On June 10 2021, an image purportedly showing white bell peppers, part of a tweet, and a response comparing them to teeth was In the image, the first user’s handle is cropped out, and they asked if anyone had ever seen white bell peppers. In re
Publication: reddit
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Average Jeans Colors Per State’ Map
On June 8 2021, an Imgur account shared a map chart meme titled “Average Jeans Color per State,” captioned “beware of internet facts,” a message we strongly endorse: Underneath the map (apparently shared to Tumblr), comments f
Truth or Fiction?→ Foreign Influence Agents Goaded Trump Forums After U.S. Elections, Researchers Say
Foreign agents — particularly those working from or on behalf of Russia — were active on Donald Trump-themed forums in the weeks and months leading up to the January 6 2021 coup attempt at the United States Capitol, a new report says. Accor
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Fireflies Photographed in Trees with Long Time Exposure’
A Facebook post purportedly showing “fireflies photographed in trees with long time exposure” was shared on May 28 2021 to the Facebook group “Weird, Fantastic, Beautiful and Odd,” but soon spread outside its confines: In that
Truth or Fiction?→ Solo Cups’ ‘Measuring Lines’
On May 31 2021, a long-circulating rumor about Solo cups’ “measuring lines” re-emerged on social media: How old were you when you found out these lines are actually measurements? pic.twitter.com/CLybjek6y6 — Eric Alper (@That
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘White Pride Skittles,’ Explained
On June 3 2021, @NoContextBrits tweeted a photograph of “white pride Skittles,” in what was truly an on-brand tweet: I don’t think that’s the kind of pride they mean… pic.twitter.com/iYAWcAOsAK — No Context Brits (@NoConte
Truth or Fiction?→ Gas Shortage Hummer Fire
Amid gas shortage rumors on May 13 2021, a post appearing to show the aftermath of a whole series of bad decisions (“Idiot in Hummer filled 5 gas cans expecting shortages. Put them in his car and lit up a cigarette. Hummer destroyed. Swipe to see
Truth or Fiction?→ What is an ‘Apology Dinner’?
On April 29 2021, “Apology Dinner” became a Twitter trending topic — sufficiently popular to warrant a Twitter blurb explaining the phrase: Many people are confused about the concept of an apology dinner after a woman shared in a vir
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Pockets in Dresses Were Phased Out So Women Could Prove They Were Not Witches’
On April 19 2021, a Facebook user shared a screenshot of a tweet claiming that pockets had been “phased out” of women’s dresses due to accusations of witchcraft, and so that women could prove that they were not hiding spells, herbs, o
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Monastery of Sakia, Library Found in Tibet Containing 84,000 Secret Manuscripts’
A February 6 2021 Facebook post purportedly detailed the discovery of a hidden library at a monastery in Tibet which contained thousands of “secret manuscripts”: The Post As originally written, the post read: ¡Increíble! Biblioteca encont
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Y’all, Check Your Attics’ Facebook Warning
In April 2021, a March 8 2019 Facebook post about a man caught secretly living in a woman’s attic went viral — purportedly told from the point of view of the unfortunate woman’s son. The Post and its Variations Originally, the text of
Snopes→ Did Anti-Poaching Ranger Take a Selfie With the Gorillas He is Protecting?
The picture has been around since 2019 and has gone viral multiple times since its original publication.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This Superman Poster From the 1950s Is Pretty Awesome’
On April 6 2020, Imgur user u/Crabsforeveryone shared a “pretty awesome” poster of Superman which was purportedly released in the 1950s: That post was image-only, with no links indicating whether the poster was accurately represented. Text
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘A Click Farm in Asia Where Low Paid Workers Are Used to Inflate Video Views and Trick Advertisers’
On April 1 2021, the following post to Reddit’s r/interestingasfuck hit r/all, purportedly depicting a low-paid “click farm” employee on the job — sitting in front of dozens of iPhones and smartphones, presumably engaged in clic
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
Snopes→ Is Pic of Antelope With Spiderweb Between Its Horns Real?
A spider's home is where the heart is.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Robinhood Announce it Is ‘Upgrading its Systems’?
On February 24 2021, not long after buyers using financial app Robinhood rattled money pundits everywhere, a tweet appeared to signify that something new was afoot: Tomorrow we’ll be doing an upgrade to our systems. Buying in some stocks might be l
Truth or Fiction?→ Clay Pot Candle Heaters: Do They Really Work?
As Texans struggled with widespread power outages and harsh winter weather, numerous Facebook posts advised using terracotta or clay pot “space heaters,” which would purportedly enable residents freezing in southern states to heat rooms wi
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Anti-Racist is Code for Anti-White’ Billboards in Harrison, Arkansas
In early February 2021, a purported photograph of two billboards in Harrison, Arkansas circulated on Facebook and Reddit — the first of the two claiming that “anti-racist” is a “code word for anti-white”: Is th
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Doctor Erase $650,000 in Medical Debt for 200 People?
A retiring doctor’s act of generosity earned him national media attention and created an online buzz — while also inadvertently underlining gaps in reporting from some of the news organizations telling his story. Dr. Omar Atiq’s deci
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Here’s a Postage Stamp to Help You Out Financially’
A tenant advocacy group’s gesture toward members in Bellingham, Washington was distributed online in late November 2020 but misconstrued as a disingenuous bit of “kindness” by an unscrupulous landlord. Photographs of the envelope, wh
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘My Wife Has Cancer’ Reddit Comment Spreads Virally, Prompts Discussion of American Healthcare System
A November 30 2020 post to Reddit’s r/awfuleverything spread virally across platforms, prompting discussions all over social media about u/binkybrain’s original comment and the cost of cancer care in the United States: Poor guy
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Twitter Suspend Bobby Piton, an ‘Election Whistleblower,’ to Prevent People ‘Understanding His Testimony’?
