Can Apple Cider Vinegar and Coconut Oil Defeat Head Lice? A December 2016 post on the Facebook page “Mummies & Daddies” circulates in perpetuity, continuing to spread misinformation about the effectiveness of apple cider vinegar (sometimes shortened to the initials ACV) and coconut oil as a treatment for head lice infestations in children: Underneath a photograph of a woman nit combing a child, text states: […]
Underground Railroad to Mexico? On February 13 2019, a Facebook user shared a screenshot of a tweet, originally tweeted a day earlier by @HISTORY about a purported version of the Underground Railroad running south to Mexico: Text for the tweet read: Slaveholders knew that enslaved people were escaping to Mexico, and the U.S. tried to get Mexico to sign […]
Has Wu-Tang’s GZA Lectured on Quantum Physics at Harvard? In February 2019, a #BlackHistoryMonth post on Facebook asserted that the Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA (also known as The Genius) is a scientist, has lectured at Harvard, and is educated in quantum physics: Above two photographs of GZA, text stated: People you didn’t know were scientists: GZA of Wutang Clan is educated in quantum physics & […]
Is the Red Cross Assisting Migrant Caravans with Tents and Supplies? In October 2018 a Facebook user shared the following status update, alleging that the Red Cross was providing tents and food to a group of people moving through Mexico to the United States to request asylum at its southern border: Against a red background, white text stated: Pissed. THE RED CROSS is Distributing food and […]
Did Winston Churchill Say Socialism is the Philosophy of Failure? On February 8 2019, a Facebook user shared the following meme, featuring images of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez above a purported quote from British wartime leader Winston Churchill: Underneath two identical images of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, it featured a photograph of Churchill and a quote: CHURCHILL ON SOCIALISM: “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of […]
Are People of All Ages Allowed to Drink in Wisconsin? On February 12 2019, the Facebook page “Did You Know” shared the following meme, claiming that people of all ages in the state of Wisconsin — including children — can legally consume alcohol: Against a black background, its text stated: did you know? TM In Wisconsin, children of all ages are legally allowed to drink alcohol in […]
Is ‘Peppa Pig’ Giving American Kids British Accents? In early February 2019, a number of outlets began reporting on the “Peppa effect,” a purported trend causing American preschoolers who watched the show to speak in British accents. The claims were virtually guaranteed to achieve viral traction, probably owing to the number of parents across the United States whose young children watched the often […]
Was the Original ‘Lone Ranger’ a Black Man? In January 2019, a meme that appeared to be a screenshot of an older post asserting that the real Lone Ranger was a black man named Bass Reeves spread on social media: Above what appeared to be an archival photograph of a black man and the television character the Lone Ranger, a screencaptured Facebook post […]
Is This a 2019 Photograph of Tennessee Residents Queueing in the Cold for Medical Assistance? On February 10 2019, NBC managing editor Dafna Linzer shared the following image and caption (subsequently transcribed) on Twitter: The tweet stated that the “stark photo taken this week in Knoxville tells a very different story about the economy,” and it included what appeared to be a caption from a news item: People in need of […]
1921 Tulsa Race Riot In February 2019, a meme about the 1921 Tulsa race riot was shared to Facebook, racking up tens of thousands of shares in 24 hours: Above what looked to be an archival photograph of Ku Klux Klan members lining a dirt road, and caption (“History we should all know”), it read: May 31st 1921 The […]
