NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week
Snopes→ Animatronic T-Rex Bursts Into Flames
A life-sized animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience in Canon City, Colo., was set ablaze after an electrical issue.
Snopes→ U.S. Postal Service Unveils Mister Rogers Postage Stamp
The U.S. Postal Service has released a stamp featuring Fred Rogers, the gentle TV host who entertained and educated generations of preschoolers on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
Internet Archive→ Presidential News Conference : CSPAN : March 23, 2018 4:06pm-4:33pm EDT
At the White House, President Trump signs the federal spending bill that funds the government through September 30, 2018. Sponsor: White House.This item belongs to: movies/TV-CSPAN.This item has files of the following types: Closed Caption Text, Columb
Truth or Fiction?→ Joe Biden’s Son, Hunter Biden, Kicked Discharged from Navy Over Drug Test-Truth! & Outdated!
Joe Biden’s Son, Hunter Biden, Kicked Out of Navy for Failed Drug Test-Truth! & Outdated! Summary of eRumor: Former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was kicked out of the Navy for a failed drug test. The Truth: Hunter Biden
Snopes→ Will There Be a Sequel to ‘Napoleon Dynamite’?
Rumors that there would be a follow-up to the 2004 cult classic actually grew out of a fan-made poster and years-old rumors.
Snopes→ Did a Mobile Phone Make a Car Explode at a Gas Station?
An Ecuadorean news web site invented fake details to describe a real, fatal explosion at a gas station in Brazil.
FactCheck.org→ Smith’s Error-Filled Climate Op-Ed
In an op-ed for Fox News, Rep. Lamar Smith, the chairman of the House science committee, made a host of false and misleading claims about climate change and related issues: Smith took a quote by climate scientist Stephen Schneider out of context, clai
Snopes→ Did Florida Pass a Bill Legalizing Recreational Use of Marijuana?
A fake news item falsely led social media users to believe that Florida became one of the states in which recreational marijuana is now legal.
PolitiFact→ National Rifle Association – NRA says violent radicals are behind the March For Our Lives
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | NRA says violent radicals are behind the March For Our Lives As the National Rifle Association sees it, the March For Our Lives taking place in Washington and in cities and communities nationwide, is a ploy
Snopes→ Maryland School Shooting Victim Has Died
"All indications suggest the shooting was not a random act of violence," police said in a statement.
Snopes→ 2 Firefighters Dead, 2 Injured in Building Collapse
York officials said part of the four-story building fell on firefighters as they were looking for hot spots and investigating the cause of a fire at the Weaver Organ and Piano factory.
Snopes→ NYC Firefighter Dies Battling Blaze on Harlem Movie Set
Flames poured out the windows as firefighters swarmed the scene, dumping water on the blaze to get it under control.
Snopes→ 2 Killed, Dozen Hurt in French Supermarket Hostage-Taking
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said all information suggested it "seems to be a terrorist act."
PolitiFact→ Evan Jenkins – Does West Virginia lead the nation in overdose drug death rate? Yes
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Does West Virginia lead the nation in overdose drug death rate? Yes As he runs for a U.S. Senate seat, Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., is seeking targeted funding for states grappling with opioid addiction. Jenkins co-spo
Washington Post→ President Trump’s claim that drug dealers who kill ‘thousands’ just get 30 days in jail
The president ends up in Four-Pinocchio territory because of the way he frames his rhetoric.
Washington Post→ President Trump’s claim that drug dealers who kill ‘thousands’ just get 30 days in jail
“Some of these drug dealers will kill thousands of people during their lifetime — thousands of people — and destroy many more lives than that. But they will kill thousands of people during their lifetime, and they’ll get cau
Snopes→ Did the Obama Campaign Employ the Same Tactics as Cambridge Analytica?
Attempts at "whataboutism" with a scandal involving social media and psychographics fail to acknowledge that Cambridge Analytica obtained data by misleading people.
Snopes→ Will A Border Wall ‘Pay For Itself’ Because Immigrants Cost the Government Money?
An argument presented by the Center for Immigration Studies suggests a wall would save the United States money.
Snopes→ Did NASA Warn of an Impending Earthquake in India?
A viral hoax managed to trick some people.
Snopes→ Wounded Maryland Teen Still Fights for Life, Despite Facebook Message
A Maryland teen who was critically wounded in a school shooting was still fighting for her life despite a mistaken social media message suggesting she had died.
