guns_wars

Have More Americans Died in Gun-Related Incidents Than Wars Since the Founding of the United States?

Fact Checks, guns, Politics / By /

On December 7 2018, the Facebook page Change The Ref shared this meme (text below): FACT: MORE AMERICANS HAVE DIED OF GUN-RELATED INCIDENTS IN THE LAST FIFTY YEARS THAN HAVE DIED IN WAR SINCE THE COUNTRY’S FOUNDING. A caption with the image read: #FckThat Fact of the Day: Did you know that more Americans have died …

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Courtesy photo / Brooke Binkowski

From Central America to the United States Border, a Journey of Lies

Disinformation, Immigration, Reporting, Trump / By /

A highly publicized caravan of people traveling from Central America in order to turn themselves in at the United States border to request asylum — one of many groups who have done so over the years — has been dogged from start to finish by false stories and threats spurred by that disinformation. One large …

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Did John ‘Chickie’ Donohue Pull off a War Zone ‘Beer Run’ in Vietnam?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By /

On December 7 2018, the Facebook page Dysfuntional Veterans shared the following meme about a man named John “Chickie” Donohue and a Vietnam war “beer run”: The meme read: John “Chickie” Donohue, a merchant marine from New York City snuck into the war zone in Vietnam in the ’60s to DELIVER BEER to his three …

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Candy canes in a jar.

Did a Principal Ban Candy Canes Because the ‘J’ Symbolizes Jesus?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By /

On December 5 2018, The Blaze published an article titled “Principal banned candy canes because ‘J’ shape stands ‘for Jesus.’ But that was just for starters.” The item centered on a law firm devoted to “evangelical Christian” interests (Liberty Counsel), its assertion that Manchester Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska had “banned” Christmas items, and its …

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charles_darwin_poorly_stupid

Did Charles Darwin Say He Hated ‘Everybody and Everything’ on a Difficult Day?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By /

On November 29 2018, Twitter user @Plant_Phillips shared a transcribed image of a quote attributed to Charles Darwin: Even the most famous scientists have rough weeks. Charles Darwin, for example: “But I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and everything.” pic.twitter.com/o03pBG4ScI — Alyssa Phillips (@Plant_Phillips) November 30, 2018 A version was …

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Five baguettes in a container.

Were ‘Bladed Weapons’ Discovered in Baguettes During Riots in France?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By /

In December 2018, amid massive civil unrest in France, a photograph of a serrated knife hidden in a baguette appeared on social media with a quip that it showed “bladed weapons confiscated from rioters” by Paris police. As of December 6 the image had accumulated tens of thousands shares, and a screencap published to Facebook …

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A woman holding a mobile phone over a laptop.

Did a Woman Use Venmo to Send Herself Thousands of Dollars from a Stranger’s Phone?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By /

On November 12, 2018, Twitter user @SydneyShyanneS tweeted a tale about the cash-sharing app Venmo, modern dating, and bar interactions which later became virally popular: this dude has been calling my bar to check the cameras because he asked a girl to put her number into his phone & she Venmo’d herself $2,000 ???? drunk …

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Is ‘Friends’ Leaving Netflix in January 2019?

Entertainment, Fact Checks / By /

Fans of the beloved sitcom Friends, which featured four, well, friends living in a late-1990s New York City apartment together and doing late-1990s things together, mourned together on social media in early December 2018 when Netflix apparently announced it would no longer be carrying the show after the new year: The story went viral almost …

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