This is part of an ongoing series about how communities can fight back and protect themselves against weaponized disinformation. You can read Part I here. On January 6 2021, a mob of Donald Trump supporters, enraged by corrosive rhetoric and lies fr
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Before Capitol Rioters Beat an Officer to Death, BLM Protesters Formed a Human Barricade Around a Cop Separated From Other Police’
After a Capitol police officer was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher during the January 6 2021 insurrection, a photograph from 2020 Black Lives Matter protests circulated, which contrasted the death of one officer at the hands of insurrection
Snopes→ Did the White House Update a List of ‘Trump Administration Accomplishments’?
The list originated a few years ago.
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Alex Trebek Listed as Part of Trump’s ‘Garden of American Heroes’?
Two days before the end of his one-term presidency, Donald Trump’s administration released a wide-ranging list of public figures it ordered to be included as statues in its proposed “National Garden of American Heroes” — includ
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Viral Photo Of Doctors And Nurses In Italy Does NOT Show Them Holding A Sign Saying, ‘Jesus Stops This Virus’
Did a viral photo of doctors and nurses in Italy, who were treating COVID-19 patients, show them holding up a sign, which begins "Jesus Stops this Virus"? No, that's not true: The sign doctors and nurses are holding in the original photo,
Snopes→ Did Air Force One Change Call Signs Mid-Flight After Nixon’s Resignation?
The call sign "Air Force One" refers to any Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States.
Snopes→ Did Twitter Temporarily Suspend Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Account?
Greene has a history of making incendiary remarks that push conspiracy theories.
Snopes→ Woman Ruled Dead in 2017 Fights to Be Declared Alive
Frenchwoman Jeanne Pouchain has an unusual problem. She's officially dead. She has been trying for three years to prove that she is alive.
Snopes→ Can You Opt Out of Having WhatsApp ‘Use’ Your Photos and Private Posts?
A new controversy reignited an ancient meme.
Snopes→ Twitter Suspends US Congresswoman Over Election Fraud Claims
Twitter has temporarily suspended the account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia who has expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories online.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Raw Data Analytics’ Posted By The American Report Does NOT Prove China, Russia Hacked 2020 Election
Does an article posted by The American Report prove China and Russia hacked the 2020 Election and does it show IP addresses from China, Russia, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada and the Czech Republic hacking "PA, NV, MI, GA Battleground States"
Snopes→ Republican Boebert Sued After Blocking Critic on Twitter
A former state representative in Colorado has sued Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert after being blocked from the first-term federal lawmaker’s Twitter account.
Snopes→ Trump Baby Protest Blimp Enters Museum of London Collection
The Trump Baby Blimp will live on long after its namesake has left the White House.
Snopes→ Police Command Structure Crumbled Fast During Capitol Riot
As the rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, many of the police officers had to decide on their own how to fight them off. There was no direction. No plan. And no top leadership.
Snopes→ Will Tax Refunds Be Late in 2021?
The IRS will open filing season later than in 2020 due to changes in tax law resulting from COVID-19 relief legislation.
Snopes→ Did Ice Cream Test Positive for COVID-19?
Considering its cold temperature and fatty ingredients, one virologist said ice cream could harbor conditions for the virus to survive.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Amazon Banned Parler, But Allowed People to Buy This Shirt from Their Website.’
On January 16 2021, a claim about Amazon selling a “Kill All Republicans” shirt went viral as part of backlash over Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) decision to discontinue hosting controversial social media platform Parler. In a tweet, ri
Full Fact→ In 2021 you can reach us on WhatsApp
In September 2020 Full Fact launched a pilot WhatsApp service aiming to tackle misinformation on the platform. It’s particularly hard to combat misinformation on a platform like WhatsApp because the network is entirely private and peer-to-peer. I
Logically→ Several individuals from the Midwest were fired for supporting Trump.
People did not lose their jobs for supporting Trump but for storming the Capitol building in an effort to overturn the election on January 6.
Snopes→ Man Allegedly Hid 3 Months at Chicago Airport Due to Virus
A man who told police that the coronavirus pandemic left him afraid to fly has been arrested on charges that he hid in a secured area at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for three months.
