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
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Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Blue Buffalo Dental Bones Hemorrhagic Gastritis’ Facebook Warning
On January 5 2020, Facebook user Nikki McDonald shared the following post about the brand Blue Buffalo’s Dental Bones product, reporting that her dog Dallas was gravely injured and nearly killed after she gave him the product: In under a week
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Using Antidepressants Disqualify You from a Military Draft?
After a January 3 2020 United States-led strike killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad, Iraq, speculation flew about impending war, eventually turning into rumors about an American military draft. On the day Suleimani was killed, news o
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Trump’s Iran Address
In an address to the nation a day after an Iranian attack on military bases housing U.S. soldiers in Iraq, President Donald Trump made some dubious, misleading and inaccurate claims: Trump distorted the facts when he claimed the Iran nuclear deal that
Truth or Fiction?→ December 7 1943: 56,082 People in Auschwitz; December 7 2019: 69,550 Children in Border Camps?
A December 8 2019 Facebook post purportedly contrasting the number of people in Auschwitz on December 7 1943 (56,082) with the number of children (not adults, 69,550) detained at border camps on the same date in 2019 circulated in copy-and-paste form
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Iranian Press Agency Claims Image Of Israel Strike On Gaza Shows Iranian Strike on US Airbase
As news of the retaliatory airstrikes from Iran on Iraq's Ain Assad Air Base spread around the world the evening of January 7, 2020, fake stories and falsely attributed photos also began to surface on social media. One photo from 2019 has been
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Nicole Kidman NOT Blacklisted After Calling For Americans To Support Trump
Did Nicole Kidman get blacklisted after calling for Americans to support President Trump? No, that's not true: Kidman has made comments saying that Americans should support whoever occupies the U.S. presidency, but she has not been blacklisted
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Don’t Abbreviate 2020’ Warning
Beginning in early 2020, many people on social media have likely encountered a “legal warning” advising they not abbreviate the date in a month/day/year (or day/month/year) format in 2020, thanks to the purported ability of all and sundry
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Missing’ Hiker Emoji Mandela Effect
Among memories considered part of the “Mandela effect” — a term for a shared false memory that stems from a collective, completely false understanding that Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980s — is a mass recollection of a sinc
Truth or Fiction?→ Aboriginal Flag on the Right, Australia Burning on the Left
On January 2 2019, Facebook user Benita Tahuri shared the following two images and a post — on the left, the Australian Aboriginal flag, and on the right, a photograph of the “sun and skyscape … as a consequence of the fires”:
Truth or Fiction?→ Disinformation Inflames Tensions After United States Kills Iranian Commander
Late in the evening of January 2 2020, the United States announced that it had targeted and killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq in a major and dramatic escalation: Iran confirmed the death of one of its most active military fi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Did NOT Play Golf During U.S. Embassy Siege In Baghdad
Did President Trump play golf during the U.S. Embassy siege in Baghdad? No, that's not true: While Trump did arrive at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on New Year's Eve, he only spent under an hour there. Media r
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Kansas Officer Did NOT Find Vulgar Message On His McDonald’s Coffee Cup
Did a Kansas police officer find a vulgar message on his McDonald's coffee cup? No, it's not true: The officer completely made up the story, and he is now out of the job he held for just two months. The story gained traction on social media an
Truth or Fiction?→ Detainee Trying to Feed Her Baby or ‘The Nativity 2019’?
On December 24 2019, a photograph shared to Twitter circulated with the claim that it showed “a detainee trying to feed her baby,” heavily implying that the image showed victims of the Trump administration’s family separation policy
FactCheck.org→ Video: Jake Tapper on 2019 ‘Whoppers’
In our final fact-checking video of the year with CNN’s “State of the Union,” Jake Tapper looks back at the “biggest whoppers” of 2019. Our article, “The Whoppers of 2019,” was dominated by President Donald Tr
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the December Democratic Debate
Summary We found several misleading and exaggerated claims in the last debate of 2019: Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg for holding a glitzy “closed-door” fundraiser at a California wine cave. A pool reporter was pe
FactCheck.org→ Headline Inflates Impeachment Impact on Dems
Quick Take A bogus headline claims that a “second Democrat” has left the party “in 24 hours” because of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. But one of them is a state senator who left the party a month ago and h
FactCheck.org→ The Whoppers of 2019
Summary As he has done since entering the political scene in 2015, Donald Trump dominates our list of whoppers of the year. We identified a top 10 of falsehoods and factual distortions from the president, beginning with several impeachment-related topi
FactCheck.org→ Biden Exaggerates Science on Burn Pits and Brain Cancer
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden claimed without evidence that “more people are coming home from Iraq with brain cancer” than “any other war.” He also suggested that burn pits — open air waste incinera
Truth or Fiction?→ How Many Moms Are in ‘One Million Moms’?
