On February 6 2019, a Facebook post circulated claiming that “modern c-sections” were invented by midwives in Africa. The post had the hashtag #BlackHistoryMonth, and it said in its entirety: Did you that modern C sections were invented by African women— centuries before they were standard elsewhere? Midwives and surgeons living around Lake Tanganyika and …
Were Modern Caesarean Sections Invented in Africa? Read More »
On February 5 2019, Facebook user Anna Love shared the following image in a status update, claiming that the photograph shows Nazi Socialist women wearing their customary white attire: In the status update field, Love wrote: The League of Nazi Socialist women who supported Hitler’s dream of a socialist paradise. They always went to public …
Is This the League of Nazi Women, Who ‘Always Wore White’? Read More »
On January 30 2019, Facebook page “The Blacksphere” shared the following meme, purportedly depicting a Virginia principal named Mamasai Mamakusa: The meme was likely outrage-bait which implied that the nonexistent principal’s hijab constituted a form of religious expression, one she supposedly deemed acceptable for herself but not Christian students. Text added to what appeared to …
Did a Muslim Principal Ban Crucifixes in a Virginia School? Read More »
On February 6 2019, the Facebook page “Children of the Night” reposted a popular meme purportedly showing an amusing scene: actor Keanu Reeves fleeing paparazzi after stealing a camera from a photographer: Its caption stated: A photo of Keanu Reeves running away with a camera he took from a Paparazzi guy is currently my favorite photo …
On February 3 2019, the Facebook page Feminist News shared a screenshot of a tweet to Penn State about their placement of a questionable sexual health advertisement: The tweet’s text read: Per the CDC, college men have (on avg) more than triple the number of sexual partners as college women, and those with a greater number …
On January 22 2019, New York State’s Reproductive Health Act was signed into law, inflaming people across the United States. Arguments raged on social networks, largely due to misinterpretations of the law and a mistaken belief that it enabled elective third-trimester abortions. A week later, on January 29 2019, a Facebook user shared the following …
As temperatures in the Midwest plummeted in January 2019, the following photograph appeared on social media with the caption: “You think we got snow, how about Austria?” No context was provided for the images, and no clues about the location or date on which they were purportedly captured were immediately apparent. But in the comments, the …
In December 2018, a number of viral news sites began sharing posts about ankle scarves, the purported “hot new trend” in winter footwear. Country Living‘s post admitted it “didn’t know what to say” about ankle scarves on Facebook above a link to an article and a photograph of a man in boat shoes with a …
On January 31 2019, the Facebook page “Mommin’ Over Everything” shared what appears to be a screenshot of a social media post showing mold purportedly found in Aldi Simply Natural baby food pouches: Another version published on the same date by the Facebook page “Motherly Empire” received around 200,000 shares in the same timeframe. Alongside three photographs …
In early February 2019, the Facebook page Sexy Atheists shared a link to an article titled “Chicago Man Loses His Penis To Frostbite After Peeing Outside,” which appeared to report: The bitter cold in Chicago has kept hospitals busy, with doctors at one facility during the brunt of an Arctic freeze treating 50 frostbite victims, including …
Did a Man Lose His Penis to Frostbite After Urinating Outside During a Cold Snap? Read More »
