On October 15 2019, a Facebook post with images relayed a purported history of neonatology and the role of a man named Dr. Martin Couney, who created a sideshow of tiny infants as a way of covering the costs of saving premature babies: Black-and-w
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Truth or Fiction?→ Can Consuming Too Much Coffee Under Stress Cause Schizophrenia Symptoms?
On October 15 2019, the Facebook page “Weird Facts” shared the following “fact meme,” which claimed that the combination of a lot of coffee and a lot of stress could cause symptoms of schizophrenia — presumably in people no
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Gucci Mane Did NOT File For Divorce After Finding Out Wife Keyshia Ka’Oir Smashed Jeezy a Decade Ago
Did Rapper Gucci Mane file for divorce after finding out his wife slept with his rival Young Jeezy a decade ago? No, that's not true: the story was put out almost a month ago by a site that regularily puts out false news (including death hoaxe
Lead Stories→ Fake News: It’s NOT Official, Michelle Obama NOT Running For President
Is Michelle Obama running for president and is it official now? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up stories that are clearly marke
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Hillary Clinton Did NOT Claim Russians ‘Grooming’ Tulsi Gabbard As Third-Party Candidate
Did Hillary Clinton claim Russians are "grooming" Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as a third-party presidential candidate in 2020? No, that's not true: Clinton suggested in a podcast that the Trump campaign -- not Russians -- was "grooming" a woman who was
FactCheck.org→ The Facts on Mental Illness and Mass Shootings
Q: Do people with serious mental health disorders pose a greater risk of becoming mass shooters? A: People with mental illnesses are somewhat more likely to be violent than those without a diagnosis. But a majority are never violent, and very little is
FactCheck.org→ Obama Didn’t Authorize ‘Lying’ by the Media
Quick Take Social media posts falsely claim that former President Barack Obama signed a bill that made it permissible for “the media” to get “away with lying.” The bill had no bearing on private media outlets or what they can re
Snopes→ VIDEO: Google Affiliate Begins Drone Deliveries in Virginia Town
A Google affiliate started using drones to deliver customers' Walgreens and FedEx purchases in a test being run in a Virginia town.
FactCheck.org→ Instagram Post Falsely Links Flu Vaccine to Polio
Quick Take A popular Instagram post falsely claims “over 1,100 people died from reactions to the [flu] shot” in 2018, and suggests that the immunization gave some children polio. The flu vaccine cannot give anyone polio and there is no evidence to
Truth or Fiction?→ The Anti-Semitic Origins of ‘You Cannot Legislate the Poor Into Prosperity’
A quote attempting to justify largesse that has endured thanks to social media, but not without spreading disinformation about its origins. The statement has commonly been attributed online to evangelical leader Adrian Rogers, a former president of th
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Donald Trump Did NOT Say US and Italy Have Been Allies Since Ancient Rome, Did NOT Call Italian President "Mozzarella"
Did President Donald Trump call Italian President Mattarella "Mozzarella" during a press conference or public Oval Office meeting? And did he claim that the United States and Italy have been allies since the time of ancient Rome? No, that's no
Climate Feedback→ Telegraph article on climate change mixes accurate and unsupported, inaccurate claims, misleads with false balance
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This article in The Telegraph attempts to discuss the science of observed global warming and the factors responsible. However, mixed in with some accurate factual statements are claims that give readers the impress
FactCheck.org→ Flurry of Trump Falsehoods
Summary In two press appearances in the same day, President Donald Trump made several false claims and distorted the facts on issues ranging from Syria to trade: Trump claimed that former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan “would never issue a subpoena
Truth or Fiction?→ Zinaida, Get Your Gun
On October 16 2019, a Tumblr screenshot was shared to Imgur and the Facebook page “Revolution Porn”; the post contained an illustration of a young girl reaching for a gun as a man in Nazi regalia looked the other way with text about the s
Truth or Fiction?→ MIT Science Professor Accused of Spreading Disinformation Resigns From Science Journal
A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has resigned from the board of a prestigious science journal after he was accused of spreading conspiracy theories about a chemical weapons attack in Syria in 2017 and a major scientific journ
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Former Atheist Brad Pitt Does NOT Become A Christian As He Recovers From Alcoholism
Did "former atheist" Brad Pitt "become a Christian" while recovering from alcoholism? No, that's not true: Pitt, who grew up as a Christian, told a GQ magazine interviewer in 2019 that he "called myself an atheist for a while" during a "rebell
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NEW Starbucks CEO Did NOT Admit She Doesn’t Like White Peope
Did "New Starbucks CEO" Rosalind Brewer admit she doesn't like white people? No, there are several things that are not true in that statement, the most obvious one being that Brewer isn't actually the CEO of Starbucks (who happens to be a whit
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Taco Bell Meat Contaminated with Metal Shavings?
On October 15 2019, an Imgur user shared the following screenshot of a purported Newsweek article, which appeared to be reporting on a Taco Bell recall involving meat contaminated with metal shavings: Its submitter’s title joked that “the
Truth or Fiction?→ Do People Ingest Five Grams of Plastic Per Week?
