On March 7 2019, pop culture and media sites published a virally popular article (archived here) claiming that pop superstar Michael Jackson’s body may be exhumed: Express.co.uk is reporting that at least 11 new people are accusing Michael Jackson of sexual abuse and the accusations could result in MJ’s body being exhumed for DNA testing. Although the …
On January 19 2019, a Facebook user shared a text-based status update (archived here), claiming that Chicago’s “City ID Cards” enables undocumented immigrants to legally vote in state and federal elections: Chicago now has City ID Cards which allow illegal immigrants to vote in local, state & federal elections (which is illegal) So, to be …
Do New Chicago City ID Cards Allow Undocumented Immigrants to Vote? Read More »
In early March 2019, a Facebook user shared the following indifferently-spelled meme (archived here), featuring Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a quote in which she purportedly insisted that “white women” ought to have “more abortions.” A photograph of Ocasio-Cortez speaking (above) was captioned: “We are dying, too many people in this country. White weman need to have …
On March 3 2019, Texas politician Sid Miller shared “An important reminder!”, a meme (archived here) purportedly providing the last line in a Statue of Liberty dedication speech from October 1886: Atop a bronze Statue of Liberty, the meme’s text stated: The last line in the speech at the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty, …
‘There is Room in America and Brotherhood for All’ Statue of Liberty Dedication Speech Read More »
Actor Luke Perry died following a stroke on March 4 2019. That same day, a screenshot (archived here) suggesting Perry had received a pneumonia vaccine just before his stroke appeared and quickly began circulating: The post, captioned “In case someone was wondering!”, displayed what appeared at first glance to be an article reporting Perry was hospitalized due …
On February 22 2019, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) shared the following meme (archived here), purporting to quote Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the feasibility of building walls across mountains in an apparent reference to the United States border: King captioned the post “Wrong again, AOC,” with a red “X.” It featured a photograph of Ocasio-Cortez and …
In the aftermath of the March 2019 U.S. media frenzy surrounding the Momo challenge, a number of “real Momo videos” have opportunistically surfaced and quickly racked up large share counts. We came across several of the likely many surviving “real Momo” videos on Facebook that were posted by concerned parents, although given the nature of …
During ongoing national debate about a new abortion law in New York in February 2019, a Facebook user shared a meme with a photograph of an infant atop an American flag, bearing the following caption: WHAT IF THE GOVERNMENT FUNDED ADOPTIONS INSTEAD OF ABORTIONS? In the midst of this debate, this uncited meme proved popular and …
‘What If the Government Funded Adoptions Instead of Abortions?’ Read More »
On February 28 2019, the Facebook page “I am not a dictator” shared the following meme (archived here), alleging that President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen was once the personal lawyer of Hillary Clinton and/or the Clinton Foundation: A photograph of Clinton (left), Cohen (center), and an unidentified individual was captioned: MICHAEL COHEN USED TO …
Was Michael Cohen Hillary Clinton’s ‘Personal Lawyer’? Read More »
On February 26 2019, British professional provocateur and far-right activist Tommy Robinson (née Steven Yaxley-Lennon) — perhaps best known for his involvement with disinformation purveyors such as political party (and Brexit architects) UKIP and the anti-Islam English Defence League — was widely rumored to have been banned from social media sites Facebook and Instagram. News organizations …
