On April 4 2019, the following warning appeared (archived here), containing the claim that marijuana smokers can detect fentanyl contamination by smell: In addition to its primary claim (that fentanyl-laced weed smells like popcorn), the post cont
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Truth or Fiction?→ Does Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana Smell Like Popcorn?
On April 4 2019, the following warning appeared (archived here), containing the claim that marijuana smokers can detect fentanyl contamination by smell: In addition to its primary claim (that fentanyl-laced weed smells like popcorn), the post cont
Truth or Fiction?→ Should Anglers Beware of Snakes Hiding Inside Fish?
A September 2015 warning shared by the official-sounding Northwestern PA Sportsmen Facebook page (archived here) seems to make the rounds on social media in perpetuity: Beneath a photograph of what appears to be a snake inside the mouth of a large
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Courts Did NOT Quietly Confirm MMR Vaccine Causes Autism
Did courts "quietly confirm" that the MMR vaccine, which protects children against measles, mumps, and rubella, causes autism? No, that's not true: Court cases cited in articles falsely making the claim concluded with damage awards for encepha
Truth or Fiction?→ Do High Percentages of Refugees Receive Food Stamps, ‘Medicard,’ and Cash Welfare?
In late March 2019, the following meme (archived here) appeared, making three separate and warmed-over claims about “refugees” in the United States and opining, “cut them off”: The Meme The image-based meme provided no citation
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Faulty Wind Power Claims
During an April 2 speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee, President Donald Trump once again attacked wind power, falsely claiming that noise from turbines causes cancer and that turbines sink property values by 75 percent. The pres
Lead Stories→ Malinformation, Misinformation, Disinformation: Lead Stories NOT Using The Term F*ke N*ws Anymore
Update: Yes, of course this was an April Fools joke :-) For years we here at Lead Stories have put the term "F*ke N*ws" in every headline but it is time to put a stop to the practice. For a long time academic experts like Claire Wardle have ar
FactCheck.org→ Kentucky Governor Misguides on Chickenpox
On March 19, in the midst of a chickenpox outbreak in his state, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said in a radio interview that he had not vaccinated any of his children against the disease, choosing instead to purposely expose his kids to an infected person
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Macron Did NOT Deploy Tanks to Tackle Yellow Vests in France
Did French President Macron deploy Army tanks to the streets of France to tackle the yellow vest protests? No, that's not true: he did order the deployment of army troops alongside regular security forces of the Gendarmerie but no tanks were d
FactCheck.org→ How Much Will the ‘Green New Deal’ Cost?
Since the ambitious and controversial Green New Deal debuted last month, Republicans and Democrats have sparred over the cost of the measure — a nonbinding resolution that broadly outlines how the U.S. should address climate change over the next
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Say Her Girl Scout Troop Recreated the Challenger Launch?
On March 10 2019, right-wing YouTube personality and conspiracy theorist Mark Dice shared the following meme to Twitter and Facebook about a purported quote by U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: First, Dice tweeted the image above with no
FactCheck.org→ Posts Distort Facts on Obama, Flint
Quick Take Social media posts distort the facts to misleadingly claim that President Barack Obama “declared Flint water crisis a National Emergency and never fixed it.” Full Story After President Donald Trump declared a national emergen
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
FactCheck.org→ Does China Pay Tariffs?
President Donald Trump is fond of saying that China is paying billions of dollars to the U.S. as a result of the increased tariffs he has imposed on imports of Chinese goods. Not true. The tariffs are taxes paid by U.S. importers in the form of customs
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”
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?→ Do Border Signs Admit the United States Has Lost Control of Border Territory?
On January 13 2019, Facebook user Steve Raabe shared a photograph purportedly showing a sign at the U.S.-Mexico border, along with the following status update: I live on the border with Mexico. As a matter of fact, I live right on the edge. I was rais
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Man Did NOT Get 3rd Testicle Removed, Did NOT Discover It Was His Dead Siamese Brother
Did a man named JAmes Wong from Eugene, Oregon get his third testicle removed and did it turn out to have been his dead Siamese twin brother? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Canadian entertainment website that makes a living b
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→ Falsehood About Pelosi’s Brother-in-Law Resurfaces
Quick Take A viral story revives a falsehood about Nancy Pelosi’s brother-in-law and a federal loan guarantee for a Nevada solar plant. Full Story Using the proposed Green New Deal as a hook, Neon Nettle — a website known for peddling fal
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Recycled?
