The head of Oklahoma’s state Department of Education drew local and national criticism after a July 6 2023 meeting for a seemingly evasive answer to a question about the infamous 1921 attack on Tulsa’s “Black Wall Street” —
Publication: racism
The Dispatch→ How About Zero Tolerance for Crime?
(Photo via Getty Images)It’s not hopeless or naïve. It’s the government’s job.Continue reading How About Zero Tolerance for Crime? »
Truth or Fiction?→ Mass Shootings, Violence in California Highlight Issue of Disinformation in Immigrant Communities
Two mass shootings in California in the first weeks of 2023, both committed by immigrants in their sixties, have highlighted the issue of disinformation and propaganda targeting American immigrant communities, and how the prods and pulleys of stochasti
The Dispatch→ The Race to Racism
Demonstrators march through downtown Memphis protesting the death of Tyre Nichols on January 28, 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)If you start with the conclusion you can talk yourself into anything.The post The Race to Ra
Truth or Fiction?→ Michigan Republican Leaves State Senate Regurgitating ‘Great Replacement’ Smears
A normally sedate occasion gave outgoing Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey the opportunity to instead peddle highly weaponized conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns. “I can see things that are about to happen or are going to
Truth or Fiction?→ Charles Schulz on Peanuts’ Franklin: ‘Print It Just the Way I Draw It or I Quit’
On December 9 2021, an Imgur account shared a meme with the claim that the creator of the popular Peanuts cartoon series, Charles Schulz, threatened to quit his work over demands that he “eliminate” Franklin, the only Black character in th
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Italian Football Club Juventus Post a Photo with a Racist Anti-Asian Gesture?
The Italian football club Juventus spent August 5 2021 apologizing after posting — and then quickly deleting — a photograph featuring an anti-Asian racist taunt. The club’s womens’ team tweeted the photo showing defender Cecili
Snopes→ Did LeBron James Condemn Columbus Cop Who Killed Ma’Khia Bryant?
"I'm so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police," he tweeted.
Snopes→ Did Ohio Police Say ‘Blue Lives Matter’ After Killing Ma’Khia Bryant?
We analyzed videos frame by frame to discern what exactly happened after a Columbus cop fatally shot the 16-year-old.
Snopes→ Ex-Minneapolis Cop Derek Chauvin Found Guilty In George Floyd’s Killing
The 12-person jury reached the verdict after about 10 hours of deliberations over two days.
Snopes→ Was Adam Toledo a Member of Latin Kings Gang?
"[Adam] was a good kid without a criminal record," his family's attorney said.
Snopes→ Was George Floyd’s Girlfriend Daunte Wright’s Teacher?
"(I'm) crushed," said Courteney Ross, the former partner of Floyd, after a suburban Minneapolis cop fatally shot Wright.
Snopes→ Are These Rumors About Daunte Wright’s Criminal Record True?
Some Americans routinely draw attention to the criminal histories of Black men who die in police custody.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Harvard University Branch of the Ku Klux Klan’ in 1924
On March 28 2021, the Facebook page “Bread and Roses 1912-2012” shared the following post, purportedly showing a Harvard University branch of the Ku Klux Klan in 1924: A status update/caption asserted: Members of the Harvard University bra
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?→ 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?→ 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
Snopes→ Did Oregon Officials Say ‘Showing Work’ in Math Class Is White Supremacism?
We reached out to the Oregon Department of Education about a newsletter it sent to math teachers statewide.
Truth or Fiction?→ Twisted Tea Circle K Fight Video Spreads Virally
On December 24 2020, “Twisted Tea” became a popular trending term in the wake of footage showing an altercation at an Ohio Circle-K. Footage of the incident, which involved racial slurs and a can of Twisted Tea, was shared to r/PublicFrea
Truth or Fiction?→ Two Killed in Kenosha During Racial Violence Inflamed in Facebook Groups
As racial violence escalated and echoed throughout the United States during the summer of 2020 and “civil defense” groups formed on Facebook and appeared at demonstrations throughout the country, a gunman shot and killed two people during
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Black Lives Matter Members Attack a Man While Protesting a Statue of Louis IX?
A demonstration calling for the removal of a historical monument in in St. Louis in June 2020 was targeted by both far-right online users and channels both before it took place and prior to an altercation that was subsequently used to smear both the o
Truth or Fiction?→ Is There a Painting of J. Marion Sims’ Experiments on Black Women at the Alabama State Capitol?
