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
Publication: satire
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Can We Brainstorm Ways to Make This Sound Less Racist’ Michael Bloomberg Subreddit Post
Amid ongoing controversy involving Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg and his attitude toward New York City’s stop-and-frisk policies, blogger and reporter Zaid Jilani tweeted a screenshot from Reddit’s r/PresidentBloomberg — in whi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Students In Ghana Have NOT Successfully Created Vaccine For Coronavirus; Côte d’Ivoire Patient NOT Cured
Did students in Ghana successfully create a vaccine that cured a patient who had the deadly coronavirus? No, that's not true: The story is a hoax, and the site making the claim is related to a global network of fake news sites that has since b
Lead Stories→ Fake News: 23 NOT Killed At Virginia Gun-Rights Protest, Dozens NOT Injured
Were 23 people killed and dozens injured at a Virginia pro-gun rally? No, that's not true: The protest on Monday was peaceful, according to media reports. The website that posted the story is known for creating satirical content and describes
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Mall Santa Was NOT Arrested For Making Kids Touch His Genitals
Was a mall Santa Claus arrested for making his touch his genitals, which were allegedly coated in sugar and painted like a candy cane? No, that's not true: The story was fabricated by a Canadian entertainment website that publishes fictional s
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Florida Swimmer Was NOT Partially Emasculated After Taunting Baby Shark With His Penis
Did a Florida swimmer become partially emasculated after taunting a baby shark with his penis? No, that's not true: The story was fabricated by a Canadian entertainment website that publishes fictional stories about bizarre crimes, weird sexua
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Lil Boosie Did NOT Attack George Zimmerman Outside A Miami Walmart
Did Lil Boosie attack George Zimmerman outside a Walmart in Miami, Florida? No, that's not true: Even though the rumor has gone viral in recent days, it was based on a 2014 satirical story making the same claims. The rapper - now known as Boos
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ship Has NOT Reappeared 90 Years After Going Missing In Bermuda Triangle
Did a ship reappear 90 years after going missing in the Bermuda Triangle? No, that's not true: The story was fabricated by a Canadian entertainment website that publishes fictional stories about bizarre crimes, weird sexual acts, and other mad
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Kaepernick Did NOT Lobby To Remove National Anthem From Football
Did Colin Kaepernick lobby to remove the American national anthem from being played before professional football games? No, that's not true: The NFL quarterback, who is currently a free agent, made no such effort. The article is a work of sati
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Jeffrey Epstein Did NOT Have Plastic Surgery And Is NOT Alive And Well In Cuba
Did Jeffrey Epstein have plastic surgery and is alive and well in Cuba? No, that's not true: The story was fabricated by a Canadian entertainment website that publishes fictional stories about bizarre crimes, weird sexual acts, and other made-
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Did NOT File Abuse Of Power Charges Against Nancy Pelosi And Chuck Schumer
Did President Trump file abuse of power charges against Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer? No, that's not true: Trump has not issued any such charges against the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. The story is made up and originated on a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Star Trek Fan Did NOT Claim Wife Died During Teleportation Experiment; Was NOT Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murder
Did a Star Trek fan who had claimed his wife died during a teleportation experiment get sentenced to life in prison for murder? No, that's not true: The story was fabricated by a Canadian entertainment website that publishes fictional stories
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Don Imus Did NOT Leave $2 Million To Trump’s Re-Election Campaign In His Will
Did radio shock jock Don Imus leave $2 million to President Trump's re-election campaign? No, that's not true: The story is made up and is labeled "celebrity fan fiction" on a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters into
Lead Stories→ Fake News: ‘Bionic Man’ Lee Majors NOT Dead At 83; $6 Million NOT Left To Trump 2020
Has the actor who played bionic man Steve Austin died and left $6 million to the Trump reelection campaign? No, that's not true: The former "Six Million Dollar Man" has not died and donated the amount that was used to "rebuild him" with bionic
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Whoopi Goldberg Did NOT Call Melania’s Decorations: ‘Fairly Racist’
Did Whoopi Goldberg call First Lady Melania Trump's White House Christmas decorations "fairly racist"? No, that's not true: The co-host of the morning talk show, "The View," did not make such a statement. The claim was first published by a lib
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Michael Bloomberg Supporters Invent Their Own ‘Dance’?
On December 12, 2019, Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg’s campaign got viral attention online — though probably not in a way they anticipated, thanks to comedians Nick Ciarelli and Brad Evans. “Look out #TeamPete becaus
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Rally Crowd Size In Chicago Did NOT Show Dems Are Turning To Trump
Did the Trump rally crowd size in Chicago show Democrats are turning to Trump? No, that's not true: The claim that the crowd size at President Donald Trump's rally in Chicago suggested Dems were leaning toward Trump was satire, published by a
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
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Mississippi Man Hack His Way Into Helping ‘Food Stamp’ Recipients?
A persistent meme that resurfaced on October 23 2019 about a modern-day Robin Hood is in reality a prank posted by someone out of “social media fun.” The graphic shows a photograph of a man besides a Fox News logo, accompanied by a short d
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Man’s Co-Workers Inadvertently Pose with a ‘Sleeping’ Corpse?
On September 20 2019, a Facebook page shared the following screenshot of a purported headline: “Man suffers heart attack, dies at work, coworkers gather for group selfie thinking he’d fallen asleep”: In an appended status update,
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Nintendo ‘Facing Backlash’ for Mario’s Signature Hat?
