The campaigns of President Donald Trump and Democrat Mike Bloomberg have purchased airtime during the preeminent TV ad event of the year: the Super Bowl. Both scheduled spots make claims that require context or further explanation. Trump’s ad sa
Search Results (3591) for: school
FactCheck.org→ Virginia Bill Wouldn’t Criminalize Criticism
Quick Take Online headlines falsely claim that Virginia lawmakers want to make criticizing state officials a “criminal offense.” The bill doesn’t create new offenses. It would merely allow cases of threats or harassment against some state off
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Malcolm Gladwell Say Penn State Should Restore a Statue of Joe Paterno?
Author Malcolm Gladwell’s latest defense of deceased Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno drew attention on January 29 2020. During a speech at the campus in State College, Pennsylvania, Gladwell once again said that a statue of Pate
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Proof A Biology Experiment By 9th Grade Students Reveals A Dark Truth About Wi-Fi
Did a biology experiment by ninth grade students reveal a "dark truth" about the dangers of Wi-Fi? No, that is not clear: The study was conducted as a classroom experiment without the proper scientific controls of a professional lab experiment
Snopes→ Sandy Hook Denier Charged with Having Victim’s Dad’s ID Info
A Florida man who repeatedly harassed parents of shooting victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School has been arrested for possessing the identification of one of the parents.
Truth or Fiction?→ Origin of the Word ‘Spinster’
The word “spinster” generally conjures up a mental picture of mean little old ladies who have never been married, glaring at young people from behind their living room curtains (which are lacy and yellowed with age, naturally) with their m
Truth or Fiction?→ Did a Twitter Post Predict Kobe Bryant’s Death in a Helicopter Crash in 2012?
On January 26 2020, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna (as well as Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and his daughter Alyssa; Harbor Day School basketball coach Christina Mauser; mother and daughter Sarah and Payton C
PolitiFact→ Fact-checking Elizabeth Warren in Davenport, Iowa
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called for "big structural change" to help average Americans, rather than the richest and most powerful, in a town hall at a middle school in this Mississippi River city. "If we wan
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Lewis Latimer Did NOT Invent The Light Bulb — Contrary To What Joe Biden Said — Or The Telephone
Did Lewis Latimer, an African-American man from Massachusetts who was bought from slavery, invent the light bulb and telephone? No, that's not true: Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, and Thomas Edison invented the first light
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Those Cups Are Made to Be Thrown in the Laundry After You Fill Them Up, It Cleans Them’?
On January 20 2020 Facebook user Amber Miller shared a virally popular “laundry hack,” asserting that detergent cups are designed to be added to every wash, because “it cleans them”: Miller’s post racked up over 13,000 sh
FactCheck.org→ Social Media Posts Spread Bogus Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory
Quick Take Multiple social media posts are spreading a bogus conspiracy theory about the deadly Wuhan virus. The posts falsely claim that the virus has been patented and a vaccine is already available. That’s not true; the patents the posts refer to
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Two Republican Senators Did NOT Say ‘Is This Stuff Real?’ About Impeachment Trial
Did two Republican senators who only watch Fox News really say, "Is this stuff real? I haven't heard any of this before"? No, that's not true: Joe Lockhart, the White House press secretary for President Clinton during his impeachment, shared t
Truth or Fiction?→ Did One of Trump’s College Professors Call Him ‘the Dumbest Goddamn Student I Ever Had’?
An often-circulated quote from a University of Pennsylvania faculty member attacking United States President Donald Trump was posthumously spread second-hand. The purported remark attributed to Wharton School of Business professor William T. Kelley
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Ruby Bridges is Only 65’ Meme
On January 17 2020, the Facebook page “The Other 98%” shared the following meme, which claimed that as of January 2020, Ruby Bridges (the iconic little girl who was the first black child at a previously all-white public school in Louisiana
Truth or Fiction?→ Martin Luther King Jr., Anne Frank, and Barbara Walters Are the Same Age?
In December 2019 (and periodically since), a Facebook post claimed that that Anne Frank, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barbara Walters would all be the same age if everyone was alive today: An additional status update stated the claim was the poster&
FactCheck.org→ Setting the Record Straight on Climate Change and Arson in Australia’s Bushfires
Quick Take Various claims online suggest that climate change hasn’t contributed to the bushfires ravaging the East Coast of Australia, pinning the blame instead on arson. Those claims distort the facts. Full Story Several recent reports have fou
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Downy in Toilet’ Housekeeping Hack
On January 14 2020, a Facebook post appeared advising readers to pour a cup of laundry detergent of fabric softener like Downy into their toilet tank, a supposed housecleaning “hack”: Alongside a photograph of a person in yellow glove
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Casting Call For Crisis Actors Is NOT Coinciding With Pro-Gun Rally In Virginia
Did a casting call go out for crisis actors to coincide with a pro-gun rally set for next week in Virginia? No, that's not true: The casting notice is for a project planned weeks after the rally, and role players will help non-governmental org
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘My Favorite Catholic Lore’ Holy Water Facts Meme
On January 15 2020, a Tumblr screenshot featuring purported facts about holy water (“my favorite Catholic lore”) was shared to Imgur with the title “How to get +1 holy damage”: A multi-party Tumblr exchange began with claims f
FactCheck.org→ Q&A on the FDA’s Flavored E-Cig Policy
After months of considering a complete ban on flavored electronic cigarettes, the Trump administration announced a new policy on Jan. 2 that soon will forbid the sale of some, but not all, flavored vapes. According to the Food and Drug Administration,
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Bernie Sanders Tell Elizabeth Warren a Woman Couldn’t Win a Presidential Election?
