Was U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fined $40,000 for destruction government property for shredding her copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address? No, that's not true: This is a work of satire that has been ripped off by real
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Truth or Fiction?→ Angelika Greg-Delany #WalkAway Campaign: ‘I Came From the Soviet Socialist Part of the Ukraine, I Barely Survived’
Late on February 6 or early February 7 2020, Facebook user “Angelika Greg-Delany” shared a purportedly true account to the group #WalkAway Campaign — purportedly first about her encounter with a Russia-bashing “Bernie Sanders s
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Supporters Sabotage the Iowa Caucus Hotlines on Election Night?
On February 6 2020, a number of news organizations reported that the chaos during (and following) the Iowa caucus was exacerbated by a flood of calls to an election night hotline made by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump to further confuse the
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO Audio Or Video Proof Of Woman Harassing Political Rival At His Home
Did a young woman running for government office in Lewiston, Maine, get caught on audio and video making violent threats and harassing another candidate at his home? No, that's not true: The audio and video are actually of another individual -
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Farmers in Haiti Reject Donated Monsanto Seeds After the 2010 Earthquake?
On February 1 2020, the Facebook page “Inhumans of Late Capitalism” shared the following screenshot of a Tumblr post, which contained a description of how farmers in Haiti refused to accept seed donations from Monsanto after a devastatin
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Only Three Companies Make All the World’s Insulin (Charging $20 Outside the United States and $300+ in the United States)?
On January 28 2020, the Facebook page “Drug Prices are Too High” shared the following Twitter screenshot, about the purported price of insulin outside the United States (USD$20) versus its cost in the U.S. (USD$300+) per vial: Th
FactCheck.org→ Virginia Bill Wouldn’t Criminalize Criticism
Quick Take Online headlines falsely claim that Virginia lawmakers want to make criticizing state officials a “criminal offense.” The bill doesn’t create new offenses. It would merely allow cases of threats or harassment against some state off
Truth or Fiction?→ Can You Adjust Facebook to Block Fact-Checkers?
A January 2020 Facebook post sought to convince one social media user’s friends not only that fact-checkers were employed by Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg to target conservative content in posts, but that those same fact-check
FactCheck.org→ Impeachment-Social Security Hoax Resurfaces in Video
Quick Take A viral YouTube video rehashed, and added to, a debunked hoax about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi taking money from Social Security to pay for the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump. The claim originated on a self-described s
Truth or Fiction?→ Harry S. Truman: ‘Socialism is a Scare Word’
In January 2020, a Facebook post from September 2019 featuring an image of President Harry S. Truman and claims in 1952 Truman said that “socialism is a scare word” continued to spread: At the top of the meme, text over an image of Trum
FactCheck.org→ A Misleading Take on Alabama’s Abortion Law
Quick Take An Instagram post misleadingly claims a young rape victim can be “thrown in prison” for receiving an abortion in Alabama. Under a new law, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, criminal charges could be brought again
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Iranian Press Agency Claims Image Of Israel Strike On Gaza Shows Iranian Strike on US Airbase
As news of the retaliatory airstrikes from Iran on Iraq's Ain Assad Air Base spread around the world the evening of January 7, 2020, fake stories and falsely attributed photos also began to surface on social media. One photo from 2019 has been
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Weird Twitter’ Account Spreads Video Distorting Joe Biden Campaign Speech
On January 1 2020, a Twitter user attempting to lobby criticism on Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden went a step further than a critique by posting a video that had been edited to remove context from one of his campaign speeches. The a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Virginia Is NOT Outlawing All Forms Of Self Defense, Including Kickboxing And Tai Chi
Is Virginia outlawing all forms of self-defense, incuding kickboxing, Tai Chi, and firearms instruction? No, that's not true: A proposed bill that may be considered in the next session of the Virginia General Assembly does make deadly paramili
FactCheck.org→ False Story Furthers Claim About Dem Defectors
Quick Take A made-up story that claims four Democratic senators are switching their party affiliation because of the impeachment is circulating on Facebook. But the story originated on a site that describes its content as satire. Full Story A story th
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Adam Schiff Did NOT Pay Witnesses Over $40 Million To Testify Against Trump
Did House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff pay witnesses over $40 million to testify against Trump? No, that's not true: the story comes from a satire website, there is no evidence that such a payment took place and the people refer
Truth or Fiction?→ Ahoy, Matey: Book Excerpt Fuels Surge of Interest in Same-Sex Pirate Partnerships
In December 2019, a graphic circulated online that questioned the dominant narrative on (and perhaps had some readers rethinking their views about) the pirate culture of the 17th century. A photograph, taken from the 2019 book The Queeriodic Table:
Lead Stories→ Fake Faces: People Who Do Not Exist Invade Facebook To Influence 2020 Elections (Part 1)
EDITORS NOTE: Meet Carolina Chaney. Take a good look at her Facebook profile photo. Maybe she looks like your kid's math teacher or your doctor. Privacy settings block us from seeing anything about her, but we do see she is one of 11 adminis
Lead Stories→ Fake News: CIA Agent Does NOT Blow Whistle, Does NOT Say ‘We Supply Elite Pedophiles With Children’
Did a former CIA agent say the agency would supply elite pedophiles with child prostitutes in return for secret information, and that it was legal? No, that's not true: Former CIA case officer John Kiriakou was seen on video speaking on an ant
Truth or Fiction?→ Rep. Duncan Hunter’s Office Backtracks on ‘Transcript’ After Announcing Guilty Plea
On December 4 2019 —a day after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to misuse campaign funds — the office of Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-California) took responsibility for an oddly-scripted release that accompanied his interview with a local news outlet an
Snopes→ Ruckelshaus, Who Defied Nixon in Watergate Firing, Dies
Reflecting on his long career of public service and private enterprise in 2001, the lifelong Republican ranked his time at the EPA as one of the most fulfilling and challenging.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Now Listen You Rich People, Weep and Wail’ Tumblr Post or Bible Verse?
