In February 2019, a Facebook user shared a post (archived here) that showed patterns for hairstyles with a claim that slaves used braid patterns to plot out routes to freedom: What if I told you all, during slavery, our ancestors braided escape route patterns in their hairstyles too flee bondage and seek freedom from their oppessors! …
Did Slaves Braid Routes to Freedom Into Hairstyles? Read More »
In June 2019 (not long after the feature film John Wick 3 was released), a purported tweet attributed to Keanu Reeves began circulating on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and meme sites. Screenshots of what looked like a verified @KeanuReeves account tweeting “be kind to animals or I’ll kill you” spread across social media, followed by a rumor …
Did Keanu Reeves Tweet ‘Be Kind to Animals or I’ll Kill You’? Read More »
On June 6 2019, a Facebook user shared the following clip (archived here), asking readers to identify what appeared to be an unusual creature captured on home security footage: In comments, the original uploader responds to a question about whether the footage was captured by a Ring doorbell (it wasn’t). In an appended update status, she …
Viral Facebook Video of Unknown Creature on Home Security Footage Read More »
On June 7 2019, the Facebook page “Sarcastic Mama” shared the above quote meme (archived here), featuring a photograph of Julia Roberts superimposed with a quote about women not being “rehabilitation centers for badly raised men.” The quote attributed to Roberts said: Women, you are not rehabilitation centers for badly raised men. It is not your …
Did Julia Roberts Say Women Are Not Rehabilitation Centers for Badly Raised Men? Read More »
In May 2019, the release of HBO’s show Chernobyl caused a spike of interest in all aspects of the nuclear disaster — including the revival of some long-forgotten rumors. A postscript relating to a scene in Pripyat brought back one suck story: that most or all residents gathered on what was later dubbed the “Bridge of Death” …
In April 2019, a Facebook user shared the following meme (archived here), which purportedly provided several lines from an undelivered speech scheduled for U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Above an excerpted portion of text, the meme read: These are JFK’s last words, written for end of speech he planned to give …
‘Neither the Fanatics Nor the Faint-Hearted Are Needed’ Read More »
In early June 2019, a number of English-speaking news organizations reported that a 17-year-old Dutch girl named Noa Pothove had been “euthanized” at her request, following years of unsuccessful treatment due to the trauma of rape and sexual abuse: Among organizations reporting the claim were the Washington Post, the Daily Mail, The Sun, the New York Post, Fox News, and …
Was a Dutch Teenager Euthanized Because of Rape Trauma? Read More »
On June 4 2019, Facebook user James Johnson shared a video (archived here) purportedly showing large crowds of supporters shouting “we love Trump.” He then claimed that news outlets in the United Kingdom and United States deliberately refused to air the footage: Attached to the video was a status update: Massive crowd in the UK …
Did the Media Refuse to Cover Massive Crowds in England Chanting ‘We Love Trump’? Read More »
In June 2019, as United States President Donald Trump visited Britain to meet with the royal family and elected officials, a photograph purportedly of his English fans appeared on social media and made the usual rounds. One popular variation (archived here) came with additional commentary about how the media refuses to tell the story of …
On June 1 2019, the Facebook page “All Eyes On Me: Los Angeles” shared the following image (archived here) of seemingly discarded hypodermic needles in the city: A very brief description did not provide much context for the image, simply stating that the photograph was captured in Los Angeles in 2019: Needles, Los Angeles, 2019. …
Are the Streets of Los Angeles Littered with Syringes? Read More »
