Does the Australian ‘Gympie-Gympie’ Drive People to Suicide?
Touching the plant’s hairs probably won’t kill you — but it could potentially cause months of excruciating pain.
2019
Are School Bus Stops Now More Dangerous Because of an All-Time High in Human Trafficking?
If anything is at an all-time high, it is baseless panic about school kidnappings and bus stops.
Did Reykjavik Ensure That Pride Flags Were Prominently Flown to Greet Mike Pence?
A viral tweet claims that Iceland’s biggest firms and companies honored the United States’ vice president with a rainbow display.
Dear ‘Ban Gun’ Teenagers, 11 Teens Die a Day from Texting and Driving
A bad faith argument about texting and driving deaths aimed at “‘ban gun’ teenagers” has been shared more than a million times on social media.
Are Japanese Students Exempt from Taking Exams Until the Fourth Grade?
Both blogs and memes have helped spread a distorted picture of Japan’s education system.
‘10,874 People Killed by Drunk Drivers in 2017, 403 by Rifles but Walmart Stops Selling Rifles’ Meme
The numbers in a meme contrasting deaths by drunk driving with death by rifles in 2017 is mathematically accurate — but it’s also whataboutism.
The Love Letters of Gilbert Bradley and Gordon Bowsher
Historical memes making their way around social media about a relationship between two World War II soldiers are based on actual events.
Did Canada Agree to Take in 100,000 Palestinians?
The Canadian government refuted a story that originated with a one-source report out of Lebanon.
‘There are 30,000 Gun Related Deaths Per Year by Firearms’
An authoritatively worded social media post about guns is a long-circulating mixture of decontextualized statistics and opinion.
Tim Allen ‘Trump 2020 or America Is Dead’ Commentary
In September 2019, a number of Facebook posts attributed a pro-Trump missive shared on the social network to actor Tim Allen — which happens to be a common name.