Did hurricanes Katrina, Gustav, Issac, Harvey and Ida all make landfall on the same day of the calendar? No, that's not true: While they made landfall within a few calendar days of each other in different years, they did not all make land
Snopes→ Fallen Tech Star Elizabeth Holmes Prepares to Go on Trial
Once a jury is seated, the trial will begin in San Jose, California.
Snopes→ Black Men Executed in 1951 Rape Granted Posthumous Pardons
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons to seven Black men who were executed in 1951 for the rape of a white woman.
Snopes→ Texas Legislature Sends Sweeping GOP Voting Bill to Governor
The GOP-controlled Texas Legislature passed a broad overhaul of the state’s election laws, tightening already strict voting rules and dealing a bruising defeat to Democrats.
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook Hacked, Email Changed
An unknown and apparently large number of Facebook accounts appear to have been hacked in 2021 in a specific fashion — specifically, the account’s email address is changed (often to a Hotmail address), two-factor authentication (2FA) is ena
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Footage Of Helicopter Does NOT Show Suspended Corpse Of Hanged Person
Did the Taliban use a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter to hang a person and then fly over the city of Kandahar with their body suspended by a rope? No, that's not true: This blurry footage shows a helicopter flying with a living person suspended
Snopes→ Did Hillary Clinton Charter Flights for Afghan Women?
Thousands of people have been trying to leave Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
Snopes→ Biden Praises Airlift, Defends Departure from ‘Forever War’
Twenty-four hours after the departure of the last American C-17 cargo plane from Kabul, Biden vigorously defended his decision to end America's longest war and withdraw all U.S. troops ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline.
Snopes→ No, the Make-A-Wish Foundation Isn’t Denying Wishes to Unvaccinated Children
A copypasta meme spread misinformation about critically ill children.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence That Tim Tebow Released A Quote Mentioning A Biblical Prediction Of A Cashless Society And ‘Anti Christ’
Did former professional athlete Tim Tebow release a public message in August 2021 that mentions a biblical prediction of a cashless society and "Anti Christ"? No, there's no evidence to prove that, and plenty of evidence to show the post
Snopes→ Did US Leave Military Dogs Behind in Afghanistan?
These dogs largely belonged to Afghans, embassy employees, and independent defense contractors.
Snopes→ Mike Richards is Out As Producer of ‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel’
Mike Richards is out as executive producer of “Jeopardy!”, days after he exited as the quiz show’s newly appointed host because of past misogynistic and other comments.
Snopes→ Did Kamala Harris Refuse To Be Vaccinated with the ‘Trump Vaccine’?
Harris also allegedly discouraged others from being vaccinated against COVID-19 during the 2020 election campaign.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Of Kamala Harris and Jeffrey Epstein Is NOT Real — It’s Photoshopped
Did Kamala Harris once pose for red carpet photos with Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: On September 17, 2015, Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff were photographed together at a black-tie dinner for the opening of the Broad
Truth or Fiction?→ Taliban ‘Hanging from Blackhawk’ Video
On August 30 2021, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted a video that purportedly showed members of the Taliban hanging an interpreter from a Blackhawk helicopter in Afghanistan: This horrifying image encapsulates Joe Biden's Afghanistan catastrophe:
Logically→ Taliban hanged a person from a helicopter in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The Taliban did not hang the man; instead, he was suspended from a helicopter in Kandahar to raise the Islamist militants' flag above a building.
Snopes→ No, That Picture of Kamala Harris with Jeffrey Epstein Is Not Real
The fake photo was shared widely online in August 2021, and was even posted by a Republican congressional candidate in Texas.
Snopes→ Cougar That Was Kept As Illegal Pet Removed from NYC Home
The owner of the 11-month-old female cougar surrendered the animal.
Snopes→ Did Taliban Hang a Man From a Black Hawk Helicopter?
This person is hanging from a harness, not a neck.
Snopes→ Did US Leave More Than $80B Worth of Equipment to the Taliban?
The "Taliban's New Arsenal" does not include 22,000 Humvees or 33 Black Hawk helicopters.
Logically→ Germany has stopped administering COVID-19 vaccinations
Germany has not paused its COVID-19 vaccination drive and has not cancelled any licenses for the approved vaccines.
Logically→ COVID-19 vaccines should not be rolled out to 12 year olds in the U.K. as they haven’t been tested properly.
While mass inoculation of this age group has not yet been approved in the U.K., this is not due to safety concerns of COVID-19 vaccines.
