On July 6 2020, Facebook user John Sargent shared the following image, which he claimed showed an “antifa street rioter” named Brian — heavily implying that “Brian’s” injuries were from receiving a righteous beatdow
Search Results (1402) for: suspect
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Colorado Man Arrested and Charged With Accidentally Shooting Fellow Protesters?
On July 31 2020, a Facebook user shared the following image and a status update claiming that a protester in Denver had accidentally shot fellow protesters in Denver: The Facebook user wrote: Protesters illegally blocked traffic on an interstate in
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the United States Postal Service Urge Mail-In Voters to Request Envelopes by October 20th?
Amid increasing concern over the United States Postal Service’s efficiency leading up to the 2020 U.S. elections, a CBS News host’s tweet warned voters seeking to take part by mail. “USPS says you should give mail in ballots at least
Full Fact→ Changes to government Covid-19 death data won’t make a big difference to the overall death count
On 16 July, the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine published an article which warned that, under Public Health England’s (PHE) system of reporting deaths from coronavirus, a patient who tested positive for Covid-19 but was successfully treated in
FactCheck.org→ What Science Says About Children, COVID-19 and School Reopenings
In promoting the reopening of schools this fall, Trump administration officials have, at times, inaccurately described the evidence on how COVID-19 affects children: Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus task force lead on testing, said on July 12 that
FactCheck.org→ Cuomo Distorts CDC Finding in Blaming Trump
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the over-the-top claim that if the Trump administration “had done its job, the virus wouldn’t come” to New York. Cuomo pointed to a study that suggested government officials could have better mitigated the spread o
Full Fact→ Many children have been the victims of grooming gangs, but there’s no evidence for a figure of one million
A widely shared post on Facebook compares the public reaction to the killing of George Floyd with the reaction to the organised sexual abuse of children in the UK. It says: “The cops kill a man in America, massive civil unrest. 1 million innocent
Full Fact→ It’s not true that 58% of Covid-19 deaths in Scotland were in care homes
A post shared hundreds of times on Facebook shows an image that makes a number of claims about the proportion of Covid-19 deaths that took place in care facilities around Europe. The figures it cites are from a report by the European Centre for Disease
Health Feedback→ A proportion of COVID-19 survivors are likely to suffer from long-term health problems, but the actual risks are still unknown
REVIEW A July 2020 post on Quora, which is a question-and-answer website, went viral on Facebook after users began sharing screenshots or copies of the original post (see an example here). The post’s author, Franklin Veaux, attempts to answer the
AFP Fact Check→ False list of ‘home treatments’ for COVID-19 circulates online
A list of purported treatments for COVID-19 at its “different stages” has been shared hundreds of times in multiple Facebook posts. The posts recommend that people with breathing problems should use an oxygen cylinder and monitor their oxygen lev
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?→ Death of ‘Men’s Rights’ Attorney Stokes New Conspiracy Theories
The death of a 72-year-old “anti-feminist” attorney suspected of carrying out a fatal attack against a federal judge and her family has spawned new online speculation. Roy Den Hollander was found dead in upstate New York less than 24 hours
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell Were NOT Known To Be Staying Down The Road From Madeleine McCann At The Time She Was Abducted
Were Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Epstein's house down the road when three-year-old Madeleine McCann was abducted from her family's vacation hotel in Praia da Luz, Portugal? No, the claim was made with no facts backing it up and th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 15-Year-Old Orphan Did NOT Invent ‘Cost Free Air Con’ That Destroyed The $15-Billion Air Conditioning Industry
Did a 15-year-old orphan boy named Billy from Albuquerque invent a "cost free" air conditioner that "destroyed" the $15-billion air conditioning industry? No, that's not true: A marketing video making the claim is edited from an unrelated vide
Health Feedback→ People have died from the coronavirus, contrary to article claiming to report pathologist’s “revelations” on COVID-19
Originally published by OffGuardian, this article makes numerous claims about the COVID-19 pandemic that have been republished in other outlets such as GlobalResearch.ca and Australian National Review, both of which have been described as conspiracy we
Truth or Fiction?→ Wayfair Child Trafficking Conspiracy Theory
Online store Wayfair received viral internet attention after a July 9 2020 Reddit r/conspiracy thread, which posited that bizarrely-priced, boring utility cabinets on the site were not just overpriced furniture or some kind of error, but instead evide
FactCheck.org→ Navarro Doesn’t Give Full Picture On Hydroxychloroquine
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has promoted the “astonishing” results of an observational study that found hydroxychloroquine was associated with lower mortality for patients hospitalized for COVID-19. But the study has limitations, and mu
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CDC Testing Kits For COVID-19 NEVER Risked Lives
Were people tested for COVID-19 exposed to the coronavirus due to contaminated tests? No, that's not true: Federal officials did send out defective tests in February -- one month into the pandemic in the United States and about six months befo
Truth or Fiction?→ Why Is the Coronavirus Test So Invasive? Would a Cheek Swab Work?
On July 7 2020, Facebook user David D Smith shared the following post, questioning why coronavirus testing was so invasive, particularly when compared to DNA test cheek swabs: Smith included a shiver-inducing image but no citations, writing:
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Ghislaine Maxwell Was Arrested by the FBI, Can We Talk About How Similar She Looks to Madeleine McCann’s Female Abductor Sketch’?
