Quick Take A false story spread across social media wrongly claims that NBC News reported that Hillary Clinton “covered up” a “pedophile ring” at the Department of State. The report is from 2013 and did not say that. Full Stor
Search Results (6020) for: viral
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Dwight Eisenhower Say Someday ‘Someone Will Claim It Never Happened’ in 1945?
On June 9 2019, the Facebook page “No To Theocracy” shared the following meme (archived here), featuring a quote in which President Dwight Eisenhower appeared to have predicted Holocaust denial: Above a photograph skeletal human remains
FactCheck.org→ Trump Accuser Targeted With TV Clip
Quick Take A clip from an old episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is being used to discredit a woman who recently accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. The clip doesn’t prove that she is a “fraud,”
Truth or Fiction?→ Dr. Seuss ‘Foreign Children’ Comic
In June 2019, the following meme featuring a quote by a Fox News personality and a purported comic by Dr. Seuss on “foreign children” circulated on social media: At the top of the meme was a screenshot of Fox News’ Fox & Friends
Truth or Fiction?→ Dr. Seuss ‘Foreign Children’ Comic
In June 2019, the following meme featuring a quote by a Fox News personality and a purported comic by Dr. Seuss on “foreign children” circulated on social media: At the top of the meme was a screenshot of Fox News’ Fox & Friends
FactCheck.org→ McConnell’s Biggest Donor Isn’t Russian
Quick Take A meme on Facebook falsely claims that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s biggest campaign donor is a Russian oligarch. Full Story A meme is circulating online with this incorrect claim: “It turns out that the biggest don
FactCheck.org→ Posts Misidentify Woman in Trump Photo
Quick Take Social media posts misidentify a woman in an old photo with President Donald Trump. She is not E. Jean Carroll, the writer who recently accused Trump of sexual assault, but is another woman who previously accused Trump of misconduct. Full
Washington Post→ How to spot manipulated video, from The Post’s Fact Checker
The Internet is increasingly populated with viral fake videos — spread by politicians, advocacy groups and everyday users. We set out to develop a universal language to label manipulated video.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Keanu Reeves Did NOT Write ‘None Of Us Are Getting Out Of Here Alive’
Did Keanu Reeves write a quote about eating healthy and concluding that "none of us are getting out of here alive"? No, that's not true: The quote has been falsely attributed to the "John Wick" actor and other celebrities over the past several
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Cook and Janitor of a Bankrupt Assisted Living Home Stay to Care for Abandoned Residents?
On June 16 2019, the Facebook page “Weird Facts” shared the following meme (archived here), about a cook and a janitor who purportedly refused to abandon the residents of a bankrupted care home: Atop an image of two unidentified men, th
FactCheck.org→ The Churchill Quotation That Wasn’t
Quick Take There’s no support for the idea that Winston Churchill ever made a statement about Muslims that social media users continue to attribute to him. Full Story A remark about Muslims attributed to Winston Churchill continues to circula
FactCheck.org→ ‘Satirical’ Story Gets Serious Treatment Online
Quick Take A bogus story fueling theories that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be arrested has been shared over 100,000 times on Facebook, but it started out as satire. Full Story A completely fabricated story promoting the unfounded claim that
FactCheck.org→ Image Shows ’85 Live Aid Concert, Not Trump Rally
Quick Take A viral photo shows a massive crowd at an iconic 1985 concert in London, not at a rally for President Trump in Philadelphia, as a meme claims. Full Story A meme posted repeatedly on Facebook uses an image that has been edited to transfo
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Michael Jordan Did NOT Say ‘I Won’t Release Another Shoe Until Black People Unite’
Did Michael Jordan say he won't release another shoe until black people unite? No, that's not true: an old story from 2016 went viral again in 2019 (despite having been debunked in 2016 already) and despite the fact that Michael Jordan has rel
Truth or Fiction?→ Razor Blades on Slides: Urban Legend or Legitimate Risk?
A meme shared by the page “Explore Talent” (archived here) including several images alongside a warning about razor blades purportedly affixed to playground equipment such as slides has been circulating on social media for years: The te
FactCheck.org→ Nicole Kidman Did Not Call Trump ‘The Best President in U.S. History’
Quick Take A story being shared by thousands of Facebook users includes a “quote” about President Donald Trump that has been misattributed to the actress Nicole Kidman. Full Story The headline of a 2018 article circulating on Facebook
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Updated NASA Data Did NOT Show Global Warming Not Causing Any Polar Ice Retreat
Did NASA data show that global warming is not causing any polar ice retreat? No, that's not true: The conclusion that there is no polar ice retreat is a false result of "cherry picking" data, according to the scientists who are referenced in t
Snopes→ Did ‘SixthFormPoet’ Really Meet Wife at Graveside of Triple-Murderer?
A viral June 2019 Twitter story had plenty of twists and turns, as well as a happy ending. But was it "entirely true," as its author claimed?
