As awareness of unprecedented wildfires hitting rainforests in the Brazilian Amazon spread online in August 2019, social media users began drawing links between the blazes and a court victory for an indigenous Ecuadorian tribe weeks earlier. On July 1
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Snopes→ Liam Hemsworth Seeks to Divorce Miley Cyrus After 7 Months of Marriage
The 29-year-old Australian actor has filed for the dissolution of his marriage to the 26-year-old American pop star in Los Angeles Superior Court.
PolitiFact→ How do the Democrats running for president really live? A look at their homes, wealth
On the campaign trail, Sen. Cory Booker often name-drops his Newark, N.J., neighborhood, noting that he "lives in a community that is below the poverty line." Pete Buttigieg, now mayor of South Bend where he grew up, has touted his "midd
Truth or Fiction?→ Instagram Copyright Hoax
A recurring online hoax spread even further on August 20 2019, when a wave of high-profile people posted a fake, long-debunked notice about Instagram’s terms of use that eventually ended up on Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s Instagram ac
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Posting An Instagram Picture With Legal Gibberish DOES NOT Modify Your Agreement With Instagram In Any Way
Do you need to post a status update with some legal gibberish on your Instagram feed to prevent the Facebook (the company that owns Instagram) from using your pictures, information, messages or posts? No, that's not true: what Facebook can do
FactCheck.org→ Williamson Misleads on Children’s Health, Vaccines
In a July 31 television interview, Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson inaccurately implied there might be a connection between vaccines and higher reported rates of childhood chronic diseases. Williamson is correct that reported rate
FactCheck.org→ Judge in Civil Epstein Case Died in March
Quick Take Robert Sweet, a federal judge who was overseeing a civil case against Jeffrey Epstein, was not “killed,” as a headline claims, nor did he die in August, as other recently published stories suggest. Sweet died of natural causes in
Snopes→ Epstein Signed Will 2 Days Before Jailhouse Suicide
Jeffrey Epstein signed a will just two days before he killed himself in jail, new court records show, opening a new legal front in what could be a long battle over the financier’s fortune.
FactCheck.org→ Video: Harris, Warren on Michael Brown Shooting
In this fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper explains the Obama-era Department of Justice’s finding that Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in “self-defense,” not “
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Viral Photo Does NOT Show Brett Kavanaugh Drunk On Couch In 1982
Is this a real photo of Justice Brett Kavanaugh asleep on a couch holding two beer bottles in 1982? No, that's not true: the image is a stock photo from a photographer based in Ireland and depicts a model. Here is the image in question: The i
Snopes→ Newark Fights Push for More Bottled Water Amid Lead Troubles
New Jersey's largest city faced off in court against an environmental group seeking to force officials to expand the distribution of bottled water to more residents facing potentially high lead levels.
FactCheck.org→ The Epstein Connections Fueling Conspiracy Theories
Summary In the absence of information about how sex offender Jeffrey Epstein managed to die in prison by an apparent suicide on Aug. 10, outlandish conspiracy theories have cropped up across the political spectrum. Among the more prominent theories
Snopes→ Did an EU Official Recommend Adding ‘Jewish-Made’ Warning Labels to Products?
Right-leaning U.S. websites grossly misrepresented advice given to the European Court of Justice in the summer of 2019.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Chief Justice John Roberts Did NOT Fly With Jeffrey Epstein On At Least Two Occasions
Did Chief Justice John Roberts fly with Jeffrey Epstein on at least two occasions? No, that's not true: The August 2019 release of 2,000 pages of documents relating to a civil lawsuit against Epstein included more flight logs with additional n
Truth or Fiction?→ Did North Carolina Ban Sharia Law Statewide?
On July 29 2019, frequent Facebook disinformation purveyor Joseph Rudy Rullo posted a meme (archived here) claiming that North Carolina had banned sharia law. Above a map highlighting North Carolina, the meme read: NORTH CAROLINA HAS BANNED
FactCheck.org→ Misinformation Flows Following Epstein’s Death
Unfounded claims and baseless conspiracy theories have run rampant in the aftermath of the Aug. 10 death of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The misinformation has flourished in an online environment where people want to know how the high-profi
Snopes→ Planned Parenthood Sets Exit from Family Planning Program
Planned Parenthood said it will leave the federal family planning program within days unless a court puts a hold on Trump administration rules that bar clinics from referring patients for abortions.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Public Assistance Programs Exist in the United States Before Social Security?
In August 2019, disinformation and misinformation about the history of immigration to the United States flourished online following the announcement that United States President Donald Trump’s administration would pursue the so-called “pub
Snopes→ Flurry of Suits Emerge as NY Opens Door to Old Abuse Claims
Thousands of people who say they were molested as children in New York state will head to court this week to file lawsuits against their alleged abusers and the institutions where they worked.