FactCheck.org→ Trump Takes Too Much Credit on ISIS
President Donald Trump said nearly all of the land once controlled by ISIS in Syria and Iraq has been retaken and “it all took place since our election.” But even the State Department’s senior envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition sai
FactCheck.org→ Durbin Wrong on ‘Trump Democrats’
Sen. Dick Durbin wrongly claimed that “30 percent of the people who voted for Donald Trump had voted for President Obama.” Two reports place the figure at about 9 percent. Durbin made his remarks on “Fox News Sunday” when host C
Snopes→ Was Joe’s Crab Shack Criticized for Displaying a Picture of a Man Being Hanged?
A 2016 incident at a Minneapolis location of the food chain has since been recirculated through social media.
ABC News→ AP FACT CHECK: Walker touts unemployment over other measures
AP FACT CHECK: Wisconsin Gov. Walker takes credit for record-low unemployment rate, ignores failure to meet employment goal
PolitiFact→ Meghan McCain – Comparing Facebook data use by Obama, Cambridge Analytica
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Comparing Facebook data use by Obama, Cambridge Analytica As news reports surfaced of Cambridge Analytica and the Donald Trump campaign, conservatives pointed to what seemed a double-standard. On ABC’s
Snopes→ Does Facebook’s Green ‘BFF’ Prove Your Account Is Secure?
A Facebook status update meme claims that a green "BFF" in typed comments is an indicator of account security; it isn't.
Truth or Fiction?→ Officials Warn About Poison Injected into Water Bottles-Reported as Fiction!
Officials Warn About Poison Injected into Water Bottles-Reported as Fiction! Summary of eRumor: Warnings that someone is injecting poising into water bottles circulated on social media in March 2018. The Truth: There have been scattered reports about p
ABC News→ AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s pledge to vets on private care lags
AP FACT CHECK: President Donald Trump is holding out the promise of better health care for veterans through imminent expansion of private-sector services outside the Veterans Affairs system, but his campaign priority remains deadlocked in Congress
FactCheck.org→ Oh, SNAP! Misleading Claims on Benefit Enrollment
Q: Did “two million people leave the food stamp rolls in Trump’s first year”? A: No. That’s the decline in average monthly enrollment in fiscal year 2017, including almost four months when Trump wasn’t president. FULL QUE
ABC News→ False stories claim NASA ‘confessed’ to spreading lithium
False stories claim NASA 'confessed' to spreading lithium
Washington Post→ Is it training, or is it torture?
Internet Archive→ The Daily Briefing With Dana Perino : FOXNEWSW : March 22, 2018 11:00am-12:00pm PDT
A look at the day's top news and headlines..This item belongs to: movies/TV-FOXNEWSW.This item has files of the following types: Closed Caption Text, Columbia Fingerprint, Columbia Fingerprint TV, Columbia Sparse Fingerprint TV, JSON, MP3, MPEG1, Metad
Climate Feedback→ Washington Post accurately covers permafrost study, albeit under a somewhat sensational headline
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This article in The Washington Post describes new research on greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost—specifically the balance of carbon dioxide vs. methane released from waterlogged permafrost soils. Sc
Snopes→ Boy Scouts Say Utah Teen with Down Syndrome Can Pursue Eagle Scout Rank
Logan Blythe's father sued the group after a local chapter allegedly told him it was asked to suspend his approval process.
FactCheck.org→ Congressional Race Scorecard
There have been eight congressional special elections since Donald Trump was inaugurated, and Republicans have won five of them. But the president spun that into a 5-0 record “up until last week” in a speech at a National Republican Congres
Internet Archive→ President Signs China Trade Memorandum : CSPAN3 : March 22, 2018 12:45pm-1:01pm EDT
[LIVE] President Trump signs a memorandum imposing tariffs on Chinese imports. Sponsor: White House.This item belongs to: movies/TV-CSPAN3.This item has files of the following types: Closed Caption Text, Columbia Fingerprint TV, Columbia Sparse Fingerp
Snopes→ Experts: Uber SUV’s Autonomous System Should Have Seen Woman
A fatality prompted Uber to suspend all road-testing of such autos in the Phoenix area, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
Snopes→ Did This Camel Lose Half Its Body?
Is half a camel better than none? We may never know now.
Snopes→ Troopers to Patrol at Florida School Where Massacre Happened
The move came after the shooting suspect's brother was arrested on campus, two students were caught carrying knives and another made online threats.