Pieper Lewis, 17, pleaded guilty last year to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury in the June 2020 killing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks of Des Moines.
Publication: sex trafficking
Snopes→ Wisconsin Court: Sex Trafficking Can Be Defense for Homicide
A woman accused of killing a man can argue at trial that she was justified because he was sexually trafficking her, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court ruled.
Snopes→ Target Shopper Says ‘Traffickers’ Left Sunglasses On Her Car Door Handle
"So many people have asked how I knew the sunglasses were a sign of potential trafficking," the Target shopper posted on Facebook.
Truth or Fiction?→ Why is OnlyFans Banning Content?
On August 20 2021, an Imgur user shared screenshots of a Twitter thread about the news that OnlyFans was banning sexually explicit content: A lot of people are getting the OnlyFans story wrong, and the reality of it is a lot more damaging and concer
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?→ ‘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?→ 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?→ ‘How is Finding 39 Missing Children in a Double Wide Trailer in Georgia NOT the Biggest News Story in America?’
An August 28 2020 Facebook post claiming authorities in Georgia found 39 missing children in a double wide trailer in Georgia went massively viral, apparently by pondering why it was not the biggest story in the United States: That post racked up
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?→ 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?→ Wayfair Child Trafficking Conspiracy Theory
Online store Wayfair received viral internet attention after a July 9 2020 Reddit r/conspiracy thread, which posited that bizarrely-priced, boring utility cabinets on the site were not just overpriced furniture or some kind of error, but instead evide
Truth or Fiction?→ Are School Bus Stops Now More Dangerous Because of an All-Time High in Human Trafficking?
A back-to-school themed Facebook warning shared on September 5 2019 (archived here) declared that all school-age children must avoid all school bus stops because of an increased threat of human trafficking: Against a pastel background, black text d
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Ontario, California Confirm Kidnappers are Drugging and Abducting Children?
On April 26 2019, a Facebook user shared a screenshot (archived here) of another post, which provided an alarming account of complex abduction attempts purportedly occurring in Ontario, California. The original post was shared by an account with the n
Truth or Fiction?→ Is There a Snapchat Sex Trafficking Ring in Lawrence, Massachusetts?
On April 24 2019, a Facebook user shared the following status (archived here), claiming that a Snapchat sex trafficking ring was operating in Lawrence, Massachusetts: So there’s a sex trafficking ring going on in Lawrence Mass. If you get a random p
Truth or Fiction?→ Uber Sex Trafficking Warning?
On February 19 2019, a woman shared a harrowing account via Facebook which reported that a phony Uber driver in Tampa had nearly successfully abducted her for the purposes of sex trafficking. In her post, Emmy Hurley described the purported brush with
Snopes→ Was Robert De Niro Involved in a Child Sex Trafficking Ring?
The Hollywood actor's profane Tony Awards speech led to the recirculation of rumors that he was involved in a "prostitution ring that used children."
Snopes→ Did Snopes.com Ignore a Huge Child Trafficking Bust in Arizona?
Disreputable web sites conflated a homeless camp in Arizona with a carefully orchestrated multi-agency sting on the other side of the country.
Snopes→ Was a Child’s Skull Found at an Alleged Sex-Trafficking Bunker Area in Tucson?
Authorities have determined a skull found roughly 20 miles from an abandoned homeless camp belonged to an adult.
Snopes→ Shelby Township Meijer ‘Human Trafficking’ Warning
One of many human trafficking warnings spread on Facebook in August 2017 involved a purported kidnapping attempt at a Shelby Township, Michigan Meijer store.
Snopes→ Narrow Brush with Human Traffickers at a Southern California IKEA?
A familiar urban legend about retail environments and human trafficking popped up again in a viral Facebook post about a Southern California IKEA store.
Snopes→ Are Carjackers Using Discarded Shirts as Bait to Lure Victims?
News reports conflated a genuine incident of human trafficking with a completely unrelated claim that traffickers used shirts on windshields as bait.