Twice in the last five weeks, Joe Biden has claimed that despite voting to authorize military force against Iraq in 2002, he opposed the Iraq war from “the moment” it began. That’s not accurate, and Biden now says he misspoke. The pub
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PolitiFact→ Donald Trump – Trump wrongly claims China is having its ‘worst year in 57 years’
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly False | Trump wrongly claims China is having its ‘worst year in 57 years’ President Donald Trump exaggerated China’s economic slowdown during a recent rally for congressional candidate Dan Bishop in Fayettev
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Trump Have a 94 Percent Approval Rating with Republicans?
On September 9 2019, President Donald Trump used his Twitter account to push a claim of record popularity that has already been debunked by several news organizations. For the fourth time in three months, Trump boasted that he had a “94 percent&
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Pastor Die After 30 Days of Fasting to Beat Jesus Christ’s Record?
In September 2019, an article with the headline “Pastor Dies After 30 Days of Fasting To Beat Jesus Record” appeared in several Facebook groups and users’ feeds: A South African pastor, Alfred Ndlovu has died of malnutrition after go
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the Detective Who Led Jeffrey Epstein Investigation Die after a ‘Brief Illness’ At 50 in September 2019?
In early September 2019, a large number of Facebook users shared an article (archived here), compellingly titled “Detective Who Led Epstein Investigation Died After ‘Brief Illness’ At 50.” Based on the visible shares to Facebo
Truth or Fiction?→ Palindrome Week, September 2019
On September 9 2019 and subsequently, a “palindrome week” meme circulated on Twitter: Above 10 dates ranging from September 10 to 19 2019, text read: PALINDROME WEEK Each date reads the same backwards and forwards for the next 10 days.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Boy Did NOT Die For 3 Minutes, Did NOT Say Jesus Was Black, Did NOT Meet Allah
Did a white Christian boy named Bobby Anderson or Billy Landers die for three minutes on the operating table and did he come back to life with tales from the afterlife shocking his father? Did he fail to spot Jesus but see "Mohammad and Allah"
Truth or Fiction?→ United States Officials Blame ‘Confusion’ After Viral Video of Hurricane Evacuees Turned Away
As video spread of more than a hundred Hurricane Dorian evacuees from the Bahamas being told they could not escape the damage by coming to the United States on September 9, 2019 if they did not have a visa, immigration officials blamed a local ferry c
FactCheck.org→ Buttigieg Wrong About Climate Change’s Effect on Oceans
In making his case for taking swift action on climate change, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg inaccurately said that “we could lose half the world’s oxygen because of what’s going on in the oceans.” Scientists say that
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Swedish Scientist Propose Cannibalism to Fight Climate Change?
On September 7 2019, United States President Donald Trump retweeted a Breitbart.com post that suggested a Swedish scientist had proposed that cannibalism was a viable solution to fight climate change: Swedish behavioral scientist Magnus Söderlund h
Snopes→ Coast Guard Drills Through Hull: 4 ‘OK’ Inside Cargo Ship
Rescuers are communicating with the trapped sailors through a hole they drilled, but getting them out poses difficult technical challenges.
Truth or Fiction?→ 911 Dispatcher Donna Reneau/Debra Stevens Drowning Incident
On September 1 2019, the following meme appeared in the Facebook group “LIVE PD FANS NO BOUNDARIES” (archived here), purportedly detailing an exchange between the woman shown in the photograph (911 dispatcher Donna Reneau) and a victim of
Snopes→ NWS Chief Backs Forecasters Who Contradicted Trump
Director Louis Uccellini said forecasters in Birmingham did the right thing when they tried to combat public panic and rumors that Dorian posed a threat to Alabama.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Students Did NOT Invent Bacteria That Eat Plastic From The Oceans And Turn It Into Water
Did two high school students invent a bacteria that eats plastic from the ocean and turns it into water? No, that's not true: When Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao were teen-aged high school students in 2012 they did identify a bacteria that breaks
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ilhan Omar Did NOT Say "My People Did Something" In Reference to 9/11 Terror Attacks
Did Representative Ilhan Omar say "My People did something" in relation to the 9/11 terror attacks of 2001? No, that's not true: a meme making that claim distorts the actual controversial remark she made where she said "some people did somethi
Hoax-Slayer→ Facebook Lottery Scammers Using Fake ‘Winners List’ Websites
Facebook users continue to fall for criminal ploys claiming that they have won a large cash prize in a supposed Facebook lottery or grant. The post Facebook Lottery Scammers Using Fake ‘Winners List’ Websites appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Snopes→ Can We Really Know What Animals Are Thinking?
Despite having considerable evidence animals think, we are in the awkward position of being unable to say precisely what they think.
Truth or Fiction?→ Weather Agency Contradicts Itself Over Trump’s Hurricane ‘Forecast’
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) disavowed its own agency’s findings in a brief statement on September 6 2019, siding with United States President Donald Trump amid allegations that the president may have illegally alte
Truth or Fiction?→ Does the Australian ‘Gympie-Gympie’ Drive People to Suicide?
While the damage caused by the plant species Dendrocnide moroides has been recounted in various outlets, one graphic spreading in August 2019 adds apocryphal claims to the stories around it. The graphic shows a photograph of the plant, commonly known
Truth or Fiction?→ Are School Bus Stops Now More Dangerous Because of an All-Time High in Human Trafficking?
