Did actor Jussie Smollett receive a NAACP award fro creating jobs for Nigerian-Americans? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a satire website to mock the news that Smollett was nominated for a real NAACP award after having charges d
Search Results (2181) for: supposed
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Russia Investigation Repeats
In his first extended interview since the completion of the special counsel probe, President Donald Trump repeated several false and misleading claims regarding the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The FBI investigation be
Truth or Fiction?→ Charles Kinsey Shooting
On March 20 2019, the following screenshot and text (archived here) was publicly shared on Facebook, accruing a six-figure share count in under a week: Charles Kinsey is his FUCKING NAME. Edit: the officer who shot him is Jonathon Aledda In the screen
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Changing Your Birthday to 2007 on Twitter Will Not Unlock Different Colors — Will Lock Your Account Instead
Does changing your birthday to 2007 on Twitter unlock different colors or get you a new color scheme? No, that's not true: pranksters are spreading this rumor but all it will do is shut you out of your Twitter account for being under 13 years
FactCheck.org→ Meme Uses Litter Photo to Spread Garbage
Quick Take A viral meme claims that environmentalists littered a California park on Earth Day, but the image is from a 2009 college football tailgate in Georgia. Full Story A meme that has accrued thousands of shares on Facebook casts blame on envir
Truth or Fiction?→ Guardian Angel Crying at the Cradle of an Aborted Fetus?
A February 28 2019 Facebook post (archived here) shared the image reproduced above with the following text: I shared this picture a few minutes ago, then about 5 minutes after I shared it, the post was removed from my page and also from the page of wh
Snopes→ Did U. S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Announce a ‘New Scheme to Take Down Donald Trump in 2020’?
The supposed "scheme" entailed lowering the federal minimum voting age to 16.
FactCheck.org→ A Made-Up Quote and a Made-Up Target
Quick Take A popular meme attributes an ageist and inflammatory remark to a supposed Democrat from New York, but there is no trace of any elected officials by the name Jenna Tull. Full Story We’ve debunked a number of viral memes that have atte
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the ‘OK’ Hand Sign Also American Sign Language for ‘Asshole’?
In March 2019, a Facebook user shared a meme (archived here) which claimed that the “OK sign” hand gesture is both favored by white supremacists, and that it is also American Sign Language for the word “asshole”: The meme̵
Truth or Fiction?→ Is the ‘OK’ Hand Sign Also American Sign Language for ‘Asshole’?
In March 2019, a Facebook user shared a meme (archived here) which claimed that the “OK sign” hand gesture is both favored by white supremacists, and that it is also American Sign Language for the word “asshole”: The meme̵
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO Massive Geomagnetic Storm Will Hit Our Planet On The 18th Of March
Did Russian scientists warn that a massive geomagnetic storm would hit Earth on March 18, 2019? No, that's not true: The Russian Academy of Sciences noted chances of a low-level storm reaching our planet, but several websites exaggerated the o
Lead Stories→ Fake News: NO Whistleblower: Obama Was NOT Indonesian Citizen & NOT Given Financial Aid As Foreign Student At Occidental College
Did a whistleblower reveal that former U.S. President Barack Obama was an Indonesian citizen and was given financial support as a foreign student while attending Occidental College in Los Angeles? No, that's not true: It is one of a series of
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Fordham University Transcript Showing Trump 1.28 GPA Is Obvious Forgery
Did President Donald J. Trump's report card or transcript from his days at Fordham University leak and does it show a paltry 1.28 GPA? No, that's not true: the image that went viral in early March 2019 is an obvious forgery. An example of the
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
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?→ 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
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
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
Hoax-Slayer→ ‘Fire the Cattle Guards’ Hoax
This entertaining little story supposedly exposes the foolishness and telling lack of insight displayed by our political leaders. The post ‘Fire the Cattle Guards’ Hoax appeared first on Hoax-Slayer.
Snopes→ Police: Aurora Attacker Used Gun He Shouldn’t Have Owned
Like in many of the country's mass shootings, the Aurora attack was carried out by a man with a violent criminal history who was armed with a gun he wasn't supposed to have.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Democrats Did NOT Reveal Plan To Fire Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Did Democrats reveal a plan to fire Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after there was quite some criticism surrounding the launch of her "Green New Deal"? No, that's not true: a hyperpartisan site twisted a report from The Intercept into something that
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s State of the Union Outfit Cost Thousands of Dollars?