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Photo Does NOT Show Caged Children in "Trump’s Pro Life Evangelical Christian America"
Does a photo show children in a cage in "Trump's pro life, evangelical christian America"? No, that's not true: the photo in the viral Facebook post was taken during the Obama administration in 2014. Note that this does not mean the practice
FactCheck.org→ Post Misleads on Congressional Salaries, Social Security
Q: Did members of Congress approve a salary increase for themselves and deny an increase in Social Security benefits? A: No. Congress is still contemplating whether to allow an automatic pay increase for its members, and it does not determine cost-
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Gyro Drop Amusement Park Ride Video Is NOT Real
Is the Gyro Drop amusement park ride, as shown in a viral video, real, with riders rapidly twirled, dangled and dropped? No, that's not true: There is a real Gyro Drop ride at a South Korean amusement park, but the viral video first posted on
FactCheck.org→ Mislabeled Video Politicizes Drug Problem
Quick Take A video spreading on Facebook has been mislabeled to make a political statement about Democratic lawmakers in California. However, the video, which seems to show people under the influence of drugs, was filmed in Philadelphia. Full Story A
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Gyro Drop’ Ride Video
On June 13 2019, @Complex tweeted the following footage, purportedly showing a ride called “Gyro Drop” and its “swing” feature: WHO WOULD INVENT A RIDE LIKE THIS??? pic.twitter.com/moRN6N4UbV — Complex (@Complex) June 13
FactCheck.org→ Fake Mark Twain ‘Quote’ Mocks Voting
Quick Take A quotation misattributed to Mark Twain is circulating online and suggests the famous writer disparaged voting. Actually, he celebrated it. Full Story Robert Hirst has been tracking Mark Twain quotes for 30 years, and he keeps a list of th
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Supreme Court Rule 5-4 Against Swearing in on the Qur’an?
On June 11 2019, a Facebook user shared the following text-based status update (archived here), claiming the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against the use of the Qur’an for swearing oaths: Right off the bat, the format of the post was a scourge to fa
FactCheck.org→ Falsehood Swirls About Biden, SEALs
Quick Take Viral posts on Facebook claim, falsely, that former Vice President Joe Biden “leaked the names of SEAL Team 6 family’s to Al Qaeda.” Biden publicly credited the SEALs with killing Osama Bin Laden, but did not disclose the
Truth or Fiction?→ Does an X-Ray Show Hundreds of Undigested Boba Pearls in a Young Chinese Patient?
In June 2019, a number of websites and news outlets reported that a young girl in China was treated for symptoms related to the discovery of “hundreds” of undigested boba pearls in her digestive tract via x-ray. Notably, headlines for the
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Jay-Z Did NOT Say ‘Satan is Our True Lord, Only Idiots Believe in Jesus’
Did rapper Jay-Z say 'Satan is Our True Lord, Only Idiots Believe in Jesus'? No, that's not true: the quote was made up in 2017 by a website that has since deleted the post, supported by a video that does not show the singer uttering those wor
FactCheck.org→ Meme Mangles Constitutional Rights
Quick Take A meme making the bogus claim that the U.S. Constitution confers rights only to citizens is circulating online. Actually, many of the rights granted in the Constitution apply to noncitizens, too. Full Story Many provisions in the U.S. Cons
Lead Stories→ Art: NOT A Real Video of Mark Zuckerberg Revealing The Truth About Facebook
Is a video of Mark Zuckerberg admitting he has total control of the stolen data of billions of people thanks to Spectre real? No, it is a deepfake made for an art project that seeks to tests Facebook's policies on false news when it comes to f
Snopes→ Here’s What the ‘Dobby’ Alien Video Most Likely Shows
Out of all the things a viral video might have captured, a real-life Dobby is probably the least likely.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Keanu Reeves Tweet ‘Be Kind to Animals or I’ll Kill You’?
In June 2019 (not long after the feature film John Wick 3 was released), a purported tweet attributed to Keanu Reeves began circulating on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and meme sites. Screenshots of what looked like a verified @KeanuReeves account twee
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Study Did NOT Conclude Bigger Than Average Penis Is a Disability Associated With Low Mental Capacity
Did researchers from the University of Sussex and the University of Kinshasa conclude that having a bigger than average penis is a disability associated with low mental capacity ? No, that's not true: there is no trace of such research on the
FactCheck.org→ Video of ‘We Love Trump’ Chant is From 2018
Quick Take A video clip of a July 2018 rally in support of President Donald Trump has gone viral with the false claim that it is from his June 2019 trip to London. The posts wrongly accuse the media of ignoring the year-old rally to make the president
Snopes→ Did a Father Abandon His Family During an Avalanche?
We'll say this much: This viral video certainly has a cinematic feel to it.
Snopes→ Are These ‘16 Easy Tests’ to Check Whether Food Is ‘Fake or Real’?
A viral video took off on Facebook in June 2019, but its claims about food safety were far from unadulterated.
Lead Stories→ Fake Video: NOT A Female Trump Supporter Getting Beaten For Wearing MAGA Hat
Does a video show a female Trump supporter being beaten up by several African American men for wearing a MAGA hat? No, that's not true: the video that went viral via a tweet is part of a longer video of a fight that has been online since at le
FactCheck.org→ Photo Shoehorns Misinformation Into Tariff Debate
Quick Take A manipulated photo circulating online falsely claims to show boxes of shoes for Ivanka Trump’s fashion line getting a special exemption from tariffs. Full Story Ivanka Trump announced in late July 2018 that she would shut down her n
FactCheck.org→ Meme Puts Words in Eric Trump’s Mouth
Quick Take A resurfaced meme claims, falsely, that Eric Trump said on Fox News that the “President should be able to choose Governors, Senators, and Congressmen.” The quotation appears to have originated on a Facebook page that calls its co
Lead Stories→ Old Video: NOT An Aerial View Of 2019 Anti-Trump Protests In London
Does a BBC video being shared on social media show an aerial view of anti-Trump protests in London during his 2019 state visit? No, that's not true: the video is actually from 2018 (but it does show protesters demonstrating against Trump's vis