffrey Epstein’s Death a Suicide Work for the Clinton Foundation Until 2015?
Rumors and conspiracies immediately followed the August 2019 jailhouse suicide of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, among them a Facebook post (archived here) claiming that the coroner who attended Epstein’s death worked for the Clinton F
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a North Carolina Teenager Registering People to Vote at a Popeye’s Chicken?
A teenager in Charlotte, North Carolina has received online interest and attention for showing ingenuity in the midst of a separate social media-driven trend by using it to register people to vote. David Ledbetter, a 17-year-old high school senior, be
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Dictator Joseph Stalin Once a Hip, Young Democratic Socialist?
A meme claiming that Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was once a hip, young atheist and a Democratic Socialist appeared on Facebook (archived here) in August 2019. Beneath a black-and-white photograph of an arguably handsome young man, text read: Josef
Truth or Fiction?→ Is This the Bedroom of Medgar Evers’ Sons?
On August 23 2019, Facebook user Steven Pokin shared a photograph along with a lengthy status update, claiming that it shows the bedroom that Medgar Evers’ sons slept in: This is where the two little sons of Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers s
Truth or Fiction?→ Comparing the Cost of Insulin Pens in the United States with Other Countries
A graphic spreading online apparently attempts to advocate for people with diabetes by listing several claims related to the price of insulin pens in the United States and other countries: However, efforts like this can do more harm than good. “
Truth or Fiction?→ Does This Map Show the Locations of the Amazon Wildfires?
In the later days of August 2019, a map showing the many locations of wildfires raging through Brazil’s Amazon rainforest territory (and through other countries) made the rounds. The map contains legitimate information, but experts did advise re
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Text on this Tote Bag Say It Was There to ‘Terrify Those Afraid of Arabic’?
Two Palestinian graphic designers’ work has been drawing attention for years online, but online shoppers looking to spread its sarcastic message may be disappointed. Haitham Haddad and Sana Jammalieh’s totebag was first seen in August 201
Truth or Fiction?→ Was an Ecuadorian Tribe’s Rainforest Home Hit by a Rash of Wildfires?
As awareness of unprecedented wildfires hitting rainforests in the Brazilian Amazon spread online in August 2019, social media users began drawing links between the blazes and a court victory for an indigenous Ecuadorian tribe weeks earlier. On July 1
Truth or Fiction?→ Has Denmark Offered to Buy the United States From Russia?
In the later days of August 2019, the Trump administration presented a dizzying array of outrageous claims and proposals, one of which appeared to capture the hearts and minds of American reporters completely for several days — a pitch to buy Greenl
Truth or Fiction?→ Instagram Copyright Hoax
A recurring online hoax spread even further on August 20 2019, when a wave of high-profile people posted a fake, long-debunked notice about Instagram’s terms of use that eventually ended up on Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s Instagram ac
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Presidents of the United States and France Agree on Inviting Russia Back Into the Group of Seven?
An August 20 2019 story about the Group of Seven (G7) economic forum and purported discussions between United States President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron was quickly contradicted by other reporters. CNN’s Kylie Atwoo
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Someone Act Out a ‘Mock Assassination’ of Trump at a Democratic Fundraiser?
A Democratic state senator in Illinois apologized after confirming that photographs of an “assassination” of a person dressed up like President Donald Trump were taken at a fundraising event. “The incident that took place is unaccept
Truth or Fiction?→ Nick Hinton 2012 Thread
A rather nihilistic rumor — that all of humanity died in 2012, and that this is all either a shared hallucination or the afterlife — was not new in late July 2019, but the theory went viral on social media after Twitter user Nick Hinton (@nickhin
Truth or Fiction?→ Did University of Findlay Students Discover a Chemical Compound that Kills Glioblastoma?
On August 18 2019, Facebook page “Smooth AF” shared a screenshot of a tweet claiming that University of Findlay students had discovered a chemical compound that “kills glioblastoma cells”: At the top of the image was an August
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Dick’s Sporting Goods Lose $150 Million After Reducing Gun Sales?
On August 15 2019 the following meme (archived here) was shared to social media platforms: White text across a purple background read: Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO: We lost $150M in sales since we stopped selling guns. We still don’t regre
Truth or Fiction?→ Do an Average of 22 United States Military Veterans Kill Themselves Every Day?
While seeking to boost awareness and help toward United States military veterans, a long-standing online claim and the various graphics promoting it are based on some misreporting of data regarding veteran suicide rates. The claim often states that on
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Facebook Ending Group Chats?
