Microsoft and Bill Gates created a 1999 video game called “Omikron.”
Snopes→ Sweden’s Most Endangered Christmas Decorations Burnt, Again
The two straw goats of Gavle, Sweden's most endangered Christmas decorations, have gone up in flames after surviving nearly a month on a downtown square.
PolitiFact→ WATCH: Lie of the Year 2021
WATCH: Lie of the Year 2021
Snopes→ Miss Alaska, Emma Broyles, Crowned Miss America
The contestant from Alaska was crowned Miss America at an event marking the competition's 100th anniversary.
FactCheck.org→ The Whoppers of 2021
Summary Mass rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines has been the defining story of 2021, yet for all its success, vaccination rates remain stubbornly low in some populations. As with all things in American life these days, partisanship has played an outsized
Logically→ Akhilesh Yadav is Uttar Pradesh’s worst-performing member of parliament.
Akhilesh Yadav has performed badly based on a few parameters. But, there are no definitive criteria to declare an MP as the worst performer.
Logically→ Akhilesh Yadav is Uttar Pradesh’s worst-performing member of parliament.
Akhilesh Yadav has performed badly based on a few parameters. But, there are no definitive criteria to declare an MP as the worst performer.
Logically→ Akhilesh Yadav is Uttar Pradesh’s worst-performing member of parliament.
Akhilesh Yadav has performed badly based on a few parameters. But, there are no definitive criteria to declare an MP as the worst performer.
Snopes→ Schools Step Up Security in Response to Threats on TikTok
Educators announced plans to increase security in response to TikTok posts warning of shooting and bomb threats at schools around the country as officials assured parents the viral posts were not considered credible.
Snopes→ Australia Mourns Child Victims of Bouncy Castle Accident
Christmas lights have been turned off and a candlelight vigil was held in the town where five children died after falling from a bouncy castle that was lifted into the air by a gust of wind.
Poynter→ A BBC reporting error is not proof the network was part of an ‘inside job’ on 9/11
A longstanding conspiracy theory about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has resurfaced on social media. A widely shared Instagram post claims that a video from British public broadcaster BBC shows that the network […] The post A BBC repo
Washington Post→ The biggest Pinocchios of 2021
Our annual roundup of the most outlandish claims of 2021.
Snopes→ Chris Noth Accused of Sexual Assaults; Actor Denies Claims
The women’s identities were withheld by The Hollywood Reporter in order to protect their privacy, said the trade publication, which used pseudonyms for them instead.
PolitiFact→ Abby Finkenauer – Context needed for Grassley comment about Medicare vote
Chuck Grassley was “voting to slash Medicare” when voting against the debt ceiling bill.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Is NOT An X-Ray Of A 700-Pound Man — It’s A Digital Artist’s Rendering
Is this an accurate X-ray image of the skeleton in a "700-pound man"? No, that's not true: It is not even an X-ray. This image depicts a digital 3D model of what the body of a 900-pound man might look like, if a person that size could sta
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Kamala Harris Did NOT Tweet Kyle Rittenhouse Should Be Jailed For Murder And His Instagram Account Taken Down
Did Kamala Harris take to her Facebook account to discourage traffic to Kyle Rittenhouse's Instagram account by writing he should be "locked up in jail" for murder? No, that's not true: The post is a counterfeit image found in a meme libr
Snopes→ Did Pipes Sticking Out of the Ground in the Woods Lead to a Discovery Underneath?
We read through 69 pages to find the truth.
Snopes→ US Regulators Lift In-Person Restrictions on Abortion Pill
The Food and Drug Administration permanently loosened a key restriction on abortion pills, eliminating a long-standing requirement that the medication be picked up in person.
Snopes→ Is Kraft ‘Paying You’ To Skip Cheesecake Due to a Cream Cheese Shortage?
A limited-time offer in December 2021 promised to reimburse 18,000 people to replace their homemade cheesecake with a different dessert.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: List Of Dead Or Collapsed Athletes Not Clearly Linked To Vaccine
Does a list of athletes from around the world who have died or collapsed help parents of athletic children to weigh the risks and benefits of their child receiving the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: While this list does enumerate
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: IRS DOES Have Plan In Case Of Nuclear Bomb Explosion
Does the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have a plan in place to instruct employees on how to proceed after a disaster such as a nuclear bomb explosion? Yes, it does: Like other executive government departments and agencies, the IRS is req
Snopes→ Does Video Show a Child Handing Biden a Vial of Blood?
