On March 14 2019, the Facebook page Occupy Democrats shared a meme (archived here), making a number of claims about U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York): Next to a photograph of Ocasio-Cortez, the meme’s text read: In high school she won 2nd place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. In a show of …
In March 2019, a photo-based Facebook image post (archived here) contained the claim that 21 fathers died by suicide every week specifically because of “child access issues”: The post included a status update comment and a message on a sign which read, respectively: To all you women who play god with your kids just to …
Do 21 Fathers Die of Suicide Each Week Because of Child Custody Disputes? Read More »
In March 2019, a poster of “Company Policies” spread on Facebook (archived here) and other sites, purportedly illustrating draconian — yet believable — rules for employees at an unidentified company: Many versions of the image appeared to come from Snapchat, with a circled portion around “sick days” and a comment: “This part tho .. wth.” The …
On March 24 2019, a Facebook post in the group “Political Liars” (archived here) attributed a poster that apparently appeared in Woodland Hills, California to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also known as CAIR: A status update true to the page’s name stated: US Rep Omar helped CAIR at their March 23rd [2019] fundraiser. This poster …
A February 28 2019 Facebook post (archived here) shared the image reproduced above with the following text: I shared this picture a few minutes ago, then about 5 minutes after I shared it, the post was removed from my page and also from the page of who I shared it. The statue represents a guardian …
Guardian Angel Crying at the Cradle of an Aborted Fetus? Read More »
On January 30 2019, this meme (archived here) appeared on Facebook, containing a claim (without sources or citations) that migrants in a caravan carried a frightening ailment known as “derma chronic autoimmune disease.” The post featured two close-cropped images of mens’ torsos. Text across those two photographs said: SEVERAL OF THE CARAVAN MIGRANTS WERE SUFFERING FROM …
On March 3 2019, a Canadian Facebook user shared a “public service announcement” about a purportedly bizarre and new strain of streptococcus aureus going around (post archived here.) The poster referenced a second post of hers (archived here) about the purported strain of strep, as well as a February 26 2019 post by a woman in …
Is a ‘Bizarre New Strain of Strep’ Causing a Rash and Infecting Sinuses? Read More »
On March 16 2019, the Facebook page “Blossom” shared a video entitled “8 mind-blowing transformations you can do at home!” to its page and to Facebook Watch. The video raked in a massive 58 million views in just a few days, and its claims were big ones. In a series of DIY/hack montages similar to perplexing …
8 Mind-Blowing Transformations You Can Do at Home? Read More »
In March 2019, a Facebook user shared a meme (archived here) which claimed that the “OK sign” hand gesture is both favored by white supremacists, and that it is also American Sign Language for the word “asshole”: The meme’s text read: HERE’S A BUNCH OF WHITE NATIONALISTS FROM ORANGE COUNTY FLASHING THE HAND SIGN FOR …
Is the ‘OK’ Hand Sign Also American Sign Language for ‘Asshole’? Read More »
In March 2019, two viral Facebook posts circulated with an image of an alarmingly inaccurate “Why Did Slaves Come to America?” worksheet. The viral Facebook posts were part of a larger controversy in February and March 2019 about myriad incomplete, deeply inaccurate, and outright misleading school lessons on slavery in various places across the United States in …
‘Why Did Slaves Come to America?’ School Worksheet Read More »
