Tiki torches at sunset.

White Supremacist Arrested After Calling a Domestic Terror Attack ‘a Dry Run’

Analysis, Social Media, Terrorism / By /

A man with ties to some of the most violent hate groups in the United States has been arrested and charged with illegal possession of firearms just weeks after his younger brother — also reportedly a known white supremacist — committed suicide. According to court documents, 30-year-old Jeffrey “Raph” Clark and his 23-year-old brother Edward Clark openly …

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Did United States President Donald Trump Threaten to Withhold Disaster Funding from California?

Disinformation, Environment, Fact Checks, Natural Disasters, Politics / By /

Sizable wildfires burning up and down California in late 2018 left dozens of people dead, destroyed an entire Northern California town, Paradise, and the heat and speed of least two enormously destructive fires — the Woolsey Fire in the south of the state and the Camp Fire in the north — overwhelmed safety measures and firefighters: …

Did United States President Donald Trump Threaten to Withhold Disaster Funding from California? Read More »

William Shatner.

Did William Shatner Record a Christmas Album With Iggy Pop and Henry Rollins?

Entertainment, Fact Checks / By /

As people began to get ready for the holidays in November 2018, social media suddenly became aware of an odd little rumor that had evidently passed under the radar months before. Apparently William Shatner, an actor and performer who is perhaps best known for his years playing Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek …

Did William Shatner Record a Christmas Album With Iggy Pop and Henry Rollins? Read More »

Shepard Fairey street art encouraging people to vote.

Hundreds of Wrapped Voting Machines Discovered in a Georgia Warehouse?

Fact Checks, Politics / By /

The American midterm elections on November 6, 2018 transformed what is normally a relatively sleepy affair that receives little coverage into a bitter, heavily-tracked series of races around the country punctuated by scandals, violence, and unexpected twists and turns. Georgia’s gubernatorial election attracted particular attention because its Republican candidate, Brian Kemp, was serving as its …

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Crime scene tape with red and blue lights in the background.

Was the Thousand Oaks Shooter Identified as a Man of Middle Eastern Descent?

Disinformation, Fact Checks, Mass Shootings / By /

Mere hours after a gunman entered a nightclub in Thousand Oaks, California, murdering at least twelve people before shooting himself, the social media disinformation machine and its usual array of bots and paid trolls began to peddle unverified information about the suspect’s identity: This was quickly picked up and disseminated by the usual disreputable sites …

Was the Thousand Oaks Shooter Identified as a Man of Middle Eastern Descent? Read More »

CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

Did a CNN Reporter Assault a White House Employee?

Disinformation, Fact Checks, Politics / By /

The morning after a hotly-contested midterm election resulted in Republicans resoundingly losing control of the House, United States President Donald Trump held a press conference to discuss the results and take questions from journalists. In the middle of the event, CNN reporter Jim Acosta stood to ask questions of Trump, including one about the ongoing …

Did a CNN Reporter Assault a White House Employee? Read More »

American flag at an angle.

Are Members of a Refugee Caravan Defiling American Flags on Their Way to the United States?

Disinformation, Fact Checks, Immigration, Trump / By /

An annual caravan heading from Central America to the southern United States border to seek asylum has been beset by rumors, misinformation, and dramatic disinformation during the 2018 election cycle; stories about the event were resurrected in January 2019 to bolster the Trump administration’s argument for an additional border wall. Participants in the annual event are …

Are Members of a Refugee Caravan Defiling American Flags on Their Way to the United States? Read More »

Painting of three crosses against a vibrant red background.

Was a Large ‘Make the Gospel Great Again’ Billboard Put Up in Missouri?

Fact Checks, Politics, Viral Content / By /

On November 3rd, 2018, just days before the United States held hotly-contested midterm elections, rumors appeared of a billboard by the side of a Missouri interstate that featured United States President Donald Trump’s face with a strange, slightly ominous Biblical message: It references John 1:14, which reads in full: The Word became flesh and made his …

Was a Large ‘Make the Gospel Great Again’ Billboard Put Up in Missouri? Read More »

Three men sitting behind a chain link border fence.

Were Seven Children Rescued From Smugglers Embedded in a ‘Migrant Caravan’ in Guatemala?

Disinformation, Fact Checks, Politics / By /

On October 25th, 2018, as bots and paid trolls pushed talking points on social media about a caravan of people from Honduras on their way to Mexico’s border with the United States to turn themselves in to seek asylum, the Judicial Watch blog published a shocking story about seven children who were saved from human …

Were Seven Children Rescued From Smugglers Embedded in a ‘Migrant Caravan’ in Guatemala? Read More »