FactCheck.org→ Harris, Warren Wrong About Brown Shooting
On Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in what the Obama administration’s Department of Justice determined was an act of “self-defense.” B
FactCheck.org→ Unproven Claim of ‘Camera Malfunction’ Before Epstein’s Death
Quick Take Viral posts claim there was a “camera malfunction” at the prison housing accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein before his death. Officials have not confirmed that. Full Story As federal officials probe the circumstances surroundi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: US Is NOT 3rd In Murders; Removing Chicago, Detroit, Washington, St Louis, New Orleans Would NOT Make It 189 out of 193
Does the United States rank third in murders throughout the world and would removing the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., St. Louis, and New Orleans from the total make the U.S. 189th out of 193 countries in the world in homicides?
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Bill Barr Did NOT Allegedly Make Secret Visit To Jail Before Epstein’s Death
Did U.S. Attorney General William Barr allegedly make a secret visit to the Manhattan jail where Jeffrey Epstein was being held just two weeks before the accused sex trafficker was found dead in his cell? No, that's not true: There is no actua
FactCheck.org→ Photos Don’t Tell the Whole Story on Border Trash
Quick Take Old pictures of trash strewn in the Arizona desert are circulating on Facebook with the suggestion that they were taken recently and that the media failed to cover it. Neither of those things is true. Full Story Photos of trash near Arizon
FactCheck.org→ Trump’s Mixed Record on Gun Control
When asked what he was going to do about the “gun problem,” President Donald Trump responded that “we have done much more than most administrations.” Trump has taken some action to strengthen federal gun control, but his administration
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Mitch McConnell Campaign Did NOT Say ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ After Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Blasts Disturbing Groping Pic
Did Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign say "boys will be boys" in its reply to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's criticism of a tweeted photo of teen volunteers groping a life-size cardboard cut-out of her? No, that's not true: "B
FactCheck.org→ What Republicans Did on Mental Health, Guns
Quick Take A social media post misleadingly claims that Republicans “voted to allow people with pre-existing mental illness to buy firearms.” The measure blocked the Social Security Administration from reporting to the U.S. background chec
FactCheck.org→ Politics of Gun Violence
In the aftermath of two deadly mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, U.S. political leaders made a series of statements on gun violence that were unsubstantiated, lacked context or were seemingly contradictory. Here we look at some of those statements and
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Wife Of US Attorney Prosecuting El Paso Gunman Did NOT Flash White Power Symbol At Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings
Did the wife of U.S. Attorney John Bash, who is prosecuting accused El Paso massacre gunman Patrick Crusius, flash a white power symbol as she sat behind Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court? No, that's
Snopes→ Phillies Sue to Block Phanatic from Becoming ‘Free Agent’
In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the team alleged Harrison/Erickson threatened to terminate the Phillies' rights to the Phanatic next year and "make the Phanatic a free agent" unless the team renegotiated its 1984 agreement to
Snopes→ Rapper A$AP Rocky to Be Freed from Jail as Judges Mulls Case
It wasn't immediately clear from the decision by the Stockholm District Court whether he would be able to leave the country.
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking July’s Round Two Debate
Summary Another debate, and another crop of false and misleading claims. Sen. Kamala Harris of California and former Vice President Joe Biden disagreed on whether his health care plan would “cover everyone.” Biden’s website says it w
FactCheck.org→ Cummings Didn’t Have Obama’s Records ‘Sealed’
Quick Take A meme on Facebook falsely claims that Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings “wrote a bill to keep all of Obama’s record sealed.” That distorts bipartisan legislation dealing with the federal records of all presidents that Cumm
FactCheck.org→ False Caption on Refugee Picture
Quick Take A photo circulating on social media claims to show “Europeans trying to get to North Africa during World War II,” but it actually shows Albanian refugees arriving in Italy in 1991. Full Story A photo of a boat teeming with refu
FactCheck.org→ Posts Twist Facts on Democrats’ Names
Quick Take Social media posts claim some well-known Democrats are “fraudulent and corrupt” for not using “their real names.” But in some cases, the posts refer to them by an incorrect name, a nickname, a middle name or a maiden
FactCheck.org→ Pinning Down Prescription Drug Prices
One aim the president and Democratic 2020 challengers share is the desire to bring down the price of prescription drugs. But is that already happening, or are prices still climbing? The two parties disagree, and it depends on how they’re measurin
Snopes→ Jury to Decide Damages Owed by Katy Perry for ‘Dark Horse’
The unanimous verdict by a nine-member federal jury in a Los Angeles courtroom came five years after Marcus Gray and two co-authors first sued in 2014, alleging "Dark Horse" stole from "Joyful Noise," a song Gray released under the stage name Flame.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Senate Moves Bill With NO $15,000 Fines For Sharing Memes Online
Did the U.S. Senate move on a bill that provides fines of up to $15,000 against those who share memes online? No, that's not true: A trending article making that claim distorts what the proposed copyright legislation would provide. If passed i
Snopes→ New UK Official’s Office Rules: No Metric, ‘Very’ or ‘Got’
A memo for employees in Jacob Rees-Mogg's office directs them to avoid using words such as "very," ''hopefully" and "got," and to address men with the courtesy title "esquire."
FactCheck.org→ When Are Heartbeats Audible During Pregnancy?
Q: When is the human heart fully developed, and when are heartbeats audible during pregnancy? A: A developing heart has all of its primary structures after about nine weeks of pregnancy. Some forms of ultrasound can detect cardiac activity in an embryo