In February 2019, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was among a number of Democratic women wearing all white ensembles for the president’s State of the Union address, and the New York congresswoman’s outfit in particular inspired a number of me
Hoax-Slayer→ Apple ‘Subscription Confirmation’ Phishing Scam
This email, which purports to be from Apple, claims that your due payment has been scheduled. It includes an attached PDF that supposedly contains information about the payment. The post Apple ‘Subscription Confirmation’ Phishing Scam appea
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Bill Murray NOT Dead at 81
Did actor and legendary funnyman Bill Murray die at 81 and was his wish to see "Americans United Under Trump"? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Republi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Whoopi Goldberg NOT Fired From ‘The View’ After ‘Whiteface’ Controversy
Was Whoopi Goldberg fired from The View after a "Whiteface" controversy? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Republicans about the need to actually click
Lead Stories→ Fake News: McCarran Warner Act of 1952 Did NOT Forbid Muslims From Holding Office
Did the 101st Congress on November 18, 1990 quietly repeal the "McCarran Warner Act of 1952" forbidding muslims from holding office? No, that's not true for the simple reason that there never was such an act. Also, forbidding muslims from hol
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Rock Icon Mick Jagger NOT Dead, Did NOT Leave Billions For Border Wall
Did Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger die and did he leave billions of dollars for building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a satirical website that publishes ironic death hoaxes about v
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Muslim Principal Ban Crucifixes in a Virginia School?
On January 30 2019, Facebook page “The Blacksphere” shared the following meme, purportedly depicting a Virginia principal named Mamasai Mamakusa: The meme was likely outrage-bait which implied that the nonexistent principal’s hijab c
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Drinking Water Standing Up is Perfectly FINE
Should you never drink water standing up because else you don't get the nutrition or cleansing benefits from it? No, that's not true, it is total nonsense based on no actual science. The human digestive system is quite long, with lots of twist
Lead Stories→ Old Fake News: NO NFL Lawyer Found Dead, Did NOT Claim Super Bowl Is ‘Rigged’
Was NFL lawyer Dan Goodes found dead after claiming the Super Bowl is rigged? No, that's not true: an old copy of a fake story published in 2018 went viral again after being posted to several large Facebook groups and pages in 2019 but it is s
FactCheck.org→ Meme Misleads on Bush’s Border Fence
Quick Take A claim that the Bush administration approved $50 billion for construction of a border wall is false. Full Story In 2006, former President George W. Bush signed into law the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which called for about 700 miles of fenc
Hoax-Slayer→ ‘We Have Arranged Payment’ Malware Email
According to this supposed receipt email, the "Account Team" has arranged payment for you. However, the email is not a real receipt and no legitimate "Account Team" sent it. The post ‘We Have Arranged Payment’ Malware Email appeared first
Hoax-Slayer→ ‘National Lottery’ Scam Emails Continue Hitting Inboxes
Emails supposedly from the UK National Lottery claim that you have won a large sum of money and must supply personal information to the "agent" in charge of the prize. The post ‘National Lottery’ Scam Emails Continue Hitting Inboxes appeare
Lead Stories→ Here Are The Tools And Methods We Used To Map A Macedonian Fake News Network And The People Behind It
Sherlock Holmes had his magnifying glass. Hercule Poirot relied on his "little grey cells". But the 21st century internet detective needs more than that to catch the bad guys. In this article we present some of the tools and tricks we used to
Snopes→ Were Bugs Found in a Can of Chef Boyardee Mini Raviolis?
Millions of people have viewed a video supposedly showing the critters (or unmixed caramel coloring) in the product.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Marie Kondo Tell People They Could Only Keep Thirty Books at a Time?
After Netflix’s Tidying Up with Marie Kondo debuted in January 2019, social media lit up with takes lambasting Kondo’s supposedly draconian position on the possession of books: Wait Marie Kondo is telling people to toss their books? THEIR
FactCheck.org→ Trumps Not Donating $1 Billion for Border Wall
Quick Take A satirical story about President Donald Trump’s family donating $1 billion for his proposed border wall has spread to other sites that fail to label the work satire. Full Story Whether President Donald Trump will be able to secure fundin
Lead Stories→ Fake News: President Trump Did NOT Urge Americans To Boycott Chinese Restaurants
Did President Donald Trump use Twitter to urge Americans to boycott Chinese restaurants as part a trade war with China? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a satirical website. It is not real. The story originated from an article p
Truth or Fiction?→ Does This Grandma Want You to Share Her Photo to Mark Her 100th Birthday?
On January 7, 2019, the Facebook page “Animals & Nature” shared a seemingly wholesome plea on the part of the purported poster’s 100-year-old grandma: Alongside the purported centenarian’s image, a caption pleaded: Today’
Truth or Fiction?→ Do You Have the Right as a Juror to Refuse to Enforce ‘Bad Law’?
On January 5, 2018, the Facebook page “Think Liberty” posted this photograph of a woman holding a sign: The sign and caption said: As a juror, you have the right to refuse to enforce any bad law in the case brought before you. #TheMoreYouK