2021

‘Almost Half of America Thinks Biden is Mentally Unstable According to New Poll’

Disinformation, Fact Checks / By /

On September 20 2021, a TrendingPolitics.com post headlined, “Almost Half of America Thinks Biden is Mentally Unstable According to New Poll” appeared on Trendolizer as extremely popular, claiming: According to a new poll conducted by Fox News, only 49% of American voters think President Joe Biden is mentally stable enough to serve as president of the …

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Biden ‘Fellow Down Under’ Controversy

Disinformation, Fact Checks / By /

On September 16 2021, Trendolizer identified a Hannity.com post (“???????: Biden Seemingly Forgets Australian Prime Minister’s Name, Calls Him ‘That Fella Down Under’”) as showing signs of viral popularity. It began: President Biden seemingly forgot the name of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a joint press conference this week, referring to him as “that …

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Stillbirths in Mississippi Doubled During Pandemic

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By /

On September 16 2021, an Imgur user shared the following screenshot, showing a headline’s claim that stillbirths had doubled in Mississippi since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: A source for the headline was not visible in the screenshot, which was dated September 9 2021: Stillbirths have doubled during covid in Mississippi. Officials are sounding …

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Norm Macdonald ‘When I Hear a Guy Lost a Battle to Cancer’ Quote

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By /

On September 14 2021, the death of comedian Norm Macdonald was widely reported; soon after the news broke, a purported quote of Macdonald’s about “cancer” and “battles” began circulating on Imgur: Across news outlets, Macdonald’s death was attributed to long-term cancer, a diagnosis he did not publicly discuss. Macdonald was quoted as having said the …

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Right-Wing Disinformation Surges As California Recall Election Unfolds

Disinformation, Reporting / By /

As the recall election against California governor Gavin Newsom drew closer to a close, both the leading right-wing candidate and conspiracy theorists continued pushing disinformation painting the process as “rigged” before polls even opened. As NBC News reported, Republican Larry Elder encouraged supporters to visit a website that claimed it had gathered evidence of fraud …

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Todd Starnes: ‘Biden Says Even Fox News Has A Mandatory Vaccine Policy’

Disinformation, Fact Checks / By /

On September 14 2021, a popular Imgur post showed a screenshot of a Todd Starnes tweet, in which Starnes questioned whether Fox News had a “mandatory vaccine policy”: On September 9 2021, Starnes tweeted: Biden says even @FoxNews has a mandatory vaccine policy. Is that true? That can’t be true. Have Hannity and Tucker and the others gotten …

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