In December 2019 the group One Million Moms grabbed headlines for purportedly forcing the Hallmark Channel’s decision — quickly reversed — to discontinue holiday season television commercials by the brand Zola due to its inclusion of a lesbi
Snopes→ Did Keanu Reeves Say ‘Trump Is the Symbol of a Successful Man’?
Multiple memes have falsely attributed pro-Trump statements to unlikely celebrities
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
Truth or Fiction?→ Ahoy, Matey: Book Excerpt Fuels Surge of Interest in Same-Sex Pirate Partnerships
In December 2019, a graphic circulated online that questioned the dominant narrative on (and perhaps had some readers rethinking their views about) the pirate culture of the 17th century. A photograph, taken from the 2019 book The Queeriodic Table:
FactCheck.org→ Pelosi’s Bipartisanship Boast
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others have been pushing back at Republican complaints of a “do-nothing Congress” by claiming the Democratic-controlled House has passed “more than 275 bipartisan bills” that are being blocked in t
FactCheck.org→ Dubious Quote Attributed to Trump’s Mother
Quick Take There’s no evidence for a meme that quotes President Donald Trump’s late mother as once making a disparaging remark about her son and predicting he would not do well in politics. Full Story A meme posted repeatedly on Facebook in rec
Lead Stories→ Fake Faces: People Who Do Not Exist Invade Facebook To Influence 2020 Elections (Part 1)
EDITORS NOTE: Meet Carolina Chaney. Take a good look at her Facebook profile photo. Maybe she looks like your kid's math teacher or your doctor. Privacy settings block us from seeing anything about her, but we do see she is one of 11 adminis
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Medicare for All? How Are We Gonna Pay for That? With THIS Money’ Post
On December 12 2019, the Facebook page “Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism” shared the following screenshot of a retweet opining that a $738 billion expenditure for defense (and a Space Force) could be used to fund Medicare for A
FactCheck.org→ Trump Mocks Global Warming, Lowballs Sea Level Rise
At a campaign rally, President Donald Trump mocked concerns about global warming, saying that oceans would rise just “[o]ne-eighth of an inch within the next 250 years.” Although Trump’s comment may have been a joke — and not intend
Truth or Fiction?→ President Donald Trump’s 32 Percent Approval Rating per CBS Poll vs. ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop’ at 33 Percent per Rotten Tomatoes?
On December 8 2019, the Facebook page “Dadmin” shared a photograph of a woman holding a protest sign, purportedly comparing United States President Donald Trump’s approval rate (32 percent) with that of the film Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Climate Feedback→ ABC article effectively illustrates important climate trends for Australian readers
SCIENTISTS’ FEEDBACK SUMMARY This interactive article at ABC allows readers to enter their year of birth and see how temperatures have changed in their lifetime in relatable ways. It also describes projections for future change in Australia, i
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Science Does NOT Say Babies Born In December Are Extra Special
Does science say that babies born in December are extra special? No, that's not true: While all babies born in any month are special, there is no scientific research that concludes December babies are extra special. It is a false claim made up
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
Lead Stories→ Fake News: CIA Agent Does NOT Blow Whistle, Does NOT Say ‘We Supply Elite Pedophiles With Children’
Did a former CIA agent say the agency would supply elite pedophiles with child prostitutes in return for secret information, and that it was legal? No, that's not true: Former CIA case officer John Kiriakou was seen on video speaking on an ant
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Will Smith and Son Jaden NOT Dead In a Crash After Ultimate Car and Truck Collision
Did CNN report Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith died in a crash ? No, that's not true: a gang of hoaxers (likely from the Philippines) has launched another death hoax on the internet that tricks people into sharing quasi-random links on Face
Truth or Fiction?→ Current World Food Production is Enough to Feed 10 Billion People, Starvation isn’t Profitable to Solve?
Amid election primary policy debates in December 2019, a post about current world food production being sufficient to feed more than three times the world’s population circulated on Facebook in screenshot form: Labeled “when you
FactCheck.org→ Republicans Cherry-Pick Facts on Impeachment
As the House Judiciary Committee began public hearings on whether to draft and approve articles of impeachment, Republicans presented a set of facts that they claimed cleared President Donald Trump of any wrongdoing. The Republican National Committee o
Truth or Fiction?→ Unsolicited Card Reader Warning
In October 2016, a Facebook user shared the following image of a purported “unsolicited card reader,” along with a nebulous warning to fellow users about the purported receipt of a an unexpected banking device in the mail: An image shows
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
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Omar Is NOT Legally Married In Somalia, NOT Voiding Her Citizenship
Is Ilhan Omar married to a Somali man named B'oom B'oom? No, that's not true: The man in the photo is Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, an American actor who played the role of Freddy 'Boom Boom' Washington in the popular TV series Welcome Back, Kotter