On September 4 2020, a Facebook user asserted the platform had banned “700 pages” which were “dedicated to expos[ing] pedophilia”: White text against a blue background included the #SaveOurChildren hashtag: FB banned over 70
Publication: #QAnon
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘FB Banned over 700 Pages Dedicated to Expose Pedophilia. That Should Scare the Absolute S*** Out of Everyone.’
On September 4 2020, a Facebook user asserted the platform had banned “700 pages” which were “dedicated to expos[ing] pedophilia”: White text against a blue background included the #SaveOurChildren hashtag: FB banned over 70
Truth or Fiction?→ Attempted Florida Pizza Shop Abduction: ‘Hold Tight to Your Babies. 😭😭 They Are Coming for Them’
On September 11 2020, a Facebook user shared the following screen recording of an apparent attempted child abduction, captioned “Hold tight to your babies. They are coming for them”: That had been captured from the Instagram acc
Truth or Fiction?→ Is ‘Antifa’ Setting Fires in Oregon?
On September 10 2020, wildfires raged across western states — as did social media rumors that anti-fascist protesters (or “antifa”) started fires in Oregon (and elsewhere) in a coordinated mass attack. Examples Claims often came fro
Truth or Fiction?→ Are People Trying to Make the Legal Age of Consent 4 Years Old?
A viral September 3 2020 Facebook post claiming that “there are people trying to make the age of consent four years old” racked up a six-figure share count (archived here) in one week: It read: We can’t buy alcohol or ciga
Truth or Fiction?→ Conspiracy Forums Amplify Russian Troll Site’s ‘Laundry List’ of Arrested Politicians
A lengthy “copypasta” disinformation post with content dating back to at least 2015 was recirculated online in conspiracy theory forums and Facebook in August and September 2020 — amplified by a Russian website. NBC News reporter Ben
Truth or Fiction?→ Victoria’s Secret Bra ‘Tracking Devices’
In late June 2020, a Facebook user shared a video that purportedly showed Victoria’s Secret bras’ tracking devices: In a status update, an account named “Jimm Walker” wrote: THIS IS UNREAL SO Summer 2020 Facebook Posts Abou
Truth or Fiction?→ Is ‘Maskne’ a Sign of a Lung Infection?
As far-right disinformation purveyors continued flailing for relevancy in August 2020, one graphic regurgitated the conspiracy theory that blemishes caused by accumulations of facial moisture under face masks (worn in order to protect others from pote
Poynter→ Platforms scramble to contend with QAnon. Are they too late?
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and accountability journalism, from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network & the American Press Institute’s Accountability Project. Sign up here The Q factor For people who thought QAnon exis
Truth or Fiction?→ Do 800,000 Children Go Missing Each Year in the United States?
As child trafficking rumors combined with COVID-19 disinformation went viral in August 2020, concurrent rumors appeared that 800,000 children go missing every year in the United States — or that 2,000 are disappeared each day: Vi
Truth or Fiction?→ How COVID-19 Triggered a #SaveTheChildren Child Trafficking Panic
In the summer of 2020, a massive amount of rumors about child trafficking appeared under the hashtag #savethechildren — and temporary hashtag filtering by Facebook in response was cited as evidence of “media suppression” of a massive
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Oprah Condone Child Abuse and Say ‘If It Feels Good’ that the Child ‘Won’t Even Know’ Abuse Happened?
Child trafficking and abuse conspiracy theories circulated in July and August 2020 thanks to ongoing disinformation campaigns, such as the now-infamous — and entirely debunked every step of the way — QAnon conspiracy theory; among those w
Truth or Fiction?→ “Google ‘322 COVID’”
On June 14 2020, posts asking readers to do a web search for the phrase “322 COVID” began circulating (particularly in QAnon circles), with an implication that the act would reveal that the novel coronavirus was a “scamdemic” a
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘I Wonder Why the Cameraman Didn’t Need Protective Clothing?’ Facebook Post
On March 19 2020, the following meme (“I wonder why the cameraman didn’t need protective clothing”) was shared to Facebook: A still photograph included the wording about the cameraman lacking any personal protective equipme
Truth or Fiction?→ Trump ‘Break My Stride’ Tweets
On January 18 2020, Twitter users shared the following video that purportedly showed a screenshot of United States President Donald Trump’s recent tweets — which taken together, formed the lyrics to “Break My Stride,” a 1983 pop s
Truth or Fiction?→ This Is Not Angela Merkel With Adolf Hitler
On September 26 2019, a since-suspended Twitter account (@4truthbombs) shared an image purporting to show a very young Angela Merkel with a previous, infamous chancellor — Adolf Hitler: The disinformation attempt appeared not long after Merkel spo
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
Snopes→ Was Sen. Chuck Schumer a Client of ‘Hollywood Madam’ Heidi Fleiss?
8chan and #QAnon trolls worked diligently to push this smear campaign into the mainstream.
Snopes→ Did a Planned Congressional Delegation to Afghanistan Include 93 Family Members?
Conspiracy theorists provided no evidence for claims that Congressional Democrats and their relatives were part of a shadowy plot to remove the president and vice president from office.
The ‘Amy Schumer Is Actually Christine Blasey Ford’ Conspiracy Theory
The days following a September 27th, 2018 hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, in which Palo Alto University professor and Stanford research psychologist Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh violently assaulted her during a party more than three decades before, swirled with increasingly bizarre stories about a grand conspiracy. […]
The post The ‘Amy Schumer Is Actually Christine Blasey Ford’ Conspiracy Theory appeared first on What’s True?.
Snopes→ The Roots of ‘Pedophile Ring’ Conspiracy Theories
These types of stories aren't new, but they don't seem to be going away.
Snopes→ Does This Photograph Show John McCain with Osama bin Laden?
A doctored photograph purportedly showing John McCain posing with terrorist Osama Bin Laden was widely circulated in the wake of the Arizona senator's death in August 2018.
Snopes→ Was a ‘My Little Pony’ Animator Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography Part of ‘#PedoGate’?
An animator for the children's cartoon has been sentenced to prison for possessing child pornography, but the case is not part of a "#PedoGate" conspiracy.
Snopes→ Billboards Promoting 4Chan Conspiracy Theory ‘QAnon’ Pop Up Across America
Billboards next to Georgia and Oklahoma highways reference a farcical and ill-defined "Deep State" conspiracy theory — but who’s paying for them?
Snopes→ Did Canada’s Prime Minister Say Canadians Don’t Need American Farmers Because They Have Grocery Stores?
Hyperpartisan social media pages and bots used yet another fake quote in order to attempt to drum up criticism against Canada's leader.
Snopes→ Is a Hillary Clinton ‘Snuff Film’ Circulating on the Dark Web?
Conspiracy theory web sites reported in April 2018 that Clinton can be seen mutilating a child during a Satanic ritual in an online video code-named "Frazzledrip."
Snopes→ Was a Russian Nuclear Executive Killed in a Plane Crash to Cover Up Clinton Corruption?
Conspiracy theorists falsely linked a deadly Moscow plane crash to Uranium One, a debunked Hillary Clinton "scandal."