In early March 2019, a Facebook user shared a screenshot (archived here) of a tweet sent the same day, which admonished followers of a scandal involving the Kardashian family. That post claimed that while readers were busy on Kardashian gossip, two-thirds of the Earth’s animals were in the process of being eradicated by 2020: lmagine if …
Will Earth Lose Two-Thirds of its Animals by 2020? Read More »
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 »
On February 28 2019, a Facebook user shared the image below (archived here) and commented: “So if u have astigmatism, then this is what lights look like to you. I always thought this was what they looked like for everybody”: The post was consequently shared nearly half a million times in approximately a week. Due …
If You Have Astigmatism, This Is What Lights Look Like Read More »
On March 5 2019, an unexpected rumor that Fred Rogers (the creator and star of the beloved American children’s television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) was bisexual began spreading on LGBTQ news sites and social media in general. Several concurrently circulating tweets formed a basis for the rumor about Rogers’ sexuality. An especially popular stated: Anyway, wildest thing …
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 …
A long-circulating Facebook status meme of indeterminate claims that typing #911 in a comment will generate a green line or green bar, confirming that the user commenting is “not a snitch.” Variations of the meme (which date back to March 2016) tend to operate as “engagement bait” — or, to be more precise in this …