On July 3 2020, just after British socialite Ghislane Maxwell was arrested, the Facebook page “NightMerica Podcast” shared the following post, comparing her photograph with a purported sketch of “Madeleine McCann’s female abdu
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
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Is NOT A Photo Of Aracely Henriquez, A Woman Robbed By George Floyd In 2007
Did George Floyd brutally beat Aracely Henriquez during a home invasion robbery, and is this a photo of her injuries? No, neither is true: This is a photo of Andrea Sicignano, an American student who was raped in December of 2018 while studyin
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: States Were NOT Ordered To Fraudulently Inflate COVID-19 Cases 15 Times Actual Rate
Were Texas and other states ordered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization to fraudulently increase by 15-fold the tally of COVID-19 cases? No, that's not true. The CDC gathers data based on the no
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dr. Rashid Buttar Video Does NOT Prove ‘Everyone Could Test Positive’ for Coronavirus And ‘Hardly Anybody’ Has Died From COVID-19
Is it true that "everyone could test positive" for the novel coronavirus that has ravaged the United States and world? And is it true that hardly anyone has died of the disease COVID-19 caused by the virus? No, neither is true. If you just loo
Snopes→ White Mich. Couple Arrested After Gun Pulled on Black Family
One of the suspects was seen in widely-distributed video footage can be seen outside her vehicle shouting, “Get the (expletive) away! Get away!” while pointing a handgun.
Full Fact→ How medical staff found themselves at the centre of an information battle during the pandemic
Over the past months, as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the country, medical staff have found themselves – often unwillingly – at the centre of a parallel information crisis. Throughout the pandemic, there have been numerous posts that at
Full Fact→ We know of no successful convictions of a police officer for the killing of someone in police custody since 1971
“The last time a police officer was successfully prosecuted in the UK concerning the death of somebody in custody was in 1969.” The Guardian, 4 June 2020 We’ve found no evidence that any serving police officer has been successfully
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Antifa Renting U-Hauls to Infiltrate ‘Residential Neighborhoods’?
A June 27 2020 post by user Cindy Kowalczyk was shared thousands of times, claiming (without citations or sources) that “Antifa plans residential Neighborhood attacks” using U-Haul moving trucks: The Rumor and Earlier Iterations In the
Snopes→ Citing Racial Bias, San Francisco Will End Mug Shots Release
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said the department will no longer release booking photos of suspects to the media or allow officers to post them online.
Health Feedback→ Contrary to popular claim on social media, RNA vaccines do not alter our DNA
SUMMARY A claim that RNA vaccine technology, which is being used to develop a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, will “permanently alter your DNA” was published in an article by Waking Times in May 2020, forming the basis for many viral posts on social
Truth or Fiction?→ Viral Post Blames Powdersville Cemetery Vandalism on ‘Black Lives Matter’
On June 14 2020, the Facebook page “The Sharp Truth” shared the following post and lambasted Black Lives Matter activists for purportedly vandalizing the Powdersville Cemetery in Anderson County, South Carolina: The text, which appeare
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue Was Vandalized In 2020, But Viral Image Is 2018 Attack
Was Austin's Stevie Ray Vaughan statue vandalized in 2020? Yes, that's true, but a viral image of paint on the rear side of the Vaughan memorial is from a 2018 incident blamed on a football fan after his team won the SuperBowl. A second photo
FactCheck.org→ Trump Falsely Says COVID-19 Surge ‘Only’ Due to Testing, Misleads on Deaths
With some states posting record numbers of new COVID-19 cases, President Donald Trump continues to downplay the concern, falsely asserting that cases are up “only because of our big number testing,” and pointing to the falling number of daily COVID
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Message From Louisiana Law Enforcement Officers Is NOT To ANTIFA
Did Louisiana law enforcement officers record a video message to ANTIFA? No, that's not true: This 2016 video from St. Landry Parish Sheriff Captain Clay Higgins was a message directed to seven members of the Gremlin Street Gang, not ANTIFA. T
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Fireworks Every Night’ in June 2020
On June 20 2020, the Facebook page “Son of Baldwin” shared what would later become a popular iteration of a “fireworks conspiracy” set of rumors, spreading from several points on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit: The Facebook
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Trackers NOT Installed On Phones Without Public’s Knowledge During Phone Disruptions
Did Apple and Google use the time that some cell phone networks were experiencing disruptions to sneak COVID-19 trackers onto iOS and Android devices? No, that's not true: The two companies are in a partnership to deploy contact-tracing tech t
Snopes→ Deputies Kill Half-Brother of Black Man Found Hanged in Park
The half-brother of a black man found hanged in a California park was killed in a gunbattle with Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies seeking him as kidnap and assault suspect.
Truth or Fiction?→ Have Police in the United States Killed 120 People Since George Floyd’s Death?
On June 14 2020, a Facebook user shared the following post, asserting that police in the United States had killed an additional 120 civilians since the May 25 2020 death of George Floyd: Floyd was killed during an interaction with Minneapoli
FactCheck.org→ Ahead of Trump Rally, Republicans Spin COVID-19 Metrics
In the days leading up to President Donald Trump’s first campaign rally since the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, Trump and his supporters are making false and misleading claims about COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and testing:
Snopes→ Did CNN ‘Lighten’ Photo of Man Who Drove Into Protesters?
Falsely accusing CNN of altering the racial identity of crime suspects in news photographs has become a distinct subclass of misinformation.