In a two-hour address to the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 2, President Donald Trump made questionable and false claims about the fight against ISIS, tariffs and African American income. He also repeated a bevy of claims we’v
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Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Real Momo Videos,’ Viral Hoaxes, and Ostension
In the aftermath of the March 2019 U.S. media frenzy surrounding the Momo challenge, a number of “real Momo videos” have opportunistically surfaced and quickly racked up large share counts. We came across several of the likely many survivi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Firefighters DID NOT Suffer Neurological Damage After Contact With 5G Cell Towers
Did firefighters in Northern California suffer neurological damage after contact with 5G cell towers? No, despite claims in several trending reports there is no "new university study" or other scientific evidence to support the claim that inst
Truth or Fiction?→ Actor Luke Perry Dead at 52
Actor Luke Perry, a Gen-X heartthrob best known for his work on Riverdale and Beverly Hills: 90210 has died. Perry was best known for his role in the teen drama about a group of wealthy classmates in southern California, but went on to distinguish him
Lead Stories→ Satire: Trapeze Artist With Diarrhea Did NOT Shit on 23 People (UPDATED)
Did a trapeze artist with diarrhea shit on 23 people in Boston? No, that's not true: the story was made up by the English language version of a Spanish humor website that used to disguise itself as a news source. They have now added the phrase
Snopes→ Hiding in Plain Sight: PAC-Connected Activists Set Up ‘Local News’ Outlets
Star News Digital Media, Inc. may look like a media company that produces local news, but a Snopes investigation reveals deep, undisclosed connections to political activism.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Putin Did NOT Ban Microsoft Products From Russia
Did Russian President Vladimir Putin ban all Microsoft products from Russia? No, that's not true: a 2016 article was reposted to Facebook by website that has a reputation for making up unsubstantiated claims in its headlines that are not backe
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Samuel L. Jackson an ‘Unknown Heroin Addict’ Before ‘Pulp Fiction’?
In February 2019, a Facebook page shared the following biographical meme about Samuel L. Jackson, detailing a purported drug addiction that defined his life before he got clean, which was around the time he appeared in Pulp Fiction. Alongside the mem
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Michael Cohen Hillary Clinton’s ‘Personal Lawyer’?
On February 28 2019, the Facebook page “I am not a dictator” shared the following meme (archived here), alleging that President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen was once the personal lawyer of Hillary Clinton and/or the Clinton Fo
FactCheck.org→ Cohen, Trump at Odds
Michael Cohen gave public testimony under oath that contradicted past statements by President Donald Trump on WikiLeaks, Stormy Daniels and a proposed Moscow real estate deal, as well as Trump’s Vietnam War deferrals and his net worth. Here we la
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Children’s Characters ‘Max and Ruby’ Have a Tragic Backstory?
In 2015, the following content (archived here), an apparent Tumblr screenshot describing the purported backstory for the preschool book series and television show Max & Ruby, started to circulate on social media: Underneath a still from Max &am
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Sanders’ CNN Town Hall
In a televised town hall, newly announced presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders repeated several misleading claims that we have written about in the past. Sanders said Trump sought to “throw 32 million people off of the health care they had
FactCheck.org→ Darla Shine’s Measles Misinformation
Over a nearly 18-hour Twitter spree, Darla Shine, the wife of Bill Shine, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for communications, made a series of false and misleading statements about measles and vaccines. Shine said to “bring back”
Truth or Fiction?→ Did an Arkansas Republican Propose Cutting Free Lunches to Punish Students?
On February 26 2019, the Facebook page “Occupy Democrats” shared the following meme (archived here), alleging that state legislator from Arkansas Alan Clark proposed cuts to school lunch programs for disadvantaged children: Text around a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Woman Did NOT Admit She Was Paid to Frame Cosby With Rape
Did an unnamed woman admit she was paid to frame Bill Cosby with rape? No, that's not true: a South African website copied an old conspiracy article from NewsPunch/YourNewsWire but the theory it comes up with does not make sense from a timing
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Misdirection on ‘Criminal Aliens’
In declaring a national emergency at the southern border, President Donald Trump spoke of an “invasion” by “all types of criminals and gangs.” He suggested that the media “take a look at our federal prison population” and “see
Climate Feedback→ Western Journal op-ed deceives readers with completely unsupported claims
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This op-ed published by The Western Journal, written by two members of think tanks opposed to the conclusions of climate science, makes several different types of claims about global temperatures and global tempera
Truth or Fiction?→ Safety Standards in the 1960s Chairlift Photo
On February 20 2019, the Facebook page Pictures in History shared a version of the photograph of a chairlift seen above simply captioned: “Safety standards in the 1960s.” The photograph was not new to the internet, and the meme-style versi
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Bit Windy Today’ Wind Turbine Failure Video
On February 22 2019, the Facebook page “What did I just see?” shared a video (linked here) captioned “Bit windy today,” purportedly depicting the failure of a wind turbine during an intense weather event: The clip quickly sp
Truth or Fiction?→ Meghan Markle’s Royal Portrait?
