On February 10 2020, a story about people in Kansas being jailed over medical debt spread on Facebook and Reddit: "You wouldn’t think you’d go to jail over medical bills": County in rural Kansas is jailing people over
Search Results (702) for: schools
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the New Hampshire Democratic Debate
Summary Four days before the New Hampshire primary, seven Democratic presidential candidates debated. We found factual distortions on several issues: Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sen. Bernie Sanders “voted to give the gun manufacturers … a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Two Republican Senators Did NOT Say ‘Is This Stuff Real?’ About Impeachment Trial
Did two Republican senators who only watch Fox News really say, "Is this stuff real? I haven't heard any of this before"? No, that's not true: Joe Lockhart, the White House press secretary for President Clinton during his impeachment, shared t
Truth or Fiction?→ Did One of Trump’s College Professors Call Him ‘the Dumbest Goddamn Student I Ever Had’?
An often-circulated quote from a University of Pennsylvania faculty member attacking United States President Donald Trump was posthumously spread second-hand. The purported remark attributed to Wharton School of Business professor William T. Kelley
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Ruby Bridges is Only 65’ Meme
On January 17 2020, the Facebook page “The Other 98%” shared the following meme, which claimed that as of January 2020, Ruby Bridges (the iconic little girl who was the first black child at a previously all-white public school in Louisiana
Truth or Fiction?→ How a Banking Meme Ties Into a Debate Over Calendar Denominations
A long-running debate off and on social media somehow managed to loop a type of beer into a discussion around how to denote the historical timeline in January 2020: The meme, which has spread around Twitter and Facebook, shows a check made out to
Lead Stories→ Fake News: California 8th Graders NOT Taught Anal, Bondage, Sex Involving Blood in Sex-Ed Class
Are California 8th graders taught anal, bondage, and sex involving blood in mandatory sex education classes? No, that's not true: First, sex education classes in California public schools are not mandatory, because parents can opt their childr
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the December Democratic Debate
Summary We found several misleading and exaggerated claims in the last debate of 2019: Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg for holding a glitzy “closed-door” fundraiser at a California wine cave. A pool reporter was pe
Truth or Fiction?→ Canadian Conservative Leader’s Resignation Follows String of Public Falsehoods
The leader of Canada’s Conservative Party resigned his position on December 12 2019 after he was accused by party members of misusing their group’s money to pay for his children to attend private schools. According to Global News, senior C
FactCheck.org→ Another Dubious Trump Attack on ‘Fake News’
President Donald Trump accused CNN of manipulating video to make it appear that “massive crowds” protested his decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Trump called it “fake news as usual,” but we couldn’t
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Jeff Bezos Didn’t Donate $100M LOL, He Took $100M of Amazon Stock and ‘Donated’ it to His Own Charity’ Meme
On November 25 2019, Twitter user @TheyCallMeChew tweeted about the controversial donation by Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos of nearly $100 million to homelessness charities, claiming that the donation was not what it seemed: Jeff Bezos
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Private Prisons Suing States for Millions of Contract Quotas?
A long-popular October 2018 Facebook post continued spreading through late 2019, alleging that private prisons were suing states over unmet contract quotas promising a minimum number of profitable inmates. A status update read “SO WE JUST NOT GO
FactCheck.org→ Warren Misleads on Her Kids’ Schooling
Sen. Elizabeth Warren misleadingly told a group of school-choice activists that her children “went to public schools,” not private ones. Warren’s campaign later clarified that her daughter attended public school, while her son mostly attended
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Jeff Bezos’ $98 Million ‘Gift’ to Homeless the Equivalent of $45 to a Person Earning $50,000 Annually?
On November 23 2019 @EatTheRichPod shared the following tweet, referencing volumes of laudatory headlines about Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos donating $98 million to homeless people — asserting that Bezos’ generosity was equivalen
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Students Today Depend on Paper Too Much, Don’t Know How to Write on a Slate’ 1815 Quote
In November 2015, Facebook page “The Credible Hulk” shared the following screenshot purportedly showing a lament from an 1815 school principal’s publication suggesting the students of the day had grown too dependent on paper, and la
Truth or Fiction?→ Does an Ohio Law Allow Students to Give Wrong Answers Because of Religious Belief?
On November 14 2019, several news outlets reported that a new law in Ohio allowed students to “give wrong answers” due to their “religious belief.” A widely-shared Patheos blog post on that day began as follows: Anti-intellectu
Truth or Fiction?→ Canadian School Falsely Accused of Suspending Student Over ‘Rainbow Poppy’
A recent political candidate in Canada accused her teenage cousin’s school of suspending the girl over an item that may not even be available in their country. Cyara Bird said in a November 7 2019 Twitter post that the 17-year-old Stonewall Coll
Truth or Fiction?→ All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in Poland
On November 1 2019, the Facebook page “Witches Night” shared an image set and with it a post claiming that people in Poland — a Catholic majority country — do not celebrate Halloween, instead broadly directing that seasonal attenti
FactCheck.org→ Misleading Posts Target GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz
Quick Take Social media posts distort the facts around an 11-year-old, dismissed DUI charge against Rep. Matt Gaetz. They also leave the false impression that he “stole from dying people.” Full Story Posts about Rep. Matt Gaetz circula
Truth or Fiction?→ Conservative Versus Liberal, ‘Taken at a California Public High School This Year’ Meme
In October 2018, Facebook user Matt Gaelitz shared a slide titled “Conservative vs. Liberal” along with a status update: Taken at a California public high school this year. This is what indoctrination is all about. On June 4 2018, the same
Truth or Fiction?→ Did New York State Kick 26,000 Students out of School Over Vaccinations — Only to Still Have Chickenpox Cases?
