On April 6 2019, a screenshots (archived here) of a Twitter thread originally published by @AwesomeBioTA one day prior went viral on social media: In the original thread, the poster (@AwesomeBioTA) recounted the purported results of her class’s attempt to sequence samples of seafood gathered at places like supermarkets and sushi restaurants: In at least one …
On April 8 2019, Facebook page “The Other 98%” shared a post (archived here) claiming that the United States Postal Service was mistakenly believed to be losing money thanks to online retailers like Amazon, when in actuality the shortfall was because of a 2006 law mandating that USPS pre-fund worker pensions: It read: DID YOU KNOW? …
Is USPS Losing Money Because of a 2006 Pension Law? Read More »
On April 10 2019 the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) captured the first image of a black hole in history, making worldwide headlines: This is what a black hole looks like. A world-spanning network of telescopes called the Event Horizon Telescope zoomed in on the supermassive monster in the galaxy M87 to create this first-ever picture …
On March 31 2019, a Facebook user shared a screenshot (archived here) of a different Facebook post which dissected the purported race-related casting decisions made by Jordan Peele, Tim Burton, Woody Allen, and Ridley Scott: The original post seen in the screenshot accrued 19,000 shares as of April 10 2019; the screenshot 36,000: It read: …
Jordan Peele, Tim Burton, Woody Allen, Ridley Scott, and Racism in Casting Read More »
On March 31 2019, a Facebook user shared a meme (archived here) about the purported effects of “free birth control” in the state of Colorado: Across an image of mountain scenery, the meme (watermarked by The Other 98%) read: COLORADO HAS OFFERED FREE BIRTH CONTROL FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS AND HAS SEEN: * UNINTENDED …
Did Free Birth Control in Colorado Drop Unplanned Pregnancies by 40 Percent? Read More »
On April 4 2019, this meme was posted to a Facebook group (archived here) with a purported quote by Sen. Dianne Feinstein about California and the United States’ electoral college. Text across a photograph of the California Democrat with a superimposed a Twitter icon (suggesting that was the source of the quote) read: “…smaller states get the …
On April 4 2019, the following warning appeared (archived here), containing the claim that marijuana smokers can detect fentanyl contamination by smell: In addition to its primary claim (that fentanyl-laced weed smells like popcorn), the post contained some secondary tacit claims: primarily that marijuana can be contaminated with fentanyl and that smoking it could be lethal. No …
Does Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana Smell Like Popcorn? Read More »
On April 7 2019 the Facebook page “ForAmerica” shared the following meme (archived here), purportedly describing Democrats’ first three House bills in 2019: Atop a photograph of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), text read: THE FIRST THREE BILLS INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE BY DEMOCRATS: IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT BAN THE ELECTORAL …
In March 2019, a webcomic known as “Strange Planet” began dominating Facebook’s feed (as well as Instagram and Twitter), and in April 2019, rumors began circulating about creator Nathan W. Pyle’s purported anti-abortion position: Posts about the rumor quickly spread on Facebook, where some users referenced the “your fave is problematic” meme and expressed dismay …
Does ‘Strange Planet’ Creator Nathan W. Pyle Oppose Abortion? Read More »
In April 2019, a story spread on social media about a purported vision experienced by televangelist Pat Robertson regarding Jesus’ return — complete with an AK-47 and camo clothing: Linked here was an April 6 2019 item from The Business Standard News (BS News), claiming: Televangelist Pat Robertson said he had received a message from Jesus …
