On December 2019, Twitter and Facebook were flush with posts about a downward tilted toilet — purportedly designed to be unbearable to sit upon for more than five minutes — installed by employers to discourage lengthy bathroom breaks: BREAKI
Search Results (3151) for: thousands
Truth or Fiction?→ What Do You See in This Image of a Vehicle on Fire?
On December 10 2019, a Facebook user shared the following photographs of a vehicle on fire — one of which includes an apparent image of a figure in the flames: Alongside the two photographs, the user wrote: Caught a picture of this vehicle
FactCheck.org→ Meme Politicizes Progressive Insurance
Quick Take An outdated meme circulating on Facebook claims that Progressive, the insurance company, “is owned by Peter Lewis who donates millions” to the Democratic Party and left-leaning organizations. But Lewis died in 2013. Full Story A
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Supreme Court Can Extend Trump’s Term By Up To 3 Years If He’s Acquitted In The Senate’ Facebook Share
A December 12 2019 article with the headline, “Supreme Court Can Extend Trump’s Term By Up To 3 Years If He’s Acquitted In The Senate” spread widely on social media — particularly Facebook — in the days after it appeared. It cla
FactCheck.org→ Meme Makes Flawed Obama, Trump Comparison
Quick Take Facebook users are recirculating a meme from May that makes misleading economic comparisons between Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The meme includes inaccurate or selective information about Obama’s record on jobs and econom
FactCheck.org→ Another Dubious Trump Attack on ‘Fake News’
President Donald Trump accused CNN of manipulating video to make it appear that “massive crowds” protested his decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Trump called it “fake news as usual,” but we couldn’t
FactCheck.org→ Baseless Clinton Conspiracy Theory Still Circulating
Quick Take A Macedonian website is peddling a baseless Hillary Clinton conspiracy theory that has amassed tens of thousands of shares on Facebook. The story implies that Clinton was involved in the deaths of two Baltimore-area law enforcement officers,
FactCheck.org→ How Old Claims Compare to IG Report
On Dec. 9, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General released its report on the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into whether individuals associated with the Trump campaign were coordinating with Russia’s inte
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Uber Receive 235 Reports of Rape and 5,981 Reports of Sexual Abuse?
On December 8 2019, the Facebook page “Feminists United” shared a screenshot of the following tweet about 235 reports of rape purportedly received by Uber in a year: For every man that doesn't understand why women are fed up. Last
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Michael Jordan is NOT Running for US Senate as a Republican
Is Michael Jordan running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican? Not, that's not true: This is a fake claim originally made by a website that is part of a network that runs satirical stories. It was copied from the satirical site with no mention
FactCheck.org→ A Misleading Take on Immigrant, Veterans Health Care
Quick Take A long-circulating headline on social media misleadingly tells users that Democrats chose to “vote down” a health records system for veterans while approving the same for immigrants who cross the border illegally. The bill in que
Truth or Fiction?→ Do You Need to Remove Barcodes from Donated Toys Because People Exchange Them for Cigarettes and Beer?
On December 9 2019, a number of news outlets published a syndicated article with the headlines “Donating Toys This Holiday Season? You Might Want to Remove the Barcode,” or, alternately, “Remove The Barcode If You’re Donating
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Butt Plug’ Christmas Tree in Paris
In December 2019 a number of Facebook users shared photographs and memes depicting a purportedly modernist Christmas tree in Paris, France — which also happened to resemble a giant version of a certain type of sex toy: In the post above, atop a p
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Jeff Bezos Didn’t Donate $100M LOL, He Took $100M of Amazon Stock and ‘Donated’ it to His Own Charity’ Meme
On November 25 2019, Twitter user @TheyCallMeChew tweeted about the controversial donation by Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos of nearly $100 million to homelessness charities, claiming that the donation was not what it seemed: Jeff Bezos
Truth or Fiction?→ A Fun Series of Events in Finland
On December 3 2019, Twitter user Matt Bruenig tweeted about a “fun series of events in Finland”: A fun series of events in Finland: 1. Postal service cuts pay of 700 sorters. 2. Strike called. 60k workers join in solidarity, shutting do
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Whole Foods Holiday Food Drive’ Post
A December 2 2019 Facebook status update excoriating Amazon and Whole Foods over a purported holiday food drive (and advising customers to move unpurchased items to the “donations” section) struck a chord and racked up tens of thousands of
Snopes→ Trump Administration Tightens Food Stamp Work Requirements
The Trump administration is tightening work requirements for the federal food stamp program in a move that will slash benefits for hundreds of thousands of people.
Truth or Fiction?→ Avoid #GivingTuesday Scams
“Giving Tuesday” or #GivingTuesday posts are all over social media the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, but as is often the case when cash is flowing and donations are a click away, scammers and profiteers have made their way into the donations
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Private Prisons Suing States for Millions of Contract Quotas?
A long-popular October 2018 Facebook post continued spreading through late 2019, alleging that private prisons were suing states over unmet contract quotas promising a minimum number of profitable inmates. A status update read “SO WE JUST NOT GO
Snopes→ Bear Blamed for Car Damages in Alaska Airport Parking Lot
A bear has been blamed for a pair of vehicle break-ins at an Alaska airport parking lot that resulted in thousands of dollars in damage to one car.
