Quick Take A viral, made-up story sowed confusion among social media users over whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has diverted Social Security money to the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. She didn’t. Full Story House Speaker
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FactCheck.org→ Video: Trump’s False Syria Claims
In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper debunks two claims made by President Donald Trump about the U.S. military involvement in Syria. Trump falsely claimed on Twitter, “The United States was supposed to be in Syria fo
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO Urgent Community Notice, NO Census Security Alert From Department of Home Affairs
Did the "Department of Home Affairs" issue a "Census Security Alert" about scammers supposedly checking people's ID's and robbing homes in the run-up to the 2020 U.S. Census? No, that's not true: the United States has no "Department of Home Af
Truth or Fiction?→ Disinformation Peddlers Push ‘October 16th’ Conspiracy Theory
A gaggle of specious blogs and social media accounts set about inflaming tensions for their followers in a set of posts reminiscent of other fake controversies. The posts center on vaguely-worded “threats” and wide-ranging military deploym
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s False Tweets on Syria
After announcing a withdrawal of U.S. troops in Syria at the border with Turkey, President Donald Trump tweeted incorrect statements about the conflict. On Oct. 7, Trump claimed the United States’ involvement in Syria was originally supposed to l
Truth or Fiction?→ Was a Toddler Subjected to Months of Abuse Because of a ‘Cookie’ Analogy?
In September 2019, a Facebook user shared an image and a harrowing story about the purported sexual abuse of a toddler that went unreported for months because the young girl supposedly was not taught anatomically correct words: Alongside a photograph
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Joe Biden Does NOT Confess to Bribery
Did Joe Biden confess to bribery when he told how he warned Ukraine's leader the United States would withhold a $1 billion loan unless a prosecutor was replaced? No, that's not true: A video posted with the "bribery" claim is from the former v
Truth or Fiction?→ Recurring Disinformation Around Remembrance Day, Poppies, and ‘Upset Minorities’
An enduring piece of misinformation surrounding the Remembrance Day holiday and the Royal British Legion charity group resurfaced again in September 2019, despite the best efforts of fact-checkers the last few times the same exact disinformation appea
Truth or Fiction?→ Facebook #HocusPocus ‘Witch Checker’
In early October 2019, a Facebook status update meme appeared with the claim that people who type #HocusPocus into comments of a post could activate Facebook’s “witch checker” feature: Myriad posts involving re-worded variants o
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Sometimes Dogs or Wolves in Movies Need CGI Tails Because They’re So Excited to be Doing a Good Job Acting’
On October 6 2019, the following post spread rapidly on Facebook, concerning wolves and dogs in the movie industry and how they may sometimes need computer-generated editing to make them look less happy or excited: View post on imgur.com Beneath an
FactCheck.org→ Schiff Wrong on Whistleblower Contact
Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House intelligence committee, wrongly implied that his committee had no contact with the whistleblower before receiving the complaint. Schiff claimed, “We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower,” when the
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘When We See Cancer in Pork, We Just Cut It Out And Still Sell It To Customers’ Claim
A February 2018 post (“An Experienced Butcher Admits: “When We See Cancer In The Pork, We Just Cut It And Still Sell It To Customers””) circulated widely on Facebook in October 2019, inspiring a fresh round of users vowing to never aga
Snopes→ Ban Could Block Capitol Christmas Tree from New Mexico
A tree to be displayed outside the U.S. Capitol building over the holidays is supposed to come from a northern New Mexico forest.
FactCheck.org→ Impeachment ‘Joke’ Muddies Term Limit Rule
Quick Take A viral social media post suggests that the Constitution would allow President Donald Trump to seek a potential third term in office if he were to be impeached, but not removed. The Constitution does not say that. Full Story The impeachm
Truth or Fiction?→ Harry S. Truman ‘You Can’t Get Rich in Politics Unless You’re a Crook’ Meme
A December 2018 “McGroarty for Freedom” Facebook quote meme remained popular in circulation nearly a year later, attributing commentary about politics, wealth, and honesty to former United States President Harry S. Truman: Underneath a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ilhan Omar Did NOT Spit On The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Did Ilhan Omar spit on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to troll Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up stories that are clearly marked as satir
FactCheck.org→ Viral Photo Falsely Targets Climate Strike Protesters
Quick Take A post on social media falsely claims to show litter left behind by Climate Strike protesters in London on Sept. 20. The photo is from a completely unrelated event in April. Full Story The Global Climate Strike, an international series of
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Estella Brasier (aka Estella Renee) Is NOT A Child Actress Paid For Climate Protest
Is Estella Brasier, a girl who can be seen crying during an interview at a climate protest in Australia really a child actress who is being paid to protest? Or is she not really an activist but is she just acting? No, that's not true: Lead Sto
FactCheck.org→ Trumps Didn’t Take Seats for Disabled at U.N.