Full Fact→ What you need to know about the claims 23 people died after getting the Covid-19 vaccine in Norway
We’ve been asked by our readers to investigate claims that 23 people died in Norway after getting the Covid-19 vaccination. According to the Norwegian Medicines Agency, as of 14 January there had been 23 deaths “associated with” getti
Snopes→ Inauguration Rehearsal Evacuated after Fire in Homeless Camp
The U.S. Capitol complex temporarily locked down during a rehearsal for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration after a fire in a homeless encampment roughly a mile away sent a plume of smoke into the air and caused security concerns in an already jit
AllSides→ Are Undocumented Immigrants Ineligible For the COVID-19 Vaccine?
https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-are-undocumented-immigrants-ineligible-covid-19-vaccine-1562061 Pre
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: John F. Kennedy Jr. Is NOT Working To Expose His Father’s Killers — President Kennedy’s Son Died In A 1999 Plane Crash
Is John F. Kennedy Jr. actively working to expose his father's killers, even if it means he has to bring down the whole government? No, that's not true: JFK Jr. has been dead since crashing his small plane into the Atlantic Ocean on July
Snopes→ Did MLK Jr. Say the Purpose of Education Is To Sort Fact From Fiction?
One of the chief aims of education, according to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., is to "save man from the morass of propaganda."
Snopes→ Dog and Goat Serving As Mayor Raise Money for a Playground
The oddball idea of pet mayor elections to raise money to rehabilitate the playground and to help get local kids civically involved came from a local town manager.
Logically→ 23 elderly people have died in Norway just days after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
While 23 people did die in Norway after taking the vaccine, any association between these deaths and vaccine remains unproven.
Snopes→ Anonymous $40 Million Gift Funding 50 Civil Rights Lawyers
With that whopping gift, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund launched a scholarship program to put 50 students through law schools around the country.
AFP Fact Check→ Beware false job ads – WHO does not recruit through third-party job portals
A post circulating on Facebook claims the World Health Organization (WHO) is recruiting via a job portal called the Recruitment Trust. But this is false: the UN agency has confirmed it only hires people through its official careers website.
Logically→ Donald Trump has declassified the Obamagate documents.
The White House has not declassified or released any files related to the alleged Obamagate scandal.
Snopes→ Did Ulysses S. Grant Predict This About the Next Civil War?
"Let us begin by guarding against every enemy threatening the perpetuity of free republican institutions," President Grant advised.
Logically→ 190 countries have booked two billion doses of Covaxin
India's first indigenous COVID vaccine 'Covaxin' developed by Bharat Biotech has not been pre-booked by 190 countries.
Logically→ Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Ted Wheeler after demonstrations in Portland.
Nancy Pelosi did not send a letter to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.
AFP Fact Check→ Thailand’s weather agency warns of old hoax about extreme weather circulating on social media
A message warning of “extreme weather change” that was purportedly issued by the Meteorological Department of Thailand has been shared in multiple posts on Facebook and Line. The claim is false; the Meteorological Department denied ever issuing the
Logically→ COVID-19 vaccines are made from aborted fetal cells.
None of the Covid -19 vaccines contain cells from an aborted fetuses
AFP Fact Check→ Daughter of prominent BJP politician did take India’s top civil service exam, records show
Facebook posts circulating in India claim that the daughter of Om Birla, the speaker of India’s lower house of Parliament, passed the top civil service exam without even taking the test. The claim is false; official exam records show that Anjali Bi
AFP Fact Check→ Doctored news graphic falsely claims Filipino official branded poor people a ‘burden’ in coronavirus vaccination drive
A photo repeatedly shared on Facebook purports to show a news graphic containing genuine remarks by a Philippine presidential spokesperson that poor people are a “burden” on the government's coronavirus vaccination efforts. The claim is false: the
AFP Fact Check→ This photo shows a Muslim shrine at a railway station in the north Indian city of Prayagraj, not Delhi
A photo of what appears to be an Islamic building on a railway station platform has been shared hundreds of times in multiple Facebook posts that claim it was taken in India’s capital Delhi. The claim is false: the photo actually shows a shrine at
AFP Fact Check→ Footage of movie props and flu shot clips used to falsely claim world leaders’ Covid-19 vaccines were ‘staged’
A video has been viewed thousands of times in Facebook, Twitter and YouTube posts that claim it shows a man explaining how retractable syringes are used to stage the Covid-19 vaccinations of world leaders. The claim is false: the footage of a retra
AFP Fact Check→ Hoax warning about ‘WhatsApp virus’ resurfaces online in Pakistan
Multiple social media posts shared in January 2021 claim that a malicious video entitled “Argentina” is circulating on WhatsApp and will hack your phone within 10 seconds. Most of these posts attribute the warning to Pakistan’s National Informa