Truth or Fiction?→ The Good Advice Hidden in a ‘Fun Funeral Facts’ Meme
Pointed advice in a popular Facebook meme are solid advice for consumers facing the tough decisions that come with the bereavement process, two experts told us. “People make the mistake of walking into the funeral home and treating the funeral h
Climate Feedback→ Ian Plimer op-ed in The Australian again presents long list of false claims about climate
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This op-ed in The Australian by Ian Plimer, titled “Let’s not pollute minds with carbon fears”, makes many claims: that polar ice is not melting, that human-caused CO2 emissions can’t cause clim
Truth or Fiction?→ A Four-Megaton Atomic Bomb Was Lost off Georgia’s Coast in 1958 (And No One Knows If It’s Active)
In November 2019, the Facebook page “Weird History” shared the following meme, which claimed that a four-megaton atomic bomb remained missing near Georgia — and that it might be live: Under an image of a Cold War-style bomb or missil
Truth or Fiction?→ Did BBC Edit a Clip of Boris Johnson Getting Laughed at in a Televised Forum?
The British Broadcasting Corporation faced accusations of political bias in November 2019 after social media users spotted the difference between a television audience’s live reaction to a question directed at UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and
FactCheck.org→ Trump Repeats False Ukraine Claims
President Donald Trump called into “Fox & Friends” a day after the impeachment hearings ended and repeated false statements that have been debunked by fact-checkers and, in some cases, members of his own administration. Trump repeated
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
PolitiFact→ Disinformation targets Republicans who criticize Trump or support the impeachment inquiry
Mitt Romney and the few other Republican lawmakers who have spoken out against Trump lately have become the targets of disinformation on social media. False Facebook posts and tweets about federal and local lawmakers who broke the party line have been
Truth or Fiction?→ Was Fox News Taken Off American Forces Network Radio?
A series of tweets in November 2019 pushed the claim that Fox News had been made unavailable for United States military service members. The claim came after the right-wing network’s treatment of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman following his testimon
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Democrats Spent $40,000,000 of YOUR Tax Dollars Trying to Impeach Trump’ Posts
On October 28 2019, a Facebook user shared the following status update (archived here), claiming that Democrats spent $40,000,000 in an attempt to impeach United States President Donald Trump: White text against a purple smoke background ass
FactCheck.org→ Social Posts Distort Facts on Political Relationships
Quick Take Social media posts falsely claim that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s nephew, and that Rep. Adam Schiff has a sister who is married to the son of George Soros. It also falsely states that a daughter of form
Truth or Fiction?→ Ken Starr Statement on Impeachment Inquiry Spreads Without Full Context
Amid impeachment inquiry hearings on November 20 2019, a partial transcript from a Fox News telecast spread online and gave some readers and listeners the impression that one of the right-wing network’s analysts had concluded that United States
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Students Today Depend on Paper Too Much, Don’t Know How to Write on a Slate’ 1815 Quote
In November 2015, Facebook page “The Credible Hulk” shared the following screenshot purportedly showing a lament from an 1815 school principal’s publication suggesting the students of the day had grown too dependent on paper, and la
Climate Feedback→ New York Times op-ed claiming scientists underestimated climate change lacks supporting evidence
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This op-ed by author Eugene Linden, published under the headline “How Scientists Got Climate Change So Wrong”, argues that climate scientists have long underestimated climate change. The article discuss
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The Little White Envelope for the Man Who Hated Christmas’ Posts
In November 2019, a nearly year-old “Maui 24/7” post titled “THE LITTLE WHITE ENVELOPE” (alternately: “the Man Who Hated Christmas”) circulated virally on social media: Text attached to an image told a heartstri
Truth or Fiction?→ Report: Coordinated Russian Disinformation Could Be ‘Significantly Impactful’
Russian disinformation efforts resulted in their content being shared on more than 100 online outlets as part of a two-pronged approach covering both social media and ginned-up websites, according to a report commissioned by the Senate Intelligence Co
Truth or Fiction?→ Chef Uses Molecular Gastronomy to ‘Incredibly’ Bake a ‘Clear’ Pumpkin Pie?
An October 17 2019 post on the site CanYouActually.com, “Chef Uses Molecular Gastronomy To Incredibly Bake A Clear Pumpkin Pie,” racked up tens of thousands of shares across social media platforms: There’s nothing more traditional than p
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Old Farmer’s Almanac Predict an Alarming Number of Snowstorms This Winter?
A November 1 2019 ReturnToNow.net post headlined “Old Farmer’s Almanac Predicts An Alarming Number of Snowstorms This Winter” was shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook. and was likely to continue spreading. ReturnToNow.net is cl
Truth or Fiction?→ Are Christians Being Told to Stop Saying That Jesus Is the ‘Son of God’ Because It Offends Muslims?
An April 2019 text-based status update meme on Facebook claimed (without citation, as usual) that Christians are being told to “stop calling Jesus the ‘Son of God,'” because it “offends Muslims”: White text aga
FactCheck.org→ Blowing the Whistle on a Misinforming Meme
Quick Take Memes circulating widely on social media misidentify a former White House staffer as the whistleblower who touched off the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Full Story Pictures of White House staffers from 2016 flooded social media
Truth or Fiction?→ Congress ‘Rejects’ Social Security Increase: Facebook Users Regurgitate Bogus Claim
In a prime example of easily digestible disinformation finding ready distribution on Facebook, a citation-free, years-old claim ginning up outrage against lawmakers was resurrected as a text-based graphic in September 2019, and has been shared thousa