As speculation circulated online following United States President Donald Trump’s announcement late on October 1 2020 (or early on October 2 2020, depending on your time zone) that both he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for CO
Search Results (1025) for: authentic
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Trump Campaign Use His COVID-19 Diagnosis in a Fundraising Message?
As speculation circulated online following United States President Donald Trump’s announcement late on October 1 2020 (or early on October 2 2020, depending on your time zone) that both he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for CO
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Was NOT Wearing A Communications Device In Debate With Trump
Do images from the September 29, 2020, presidential debate show that Joe Biden was wearing a communications device, perhaps to receive tips on what to say? No, that is not true. Social media posts are making this claim after a rosary, wor
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Time Magazine Cover Does NOT Call Trump ‘Worst. President. Ever.’
Did Time Magazine publish a cover calling Donald Trump the worst president ever and saying he has "disgraced the highest office in the nation"? No, that's not true: A meme making the claim features a fake cover image. The claim appeared i
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 22 Christians Did NOT Get Executed By Afghan Islamic Rebels — Photo Is From Syria In 2013
Did Afghani Islamic militants execute 22 Christians? No, that's not true: This claim, with a variety of photos, has been making the rounds on social media since it surfaced in February 2009, and has been debunked even by groups dedicated
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Donald Trump Did NOT Tweet That He’s Donating $500,000 Each To Two Wounded Deputies
Did Donald Trump tweet that he's donating $500,000 toward the expenses of the two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies who were shot and critically injured? No, that's not true: This tweet was not posted by Trump's authentic account; it
FactCheck.org→ CBS News Didn’t Misrepresent Trump Gathering as a Biden Event
Quick Take Social media posts are using an image of a CBS News report to accuse the network of misrepresenting a campaign event for President Donald Trump as one for former Vice President Joe Biden. That’s false. The report’s voiceover was
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Did NOT Play ‘F**k tha police’ At Campaign Event In Florida
Did Joe Biden play the N.W.A song "F**k tha police" on his phone at a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida? No, that's not true: This is a doctored video created by a satire site. In reality, Biden played the song "Despacito" by Luis Fons
The Dispatch→ Was President Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize Nomination Forged?
a.image2.image-link.image2-971-1456 { padding-bottom: 66.68956043956044%; padding-bottom: min(66.68956043956044%, 971px); width: 100%; height: 0; } a.image2.image-link.image
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘New’ Research Is NOT New, Does NOT Find Average 50- To 64-Year-Olds Have A 1-in-19.1-Million Chance Of Dying From COVID-19
Does a "new" scientific paper definitively show that people aged 50-64 have a 1-in-19.1 million chance of dying from COVID-19? No, this is not true. The paper, which is not new as it was posted June and studies a one-week period in May, h
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Kyle Rittenhouse’s Lawyer Tweet That His Client Started a ‘Second American Revolution’?
On September 2 2020, Twitter user @JoshuaPotash shared the following screenshot, which was purportedly a tweet in which a lawyer for Kyle Rittenhouse — a teenager charged with killing two people — said that his client had fired the first s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 62 Girls Were NOT Found In A Shipping Container In Delaware ‘Ready To Be’ Sex Slaves
Were 62 girls found locked in a shipping container at a Delaware port in "ready to be shipped" as sex slaves? No, that's not true: The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said it found "zero evidence" to support the claim. The claim appeared i
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Facebook Did NOT Remove Post Because It Featured The Marine Corps Emblem
Did Facebook remove a post that featured the U.S. Marine Corps emblem because the emblem was deemed offensive? No, that's not true: Facebook did not label or delete a post for including the Marine Corps emblem, also referred to as the Eag
Truth or Fiction?→ Is ‘Brisket’ Among HEB Hurricane Supplies?
On August 23 2020, a popular screenshot of grocery chain H-E-B‘s “hurricane supplies” appeared to show a limit on brisket items — the only product specifically named other than water: In the screenshot of an apparent KPRC b
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Mozart Write a Song Called ‘Lick My Ass’?
In August 2020 a Facebook screenshot of a tweet contrasted a moral panic over Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” with a claim that classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a song called “Lick My Ass”: A sc
The Dispatch→ Is Kamala Harris Described as ‘Caucasian’ on Her Birth Certificate?
A series of viral social media posts and articles claim that presumptive Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris’ race was listed as “Caucasian” on her birth certificate. Harris is biracial, with an Indian mother and
Truth or Fiction?→ Does a Facebook Live Reveal a Shocking Secret about ‘LOL Dolls’ Amid #SaveTheChildren Panic?
On August 11 2020, social media users shared a Facebook Live video (archived here), which purportedly unveiled a shocking surprise harbored by the popular LOL Surprise! dolls — that their bodies change color when immersed in water, often in the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: President Trump Did NOT Tweet ‘Child Lifes Matter’ Should Be Painted On Hollywood Streets
Did President Trump post a tweet suggesting "child lifes matter" should be painted on the streets of Hollywood? No, that's not true: The message was published on a fake Trump Twitter account, a fact missed by some who believed it
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Patton Oswalt Tweet ‘I Am a Proud Pedophile’?
On August 3 2020, a Facebook user shared a purported tweet from comedian Patton Oswalt, in which Oswalt purportedly claimed to be a “proud pedophile”: Commenters on the Facebook post folded it into a larger conspiracy theory abou
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Once Say He Had Known Jeffrey Epstein for Years and ‘He Likes Women … on the Younger Side’?
