REVIEW In early July 2021, this meme claiming that “a vaccinated person might get sick from the virus they got vaccinated against because you’re not vaccinated” went viral on social media platforms. The meme received more than 65,000 interacti
Full Fact→ Facebook post about wolves makes howling errors
A Facebook post shows a photo of a wolf pack, with text alongside the photo explaining their formation. It claims that while on the move the pack organises a formation based on strength, with the “alpha” wolf pulling up the rear and control
Snopes→ What Pairs with Beetle? Startups Seek to Make Bugs Tasty
The European Union headquarters in Brussels is backing research into insect-based proteins as part of a broader sustainable food strategy.
Logically→ Thailand will administer different first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Thailand has decided to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine as a booster dose for Sinovac vaccine recipients.
Full Fact→ Your fuel tank won’t explode if you fill it during a heatwave
A post on Facebook, shared more than half a million times, warns that filling a fuel tank in hot weather could cause the tank to explode. “Due to [an] increase in temperature in the coming days, please don’t fill petrol to the maximum
Snopes→ RECALL: Johnson & Johnson Recalls 5 Sunscreen Products Over Benzene
Samples of some Neutrogena and Aveeno aerosol sunscreens were found to contain very low levels of benzene, a cancer-causing chemical.
Snopes→ Lightning Strike? Cause of George Floyd Mural Collapse Disputed
A mural honoring George Floyd crumbled in July 2021, but the exact cause is undetermined.
Full Fact→ Churchill’s photograph has not been removed from Google
A Facebook post shares a picture of Winston Churchill with the text: “As Google have removed him let's share him all over Facebook.” The post was published on 17 June 2020, but it is still being widely shared, with more than 36,000 shares s
Full Fact→ Viral social media picture doesn’t show world’s oldest living land animal
A picture of a tortoise, claimed to be the oldest known living land animal in the world, has been shared widely on social media. It’s true that the oldest known living land animal in the world is a tortoise named Jonathan, at almost 190 yea
Full Fact→ No evidence three presidents died because they refused vaccines for their nations
A meme shared on Facebook features actor John Krasinski in The Office with a whiteboard with edited text, which says: “3 countries refused the covid vaccine”, followed by: “Now all 3 of their presidents have died unexpectedly”.
Full Fact→ Image shows a retreating wolf, not a protector
A Facebook post shows a picture of three wolves entitled ‘a fighting unit’. Underneath, a caption says “A she-wolf hides under a male. She doesn’t seem frightened by his opponent, but that’s only because she trusts her par
Full Fact→ Adverse event reports after vaccines are not necessarily due to vaccines
A Facebook post claims that, in the USA there have been 387,087 reports of adverse events “of this evil shot in the arm”, presumably referring to the Covid-19 vaccine, up until 18 June 2021. As we have said before, the fact that an adverse
Full Fact→ Stonehenge wasn’t built in the 1950s
A video claiming that Stonehenge is a modern fake has been widely viewed on Facebook. (At least one other post has made similar claims.) Stonehenge isn’t fake, just to be clear. The video appears to come from TikTok. It begins with the caption: &
Snopes→ $10 Million Rewards Bolster White House Anti-Ransomware Bid
The rewards are being offered under the State Department's Rewards for Justice program.
Full Fact→ This isn’t a real image of the Northern Lights from space
An image claiming to show the Northern Lights from space has been going viral on Facebook. The post says the image comes “courtesy of NASA” which is true. But the image is not a real photo from space but a computer generation. As Snop
Full Fact→ Acidic foods don’t test positive for Covid
A number of Facebook posts have claimed that tomatoes, raspberries, blackberries and lemons produce positive lateral flow test results for Covid-19. This isn’t true. The photos in both posts show pictures of fruit accompanied by a completed later
Snopes→ Money in the Bank: Child Tax Credit Dollars Head to Parents
Previously, only people who earned enough money to owe income taxes could qualify for the credit.
Poynter→ Here are Twitter’s most prolific citizen fact-checkers
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it on your email every Thursday. Watchers on your wall Ryan, a college student without a journalism backgroun
Full Fact→ No record of Sir David Attenborough talking about red and black ants in a jar
A post on Facebook, shared thousands of times, attributes an analogy about red and black ants in a jar to broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. “If you collect 100 black ants and 100 fire ants and put them in a glass jar, nothing will happen.
Poynter→ Trump said there were ‘no guns whatsoever’ at the Capital riot. But some defendants were armed, documents show.
