rumours

Claim: The state of Wisconsin banned all FoodShare/EBT programs through 2019 due to budgetary concerns. false Example: [Collected via e-mail and Twitter, September 2016] Origin:On 21 September 2016, web site The Boston Tribune posted an article that said the state of Wisconsin eliminated “all FoodShare/EBT programs” (such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP) as of 1 December …

Yahoo! Inc. has confirmed rumors of a massive data breach of its service.  The company announced on 22 September 2016 that roughly 500 million user accounts’ passwords (along with other sensitive information) were stolen, adding that it was perpetrated by a “state actor.”   In August, a hacker who went by “Peace” claimed that he was selling information from 200 million Yahoo accounts …

In September 2016, Reddit users engaged in a collaborative effort to preserve and secure what they believe is evidence that a fellow user posting under the screen name stonetear, who had sought technical advice about stripping addresses from e-mail messages, is actually Paul Combetta — an employee of Platte River Networks, the company that managed …

Claim: Luxottica controls 80 percent of eyewear brands, several major optometry chains, and the second-largest vision care insurer. mixture WHAT’S TRUE: Eyewear retail giant Luxottica owns a number of high-profile eyeglass and sunglass brands, as well as several optometry chains and the second-largest vision care insurer. WHAT’S Undetermined: Whether Luxottica controls 80 percent of the …

About 10,000 cases of Eggo brand Nutri-Grain Whole Wheat Waffles have been recalled by their parent company, saying that they have the potential to have been contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. According to a press release issued through the Kellogg Company’s web site, there are no reports of illness to date and the warning is strictly …

Psilocybin mushrooms refer to approximately 100 different species of mushrooms that go by a multitude of nicknames (such as “Magic Mushrooms,” “Liberty Caps”, or simply “’Shrooms”) and contain psychedelic compounds that can produce euphoria, hallucinations, and altered thinking processes Although they have likely been used for spiritual purposes since prehistoric times, mushrooms’ popularity exploded in …

Claim: Comedian Jeff Foxworthy slammed Hillary Clinton and was attacked by liberals. false Origin:In September 2016, a number of unreliable political web sites attempted to drag popular “redneck” comedian Jeff Foxworthy into the presidential campaign fray, posting articles under headlines such as “With Just 7 Words, Jeff Foxworthy DESTROYS Hillary Clinton” and “Jeff Foxworthy Just …

Claim: Tens of thousands of Russian troops are surrounding U.S. borders. False Origin:On 9 September 2016, the disreputable site YourNewsWire.com posted an article with the alarm-sounding headline, “Thousands of Russian Troops Surround US Border”: The Kremlin has confirmed that around 50,000 Russian troops are to be deployed to the the US borders in preparation for “asymmetric warfare”… …

Claim: Tens of thousands of Russian troops are surrounding U.S. borders. False Origin:On 9 September 2016, the disreputable site YourNewsWire.com posted an article with the alarm-sounding headline, “Thousands of Russian Troops Surround US Border”: The Kremlin has confirmed that around 50,000 Russian troops are to be deployed to the the US borders in preparation for “asymmetric warfare”… …

Claim: Hillary Clinton was responsible for the siege on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, that ended with 76 civilian deaths. false Example: [Collected via e-mail, September 2016] I heard on a podcast that Hillary Clinton escalated the Waco massacre. I tried to look it up online, where I found a site attributing this …

Claim: A photograph shows a group of sheep squeezing through a gate, despite no fence hemming them in. FALSE Origin:A photograph purportedly showing a group of sheep squeezing through a gate despite there being no fence is frequently shared as an example of “the trap of thinking”: A herd of sheep is leaving the stall. …

The seemingly bottomless well of Hillary Clinton health-related conspiracy theories offered up yet another bucket of conjecture after the Democratic nominee left a 9/11 memorial ceremony due to a medical event (originally described as her “feeling overheated” and later attributed to pneumonia). The event produced an endlessly replayed video that showed Clinton being helped into …

Claim: Photographs show a New Jersey monument to the victims of 9/11 that was donated by Russia. true Example: [Collected via e-mail, March 2009] I had never heard of this before receiving it. Why didn’t the press report it? This is the “TEAR DROP” made and installed by the Russians to honor those who died …

Claim: Photos and video clips narrated by a medical doctor demonstrate that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton likely has Parkinson’s disease. False Example: [Collected via Facebook, September 2016] Hillary Clinton Has Parkinson’s Disease, Physician Confirms Origin:Hillary Clinton’s health has been the subject of intense speculation during the 2016 presidential campaign, in part because the candidates’ fitness …

Claim: Individuals fleeing danger can request to be “unlisted” in a hotel so no one can find them. unproven WHAT’S TRUE: Some hotels have procedures in place allowing guests to register under the radar and avoid being found. WHAT’S FALSE: “Unlisted” is not a code word used in hotels to render guests “untouchable”; there is …

Claim: Ann Scott, the wife of Florida’s governor, owns a Zika mosquito spraying business. mixture WHAT’S TRUE: Ann Scott, wife of Florida governor Rick Scott, has a major financial stake in a mosquito spraying company based in Louisiana which services all of the Gulf Coast. WHAT’S FALSE: The Scotts do not outright own a “Zika …

On 6 September 2016, the Fox cable news conglomerate posted an article under the headline “Calif. University Latest to Establish ‘Black-Only’ Housing,” chiefly sourced from another publication, The College Fix. The article referenced themed student housing at California State University at Los Angeles (CSULA), a campus that in Fall 2016 introduced the Halisi Scholars Black Living-Learning Community. …

Claim: A photograph shows a large waterspout produced by Hurricane Hermine off the coast of North Carolina. FALSE Origin:As Hurricane Hermine approached the eastern coast of the United States in September 2016, a photograph purportedly showing a large waterspout near Avalon Pier in North Carolina started circulating online: However, this photograph has been digitally manipulated …

Claim: A woman in Idaho was sentenced to seven years in prison for breastfeeding in public. FALSE Example: [Collected via e-mail, September 2016] Is this for real??? Heather Watson imprisoned in Idaho for 7 years for breastfeeding?? Origin:On 3 September 2016, the disreputable web site Associated Media Coverage published a hoax news article that reported an Idaho woman named …

Claim: A Spanish fisherman survived in a whale’s belly for three days before being “flushed out” alive. FALSE Example: [Collected via Internet, September 2016] Origin:On 2 September 2016, the faux-spirituality web site Spirit Science reported that a Spanish fisherman named Luigi Marquez was swallowed by a whale and resided in its belly for three days before …