This is doctored video spreading conspiratorial nonsense. However, the real video is still kind of weird.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence That 45,000 People Died From COVID-19 Vaccine
Have 45,000 people died as a result of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine? No, there's no evidence of that: The number is a guesstimate from an anonymous "whistleblower" who relied on data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAER
Snopes→ Top 8 Most Read Snopes News Stories in 2021
Our newsroom does fact-based, explanatory journalism via two methods: fact checks with truth ratings or analytical news stories.
PolitiFact→ How Fox News hosts’ Jan 6 texts, on-air comments told different stories of attack
Three Fox News hosts who later downplayed the day’s events texted his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, calling on Trump to put a stop to the violence.
FactCheck.org→ Doctor Makes False Claim About Stillbirths in Canadian Hospitals
SciCheck Digest The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant people, and the World Health Organization says the vaccines are safe for them. Yet online articles cite a Canadian doctor who falsely claims that t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Vaccines Do NOT Pose 7 Times Higher Death Risk Than COVID For People In 20s
Do vaccines pose a seven times higher risk of death than COVID for people in their 20s? No, that's not true: The authors of a Japanese medical bulletin provide no clear evidence of deaths due to the vaccine to establish a ratio with death
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – There’s no evidence of a huge spike in soft-tissue cancers
Soft-tissue cancer diagnoses have “climbed through the roof” in 2021 as a result of COVID-19 vaccines.
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Claim on Jesse Ventura show that COVID-19 pandemic was planned is Pants on Fire
“They've planned this” COVID-19 “pandemic all along!”
Snopes→ Top 10 Most Popular Snopes Fact Checks in 2021
A page debunking a rumor that Biden had pooped his pants during a meeting with the pope is No. 1.
Snopes→ Congress Approves Import Ban Targeting Forced Labor in China
Senators gave final congressional approval to a bill barring imports from China’s Xinjiang region unless businesses can prove they were produced without forced labor.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: German Police Did NOT Arrest Man Dressed As Santa For No Mask — He Refused To Show ID While Protesting At A Christmas Market
Did German police arrest a man in a Santa Claus costume at a Christmas market in the city of Stralsund because he was not wearing a mask? No, that's not true: Local police told Lead Stories the man was not hired to appear as Santa Claus a
The Dispatch→ Did Fauci Say COVID Vaccines Could Make People More Likely to Be Infected?
A viral tweet shows a video of Dr. Anthony Fauci speaking with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and makes the claim that, “Dr. Fauci opens up the possibility that the COVID-19 vaccine could be making people more likely to be infected with the virus.̶
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Jimmy Carter Help Stop a Nuclear Reactor from Melting Down?
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s first-hand encounter with nuclear power received newfound attention in December 2021 — thanks, as usual, to social media. When he was 28 years old, Carter — at that point a scientist in the U.S. Na
Snopes→ Did Twitter Prohibit Making an Accurate Claim About COVID-19 Transmission?
Vaccinated individuals can, in fact, spread COVID-19 to others — albeit at a far lower rate than the unvaccinated do.
Snopes→ ‘$500 Venmo Balance Needs Confirmation’ Emails Are Scams
"This message was sent from a trusted sender" is not how trustworthy emails usually begin.
PolitiFact→ WATCH: Lie of the Year 2021
We use the word "lie" only once a year. We reserve that designation for the most egregious and harmful claim w
Snopes→ Snopes Looks Back on Eventful Year, Prepares for Upcoming Trial
Our fact-checking team has been energized by court victories, including penalties ordered against our opponents.
Snopes→ Mistletoe – Famous for Stolen Holiday Kisses – is a Parasite That Steals Water and Nutrients from Other Plants
Turns out, there are 1,300 species of this evergreen plant worldwide.
Truth or Fiction?→ Mayfield, Kentucky Theater Image
In the aftermath of a deadly series of tornadoes on December 10 2021, a purported photograph of a damaged theater in Mayfield, Kentucky spread virally on Twitter: This picture from the aftermath of the Kentucky tornadoes has to be the picture of the