The move gives the 44-year-old former San Antonio mayor an early start to what's shaping up as a crowded Democratic field without a clear front-runner to challenge President Donald Trump.
Snopes→ France: Suspected Gunman Named, Had Long Police Record
A man who had been flagged as a possible extremist sprayed gunfire near the city of Strasbourg's famous Christmas market, killing three people, wounding 12 and sparking a massive manhunt.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Approval Rating Did NOT Go Up 23 Points After Promising To Shut Down Government
Did the approval rating of President Trump go up by 23 points after he promised a government shutdown if funding for his border wall project was not approved? No, that's not true: the fake approval rating numbers were made up by a liberal sati
Snopes→ Groups Cut Ties with Club That Denied Black Applicant
The South Carolina social club’s decision to deny membership to Navy veteran and doctor Melvin Brown, its first black candidate has cost it relationships with several local groups.
Snopes→ Minneapolis Star Tribune Film Critic Resigns Over Plagiarism
The Minneapolis Star Tribune's film critic has resigned in the face of plagiarism accusations, the newspaper reported in an apology to its readers.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Justin Trudeau Did NOT Transfer Canadian Border Control To United Nations
Did Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau transfer Canadian border control to the United Nations by siging the "UN Global Compact On Migration"? No, that's not true: a summary of an article on the website of a tiny Canadian political party op
Washington Post→ Fact-checking Trump’s rowdy powwow with Pelosi and Schumer
The president fired off a bunch of faulty claims about the border wall. Schumer called him out for his Bottomless Pinocchios.
Hoax-Slayer→ Watch For Amazon Phishing Scams As Christmas Approaches
As Christmas draws near, many more products than usual are bought online. Internet shopping giant Amazon is thus a favourite target for phishing scammers. The post Watch For Amazon Phishing Scams As Christmas Approaches appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Snopes→ Did Theresa May Cancel the Next General Election Because She Doesn’t Think She’ll Win?
A UK humor website spoofed May's last-minute postponement of a parliamentary vote on Brexit.
Snopes→ Was a Teenager Electrocuted by His Earphones?
Malaysian authorities told local reporters that a 16 year-old was electrocuted while charging his phone.
Snopes→ Did the Trump Administration’s Policies Halt a Research Project Seeking an HIV Cure?
A quietly instituted “pause” on the federal procurement of fetal tissue for biomedical research has halted, at least temporarily, a research project seeking a cure for HIV.
Snopes→ Did Researchers Discover a 512-Year-Old Shark?
Some headline writers latched onto the highest possible estimate from a 2016 study about the lifespan of Greenland sharks.
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the Trump-Pelosi-Schumer Scuffle
In a contentious Oval Office meeting, President Donald Trump and the Democratic congressional leaders — Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer — disagreed over funding for a border wall, mangling some facts in the process. The president claimed th
Snopes→ Study Finds Female-Led Films Outperform Male Ones
Among films that cost more than $100 million to make, the ones that passed the Bechdel test grossed on average $618 million worldwide, while those that didn't averaged $413 million.
Snopes→ Sting Uses Fake Amazon Boxes, GPS to Catch Thieves
"We had a box out on the street for three minutes before it was taken."
Snopes→ Scary Warming at Poles Showing Up at Weird Times, Places
Scientists are seeing surprising melting in Earth's polar regions at times they don't expect, like winter.
Snopes→ Man Who Claimed Howard Hughes Inheritance Dies in Nevada
Melvin Dummar died never seeing the $156 million that he argued for decades that eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes unexpectedly bequeathed to him for rescuing him on a desert road and driving him nearly three hours to Las Vegas in 1967.
Snopes→ Was Paul McCartney’s Song “Blackbird” Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement?
The rock icon publicly explained the song's link to the "Little Rock Nine" at a 2016 concert.
Snopes→ Behind Closed Doors, Pelosi Disparages Trump’s ‘Manhood’
She told Democrats privately, "He said at the end of the meeting, he said, 'We can go two routes with this meeting: with a knife or a candy. I said, 'Exactly.'"
Snopes→ Did Miley Cyrus Tell Fans to Worship Satan If They Want to Be Rich and Famous?
Contrary to what's claimed on various junk news websites, the pop songstress has not sung the praises of Satan.
Snopes→ Is This a Fossil of a Megalodon Tooth Embedded in a Whale Bone?
Did a megalodon take on a whale in an encounter that has been preserved for the ages?