A back-to-school themed Facebook warning shared on September 5 2019 (archived here) declared that all school-age children must avoid all school bus stops because of an increased threat of human trafficking: Against a pastel background, black text d
FactCheck.org→ Deceptive Second Amendment Ads
Ads posted on Facebook from a committee working to reelect President Donald Trump claim that Democrats are calling for the Second Amendment to be repealed. To support the claim, the Trump campaign pointed to statements by a few state lawmakers and one
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Reykjavik Ensure That Pride Flags Were Prominently Flown to Greet Mike Pence?
On September 4 2019, Twitter user @Heklina shared the following tweet showing a number of gay flags and with commentary about U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Iceland: Here’s a great example of why I’m proud to be from Iceland
Snopes→ ‘Only Animals Can Live Here’: Storm Victims Await Evacuation
Evacuation was slow, and there was frustration for some who said they had nowhere to go after the Category 5 hurricane splintered whole neighborhoods.
PolitiFact→ Andrew Yang – Andrew Yang revives debunked claim about Green New Deal killing air travel
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Andrew Yang revives debunked claim about Green New Deal killing air travel When asked about the Green New Deal during CNN’s climate change town hall, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said he embrac
PolitiFact→ Elizabeth Warren – Elizabeth Warren blamed 3 industries for 70% of greenhouse gases. That muddles the picture
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Elizabeth Warren blamed 3 industries for 70% of greenhouse gases. That muddles the picture Near the end of her turn on CNN’s climate change town-hall-a-thon, host Chris Cuomo asked Sen. Elizabeth Warren abo
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NASA Did NOT Capture The First Ever Rainbow Around A Hurricane
Did NASA possibly capture the first ever rainbow around a hurricane, as shown in a viral image of Hurricane Dorian? No, that's not true: The photo released by the space agency combines visual and infrared satellite images of the huge storm as
Truth or Fiction?→ Dear ‘Ban Gun’ Teenagers, 11 Teens Die a Day from Texting and Driving
Facebook status memes about guns in general consistently appear in the now nearly constant wake of mass shootings, but a February 2018 iteration (archived here) aimed at “‘ban gun’ teenagers” puts forth an insincere argument
FactCheck.org→ Baseless Claim of Odessa Shooter’s ‘Beto Sticker’
Quick Take Viral posts on social media make the baseless claim that the shooter in Odessa, Texas, had a sticker on his car for Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. The Texas Department of Public Safety said there was no sticker on the
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Japanese Students Exempt from Taking Exams Until the Fourth Grade?
Some social media users and blogs looking to criticize the American educational system have seized on citing its Japanese counterpart as an aspirational example. But at least one widely-circulated example hinges on a lack of context. The claim has bee
Lead Stories→ Fake News: AOC’s Home NOT Raided By ICE; NOT Caught Hiding Illegals
Was the house of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raided by ICE and did they find 96 illegal immigrants hiding there? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to fool Trump supporters and Republicans into sha
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Elderly Woman NOT Accused of Training Her 65 Cats To Steal From Neighbors
Was an old woman named Ruth Gregson arrested in Columbus, Ohio for training her 65 cats to steal from her neighbours? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Canadian entertainment website that makes a living by publishing fictional st
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s False ‘Facts’ on the Environment
Just as CNN was beginning its climate town hall event, President Donald Trump tweeted a list of “8 facts” boasting of the nation’s air quality and carbon emissions reductions. Several of his “facts,” however, are inaccurate or
FactCheck.org→ Trump Doubles Down on Inaccurate Hurricane Forecast
President Donald Trump inaccurately stated in his Sept. 1 tweet that Alabama “will most likely be hit” by Hurricane Dorian — a statement that was fact-checked in real time by the National Weather Service. Despite that, Trump has now t
FactCheck.org→ A Misleading Take on the Trump Family’s Citizenship
Quick Take Viral social media posts wrongly suggest that President Donald Trump’s three eldest children are citizens only because of birthright citizenship. Full Story President Donald Trump’s first wife, Ivana, became a U.S. citizen in 1
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘10,874 People Killed by Drunk Drivers in 2017, 403 by Rifles but Walmart Stops Selling Rifles’ Meme
On September 3 2019, the Facebook page “Life’s Short Live Free” shared the following meme commentary (archived here), discussing Walmart discontinuing the sale of some firearms: Black text against a purple background contr
FactCheck.org→ Pence’s ‘Politically Correct’ Obama VA Claim
In an address to veterans, Vice President Mike Pence said “VA hospitals were removing Bibles” and “banning Christmas carols” under the last administration, and “will not be religion-free zones” under this administrat
FactCheck.org→ Phony Tweet Targets AOC
Quick Take A fake tweet circulating online attributes a made-up statement about hurricane preparation to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Full Story Two popular targets for misinformation — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and major weat
Truth or Fiction?→ The Love Letters of Gilbert Bradley and Gordon Bowsher
Various memes detailing a secret relationship between two British men during World War II described in various posts circulated through social media in August 2019. One post about Gilbert Bradley and Gordon Bowsher, and the correspondence they kept th
PolitiFact→ Joe Biden – The facts behind Joe Biden’s blended story of battlefield heroism
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly False | The facts behind Joe Biden’s blended story of battlefield heroism Former Vice President Joe Biden has been taken to task for blending the stories of several soldiers into a single compelling narrative. In Au
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘There are 30,000 Gun Related Deaths Per Year by Firearms’
In August 2019, a Facebook post about the United States’ purported 30,000 gun deaths per year circulated, typically copied and pasted into individual posts which themselves were each shared a handful of times. One particular version coupled with