On October 15 2019, the Facebook page “Using Less Plastic” shared a meme which claimed that “a new study” had found that humans ingested an average of five grams of plastic per week, about the same amount contained in an avera
FactCheck.org→ Trump Wrong on U.S. Agriculture Exports to China
In announcing “phase one” of a tentative trade deal with China, President Donald Trump wrongly stated that the “all-time high” for U.S. agricultural exports to China was “$16 or $17 billion.” Actually, it was nearly
Snopes→ Deputies: Naked Florida Man Wreaked Havoc on Business, Then Showered
A Florida man who was found nude inside a plumbing business is facing charges after being accused of using a forklift and a hammer to wreak havoc before taking a shower there.
FactCheck.org→ Video: FactChecking October Debate Claims
In this video, we highlight several claims made by some of the candidates in the Oct.15 Democratic presidential debate: Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro wrongly claimed that the “latest jobs data” show that “
Snopes→ British Family Decries Treatment by US after Border Crossing
Seven members of an extended British family who made an unauthorized crossing into the United States from Canada are being held in federal custody at a Pennsylvania detention center nearly two weeks after their arrest,.
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the October Democratic Debate
Summary We found several false and misleading claims in the October Democratic presidential debate: Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro claimed that the most recent jobs data show that “Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania &
Truth or Fiction?→ ABC News Yanks ‘Slaughter in Syria’ Video Revealed as YouTube Clip Filmed in Kentucky
On October 14 2019, ABC News walked back a story that aired on two of its marquee programs after the footage was revealed to be a YouTube clip filmed in the United States in 2017. “This video obtained by ABC News, appears to show the fury of the
Truth or Fiction?→ Frida Kahlo: ‘You Deserve a Lover’
In October 2015, the Facebook page “Sacred Dreams” shared an image and purported quotation attributed to Frida Kahlo, sometimes referenced in shorthand as “you deserve a lover”: Alongside a suspiciously modern-appear
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Canada Legalize Bestiality?
In October 2019, a Facebook user shared the following post (archived here), with a headline claiming that Canada had legalized “sex with animals”: That Facebook user wrote: Sick fucks. Only,one Judge a woman was against it They are maki
Snopes→ Man Charged after Roommate Attack, Believed He Was a Vampire
A Washington state man was charged with a felony assault after police say he attacked his roommate believing he acknowledged being a vampire.
FactCheck.org→ Misleading Narrative About a Supposed ‘Ukrainian Arms Dealer’
Quick Take An online story says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff “are both connected to a Ukrainian arms dealer” through a 2013 fundraiser. But the supposed “Ukrainian arms dealer” owns a California company tha
Lead Stories→ Fake News: New York Chinese Restaurants NOT Allowed To Sell Dog Meat
Are Chinese restaurants in New York now allowed to sell dog meat? No, that's not true: an old video on YouTube making that claim in the description seems to have been embedded in an article that originated on a satire website. The video itself
Truth or Fiction?→ Trump Administration Rushes To Distance Itself From Massacre Video at Far-Right ‘Meme Event’
United States President Donald Trump’s administration and other right-wing figures attempted to distance themselves on October 14 2019 from a violent propaganda video, as coverage spread of a scene altered to depict Trump gunning down his “
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
Truth or Fiction?→ The ‘Inspirational’ History of KFC’s Colonel Sanders
The man behind the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food chain led a truly colorful life, but a recurring meme dating back at least as far as 2016 obscures the facts in favor of presenting a more “inspirational” version. One version of the purp
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Raw Pumpkin Seeds NOT PROVEN As A De-Wormer For Chickens
Are raw pumpkin seeds a reliable de-wormer for your chickens? No, that's not true: Feeding your brood pumpkin seeds to rid them of worms might not hurt them, but there is no evidence that it will help, either. It's a tough problem for farmers
Lead Stories→ Old News: Nike Lost $3.75 Billion in Market Cap After Colin Kaepernick Ad But Gained Much More Since
Did Nike lose $3.75 billion in market cap since running its controversial ad campaign starring Colin Kaepernick? Yes, it did but the stock has bounced back since and (at the time of writing) the market capitalization of Nike stands at $146.55
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Four in Ten Cancer Patients Really Lose Their Life Savings?
An October 11 2019 Imgur repost of a Bernie Sanders tweet appeared alongside the caption “this is how you know he would fight for the people if he is elected our president”: That tweet read: It’s not coincidental that the top health
FactCheck.org→ Video: Trump’s False Syria Claims
In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper debunks two claims made by President Donald Trump about the U.S. military involvement in Syria. Trump falsely claimed on Twitter, “The United States was supposed to be in Syria fo
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Numbers October 2019 Update
Summary Since President Donald Trump took office: The economy added 6 million jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level in nearly 50 years. Economic growth fell far short of the annual 4% to 6% Trump promised. The most recent rate is
Washington Post→ Fact-checking Trump’s misleading border ‘wall’ spin
Over and over and over, the president says his wall is being built. That still doesn't make it true.
Truth or Fiction?→ Disinformation Peddlers Push ‘October 16th’ Conspiracy Theory
A gaggle of specious blogs and social media accounts set about inflaming tensions for their followers in a set of posts reminiscent of other fake controversies. The posts center on vaguely-worded “threats” and wide-ranging military deploym