On February 12 2019, YouTube star Shane Dawson published his second video in his conspiracy series — called, appropriately, “Investigating Conspiracies with Shane Dawson” — and by far the most popular of its three topics was a claim th
Truth or Fiction?→ Were Modern Caesarean Sections Invented in Africa?
On February 6 2019, a Facebook post circulated claiming that “modern c-sections” were invented by midwives in Africa. The post had the hashtag #BlackHistoryMonth, and it said in its entirety: Did you that modern C sections were invented by
FactCheck.org→ Addressing New York’s New Abortion Law
Q: Does the new New York law allow full-term abortions? A: The law permits abortions after 24 weeks if a health care professional determines the health or life of the mother is at risk, or the fetus is not viable. FULL QUESTION Does the new New York
Truth or Fiction?→ Mold in Baby Food Pouches?
On January 31 2019, the Facebook page “Mommin’ Over Everything” shared what appears to be a screenshot of a social media post showing mold purportedly found in Aldi Simply Natural baby food pouches: Another version published on the
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
Snopes→ Study: Many Small Kids in US Are Using Too Much Toothpaste
Too many young kids are using too much toothpaste, increasing their risk of streaky or splotchy teeth when they get older, according to a government survey.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Scientists Did NOT Say Being Single Will Kill You Faster Than Obesity
Did scientists say being single will kill you faster than obesity? No, that's not true: a clickbait site misinterpreted a study and put a claim in a headline that is not actually made by the scientists. The story originated from an article pub
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Martin Luther King, Jr. Say ‘the Dream’ Cannot Survive if Women Have Abortions?
In January 2019, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the passage of a new abortion law in New York state occurred in close proximity, facilitating the circulation of the following quote meme: The above-reproduced quote meme included a photograph of King a
Truth or Fiction?→ Is Bread Bad for Ducks?
In January 2019, the Facebook page “Wild at Heart Rescue” shared the following illustration while claiming that it is dangerous — even potentially lethal — to feed bread to ducks: The drawings depicted waterfowl and the text said: Plea
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Tweets by Jacob Wohl and Jack Posobiec About ‘Impeaching’ Barack Obama Real?
In late January 2019, tweets attributed to far-right “influencers” Jack Posobiec and Jacob Wohl on the subject of impeaching former President Barack Obama circulated on social media in screenshot form: The image looked like a screengrab fr
Climate Feedback→ How credible were 2018’s most popular climate articles?
SUMMARY To investigate whether last year’s most “viral” climate change stories misled the people who read them, we asked scientists to evaluate a list of top articles (as we did last year). In November, we searched Buzzsumo for the
Lead Stories→ Fake News: New Research Did NOT Say Drinking Wine Is More Important Than Exercise For Living Past 90
Did new research say drinking wine is more important than excercise for living past 90? No, that's not true: the study is not new and it says the exact opposite. But an article making the claim recently went viral, the latest in a long line
Climate Feedback→ New York Times’ coverage of IPCC report clearly presents conclusions
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This story in The New York Times covered the October release of the IPCC’s “Global Warming of 1.5 °C” report. The report, which was requested by governments during the 2015 Paris Agreement negot
FactCheck.org→ Examining Shutdown Claims from Democrats
The weekslong partial government shutdown has led to around 800,000 federal employees not working or working without pay. It also has led to some false or questionable claims from Democrats about the shutdown’s impact on a host of federal service
Truth or Fiction?→ Is This a Photograph of a Swan Hugging the Veterinarian Who Saved Its Life?
On January 12 2019, a Facebook user added the caption “The Swan embracing the veterinarian, who saved his life” to the photo below: Part of the image’s appeal seemed to be a long-circulating myth that swans are inherently dangerous a
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Raised Dots on a Steering Wheel Braille for Blind Drivers?
In January 2019, the Facebook page “Adult Imaginations” shared an old meme claiming that steering wheels feature raised dots in braille for blind or visually impaired drivers: The image shows raised dots on the center of a steering wheel,
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
Truth or Fiction?→ Did President Barack Obama Shut Down the Government to ‘Force Obamacare’ in 2013?
On December 29, 2018, a Facebook user posted a status update claiming that a federal shutdown over border wall funding was similar to one in 2013 — and it was purportedly initiated by President Barack Obama: This was nearly identical to a December 2
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Deaths Listed in a ‘2018 Muslim Threat’ Tweet Accurate?
On January 1, 2019, civil rights lawyer and podcast host Qasim Rashid, Esq. tweeted a purported breakdown of the so-called “Muslim threat” relative to other risks to Americans in 2018: 2018 Recap of the “Muslim threat” Americans killed