Amid the removal and re-evaluation of statues commemorating historical figures in June 2020, a Facebook post that spread widely in June 2020 conflated a statue of a gynecologist who experimented on enslaved Black women with a painting depicting him al
Poynter→ Watch out for scams and hoaxes hidden in Black Lives Matter content
It seems that opportunistic scammers have moved from one tragic crisis to another. COVID-19 attracted hoaxes and exploited a confused public, and now the murder of George Floyd and the worldwide protests are doing the same, keeping fact-checkers busy.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Long Island News Outlet Call George Floyd Graffiti ‘Anti-Government’?
A television station in Long Island, New York used some of George Floyd’s last words to attract social media users to a short story about “anti-government graffiti.” News 12 Long Island’s Twitter post on June 7 2020 did not men
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘If You as a White Person Would Be Happy to Receive the Same Treatment That Our Black Citizens Do in This Society, Please Stand!’
A May 15 2020 Facebook post by user Joya Foster Follette (captioned simply “A Repost”) circulated virally after the killing of George Floyd, alongside the following image of text describing white indifference to racism: The text in the i
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Amy Cooper Make Campaign Donations to Obama, Buttigieg, and John Kerry?
Amid the fallout of Amy Cooper’s firing for her racist harassment of Christian Cooper in May 2020, some social media users began trying to parse her political leanings as an evidence-free opinion piece in a British publication added fuel to the
Truth or Fiction?→ Social Media Users Reveal White Woman Calling Police on Black Man Filming Her
A white woman caught on video threatening to use a man’s ethnicity against him by calling New York City police to report “an African-American man threatening my life” has offered a public apology after her identity was swiftly expose
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Volkswagen Pull an Ad Because it Included a Racist Slur?
Auto makers Volkswagen scuttled an online ad in May 2020 campaign after social media users detected a prejudiced subtext and outright racist text within the short video. A tweet by journalist Felix Edeha criticizing the video was highlighted (or ̶
Truth or Fiction?→ Online Trolls Seize on Anti-Semitic NYC Attacks for Anti-Black Disinformation Effort
In the wake of a series of anti-Semitic attacks in New York City during Hanukkah 2019, online troll sites and fake social media accounts moved to foment both disinformation and tension by pitting Jewish and Black communities against one another. As CN
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
Snopes→ Black Man Who Led Neo-Nazi Group Dies amid Bid to Destroy It
A black activist who took control of one of the nation's largest neo-Nazi groups — and vowed to dismantle it — has died amid a legal fight over who would lead the group.
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?→ Is Donald Trump Deleting Anti-Immigrant Tweets?
As several mass shootings within just days of one another left the United States reeling, the ideologies of the shooters began to come under scrutiny for possible ties to sites that specialize in radicalizing disaffected young men into violent white
Truth or Fiction?→ Disney, Ariel, and the ‘White Mermaids’ Dispute
In early July 2019, Haile Bailey’s casting as main character Ariel in a live-action reboot of Disney’s animated film The Little Mermaid caused controversy on social media, sparking a meme about another person of color having appeared in
Snopes→ Mystery of Racist Photo in Governor’s Yearbook Left Unsolved
A months-long investigation failed to determine whether Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is in the racist yearbook picture that nearly destroyed his career.
Snopes→ Philadelphia Ex-Poet Laureate Faces Uproar for Skinhead Past
His white nationalist past was revealed in a poem posted to Twitter by another local poet.
Snopes→ Soccer Players Launch Social Media Boycott Over Racial Abuse
"I don't want any future players to go through what I've been through in my career."
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Black WWI Veterans in Uniform Lynched During the Red Summer of 1919?
In February 2019, the following image appeared (archived here), with the description “victorious black soldiers returning to the U.S. from World War I are lynched while still in uniform.” An attached image showed a black man being dragge
Snopes→ ACLU: Black Man Detained While Moving into Own Home
He was also allegedly blocked by the police chief from filing a racial bias complaint with the department.
Snopes→ Alabama Newspaper Calls for Resurgence of KKK
The editorial says Democrats and “Democrats in the Republican Party” are plotting to raise taxes in Alabama, so the Klan should raid the “gated communities” where they live.