Quick Take Social media users and websites jumped to the wrong conclusion by claiming the Trump family took seats reserved for guests with disabilities at the 74th session of the U.N. General Assembly. They sat in seats reserved for guests of the speak
FactCheck.org→ Trump Twists Facts on Biden and Ukraine
President Donald Trump once again twisted the facts to claim that Joe Biden, as vice president, threatened to withhold “billions of dollars to Ukraine” unless it removed the prosecutor general who “was prosecuting” Biden’s
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Shotgun-Armed 11-Year-Old Did NOT Shoot Illegal Alien Home Invaders
Did an 11-year-old Montana girl armed with a shotgun defend her home from two illegal alien invaders by shooting them? No, that's not true: It is a completely made-up story that first appeared online on a now-defunct website in 2006, but copie
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s History of Hurricane Relief Donations
Q: Did President Donald Trump donate $1 million to hurricane relief efforts in the Bahamas? A: Despite social media claims to the contrary, there is no evidence of such a donation. He did, however, donate to relief efforts in 2017 after Hurricane Harv
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Illegal Immigrants Do NOT Get 43% Of All Food Stamps, 95% of Los Angeles Murder Warrants, 66% Of California Births, 60% Of HUD Housing
Do illegal immigrants get 43 percent of all food stamp benefits and are they suspects in 95 percent of all Los Angeles murders? Are 41 percent of them on welfare and are 66 percent of all births in California to undocumented mothers who get fr
FactCheck.org→ Trump Bends the Facts on Lightbulbs
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized energy-efficient lightbulbs, saying that the bulbs people are “being forced to use” are more expensive, contain hazardous gases and give off light that’s “not as good” as incandescents. Experts
Hoax-Slayer→ Watch Out for Fake SWIFT ‘Payment Remittance” Emails
Inboxes are currently being hit by bogus "payment remittance" emails that supposedly include details about a SWIFT payment. The post Watch Out for Fake SWIFT ‘Payment Remittance” Emails appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Truth or Fiction?→ Causes of Death Per Day and Rifles Meme
In September 2019, a number of memes about “causes of death” per day or per year in the United States circulated, largely as discourse surrounding purported retailer “bans” (but really, discontinuation of sales) of rifles. One
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Robin Williams Cheer Up a Paralyzed Christopher Reeve by Pretending to be a Proctologist?
In September 2019, the Facebook page “Clips of Our Past” shared the following meme, which presented an anecdote about Superman actor Christopher Reeve and purported actions taken by friend and fellow actor and comedian Robin Williams to
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Kamala Harris Did NOT Say "Our Police Are All Criminal Animals; They Are A Cancer"
Did Kamala Harris call the police "criminal animals" and "a cancer"? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to fool Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up stories that are clearly mar
Snopes→ Is This Meryl Streep Riding the Subway After Failing an Audition?
The Academy Award-winning actress was supposedly deemed too "ugly" for what would have been her debut film role.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Maxine Waters Say 700 Billion People Will Lose Healthcare Coverage in a Trumpcare Bill?
On September 17 2019, the purported young conservative-aligned Facebook page “Turning Point USA” shared the following meme (archived here), invoking an old favorite trope about the supposed ignorance or stupidity of women of color in power
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Democratic Lawmaker Introduce a Bill to ‘Euthanize Seniors’?
Known satire site the Last Line of Defense, or LLOD, continued pushing its content in September 2019, as they opened another affiliate site publishing the same kind of posts. Daily World Update, billing itself as “satire for flat earthers, Trum
Lead Stories→ Fake News: JFK Jr. Is NOT Alive And Will Not Replace Vice President Pence as Donald Trump’s 2020 Running Mate
Is John F. Kennedy Jr. alive and will he make a public return to join President Donald Trump as his vice presidential running mate in 2020? No, that's not true: It is a cornerstone of a conspiracy myth promoted by QAnon followers who believe t
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘2045 Time Traveler Took This Video in the Future…’
On August 30 2019 the Facebook page “Mysterious Society” shared the following video, “Time Traveler Took This Video in the Year 2045”: In a rambling six-minute clip, a seemingly distressed man repeatedly impresses upon viewe
FactCheck.org→ Marx, Engels Quote Falsely Attributed to Reagan
Quick Take A meme circulating on Facebook wrongly attributes a statement about guns to former President Ronald Reagan. The quotation is actually from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, co-authors of The Communist Manifesto. Full Story In recent weeks, so
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ilhan Omar Did NOT Walk Out Of 9/11 Memorial Service
Did Ilhan Omar walk out of a 9/11 memorial service in Washington? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to fool Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up stories that are clearly marked
Truth or Fiction?→ Starbucks 20-Ounce Venti vs. 12-Ounce Grande Video Experiment
On August 11 2019 the Facebook page Mercadotecnia Total shared the following video (translated title: “Effective Marketing: Venti vs Large @ Starbucks”): That iteration racked up more than five million views in just one month, and a co
Hoax-Slayer→ ‘Your Email Account Has Been Infected With a Virus’ Phishing Scam
According to this email, which was supposedly sent by the "Email Security Team" at Yahoo.com, your account has been infected with a virus. The post ‘Your Email Account Has Been Infected With a Virus’ Phishing Scam appeared first on Hoax
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
Hoax-Slayer→ ‘Someone Has Access to Your System’ Fake Blackmail Sextortion Scam
This email, which was supposedly sent by a "hacker who has access to your operating system", claims that your computer was infected with a "Trojan Virus" through an adult site that you visited. The post ‘Someone Has Access to Your System’