President Donald Trump claimed on Fox News that there were no guns in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. During an on-air conversation with Trump on July 11, “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo twice broached
Washington Post→ Rep. Clyburn’s false claim that ‘no Democrat’ has opposed voter ID laws
The House majority whip made this statement at the end of a confusing response on voter ID laws, suggesting that he actually is for laws he has decried as a new "poll tax."
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Meme Does NOT Correctly Describe Reasons For Vaccination Against COVID
Do people need to "remember to get vaccinated or a vaccinated person might get sick from the virus they got vaccinated against because you're not vaccinated"? No, that's not true. Mocking public health advice, this meme leaves out the pri
Snopes→ 911 Recordings Show Panic, Disbelief When Florida Condo Fell
"Oh my God! The whole building collapsed!” one caller said to a dispatcher at the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Eagles Do NOT Live To 70, Break Own Beaks, Pluck Selves Naked
Do middle-aged Bald Eagles go into isolation for 150 days, break their own beaks and pluck out all their feathers to regenerate themselves to live to the age of 70? No, that's not true: The oldest documented Bald Eagle was 38. Raptor expe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Of Peanut Butter Packaged ‘Loose’ Is NOT From Canada
Does this photo of bulk peanut butter packaged on plastic foam trays and covered with plastic wrap show how peanut butter is packaged and sold in Canada? No, that's not true: This photo shows bulk peanut butter for sale in an unnamed shop
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Of Cuban Crowd Is From Years Ago, NOT 2021 Cuban Protests Against Communism
Does a picture of thousands of people packing a wide Cuban street show 2021 protesters taking to the streets against Communism? No, that's not true: The picture is several years old and has been described in captions either as a parade of
Snopes→ CPSC Sues Amazon To Force Recall of Hazardous Products
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) made charges about "defective" products sold on Amazon.com that "pose a risk of serious injury or death."
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The First Slave Owner In America Was NOT A Black Man
Was the first slave owner in America a Black man? No, that's not true: Anthony Johnson, an Angolan who was an indentured servant in the Virginia colony starting in 1621, did gain the recognized right to own property, including slaves, aft
Snopes→ Is This 1961 Pro-Segregation Letter from LSU’s President Real?
The legacy of former Louisiana State University President Troy Middleton is clouded with accusations that his policies were pro-segregation.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: L.A. County And 7 States DO Have Same Number Of People And Different Congressional Representation — But That’s Normal
Do Los Angeles County and the combined population of seven Midwestern and Western states have roughly the same population, but different congressional representation? Yes, although the comparison is misleading: Every state (and therefore,
Snopes→ Here’s What’s Going on with That Viral, Twig-Camouflaged Moth
The insect looks like the tip of a twig.
Snopes→ Britney Spears Can Hire Own Lawyer in Conservatorship Case
A new attorney has been appointed to represent Britney Spears in her conservatorship after a hearing in which the singer tearfully spoke about the case's impact on her life.
Snopes→ Court Orders Shorter Sentence for ‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic
A federal appeals court has ruled that “Tiger King” Joe Exotic should get a shorter prison sentence for his role in a murder-for-hire plot and violating federal wildlife laws.
Snopes→ Are US Cities Using ‘Sunblock’ on Pavement?
Sometimes it's better not to take a headline literally.
FactCheck.org→ Barr Disputes U.S. Attorney’s Vote Fraud Claim
Former President Donald Trump says a former U.S. attorney in Pennsylvania was forbidden by then-Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate voter fraud in the presidential election. Barr says that’s false. A day after making the claim, Trump releas
FactCheck.org→ Baseless Conspiracy Theory Follows Deaths of Haitian President, Other National Leaders
SciCheck Digest Following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, social media posts baselessly suggest that he and other world leaders were killed or died because they opposed COVID-19 vaccination in their countries. All the leaders nam
Truth or Fiction?→ National Kool Aid Day 2021 and Mike Lindell’s ‘Trump Return’ Claim
On July 14 2021, a graphic appeared on Imgur claiming that MyPillow chief executive officer Mike Lindell says that former United States President Donald Trump will be “reinstated” as president despite resoundingly losing to Democratic Par
Snopes→ Comedian Tom Segura Posts Update After Surgery on Nerve
A photo posted by Segura led some fans to believe he had sustained another fall after previously seriously injuring himself playing basketball in 2020.
Snopes→ It’s True, the Phoenix Suns Have Never Won the NBA Finals
This season is their first chance at the championship since a 1993 loss to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.
Snopes→ Did Trump Plagiarize Praise for Jesse Watters’ Book from a Promo Blurb?
The president's statement contained a verbatim copy of a paragraph from the book's promotional description.