On October 19 2019, a Facebook user shared a letter sent by a Rocky Point, New York school district concerning reported cases of chickenpox, along with a list of its symptoms and other information about the virus: Alongside the letter (dated October
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Columbus Set Out to Prove the Earth Was Round’
In October 2019, a number of memes about the legacy of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus circulated on Facebook around Columbus Day, among them a meme about the claim that he “proved” that Earth is round: In the above meme, the
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Joe Biden Does NOT Confess to Bribery
Did Joe Biden confess to bribery when he told how he warned Ukraine's leader the United States would withhold a $1 billion loan unless a prosecutor was replaced? No, that's not true: A video posted with the "bribery" claim is from the former v
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Meet The Black Family Who Did NOT Produce Cars For 100 Years Before Henry Ford
Did a Black American family produce cars 100 years before Henry Ford launched his automobile company? No, that's not true: While an escaped slave and his son owned a horse carriage manufacturing business before the invention of automobiles, th
FactCheck.org→ Meme Gets Israel Gun Laws Wrong
Quick Take An old meme has resurfaced, spreading misinformation about gun laws and school violence in Israel. Full Story A meme that spread misinformation following the school shooting that resulted in 17 deaths in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 has re-e
FactCheck.org→ O’Rourke Not Alone in Support of Mandatory Buyback
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has faced backlash from Republicans, and some Democrats, for his debate-night advocacy of a mandatory buyback program for so-called assault weapons. But Sen. Chuck Schumer went too far when he said,
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Elvis Presley Receive a Polio Vaccination on Live TV in 1956 and Raise Immunization Revels to 80 Percent?
On September 18 2019, a Reddit user shared the following post to r/interestingasfuck, along with the claim that Elvis Presley’s televised 1956 polio vaccination helped boost the popularity of the vaccine not long after its introduction:
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Illegal Immigrants Do NOT Get 43% Of All Food Stamps, 95% of Los Angeles Murder Warrants, 66% Of California Births, 60% Of HUD Housing
Do illegal immigrants get 43 percent of all food stamp benefits and are they suspects in 95 percent of all Los Angeles murders? Are 41 percent of them on welfare and are 66 percent of all births in California to undocumented mothers who get fr
Snopes→ New Parent Charged in Admissions Scam, Linked to $400K Bribe
The scandal has ensnared dozens of wealthy parents accused of paying bribes to rig their children's SAT and ACT scores or get them admitted as recruited athletes to elite schools across the nation, including Yale, Stanford and Georgetown universities.
Truth or Fiction?→ Are ‘School Shooting Hoodies’ With Faux Bullet Holes Real?
In September 2019 a Facebook user shared the following screenshots (archived here) of a since-deleted tweet, depicting three hoodies (Virginia Tech, Columbine, and Sandy Hook) and a comment — “Ok, this is a NEED”: A link to the orig
Truth or Fiction?→ Do These Photographs Accurately Contrast Birmingham in 1940 with Birmingham in 2017?
In September 2019, the following image circulated on Facebook and other social media platforms, purportedly contrasting Birmingham, England in 1940 with Birmingham, England in 2017: At the top was a black and white image of what appeared to be soldie
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the September Democratic Debate
Summary The false and exaggerated claims in the third Democratic debate included: Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro accused former Vice President Joe Biden of “forgetting what you said two minutes ago” on Biden’s hea
Truth or Fiction?→ Are School Bus Stops Now More Dangerous Because of an All-Time High in Human Trafficking?
A back-to-school themed Facebook warning shared on September 5 2019 (archived here) declared that all school-age children must avoid all school bus stops because of an increased threat of human trafficking: Against a pastel background, black text d
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Japanese Students Exempt from Taking Exams Until the Fourth Grade?
Some social media users and blogs looking to criticize the American educational system have seized on citing its Japanese counterpart as an aspirational example. But at least one widely-circulated example hinges on a lack of context. The claim has bee
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Al Gore Did NOT Say Hurricane is Result Of Trump’s Climate Change Denial
Did Al Gore blame President Donald Trump for hurricane Dorian at a converence in Geneva? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to fool Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up stories
Truth or Fiction?→ Nine Things a Woman Couldn’t Do in 1971
In August 2019 the Facebook page “Old Crone” shared the following post, listing nine everyday activities women were purportedly prohibited from doing up until the year 1971 (with some commentary about subsequent related liberties): Bene
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Dictator Joseph Stalin Once a Hip, Young Democratic Socialist?
A meme claiming that Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was once a hip, young atheist and a Democratic Socialist appeared on Facebook (archived here) in August 2019. Beneath a black-and-white photograph of an arguably handsome young man, text read: Josef
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Malcolm X’s Daughter Did NOT Say "My Dad Would Be Ashamed Obama Was Our President"
Did Rosanna Blake say 'My Dad Would Be Ashamed Obama Was Our President' and was she the daughter of Malcom X? No, that's not true: Malcom X had six daughters but none named Rosanna Blake. The story was published by a liberal satire website tha
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Rashida Tlaib NOT Overheard Saying "We Will Bring Jihhaad to America"
Was Rashida Tlaib overheard saying she would bring "Jihhaad" (not "jihad", important difference...) to America? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to fool Trump supporters and Republicans into s
FactCheck.org→ Williamson Misleads on Children’s Health, Vaccines
In a July 31 television interview, Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson inaccurately implied there might be a connection between vaccines and higher reported rates of childhood chronic diseases. Williamson is correct that reported rate