Around mid-August 2019, Facebook group posts about a purported end to Messenger group chat on August 22 began circulating: In the above post, the first paragraph stated: 💥 Attention Facebook Group owners:💥 the ability for you and/or your Grou
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Franklin Graham Show a Double Standard on Presidential Infidelity?
An apparent about-face from evangelical activist and Republican supporter Franklin Graham gained traction online after being captured in a graphic spread through Facebook in August 2019. The graphic, which has been shared several thousand times on the
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Crowd of People Filmed Taunting Philadelphia Police During a Standoff?
A Philadelphia television reporter’s remarks became part of a story in and of itself during a police standoff. During a live report on the standoff on 14 August 2019, journalist Alexandria Hoff was covering the standoff. During her time on the s
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Protesters of American Immigration Policies Hit by a Truck and Injured in Rhode Island?
On August 15 2019, Facebook posts (sometimes covered for graphic violence) appeared about an incident during which protesters at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in (Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island) were reported
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Costco Pharmacy Have the Least Expensive Prices and No Membership Requirement?
A long-circulating Facebook post (archived here) claims that Costco pharmacy prices are always lower than other pharmacies, adding that Costco membership is not required to fill a prescription: In what appears to be Facebook commentary added to a
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Video Show Police Spraying Fake Blood on Themselves During a Philadelphia Shooting?
On August 15 2019, the conspiracy-oriented Facebook page “True News 4 U’s” shared a video (archived here) of police officers in Philadelphia purportedly spraying “fake blood” on themselves in the aftermath of a shooting.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did North Carolina Ban Sharia Law Statewide?
On July 29 2019, frequent Facebook disinformation purveyor Joseph Rudy Rullo posted a meme (archived here) claiming that North Carolina had banned sharia law. Above a map highlighting North Carolina, the meme read: NORTH CAROLINA HAS BANNED
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Woman Post an Ad Offering to Babysit ‘White Kids Only’?
An apparent attempt at harassment against a woman in Cottage Grove, Oregon in August 2019 was amplified through social media on several platforms, and at least one blog post took the false claim at face value. A photograph of 31-year-old Amber Lee Hug
Truth or Fiction?→ Was the Mississippi Chicken Plant Raided by American Immigration Authorities Previously Sued for Workplace Abuses?
An early August 2019 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at Mississippi chicken plant made national news due to its size and the number of children left without parents or guardians in its wake; in its aftermath, rumors claimed that the b
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Public Assistance Programs Exist in the United States Before Social Security?
In August 2019, disinformation and misinformation about the history of immigration to the United States flourished online following the announcement that United States President Donald Trump’s administration would pursue the so-called “pub
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the Trump Administration Rewriting the Statue of Liberty’s Poem?
On August 13 2019, a number of news outlets ran headlines such as “Trump official revises Statue of Liberty poem to defend migrant rule change” and “Cuccinelli edits Statue of Liberty poem to defend new rule,” leading some read
Truth or Fiction?→ A Million Seconds Ago Was July 24th, a Billion Seconds Ago Was 1988?
Around August 5 2019, a text meme began circulating on social media comparing a “million” to a “billion” by pointing out that a million seconds prior was the month before (specifically, July 24) and a billion seconds prior was
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Gallery Worker Mistake an Art Installation for Trash?
An odd story from February 2014 involving a $14,000 art installation and an unwitting maintenance worker that first gained attention online through the use of Tumblr saw new life in August 2019 after being shared widely on Facebook. Italian media firs
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Manhattanites Start a Petition to Change Part of 5th Avenue to ‘Barack Obama Avenue’?
An August 10 2019 tweet by @donaldmackenz30 asserted that New Yorkers (or, more specifically, Manhattanites) dislike United States President Donald Trump so much that they created a petition proposing that the stretch of 5th Avenue between 56th and 5
Truth or Fiction?→ Are the ‘Epstein Gurney Photos’ Fake?
Conspiracy theories circulated broadly and relentlessly after the August 10 2019 death of high-profile convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in federal custody, including claims that widely published “gurney photos&#
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Doc from ‘Fraggle Rock’ Also Doc from ‘Boondock Saints’?
In August 2019 Facebook page The Secret Nerd Base shared a “today years old” meme claiming that “Doc” from the childrens’ show Fraggle Rock was played by the same actor portraying “Doc” in the bloody vengean