In November 2019, a Tumblr screenshot beginning “now listen you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you” was shared to the Facebook group “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Revolutionary Meme Stash̶
FactCheck.org→ Erroneous Claim of ‘End of Youth Hunting’ in Virginia
Quick Take Posts on Facebook wrongly claim that Virginia has “announced the end of youth hunting.” The state’s Department of Game & Inland Fisheries confirmed that there have been “no such changes” in state laws, and s
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO Ukrainian Indictment Claims $7.4 Billion Obama-Linked Laundering, Does NOT Put Biden Group Take At $16.5 Million
Does a Ukrainian indictment claim there is a $7.4 billion Obama-linked money laundering scheme, and does the indictment put a Biden group's take at $16.5 million? No, that's not true: There was no such indictment as of November 21, 2019. The f
FactCheck.org→ Legal Implications of Outing the Whistleblower
In one heated exchange during day three of the impeachment hearings, Rep. Adam Schiff cut off a line of questioning to protect the whistleblower’s identity, saying the whistleblower has “a statutory right to anonymity.” But the law he
Truth or Fiction?→ UK’s Conservative Party’s Communications Team Briefly Rebrands to Mislead Public
As a December 12 2019 general election looms over the UK and the rhetoric around its third election since 2015 grows ever louder, distractions and political stunts have hit a fever pitch, injecting misinformation and outright disinformation into its p
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Your Page is at Risk of Being Unpublished’ Facebook Warning
On November 19 2019, a number of Facebook page administrators received messages from the social media platform bearing the warning: “Your page is at risk of being unpublished” for various actions. One poster on Reddit’s r/facebook on
Truth or Fiction?→ What Happened to ‘The Man in the High Castle’ Swastika Props?
As the fourth and final season of Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle aired, a post to Reddit’s r/oddlysatisfying asserted that producers were proactive in post-production handling of the show’s many swastikas and other Nazi memora
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Prisoner Sentenced To Death Did NOT Survive Lethal Injection 3 Times, NOT Set Free
Did a prisoner on death row survive three attempts at lethal injection and was subsequently set free? No, that's not true: It is a hoax story made up by a known fake news website, but copied and republished by other websites as the truth. Ther
FactCheck.org→ The Data on DACA and Crime
Hours before the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over whether the Trump administration could end a deferred deportation program for so-called “Dreamers,” the president tweeted that “some” of those receiving that protection
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Americans are So Brainwashed, They Think They Won the Space Race’ Meme
On November 9 2019, a post to Reddit’s r/socialism made a titular claim that Americans “think they won the space race”: Americans are so brainwashed that they think they won the space race. from socialism Ano
Truth or Fiction?→ Northeast Police Department ‘Shopping Cart’ Arrest Controversy
On November 5 2019, the Facebook page “Northeast Police Department (Texas)” shared a post prefaced with “CART AND SAVE,” about the arrest of an individual using a shopping cart to transport groceries from a store to their home
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Lucy Liu an Acclaimed Artist Known for Her Lesbian Paintings Under the Pseudonym Yu Ling?
On November 5 2019, a Facebook user shared the following post about actor Lucy Liu, indicating they were “today years old” when they discovered Liu was an accomplished artist under a pseudonym (“Yu Ling”) in addition to her act
Truth or Fiction?→ All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in Poland
On November 1 2019, the Facebook page “Witches Night” shared an image set and with it a post claiming that people in Poland — a Catholic majority country — do not celebrate Halloween, instead broadly directing that seasonal attenti
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Scientists Did NOT Discover DNA Proving Original Native Americans Were White
Did scientists discover DNA proving the original Native Americans were white? No, that's not true: a Guardian article about some real scientific research was rewritten and edited to make it look like it was about discovering white ancestry of
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Ears are Straight, Fawn is Great, Ears are Curled, Fawn is Alone in the World’ Wildlife Rescue Meme
In October 2019, the Facebook page “Wild Souls Wildlife Rescue and Rehab” shared a following meme advising people to leave fawns with straight ears alone, because “curled ears” are indicative that a young deer has been abando
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook ‘News’ Service to Include ‘Diverse’ Category, Sites Associated With White Nationalism
Facebook has announced a news service aimed at providing users with a “personalized” slate of stories from four different types of categories: general, topical, local, and “diverse”: Diversity publishers as those focused on key
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Nancy Pelosi Was NOT Involved In One Of The Biggest Heroin Busts
Was Nancy Pelosi involved in one of the biggest heroin busts? No, that's not true: The claim that Speaker Pelosi was involved in a massive operation to smuggle heroin into the United States from southeast Asia has no basis in fact. A published
FactCheck.org→ Headlines Spin Ukrainian Donations to Clinton Charity
Quick Take Viral headlines wrongly suggest that the Ukrainian government gave more money than any other country to the Clinton Foundation. But the 2015 news report cited does not support that. Full Story Misleading headlines spread across social me
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Rolling Stone’ List of Top 100 Singers of All Time
On October 20 2019, the Twitter account “Classic Rock in Pics” shared a purported Rolling Stone magazine list of the top 100 singers of all time: Rolling Stone Magazine list of Top 100 Singers of All Time. Thoughts?https://t.co/nq2WAO