On November 30 2020, the name “Bobby Piton” became a trending topic on social media following a “hearing” at an Arizona Hyatt hotel about Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Piton was not mentioned by
Truth or Fiction?→ Oregon Health Nurse on ‘Administrative Leave’ After Tiktok About Not Wearing Masks or Social Distancing
In late November 2020, stories appeared about a viral TikTok video by account @Loveiskind05 leading to a nurse at Oregon’s Salem Health being placed on administrative leave: Nurse put on leave in Oregon after TikTok video mocking coro
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘More People Have Died of Suicide This Year Than Corona’
On November 24 2020, a post on Reddit-clone TheDonald.win asserted that in 2020, “more people died of suicide this year than corona,” embedding the following tweet: Part one. pic.twitter.com/q5sNVq21GE — Dr. Ben Tapper (@DrBenTapp
Truth or Fiction?→ Giant Food ‘Super Spread’ Ad
On November 22 2020, a Reddit user shared the following image to r/facepalm, which purported to show a Giant Food “super spread” advertisement: No way this went unnoticed from facepalm The post, which was an image
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Percy Long Prong’ Calling Card: Racy Relic, or Out of Context Hoax?
An October 15 2020 post to Reddit’s r/myfavoritemurder, titled “Found under floorboards[,] Percy Long Prong’s business card,” introduced a battered but risque calling card for a male sex worker purportedly catering to widows, s
Truth or Fiction?→ Nutella PR and Accidentally Racist Halloween ‘Ghosts’
Around October 29 2020, a purported Nutella Puerto Rico (@NutellaPR) Halloween post — an apparent screengrab from Facebook or Instagram featuring Ku Klux Klan-like ghosts — began circulating on Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook: Some posts ab
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Someone on the Walmart Social Media Team Has Had Enough of COVIDiots’
On October 29 2020, a Reddit user created a thread titled “Someone on the Walmart social media team has had enough of COVIDiots” in the subreddit r/MurderedByWords: Someone on the Walmart social media team has had enough of COVI
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘If You Ever Wonder What Food Is Like on a U.S. Navy Ship, Here It Is, the USS Nimitz (Cvn 68)’
On October 3 2020, Facebook user Kevin Selfaison shared the following image set, which purportedly showed rations aboard the Navy ship USS Nimitz (archived here): Alongside a gallery of 25 images, Selfaison wrote: If you ever wonder what food is li
Truth or Fiction?→ Does ‘Qabalista’ by Selki Girl Trigger ‘Out-of-Body Experiences’?
In late June and early July 2020, a rumor on TikTok’s #witchtok hashtag held that the album Qabalista by Selki Girl “triggered astral projection” or other strange experiences; a video with hundreds of thousands of engagements involve
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This Fool Actually Tattooed Will Smith on His Face’
On May 15 2020, Facebook user Ed Lawson shared the following image, which purportedly depicted a man who had had Will Smith’s face tattooed over his own face: The post was extremely popular, but not every commenter was convinced that t
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Justice Will Not Be Served’ Ben Franklin Quote
After the May 25 2020 officer-involved killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, many social media users shared a quote attributed to Ben Franklin: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are”:
Truth or Fiction?→ AskReddit ‘People Who Are 40+ and Happy’ Advice Thread Comment Becomes Viral Facebook Post
On May 11 2020, Facebook user Brandon Green shared a screenshot of a comment on an AskReddit thread titled “People who are 40+ and happy with their life, what is your advice to people in their 20s?” Green’s post included only a scree
Truth or Fiction?→ Was ‘Proud Boy’ Rob Cantrell Photographed at a Right-Wing Protest in Michigan?
The photograph that came to symbolize the hypocrisy present in an anti-government protest in Michigan on April 30 2020 became the center of an unfounded allegation concerning its origins. The image, showing an unidentified man yelling at a group of po
Truth or Fiction?→ CNN ‘Global Death Toll Approaches Three Million People’ Chyron Error
On April 27 2020, a screen capture purportedly of CNN showing anchor Wolf Blitzer with a chyron reading “GLOBAL DEATH TOLL APPROACHES THREE MILLION PEOPLE” circulated on social media, often marked with question marks, circles, and an arrow
Truth or Fiction?→ Andrew Cuomo’s Pierced Nipples, Explained
On March 31 2020, a bored-in-quarantine internet turned its attention to a state governor getting national attention, and decided a photograph showed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “pierced nipples.” A post to Reddit’s r/TIHI (“than
Truth or Fiction?→ Corona Beer Didn’t Offer $10 Million to Change the Name ‘Coronavirus’ to ‘Literally Anything Else’ or ‘BudLightVirus’
On March 5 2020, a highly-upvoted r/funny and r/all post displayed the following headline: “Corona beer offers $10 million to change the name Coronavirus to “literally anything else” and an extra $15 million to change it to BudLightv
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This Is So Funny, Keep it Posted’ Image of Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters with a Trump Sign
On February 20 2020, a photograph purportedly showing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-California) smiling in front of a “Trump 2020” sign made the rounds on Facebook: Visible text at the top read: Th
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘He’s 18’: Twitter Trending Topics Amplifies Quaden Bayles Conspiracy Theory
Not long after Quaden Bayles became the virally popular star of an anti-bullying campaign, Twitter’s trending topics boosted a conspiracy theory under “He’s 18,” linked to tweets alleging the nine-year-old boy was a much olde