Among memories considered part of the “Mandela effect” — a term for a shared false memory that stems from a collective, completely false understanding that Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980s — is a mass recollection of a sinc
Search Results (7895) for: years
Truth or Fiction?→ Aboriginal Flag on the Right, Australia Burning on the Left
On January 2 2019, Facebook user Benita Tahuri shared the following two images and a post — on the left, the Australian Aboriginal flag, and on the right, a photograph of the “sun and skyscape … as a consequence of the fires”:
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump-Owned Property In Agrabah NOT Burned To The Ground By Terrorists
Was Trump-owned property in Agrabah burned to the ground by terrorists? No, that's not true: The president does not own property there, as Agrabah exists only in the minds of Disney fans as the fictional home of Aladdin. It's a fictional kingd
PolitiFact→ Understanding infrastructure: The cost of repairing our roads, bridges and dams
Infrastructure looked like it might be a big priority under President Donald Trump. A signature promise of his 2016 campaign was to spend $550 billion over 10 years — double what was proposed by his opponent, Hillary Clinton — to upgrade th
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Obama Did NOT Call UN Security Meeting With Or Without US Officials
Did former President Barack Obama call a meeting of the UN Security council without inviting U.S. officials? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into s
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Democrats Did NOT Call For Flags To Be Flown At Half-Mast To Grieve Death Of Soleimani
Did Democrats call for flags to be flown at half-mast to grieve the death of Soleimani? No, that's not true: the story was put out by The Babylon Bee, a well-known and often quite funny satire website. So far, the story has received about half
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Nancy Pelosi Did NOT Say Trump Must Apologize To Iran ‘Or Else’
Did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say President Trump must apologize to Iran "Or Else"? No, that's not true. The satirical story was published by a liberal website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made-up storie
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Graffiti In This Photo Was NOT Written To Say ‘Thank You Trump’ After Soleimani Assassination
Did the graffiti in this photo respond to the Jan. 3, 2020, assassination of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani by saying 'Thank you Trump'? No, that's not true: This is an old photo that was pulled from a video posted on May 20, 2018. T
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Clarence Thomas Did NOT Say SCOTUS Is Ready To ‘Crush The Coup Against President Trump’
Did Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Say SCOTUS is ready to 'crush the coup against President Trump'? No, that's not true: This is satire, as no such words were said by Thomas, the most senior associate judge on the Supreme Cour
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Iranian Ballistic Missiles Did NOT Hit The Largest US Military Base In Iraq
Did Iranian ballistic missiles hit the largest U.S. military base in Iraq? No, that's not true: there was no strike on the U.S. and Iraqi airbase recently, and the images show the aftermath of explosions in different nations in past years. The
Truth or Fiction?→ Disinformation Inflames Tensions After United States Kills Iranian Commander
Late in the evening of January 2 2020, the United States announced that it had targeted and killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq in a major and dramatic escalation: Iran confirmed the death of one of its most active military fi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NOT Caught On Tape: Pelosi NOT Exposed Offering Bribes For Votes Against Trump
Was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi caught on tape offering bribes for impeachment votes against Trump? No, that's not true: This is a work of satire from a website that trolls conservative. It is not true. It has been stolen from that website and
FactCheck.org→ Concert Photo Used in Bogus Report of Trump Rally
Quick Take A viral story falsely claims that President Donald Trump held a rally with “massive crowds” in Chicago, proving “Dems are turning to Trump.” There was no such rally. The story, which deceptively features a photo from
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Barr Did NOT File Charges, Did NOT Indict Obama
Did U.S. Attorney General William Barr file charges and indict Obama? No, that's not true: This false story is designed to make a mockery of people who share outrageous headlines without having read the article. The claim originated from an ar
Truth or Fiction?→ Best Buy ‘Y2K’ Sticker
If you were using social media on December 31 2019, chances are a Best Buy “Y2K warning” sticker crossed one of your feeds — it looked something like this: Although some versions were digital renderings, others like the one above showed
Lead Stories→ Fake News: CA Gov. Newsom Did NOT Pardon 1342 Prisoners So ICE Couldn’t Deport Them
Did California Gov. Gavin Newsom pardon 1,342 prisoners so they couldn't be deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents? No, that's not true: the article comes from a satirical news site, Newsom did not pardon that many people and a
Snopes→ 3 Big Ways The US Will Change Over the Next Decade
The U.S. will undergo some significant demographic shifts over the next 10 years.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘I Did Not Take This Photo and I Don’t Know Who Did’ Australian Community Firefighters Image
In the midst of late December 2019 and early January 2020 fires raging across the Australian continent, the following screenshot showing exhausted, soot-blackened firefighters circulated on Facebook: The photograph, which was apparently captured fr
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Did NOT File Abuse Of Power Charges Against Nancy Pelosi And Chuck Schumer
Did President Trump file abuse of power charges against Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer? No, that's not true: Trump has not issued any such charges against the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. The story is made up and originated on a
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Blue Eyes Are Haram’ Disinformation
