February 2019 – Page 2 – Truth or Fiction?

Does the UK’s National Health Service Cost £10 a Month vs $2,500 For American Insurance?

Fact Checks, Politics / By Kim LaCapria / February 22, 2019

On February 20 2019 the Facebook page “Medicare for All” shared a following meme contrasting the purported costs of health care coverage in the United States versus the United Kingdom (and alleging that Americans prefer their system): The meme showed a screenshot of a Tumblr user commenting on a screenshot of a tweet. The first user …

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Does a Viral Video Depict a Crab Eating Her Babies?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / February 21, 2019

On February 20 2019, UNILAD shared a video to Facebook titled “Red Crab Eats Her Newborn Babies.” The clip was wildly popular, racking up millions of views and shares in under 24 hours (the video itself can be viewed here.) It was captioned: Red Crab Eats Her Newborn Babies Just a momma red crab snacking …

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Do Border Signs Admit the United States Has Lost Control of Border Territory?

Disinformation, Fact Checks / By Kim LaCapria / February 21, 2019

On January 13 2019, Facebook user Steve Raabe shared a photograph purportedly showing a sign at the U.S.-Mexico border, along with the following status update: I live on the border with Mexico. As a matter of fact, I live right on the edge. I was raised in Nevada and came to Arizona in 2003 to live. …

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Uber Sex Trafficking Warning?

Disinformation, Fact Checks / By Kim LaCapria / February 21, 2019

On February 19 2019, a woman shared a harrowing account via Facebook which reported that a phony Uber driver in Tampa had nearly successfully abducted her for the purposes of sex trafficking. In her post, Emmy Hurley described the purported brush with a human trafficker: Last night I was picked up by an Uber. Same …

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Is This an Abandoned Button Factory Stairwell?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / February 21, 2019

On February 15 2019, the Facebook page “Quartzsite Happenings” published the following photograph, captioned “Stairway in an abandoned button factory”: The compelling image began racking up shares, but it suspiciously lacked any sort of contextual information enabling its caption’s verification. It also was shared to Reddit‘s r/pics in September 2018, with a title identical to …

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Did Ronald Reagan Say Socialism ‘Only Works in Two Places,’ Heaven and Hell?

Fact Checks, Politics / By Kim LaCapria / February 20, 2019

On February 10 2019, Senator Chris McDaniel shared a meme quoting Ronald Reagan on “socialism” only functioning properly in two places: Above a black-and-white photograph of President Reagan, the meme read: SOCIALISM ONLY WORKS IN TWO PLACES: HEAVEN, WHERE THEY DON’T NEED IT, AND HELL WHERE THEY ALREADY HAVE IT. Iterations of the same quote …

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Is Family Separation Genocide?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / February 20, 2019

In February 2019, a mid-2018 tweet about family separations and the permanent and widespread transfer of children from their families to other people qualifying as genocide began recirculating. The tweet was initially published in June 2018, and it said: Stealing someone’s child and then giving them to someone else permanently is not “adoption”. It is …

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Heinz Ketchup Ingredients, U.S. vs UK

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / February 20, 2019

On February 14 2019, Vani Hari (popularly known as the “Food Babe” in the media) shared a graphic that compared the purported difference between Heinz Ketchup’s ingredient list in the United Kingdom versus the United States: The image featured two bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup side by side, the wider and brighter bottle labeled “U.S. …

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Violent, Disturbing Messages in Childrens’ Videos?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / February 19, 2019

On February 12 2019, Facebook user Meridy Leeper shared an image purportedly of a drawing by her young child and the following message about suicidal ideation in small children apparently prompted by videos beneath parental radar on YouTube, TikTok, Roblox, and Fortnite — among other platforms: This is an exceptionally hard thing for me to post. I’ve thought …

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Subway Feeds Homeless People for Free?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / February 18, 2019

On February 5 2019, a Facebook user shared a photograph and text claiming that homeless people could eat for free at Subway locations between 3 and 5 every afternoon: If you know any homeless please make them aware they can eat an drink free daily at subway from 3-5 Each subway is individually owned so …

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