On January 13 2020, CNN published an article with the headline, “Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in private 2018 meeting that a woman can’t win, sources say.” It began: The stakes were high when Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warr
Truth or Fiction?→ How a Banking Meme Ties Into a Debate Over Calendar Denominations
A long-running debate off and on social media somehow managed to loop a type of beer into a discussion around how to denote the historical timeline in January 2020: The meme, which has spread around Twitter and Facebook, shows a check made out to
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the January Democratic Debate
Summary In the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses, there were fewer candidates — only six — but more than a few false, misleading and exaggerated claims: Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed that the “wealthy are the
Truth or Fiction?→ 500,000 Americans Will Go Bankrupt This Year from Medical Bills?
On January 12 2020, the Facebook page “Lower Drug Prices Now” shared what appeared to be a screenshot of a tweet, which claimed that “500,000 Americans will go bankrupt this year” due to medical bills: Claims referencing
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Vermont Socialist Plans Mayoralty with Bias Toward Poor’ Headline
As the Iowa caucuses edged closer in January 2020, Twitter account @CANCEL_SAM shared a screenshot of a purported 1981 New York Times article ostensibly about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) bearing the headline, “Vermont Socialist Plans Mayor
Lead Stories→ Fake News: California 8th Graders NOT Taught Anal, Bondage, Sex Involving Blood in Sex-Ed Class
Are California 8th graders taught anal, bondage, and sex involving blood in mandatory sex education classes? No, that's not true: First, sex education classes in California public schools are not mandatory, because parents can opt their childr
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Professor Does NOT Ask Students To Create List Of 52 US Cultural Sites For Iran To Bomb
Did a college professor ask students to create a list of 52 U.S. cultural sites for Iran to bomb? No, that's not true: The professor did not give students such an assignment, but he did post a Facebook message suggesting that Iranian religious
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Kaepernick Did NOT Lobby To Remove National Anthem From Football
Did Colin Kaepernick lobby to remove the American national anthem from being played before professional football games? No, that's not true: The NFL quarterback, who is currently a free agent, made no such effort. The article is a work of sati
Snopes→ Man Saves California’s Oldest Weekly Newspaper from Closure
Known locally as the “Mountain Mess,” the paper covers school board meetings, federal land use and other issues.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Clarence Thomas Did NOT Say SCOTUS Is Ready To ‘Crush The Coup Against President Trump’
Did Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Say SCOTUS is ready to 'crush the coup against President Trump'? No, that's not true: This is satire, as no such words were said by Thomas, the most senior associate judge on the Supreme Cour
Lead Stories→ Fake News: A Huge Spaceship Not In Austin, Does NOT Send A Light Code
Does a video show a huge spaceship hovering over Austin, Texas, and sending a light code? No, that's not true: The video stole the introduction for a local Austin,Texas, news report from January 24, 2017, and added a digitally created sequence
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Barr Did NOT File Charges, Did NOT Indict Obama
Did U.S. Attorney General William Barr file charges and indict Obama? No, that's not true: This false story is designed to make a mockery of people who share outrageous headlines without having read the article. The claim originated from an ar
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘I Did Not Take This Photo and I Don’t Know Who Did’ Australian Community Firefighters Image
In the midst of late December 2019 and early January 2020 fires raging across the Australian continent, the following screenshot showing exhausted, soot-blackened firefighters circulated on Facebook: The photograph, which was apparently captured fr
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Blue Eyes Are Haram’ Disinformation
On January 1 2020, disinformation purveyors all across the internet suddenly pivoted in unison to pushing the same disinformation that has muddied English-speaking social media since at least 2015, down to the same claims, the same recycled stories, a
Snopes→ Judge Orders Alex Jones to Pay $100,000 in Sandy Hook Case
A Texas judge ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in another court setback over the Infowars host using his show to promote falsehoods that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax.
PolitiFact→ Do gun background checks work? What the research shows
The same morning Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., renewed his call on the Senate floor for expanding gun background checks, there was yet another mass school shooting. This time, the shooting was at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, Calif., near Los Ange
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Virginia Governor Has NOT Ordered Plans to Cut Electric, Phones, Internet for Gun Confiscations
Has the Virginia governor ordered plans to cut off electricity, telephones, and Internet communications ahead of statewide gun confiscation during the new year? No, that's not true: Gov. Ralph Northam has not issued any such order, and the fal
PolitiFact→ The facts on housing affordability in the United States
Democrats on the November debate stage in Atlanta turned the spotlight to an issue affecting millions of Americans when they were asked how they planned to make housing more affordable. "Where you put your head at night determines so many things a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: 13-Year-Old Boy Was NOT Attacked For Being White And An @RealDonaldTrump Supporter
Was a 13-year-old California boy attacked by older Hispanic teens for being white and a supporter of President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: Corning, California, police concluded the boy suffered a broken nose during a "pre-arranged fight
Lead Stories→ Checking: California Mom Claims 13-Year-Old Son Was Attacked For Being White And An @RealDonaldTrump Supporter
Update: Corning Police released a statement Friday concluding the attack was not racial or political. See https://hoax-alert.leadstories.com/3471279-fake-news-13-year-old-boy-not-attacked-for-being-white-and-a-trump-supporter.html Was a 13-yea