Did Ontario, California Confirm Kidnappers are Drugging and Abducting Children? On April 26 2019, a Facebook user shared a screenshot (archived here) of another post, which provided an alarming account of complex abduction attempts purportedly occurring in Ontario, California. The original post was shared by an account with the name Barbie Bazzett Klepper, and it told the story of a purported narrowly avoided abduction at […]
Is Twitter Withholding a ‘Nazi-Hunting’ Algorithm for Fear of Inadvertently Banning Republican Lawmakers? On April 25 2019, a Twitter user posted a claim that the social media platform possessed a “Nazi-hunting” algorithm, but opted not to employ it specifically because it would also filter the tweets or accounts of some Republican lawmakers: Twitter says that they won’t be deploying their Nazi-hunting algorithm because it can’t distinguish between Republicans and […]
Is Atlanta Urging People ‘Not to Dump Trash on White Supremacists’ Lawns’? On April 29 2019, an image of a purported notice from the City of Atlanta urging residents “not to” dump trash on white supremacists’ lawns went viral: yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes pic.twitter.com/bjgL5I0Q1J — […]
Does This Picture Show a Tiny Crowd Ten Minutes Before Sen. Bernie Sanders’ April 2019 Houston Rally? On April 26 2019, Facebook page “The Trump Train” shared the following post (archived here), claiming that it showed a crowd of a few dozen people in Houston ten minutes before Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) was scheduled to speak: https://www.facebook.com/TheTrumpTrainExpress/photos/a.959587150743121/2174109532624204/?type=3&theater Across the top of an image of a few dozen people, the text read: 4/24/19 – […]
Does Facebook Deem Images of 9/11 Offensive and Prohibit Them? On April 1 2019, a Facebook user shared a photograph of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (archived here), claiming that the social media site “feels this photo is offensive and keeps removing it or hiding it”: Apparently Facebook feels this photo is offensive and keeps removing it or hiding it!! I am sharing […]
Does a ‘Leaked’ British Intelligence Document Prove Trump Wiretapping Claims? In April 2019, in the days and weeks following the release of a heavily anticipated (and heavily redacted) Special Counsel’s report on interference into the 2016 United States presidential elections, rumors and speculation reinvigorated a March 2017 conspiracy theory that British intelligence spied on the Trump campaign for the Obama administration: President Trump provoked a rare public dispute with […]
Breast Milk Ducts On April 21 2019 a Twitter user tweeted the following image, purportedly a photograph of muscles and milk ducts in breasts: https://twitter.com/lemonadead/status/1119991452711387136 The tweet spread far and fast, perhaps not the least of which because of its ability to evoke a specific visual phobia (trypophobia, a fear of small holes or repetitive patterns) in some […]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ‘Splits’ Image On April 10 2019 a Facebook user shared the following post (archived here), purportedly showing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doing what appears to be a particularly athletic dance move at a party: The post’s image showed Ocasio-Cortez being supported by an unidentified man holding her legs as she did the splits. Text at the top and bottom […]
Did ‘The Simpsons’ Predict the Notre Dame Fire? Among the many conspiracy theories around the Notre Dame Cathedral fire of April 15 2019 was the rumor that an episode ofThe Simpsons had predicted the blaze, continuing a rather peculiar pattern of stories around predictions made by the long-running and beloved cartoon series: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158394710259867&set=a.10150126870584867&type=3&theater A Facebook version of this particular shared on April 21 2019 (archived here) appeared to […]
Cyclone Idai Flooding On April 15 2019, a Facebook user shared images and a status update (archived here) about purported deadly flooding in Mozambique after a huge cyclone ripped through southeastern Africa: https://www.facebook.com/desnamjp/posts/10157312841517392 The text shared with the photographs said: Did yall know that Mozambique, Africa has been flooding for over 2wks now and at least 1,000. are pronounced […]
