On June 13 2019, @Complex tweeted the following footage, purportedly showing a ride called “Gyro Drop” and its “swing” feature: The tweet was viewed more than 13 million times in just 24 hours. @Complex did not include any additional information about the “Gyro Drop” ride, such as its location. However, replies to the tweet addressed …
On June 11 2019, a Facebook user shared the following text-based status update (archived here), claiming the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against the use of the Qur’an for swearing oaths: Right off the bat, the format of the post was a scourge to fact-checking sites. Text against a colorful background, rarely if ever accompanied by …
Did the Supreme Court Rule 5-4 Against Swearing in on the Qur’an? Read More »
In June 2019, a number of Facebook posts popped up warning mobile users of a purported new mobile feature in which shaking a phone with the social media platform’s mobile app open could lead to automatic reporting of posts (and, readers surmised, unwittingly sending friends to “Facebook jail”): The most commonly shared variation of the …
Can Shaking Your Phone Report Posts and Land Your Friends in Facebook Jail? Read More »
In June 2019, a number of websites and news outlets reported that a young girl in China was treated for symptoms related to the discovery of “hundreds” of undigested boba pearls in her digestive tract via x-ray. Notably, headlines for the story often indicated that elements of it were mostly likely unedited and unvetted: Doctor …
Does an X-Ray Show Hundreds of Undigested Boba Pearls in a Young Chinese Patient? Read More »
In June 2019, a Facebook page shared the following image (archived here) and story about Steinway & Sons pianos dropped into areas of combat during World War II: A status update said of the image: During World War II, Steinway & Sons airdropped pianos with large parachutes and complete tuning instructions into the battle for …
Did Steinway and Sons Airdrop Pianos During World War II? Read More »
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” …