Snopes→ Thousands Face Weeks Without Power in Ida’s Aftermath
Louisiana communities beginning the huge task of clearing debris and repairing the damage inflicted by Hurricane Ida are facing the depressing prospect of weeks without electricity in the stifling, late-summer heat.
Logically→ Indian government increased the time gap between two Covishield vaccine doses due to a shortage.
The government claims that the increased time between two doses of Covishield is based on scientific data, not due to a shortage.
Poynter→ Video clips disprove claim that Biden was sleeping in a meeting with Israel’s prime minister
In August 2020, back when President Joe Biden was still the Democratic presidential nominee, a clip circulated on social media that appeared to show him asleep and snoring during an interview. Only that didn’t happen. The video was edited to make it
Washington Post→ No, the Taliban did not seize $83 billion of U.S. weapons
Former president Donald Trump and right-leaning social media accounts keep wrongly claiming that the Taliban seized more than $80 billion in U.S. military equipment.
Truth or Fiction?→ McDonald’s and the Roman Road
In late August 2021, the following post about a McDonald’s restaurant incorporating an archaeological discovery into its floor appeared on the Reddit sub r/interestingasfuck and r/damnthatsinteresting: A Roman Road was discovered while
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Farmers Are NOT Being Told They Must Destroy Their Crops
Has the government sent letters to farmers telling them that they must destroy their crops and be paid one-and-a-half times the value of the crop or lose all government farm subsidies? No, that's not true: A collection of hoax TikTok vide
Snopes→ Thousands Rush to Flee Lake Tahoe Resort City As Fire Nears
Thousands of people rushed to leave South Lake Tahoe as the entire resort city came under evacuation orders and wildfire raced toward Lake Tahoe, a large freshwater lake straddling California and Nevada.
Snopes→ As Districts Insist on Vaccines, Some Teachers Push Back
Some of the biggest school systems in the U.S. are taking a hard line with teachers and staff members who are not yet vaccinated against COVID-19: Get a jab or lose your job.
Truth or Fiction?→ Carrie Prejean Encinitas School Board Video
On August 30 2021, video of a woman later identified as Carrie Prejean Boller spread virally on Twitter; the clip depicted Prejean Boller “speaking out” against masks at a school board meeting in the southern California city of Encinitas on
FactCheck.org→ Researcher Distorts Facts on COVID-19 Vaccine Approval, Liability
SciCheck Digest The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration, though an emergency use authorization also remains in place. Dr. Robert Malone misleadingly said Americans are being offered the shot only unde
Snopes→ No, Jim Cantore Was Not Caught ‘Faking It’ in Ida’s Winds by Man Doing Cartwheel
"This is why we don't trust the news," one video commenter posted.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Zello App CAN Work Without A Cellular Signal — But It CANNOT Work Without Some Sort Of Internet Connection
Does the Zello app, which allows users to talk via a push-to-talk (or "walkie-talkie") feature, work without a cellular signal? Not unless the device has an internet connection. According to a Zello sales representative, if there is no ce
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Mel Gibson Is NOT Directing A Film About The Rothschild Family And ‘Hitting The New World Order’
Is Mel Gibson directing a film about the Rothschild family and "hitting the new world order"? No, that's not true: Gibson was slated to act in, not direct, a movie titled "Rothchild," but the movie never went into production. Gibson's rep
Snopes→ Last Troops Exit Afghanistan, Ending America’s Longest War
The final pullout fulfilled President Joe Biden’s pledge to end what he called a “forever war” that began in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and rural Pennsylvania.
Snopes→ Astronaut Gets Special Ice Cream Delivery for 50th Birthday
A space station astronaut is celebrating her 50th birthday with the coolest present ever — a supply ship bearing ice cream and other treats.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘8 Googling Tips’ Twitter Thread
An August 28 2021 Twitter thread by Chris Hladczuk (@chrishlad) described “8 Googling tips you probably didn’t know” — and in addition to the thread’s popularity in tweet form, it also was virally popular on Facebook and i
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: President Biden DID Attend The Dignified Transfer Of Slain Service Members At Dover AFB
Did President Joe Biden not go to Dover Air Force Base (AFB) on August 29, 2021, to attend the dignified transfer of the remains of service members killed in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport in Afghanistan? No, that's not true: A spokes
Snopes→ Museum Chief is Only Candidate for Estonia’s Presidency
Estonia is gearing up for an unusual presidential election in parliament.