In September 2019, a screenshot of an article titled “Nintendo facing backlash for Mario’s signature hat resembling a MAGA hat. Should they change it?” circulated in Facebook groups amid complaints about overly sensitive readers and view
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Democratic Lawmaker Introduce a Bill to ‘Euthanize Seniors’?
Known satire site the Last Line of Defense, or LLOD, continued pushing its content in September 2019, as they opened another affiliate site publishing the same kind of posts. Daily World Update, billing itself as “satire for flat earthers, Trum
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Woman on Facebook Mistake Drill Bits Discarded at a Gas Station for Bullets?
In March 2018, the Facebook page “Historical Pictures” shared the following meme (archived here), purportedly a screenshot of a Facebook post in which a woman named Emily Noel mistakes discarded drill bits for bullets: Underneath a phot
Truth or Fiction?→ Have Arrest Warrants Been Issued for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama?
Despite fears of “deepfake” videos and other high-tech ways disinformation could potentially proliferate in the very near future, the stories that still get the most traction are often decidedly low effort. Take, for example, the case of a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pornhub Does NOT open first SIPR website
Did Pornhub open a SIPR (Secret Internet Protocol Router Network) so that U.S. military personnel can access pornography in war zones? No, that's not true: The claim was made in a satirical article published by a humor website targeted at mili
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar DID NOT Praise the Destruction of Notre Dame
Did U.S. Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar praise the destruction of the Cathedral of Notre Dame? No, that's not true: It is a satirical story produced by a well-known hoax and satire publisher. The quotes from these members of congress are f
Lead Stories→ Malinformation, Misinformation, Disinformation: Lead Stories NOT Using The Term F*ke N*ws Anymore
Update: Yes, of course this was an April Fools joke :-) For years we here at Lead Stories have put the term "F*ke N*ws" in every headline but it is time to put a stop to the practice. For a long time academic experts like Claire Wardle have ar
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Catholic Church Did NOT Introduce Burka For Altar Servers
Did the Catholic Church announce that it was introducing burkas for altar servers? No, it is a satirical report published by a California website that specializes in social commentary through satire. The claim that the church is planning to ad
Snopes→ Are Navy SEALs No Longer Allowed to Wear ‘Blackface’?
Wearing blackface to imitate a black person is not the same as darkening your face for a covert military mission.
Truth or Fiction?→ Are ‘Ankle Scarves’ the New Hot Fashion Trend?
In December 2018, a number of viral news sites began sharing posts about ankle scarves, the purported “hot new trend” in winter footwear. Country Living‘s post admitted it “didn’t know what to say” about ankle scarve
Hoax-Slayer→ FAKE-NEWS: ‘Whale Found in Utah Field’
Circulating report describes the mysterious discovery of a dead whale in a Utah dairy farmer's field. The post FAKE-NEWS: ‘Whale Found in Utah Field’ appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Snopes→ Did Elon Musk Offer to Buy and Delete Facebook?
Might be the most expensive thing anyone ever bought for the purpose of destroying it.
Hoax-Slayer→ FAKE-NEWS: Circulating Story Falsely Claims Pro-Choice Activist Has Had 27 Abortions
According to a report that is being shared via social media, a 34-year-old pro-choice activist in California has officially broken a world record after receiving her 27th abortion. The post FAKE-NEWS: Circulating Story Falsely Claims Pro-Choice Activis
Hoax-Slayer→ Fake News Report Claims Loggers Have Cut Down World’s Oldest Tree
Circulating 'news' report claims that illegal loggers have mistakenly cut down the world's oldest tree in the Amazon Rainforest. The post Fake News Report Claims Loggers Have Cut Down World’s Oldest Tree appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Hoax-Slayer→ Henry Winkler is NOT Dead and Did NOT Leave Half of His Estate to MAGA
According to a message circulating via social media, American actor and director Henry Winkler has died and has left half of his estate to the Trump 2020 re-election campaign. The post Henry Winkler is NOT Dead and Did NOT Leave Half of His Estate t
Hoax-Slayer→ No, the Pope Didn’t Say That His Religion was ‘All A Load Of Bollocks’
According to a post that is currently making its way around the Interwebs, Pope Francis has shocked his followers during his visit to Ireland by declaring that the Catholic faith is 'all a load of bollocks'. The post No, the Pope Didn’t Say Tha
Hoax-Slayer→ FAKE-NEWS: Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga ‘Switch off Headlamps’ Quote
According to a circulating report, the South African Government's Deputy Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga has advised drivers that switching your car's headlamps off when driving at night can save fuel. The post FAKE-NEWS: Sindisiwe Ly
Snopes→ Did Melania Trump Wear an ‘Exterminate’ T-Shirt to a Holocaust Memorial?
A satirical web site left some readers unsure about a fake article that followed a real controversy over the First Lady's fashion choices.
Hoax-Slayer→ No, Story Land is Not Closing – The Claim is a Hoax
In early June 2018, rumours began circulating via social media that claimed that much-loved Glen, New Hampshire theme park Story Land was closing down in the fall. The post No, Story Land is Not Closing – The Claim is a Hoax appeared first on
Truth or Fiction?→ California Bill Requires Bibles to Be Registered as Assault Weapons-Fiction!
Christians in California Required to Register Bibles as Assault Weapons-Fiction! Summary of eRumor: The California Legislature has advanced a bill requiring Christians to register bibles as assault weapons. The Truth: The Babylon Bee, a website that id