In February 2019, several Facebook posts appeared that purported to show the royal portrait of Meghan Markle, the actress turned Duchess of Sussex. In one popular version, the sharer lauded the fact that “they” (presumably the Queen) didn&
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Habit of Inflating Trade Deficits
When asked whether he would impose tariffs on cars imported from the European Union, President Donald Trump, as he regularly does, used an inflated figure for the trade balance between the U.S. and the EU. The deficit was $101 billion for 2017, not $15
Washington Post→ Trump’s repeated claim that China is paying ‘billions’ in tariffs to the Treasury
Over and over, President Trump says the Treasury is earning "billions" from tariffs. But Americans, not China, pay the tariffs and so far, it's a net loser for the government.
FactCheck.org→ Trump Disinformation on Deficits
President Donald Trump misleadingly claimed that “deficits seem to be coming down,” when in fact deficits are rising, largely because of the tax cuts he enacted. In fact, the deficit in the first three months of fiscal year 2019 was 42 perc
Snopes→ Democrats Prepare Resolution Against Trump Emergency
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement last week that lawmakers will use "every remedy available" to defend Congress' powers, including in the courts.
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Family Separation Genocide?
In February 2019, a mid-2018 tweet about family separations and the permanent and widespread transfer of children from their families to other people qualifying as genocide began recirculating. The tweet was initially published in June 2018, and it sai
Truth or Fiction?→ Heinz Ketchup Ingredients, U.S. vs UK
On February 14 2019, Vani Hari (popularly known as the “Food Babe” in the media) shared a graphic that compared the purported difference between Heinz Ketchup’s ingredient list in the United Kingdom versus the United States: The imag
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO 79-year-old Man Arrested For Making Wigs Out of Dozens of Neighborhood Dogs
Was 79-year old Jeremiah Bishop from Los Lunas in New Mexico arrested for making wigs out of neighborhood dogs? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Canadian entertainment website that makes a living by publishing fictional stories
FactCheck.org→ Spinning Trump’s National Emergency Declaration
Both sides are spinning the facts in response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the Southwest border: As justification for the border wall, White House adviser Stephen Miller cited an increase in border crosser
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pope Francis Did NOT Say Masturbation Is No Longer A Sin
Did Pope Francis declare masturbation is no longer a sin for followers of the Catholic Church? No, that's not true: the quote was made up by a Spanish website with a well hidden satire disclaimer and it later translated the story for its Engl
Snopes→ Trump the Pundit Handicaps 2020 Democratic Contenders
In tweets, public remarks and private conversations, President Trump is making clear he is closely following the campaign to challenge him on the ballot.
Truth or Fiction?→ Underground Railroad to Mexico?
On February 13 2019, a Facebook user shared a screenshot of a tweet, originally tweeted a day earlier by @HISTORY about a purported version of the Underground Railroad running south to Mexico: Text for the tweet read: Slaveholders knew that enslaved p
Truth or Fiction?→ Has Wu-Tang’s GZA Lectured on Quantum Physics at Harvard?
In February 2019, a #BlackHistoryMonth post on Facebook asserted that the Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA (also known as The Genius) is a scientist, has lectured at Harvard, and is educated in quantum physics: Above two photographs of GZA, text stated: Peopl
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Trump’s National Emergency Remarks
In declaring a national emergency at the Southwest border, President Donald Trump strung together a long list of false, misleading and unsupported claims on illegal immigration, drug smuggling, human trafficking, trade deficits and other issues. We br
FactCheck.org→ The Facts on the ‘Green New Deal’
On Feb. 7, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced her Green New Deal in the House and Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced a companion resolution in the Senate. The text of the legislation, which is a nonbinding resolution, lays out
Snopes→ Supreme Court Says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Back at Work
The 85-year-old Ginsburg is attending the justices' Friday closed-door conference at which they're weighing whether to add new cases.
FactCheck.org→ ‘El Chapo’ Trial Used To Spread Viral Deception
Quick Take A viral meme is spreading false information connecting the infamous drug lord El Chapo to three major Democratic politicians. Full Story The notorious Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo was found guilty in U.S. federal court on 10 counts o
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Trump’s El Paso Rally
Summary President Donald Trump made several claims in his Feb. 11 political rally in El Paso that distorted the facts, including: He said “the trade deficit really went down very big this last month,” leaving out the fact that the previous month w
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pope Francis Did NOT Say World Government Must Rule U.S. ‘For Their Own Good’
Did Pope Francis say a world government must rule the U.S. for their own good? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a website that attracts clicks and visitors by taking existing news reports out of context and adding an incendiary he
Truth or Fiction?→ Is ‘Peppa Pig’ Giving American Kids British Accents?
In early February 2019, a number of outlets began reporting on the “Peppa effect,” a purported trend causing American preschoolers who watched the show to speak in British accents. The claims were virtually guaranteed to achieve viral tract