viral tweets – Page 93 – Truth or Fiction?

Could Alabama Women Be Jailed for 99 Years Under a New Abortion Law?

Fact Checks, Politics / By Kim LaCapria / May 15, 2019

On May 14 2019, the state of Alabama’s legislature passed an extremely restrictive law banning nearly all abortions, and social media posts suggested women faced 99 years in prison for obtaining an abortion under its provisions. The claim appeared on Twitter: Additionally, a Facebook user shared a lengthy status update about the law (archived here), …

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Does the Alabama Abortion Ban Have a ‘False Rape’ Reporting Clause?

Fact Checks, Politics / By Kim LaCapria / May 15, 2019

Four days before the Alabama Senate voted to pass a near-total ban on abortion in Alabama, a Facebook screenshot by act.tv of two tweets (archived here) claimed that the legislation included a clause enabling imprisoning those reporting rapes in the state if the accused was not found guilty: A tweet at the bottom by Adam Savage …

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Does a Proposed Ohio Bill Make the Pill and IUDs Illegal?

Fact Checks, Politics / By Kim LaCapria / May 13, 2019

In May 2019, a number of posts about “heartbeat bills” in various American states circulated on social media. For example, a rumor about Georgia (archived here) subsequently appeared that proposed legislation would purportedly ban birth control pills and IUDs. One popular Facebook post about a provision of yet another bill, this time in Ohio, featured a …

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Delta Union-Busting ‘Video Games’ Poster

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / May 9, 2019

On May 9 2019, a poster attributed to Delta Airlines apparently urging workers to forgo union dues in favor of purchasing video gaming consoles circulated on Facebook and Twitter: Above a rendering of a video game controller, blue and red text urged Delta employees to purchase expensive consoles instead of paying union dues: UNION DUES …

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Is a Proposed Bill in Texas Trying to Disenfranchise the Elderly and Poor by Prohibiting Transportation to Polls?

Fact Checks, Politics / By Kim LaCapria / May 8, 2019

On May 6 2019, the following tweet described proposed legislation in Texas that would purportedly disenfranchise voters unable to drive themselves to the polls: A prominent retweet garnered several thousand more shares: A screenshot of the same tweet with additional commentary from a different account was shared to Facebook by act.tv a day later. Together, both …

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Is This a Video of Lyanna Mormont/Bella Ramsey Breakdancing?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / May 7, 2019

On May 4 2019, Barstool Sports shared the following clip on Twitter and Facebook, both captioned “Lady Mormont has the god damn MOVES”: Barstool Sports shared the clip from @rmlundyjr’s May 3 2019 tweet: Due to its caption, many users inferred that the clip depicted Game of Thrones cast member Bella Ramsey, who plays Lyanna Mormont: On the road …

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Do the Colors You See in a Photograph Reveal Left or Right Brain Dominance?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / May 6, 2019

On May 3 2019, @CNYcentral shared the following tweet featuring a photograph of a shoe with a claim that the colors in which it appeared to render revealed whether a reader is either “left-brained” or “right-brained”: In the tweet @CNYcentral claimed that if “the right-half of your brain is dominant, you will see a combination …

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Is Twitter Withholding a ‘Nazi-Hunting’ Algorithm for Fear of Inadvertently Banning Republican Lawmakers?

Disinformation, Fact Checks / By Kim LaCapria / April 30, 2019

On April 25 2019, a Twitter user posted a claim that the social media platform possessed a “Nazi-hunting” algorithm, but opted not to employ it specifically because it would also filter the tweets or accounts of some Republican lawmakers: In a subsequent tweet, Allen cited Jewish Daily Forward as a source for the information, but the …

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Breast Milk Ducts

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / April 25, 2019

On April 21 2019 a Twitter user tweeted the following image, purportedly a photograph of muscles and milk ducts in breasts: The tweet spread far and fast, perhaps not the least of which because of its ability to evoke a specific visual phobia (trypophobia, a fear of small holes or repetitive patterns) in some users: …

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Does ‘Strange Planet’ Creator Nathan W. Pyle Oppose Abortion?

Fact Checks, Viral Content / By Kim LaCapria / April 8, 2019

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 …

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