Did a study from the University of Kansas find that mocking your partner strengthens your relationship? No, that's not true: a lighthearted summary of some research findings was posted with a headline that misrepresents and even contradicts t
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Truth or Fiction?→ Is a Photograph of Roger Stone Holding a ‘Hillary for Prison’ Shirt Real?
After political operative Roger Stone was arrested on January 25 2019, a photograph in which he appeared to proudly display a shirt bearing the slogan “Hillary for Prison” began circulating on social media: As in the example above, the ima
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→ Macedonian Fake News Network Shuts Down Dozens Of Websites After Joint Investigation By Lead Stories & Nieuwscheckers
Back in November of 2018 fact checking sites Lead Stories and Nieuwscheckers collaborated to map a network of Macedonian fake news websites that had published thousands and thousands of articles since 2016, mostly stolen from other places, man
Lead Stories→ The Kumanovo-connection: Macedonian Spam Clans Still Make Money With Fake News About Muslims and Migrants
A Macedonian military man appears to be one of the driving forces behind a network of fake news websites that reached millions of people with articles often inciting hatred against muslims and migrants. Together with friends and family he has
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
Lead Stories→ Decline and Fall Of A Macedonian Fake News Network: Numbers Indicate Facebook’s Measures Forced Desperate Move To Twitter
Although Macedonian fake news merchants still generate thousands of Facebook likes and shares, the platform's recent measures against bad actors have drastically reduced their reach. The next step in the arms race takes the battle to Twitter.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the United States Authorize $50 Billion for the Secure Fence Act of 2006?
On January 10, 2019, a text-based status update about United States President George W. Bush’s Secure Fence Act of 2006 went viral: President George W. Bush signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 into law “approved $50 Billion for the wall
Lead Stories→ Fake News: ‘To Catch a Predator’ Host Chris Hansen NOT Arrested After Meeting Up With 13 Year-Old Girl
Was Chris Hansen (host of "To catch a predador") arrested for illegally meeting up with a 13-year-old girl? No, that's not true: the story was briefly published by a "fauxtire" website but it is not real. The story was probably taken down beca
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis Say that ‘Pantyhose Wearing’ Politicians’ Gun Laws Angered Him?
In January 2019, Facebook page “The Original American Resistance” shared a meme attributing a quote to former United States Secretary of Defense James “Mad Dog” Mattis: The quote at the bottom of the image said: WHAT PISSES ME
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Hillary Clinton NOT Arrested in Fentanyl Raid at D.C. Airport
Was Hillary Clinton arrested in a fentanyl raid at a D.C. airport? 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 and re
Snopes→ Republicans Slam Colleague for What They Call Racist Remarks
Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan said: "This is an embrace of racism, and it has no place in Congress or anywhere."
Lead Stories→ Fake News: R. Kelly Did NOT Visit Bill Cosby In Prison for Advice
Did singer R. Kelly visit Bill Cosby in prison for advice? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a "fauxtire" site for entertainment purposes. It is not real. The story originated from an article published by Huzlers on January 9, 20
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Richard Petty NOT Dead at 81
Did former NASCAR driver Richard Petty die on January 6, 2019 and is President Trump heartbroken about the news? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and Repub
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Chinese Lunar Rover Finds No Evidence of American Moon Landings (Exactly As Expected…)
Did Chinese officials involved with their space program express skepticism that the American Moon landings ever happened because their recently landed lunar rover did not find any evidence for them? No, that's not true: the story was made up b
Truth or Fiction?→ Are More Americans Killed Annually by Lack of Affordable Healthcare Than in Terror Attacks or Undocumented Immigrants?
On December 20 2018, the Facebook page Teanderthal Party posted the following meme about healthcare, “illegal immigration,” terror attacks, and the mortality rate in the United States: It stated: FACT: More Americans die every year from la
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Teddy Roosevelt Stand Up for the First Black Female Postmaster?
In January 2019, the Facebook page History Hustle shared a meme about President Teddy Roosevelt and a woman named Minnie Cox, the first black female postmaster in the United States: The original post (which did not include any visible citations) said:
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Nuns Did NOT Cook Magic Shrooms By Mistake, Did NOT End Up In Orgy
Did some nuns in Albacete, Spain cook magic mushrooms by accident and did they end up in an orgy afterwards? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Spanish entertainment website and later got translated to English (sort of) for the i
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Man Did NOT Snort 10 Lines of Cocaine During Countdown To New Year, Did NOT End Up In Hospital
Did a man snort ten lines of cocaine during the countdown towards 2019 and was he subsequently taken to hospital with an overdose? No, that's not true: it did not happen in New York and it didn't happen in Santander, Spain either. The story
Truth or Fiction?→ Do Two-Thirds of Millennials Not Know What Auschwitz Is?