On January 1 2020, disinformation purveyors all across the internet suddenly pivoted in unison to pushing the same disinformation that has muddied English-speaking social media since at least 2015, down to the same claims, the same recycled stories, a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Did NOT Play Golf During U.S. Embassy Siege In Baghdad
Did President Trump play golf during the U.S. Embassy siege in Baghdad? No, that's not true: While Trump did arrive at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on New Year's Eve, he only spent under an hour there. Media r
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pelosi Does NOT Want To Empty Social Security To Pay The National Debt
Did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi propose to take all the money out of Social Security to pay the national debt? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Star Trek Fan Did NOT Claim Wife Died During Teleportation Experiment; Was NOT Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murder
Did a Star Trek fan who had claimed his wife died during a teleportation experiment get sentenced to life in prison for murder? No, that's not true: The story was fabricated by a Canadian entertainment website that publishes fictional stories
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Virginia Governor Does NOT Plan To Use Roadblocks And U.N. Troops To Seize Guns
Is the Virginia governor planning to use roadblocks and U.N. troops to seize guns? No, that's not true: Gov. Ralph Northam has not requested United Nations assistance to confiscate guns, and he has not suggested using roadblocks for weapons se
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Kansas Officer Did NOT Find Vulgar Message On His McDonald’s Coffee Cup
Did a Kansas police officer find a vulgar message on his McDonald's coffee cup? No, it's not true: The officer completely made up the story, and he is now out of the job he held for just two months. The story gained traction on social media an
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Republicans Did NOT Block Pay Raise For House Members
Did Republicans block a pay raise for U.S. House members? No, that's not true: actually, the cost-of-living pay raise, which was already included for consideration in the upcoming federal spending package, was halted by Democrats. Democrats fe
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Paul Rudd the Same Age as Wilford Brimley in ‘Cocoon’ as of December 2019?
On December 30 2019, the Twitter account @BrimleyLine tweeted that actor Paul Rudd was, as of that date, 18,530 days old — exactly as old as actor Wilford Brimley when he starred in the film Cocoon: Born April 6, 1969, actor Paul Rudd ('Cluel
Snopes→ China Convicts 3 Researchers Involved in Gene-Edited Babies
A Chinese scientist who set off an ethical debate with claims that he had made the world's first genetically edited babies was sentenced to three years in prison because of his research.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Fact-Check Does NOT Confirm That Nancy Pelosi Did Move Billions From Social Security Insurance To Cover Impeachment Costs
Did a fact-check confirm that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi actually did move $2.4 billion from Social Security Insurance to cover impeachment costs? No, that's not true: the hoax stems from a fake fact-checking and satire website, and real fake-
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Virginia Governor Has NOT Ordered Plans to Cut Electric, Phones, Internet for Gun Confiscations
Has the Virginia governor ordered plans to cut off electricity, telephones, and Internet communications ahead of statewide gun confiscation during the new year? No, that's not true: Gov. Ralph Northam has not issued any such order, and the fal
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Don Imus Did NOT Leave $2 Million To Trump’s Re-Election Campaign In His Will
Did radio shock jock Don Imus leave $2 million to President Trump's re-election campaign? No, that's not true: The story is made up and is labeled "celebrity fan fiction" on a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters into
Snopes→ We’re on a Stayed-cation
The latest in the legal battle that has threatened Snopes for more than two years.
Snopes→ Newseum Hailed Free Press, But Got Beaten by Free Museums
The museum’s focus evolved over the years, showcasing not just journalism and historic events, but all manner of free speech and civil rights issues.
PolitiFact→ Top 10 fact-checks of 2019
In 2019, we fact-checked many statements about the impeachment of President Donald Trump and claims by and about the Democrats running for president. Two of our most clicked-on fact-checks of the year were related to impeachment – one about Joe B
PolitiFact→ How big is America’s household debt burden today? Overall, not so bad
It may come as a surprise to Americans laboring under mountains of student debt, but the overall household debt burden in America is actually more modest today than it’s been in many years. In fact, experts say, household debt loads seem to be at
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Hillary Clinton did NOT say Democratic voters are ‘stupid’ and ‘easy to manipulate’
Did Hillary Clinton say Democratic voters are stupid and easy to manipulate? No, that's not true: the claim, which originally went viral in 2015, has resurfaced and implies Clinton said those words in an interview with Dick Morris for his book
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Hillary Did NOT Say ‘If Trump Is Removed, I Deserve To Be Given The Presidency’
Did the 2016 Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton say that she deserved to given the presidency if Trump was removed from office? No, that's not true: the article comes from a liberal satire website, and Clinton has neither publicl
Snopes→ Reenactment of George Washington’s Crossing of Delaware Completed
The event had to be scrapped because of bad weather the previous two years.
FactCheck.org→ Social Posts Distort Facts on Trump Charities
Quick Take Posts on social media falsely claim that the Trump family is “disallowed from operating ANY charity” in New York because they “stole from a kids cancer charity.” That inaccurately describes the outcome of a court case
Lead Stories→ Fake News: The Entire European Union Did NOT Vote To Ban All Single Use Plastics By 2021
Did the entire European Union vote to ban all single-use plastics by 2021? No, that's not true: this article is misleading, taking out of context the very BBC story to which it links. The EU's Parliament did pass the Single-Use Plastics Direct