On August 6 2020, the Facebook page “Americans Against The Republican Party “shared the following image of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and United States President Donald Trump, along with a quote: White text with a photograph of
Truth or Fiction?→ Founder of Abuse Survivors Group Accused of Creating — and ‘Killing’ — Fake Twitter Professor
A Twitter account that had gained visibility within academic circles on the platform was suspended on August 3 2020 amid a maelstrom of skepticism of its legitimacy and well as criticism toward the user suspected of creating the account as well as the
Truth or Fiction?→ After ‘Defunding,’ Did Minneapolis Police Advise Residents to Give up Their Phones, Wallets, and Purses to Criminals?
On August 1 2020, Daily Caller writer Kyle Hooten shared the following screenshot claiming that a defunded Third Precinct in Minneapolis instructed residents to simply hand valuables over to criminals due to an uptick in crime: Minneapolis City Gove
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Tweet That the ‘Suburban Lifestyle Dream’ Won’t be ‘Hurt by Low-Income Housing’?
On July 29 2020, screenshots of two tweets attributed to United States President Donald Trump appeared on Facebook, in which he purportedly addressed “people living their Suburban Dream Lifestyle” on the matter of “low income housin
The Dispatch→ Has Aldi Stopped Requiring Customers to Wear Masks?
a.image2.image-link.image2-327-799 { padding-bottom: 40.926157697121404%; padding-bottom: min(40.926157697121404%, 327px); width: 100%; height: 0; } a.image2.image-link.imag
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Florida Motorcycle Death Is NOT Undermining The Accuracy Of State’s Coronavirus Death Numbers
Is an Orlando television station's report -- that a motorcycle fatality got counted as a COVID death -- correct? No, it's not: Orange County, Florida's data correctly lists the motorcyclist, who had tested positive for COVID-19, in the tally f
Truth or Fiction?→ Is This Sgt. Rubino of the New Haven Police Department Using Excessive Force During June 2020 Protests?
In June 2020, the following image appeared in a Facebook post, alongside a status update saying that the was a Sgt. Rubino of the New Haven Police Department: Text accompanying the image referenced the May 2020 death of George Floyd, linking the inc
Truth or Fiction?→ Did WitchTok ‘Baby Witches’ Hex the Moon?
On July 18 2020, a rumor began spreading on “WitchTok” (a TikTok witch community) that a group of “baby witches” endeavored to “hex the moon” and “hex the fae,” setting off moral panics and fevered discu
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Carsyn Davis Die After Attending a ‘COVID Party’?
In early July 2020, news of the death of Florida teenager Carsyn Leigh Davis began spreading on social media — alongside rumors the girl, who was purportedly medically fragile, was intentionally exposed to SARS-CoV-2 by her mother: A parent se
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Misguided Tweet Seeking Wallace Apology for Noose ‘Hoax’
President Donald Trump misdirected blame when he questioned why NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace had not “apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid … only to find out that the whole thing was just anoth
Truth or Fiction?→ Is This a Real Listing for an Anti-Semitic Trump Face Mask?
On July 4 2020, Twitter user Justin Stangel shared the following Amazon screenshot, of a “Trump Daily Mouth Face Cover Anti-Dust” mask — and a very swastika-like logo to match: Hey @amazon, you ok selling Donald Trump, antisemitic
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Protester’ Was Joking When He Told Interviewer George Soros Paid Him To Protest
Was a man serious when he told a journalist that George Soros invited him to lunch, paid him by personal check to protest, and made him rich? No, that's not true: A video of the "paid protester" is a 3-year-old spoof, according to the man who
Truth or Fiction?→ Tucker Carlson’s ‘What Does Racism Look Like?’ Chyron
On June 5 2020, a viral tweet circulated, featuring Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson, a chyron reading “what does racism look like?,” and commentary about becoming your own meme: That moment when you meme yourself. pic.twitter.com/b6sr4kD
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘My Brothers’ Ex Stealing our Netflix for the Past Two Months,’ Disguising Her Account as ‘Settings.’ ‘Respect.’
In early June 2020, an amusing tweet circulated in screenshots on social media, purportedly from a Netflix user whose family discovered his brother’s ex had been “stealing” access to their service via a clever subterfuge — the
Truth or Fiction?→ Hitler Holding a Bible, Trump Holding a Bible
After United States President Donald Trump controversially posed for photographs at a Washington, DC church while he held up a Bible, the following photograph of Trump juxtaposed with Adolf Hitler in a purportedly similar pose appeared and quickly wen
Health Feedback→ Facebook posts spread unsupported anonymous claim that face mask use caused a lung infection in a healthy teenager
REVIEW A claim that a healthy 19-year-old grocery store worker was hospitalized for pleurisy, an inflammation of the tissue surrounding the lungs, due to her breathing in carbon dioxide and “her own bacteria” as a result of wearing a face mask,
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Amish People Protest the Death of George Floyd in Minneapolis?
On May 30 2020, the word “Amish” trended on Twitter, due to circulating social media posts claiming Amish people gathered to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis: The Amish came out yesterday in Minneapolis to join the George
Truth or Fiction?→ Was there a Garbage Pail Kids ‘Corona Mona’ Card?
In April and May 2020, memes circulated of a specific trading card from 1980s American pop culture touchstone the Garbage Pail Kids called “Corona Mona,” showing one of the product’s signature unseemly figures covered in mucus: In t
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Muzzles are for Dogs and Slaves’ COVID-19 Protest Sign
On May 18 2020, a photograph purportedly from a COVID-19 anti-lockdown protest began circulating, which showed a white woman holding a sign reading “muzzles are for dogs and slaves” alongside an illustration of a black woman wearing a mask
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Say Any Protester Carrying a Firearm Will Be Arrested?
A British tabloid’s story on a right-wing demonstration in Michigan circulated via social media with a headline with a much different connotation than the one actually seen on its website. For Facebook users, the Daily Mail’s story on a Ma