PolitiFact→ Fact-checking Trump, Pelosi and Schumer’s White House fight over the border wall, shutdown
President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer sparred before news cameras over the effectiveness of a southern border wall, at times fact-checking and speaking over one another. While all three leaders said they wanted bo
PolitiFact→ Fact-checking Trump, Pelosi and Schumer’s White House fight over the border wall, shutdown
President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer sparred before news cameras over the effectiveness of a southern border wall, at times fact-checking and speaking over one another. While all three leaders said they wanted bo
Snopes→ Strasbourg Shooting: 2 Dead, up to 8 Wounded
France's interior minister says that two people have been killed and up to eight wounded in a shooting near Strasbourg's Christmas market.
Truth or Fiction?→ Does a ‘Newly Obtained’ Photograph Show Donald Trump, Jr. with Accused Spy Maria Butina?
On December 10, 2018, shortly after accused Russian intelligence asset Mariia Butina reportedly entered a plea deal with prosecutors for working as an unregistered agent of a foreign power, the Facebook page Occupy Democrats shared the following photo
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Death Row Inmate Did NOT Demand to be Served Live Cat As Last Meal
Did 47-year-old death row inmate Jason Dunlop request a fattened live cat as his last meal before his execution in Colorado? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Canadian entertainment website that makes a living by publishing fict
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Nearly Ten Percent of Americans Think Chocolate Milk Comes from Brown Cows?
On December 9, 2018, the Facebook page “Unbelievable facts” shared the following meme, which held that nearly ten percent of Americans genuinely believed that chocolate milk was produced by brown cows: Users interested enough to go Googling
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Man Did NOT Put 70 Fake Weed Plants on Terrace to Taunt Police
Did a man from Salem put seventy fake weed plants on his terrace in order to taunt or fool the police? No, that's not true: the story about the man who thought he could fool police helicopter patrols into leaving him alone by first putting up
Snopes→ Did ALDI Offer Homeless People Free Food on Christmas Eve in 2018?
Social media users avidly shared a meme that was well-meaning but light on details.
Snopes→ Gunman Opens Fire in Brazil Cathedral, Kills At Least 4
A man reportedly entered the front of the church and began shooting from two handguns.
Snopes→ Jury Recommends Life in Prison for Man Who Rammed Crowd
He was convicted of killing a woman and injuring dozens when he drove his car into counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Virginia.
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Hand Was Over Heart at Bush Funeral
Quick Take President Donald Trump, like others at former President George H.W. Bush’s funeral, put his hand over his heart as the casket passed. Full Story As former President George H.W. Bush’s casket passed the first pew in the Washingto
Snopes→ German SWAT Team Accidentally Barges in on 88-Year-Old Woman
They had mistaken her apartment for that of a biker gang member.
Snopes→ US Returns 3 Disputed Bells Taken from Philippines in 1901
Americans took the church bells as spoils of war that Filipinos would demand for decades to be handed back.
Snopes→ Trump Says Military to Build Border Wall if Democrats Refuse
Trump wants the next funding package to include at least $5 billion for a border wall, an idea Democrats have flatly rejected.
PolitiFact→ A look back at Lie of the Year, 2009 to 2017
PolitiFact awards the Lie of the Year to the most significant falsehood or exaggeration of the past 12 months. Here’s a look back at the past nine years of "winners." 2017: Russian election interference is a 'made-up story' Pres
PolitiFact→ The Trump file: Trump's 10 top falsehoods of 2018
President Donald Trump has twice garnered PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year "prize." Readers argued that he was again worthy of the recognition. Readers selected his Pants on Fire comment about Democrats wanting to "invite caravan after
PolitiFact→ 2018 Lie of the Year Readers’ Poll results
President Donald Trump’s campaign comments about a caravan of immigrants has won the reader competition for most significant falsehood of 2018. His false statement: "The Democrats want to invite caravan after caravan of illegal aliens into o
PolitiFact→ PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year: Online smear machine tries to take down Parkland students
In the days after 17 people were viciously gunned down at a high school in Florida, the state’s Republican governor called for tighter gun laws and President Donald Trump hosted victims’ families in the State Dining Room. The nation seemed
PolitiFact→ The Trump file: Trump's 10 top falsehoods of 2018
President Donald Trump has twice garnered PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year "prize." Readers argued that he was again worthy of the recognition. Readers selected his Pants on Fire comment about Democrats wanting to "invite caravan after