In late December 2018, the Facebook page for Yahoo! Now shared a link to an article with a comment that two-thirds of millennials “don’t know what Auschwitz was”: The post linked to an article aggregated to Yahoo! from Newsweek on Apr
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Porn Actress Funeral Did NOT End in Cemetary Orgy
Did the funeral of porn actress Sara Peláez end with an orgy at the cemetary? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Spanish satire website and later got translated (badly) for the English version of the site. It did not happen for
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pat Robertson Did NOT Say Global Warming Won’t Affect America Because God is Protecting Trump
Did Pat Robertson say global warming won't affect America because God is protecting Trump? No, that's not true: the fake quote was launched by a satirical website. Even though it went viral it is not true. The story originated from an articl
Snopes→ Baby Is Named After Highway Where She Was Born in a Car
A newborn New Yorker is now named after the expressway where she was born in her parents' minivan as they raced to a hospital.
FactCheck.org→ Trump Administration Distorts the Facts On Climate Report
Since the National Climate Assessment dropped on Black Friday, members of the Trump administration have inaccurately attacked the report for lacking transparency and factual basis, and for focusing on an “extreme” climate scenario. The EPA has als
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Palace Did NOT Confirm Queen’s Christmas Message Will Have Arabic Subtitles for Syrian Refugees
Will Queen Elizabeth II read her traditional Christmas message with Arabic subtitles for Syrian refugees this year? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a British satire website. There is no truth to the story and the screenshot tha
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Canadian GoFundMe Did NOT Raise $6B In Two Hours To Pay For Privacy Hedge Along Entire US Border
Did Canadians react to the GoFundMe set up to fund a border wall between the United States and Mexico by starting a GoFundMe for a privacy hedge between Canada and the United States and did it raise $6B in two hours? No, that's not true: the n
FactCheck.org→ Rep.-elect Green Wrong About Vaccines, CDC Fraud
At a town hall event on Dec. 11, Rep.-elect Mark Green of Tennessee inaccurately claimed that vaccine preservatives might cause autism. He also repeated an unsubstantiated claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “fraudulently manage
Climate Feedback→ Popular “Friends of Science” video promoted by Youtube presents long list of climate myths
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This video of a talk by author and speaker Steve Goreham, posted by the YouTube channel “Friends of Science” has been viewed over 250,000 times and has been widely promoted by Youtube recently. In it, G
Lead Stories→ Fake News: ‘Braveheart’ NOT To Get All-Female Reboot Starring Lena Dunham
Is Paramount Pictures planning to release an all-female reboot of the classic 1995 movie Braveheart? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Christian-themed satire website, it is not real. Despite that it went viral anyway, likely b
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Muslim Somali Sex Gang Did NOT Say Raping White British Children Was Part of Their Culture
Did members of a "Muslim Somali sex gang" responsible for grooming and raping several underage girls claim that raping white British children was part of their culture? No, that's not true: a Macedonian fake news site embellished an actual cla
Truth or Fiction?→ Does the Arrow on a Car’s Gas Gauge Indicate Which Side Has the Fuel Tank?
A tweet published in December 2018 reiterated a long-circulating purported “life hack,” in which an easy-to-miss arrow on a car’s gas gauge indicated the side of the vehicle on which its gas tank was located: How old were you when yo
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Four Artificially Intelligent Robots Kill 29 Humans in a Japan Lab?
On December 15, 2018, a Facebook user shared what appeared to be a screenshot of an article reporting the shocking news that dozens of Japanese scientists had been killed by rebellious artificial intelligence: An Instagram handle was visible in the sc
PolitiFact→ The VA’s private care program gave companies billions and vets longer waits
For years, conservatives have assailed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a dysfunctional bureaucracy. They said private enterprise would mean better, easier-to-access health care for veterans. President Donald Trump embraced that position, ent
PolitiFact→ The VA’s private care program gave companies billions and vets longer waits
For years, conservatives have assailed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a dysfunctional bureaucracy. They said private enterprise would mean better, easier-to-access health care for veterans. President Donald Trump embraced that position, ent
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Pelosi Did NOT Say Trump Can Have Wall If He Doesn’t Run In 2020
Did Nancy Pelosi offer to trade building a border wall in exchange for Donald Trump not running for president in 2020? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to educate gullible Trump supporters and
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Stores Did NOT Report Donald Trump Action Figure is the Hottest Seller of Season
Is a Donald Trump action figure the hottest seller of the season in toy stores? 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 actuall
FactCheck.org→ Quote Falsely Tied to Ocasio-Cortez
Quick Take A viral meme mocks Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a statement about capitalism versus socialism that she never actually made. Full Story Since her victory in the Democratic primary in New York’s 14th Congressional District in
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Ambulance Driver Did NOT Have a Heart Attack, NO Need For Injured Man To Drive
Did an ambulance driver in New York have a heart attack and did the injured patient he was transporting have to drive himself to the hospital? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Spanish satire website and later translated (badly)
Snopes→ Court: Trump Can’t Let Companies Deny Birth Control Coverage
The ruling, however, may be short lived because the administration has adopted new rules on contraceptive coverage that will likely prompt renewed legal challenges.
FactCheck.org→ Ruth Bader Ginsburg Taken Way Out of Context
Quick Take In a 2012 interview with an Arabic-language television station, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested that as Egypt prepared to write a new constitution, Egyptians look to more recently written constitutions than the United Sta