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A visitor at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida was taken by surprise on 7 August 2016, when a dolphin lunged out of the tank and grabbed the iPad she had been using to snap photos. A video taken by another guest standing near the iPad’s owner shows the dolphin taking the device in its teeth and ripping it out …
Claim: Photographs show a boy having his arm crushed under a truck as a punishment for stealing bread. false Example: [Collected via e-mail, November 2005] An 8 year old child caught stealing bread in a market of Iran is punished in a public place, in the name of Islam!!! His arm will be crushed and …
On 1 July 2016, the notoriously unreliable Breitbart web site published an article based on “conservative icon” Sarah Palin’s quipping that “paid anti-Trump protesters show presidential candidate Donald Trump is creating jobs even before taking office,” and quoting her as follows: “We’ve been telling [Trump] he should hold his rallies at construction sites. You know …
In January 2016, the Obama administration successfully negotiated the release of four Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran in exchange for the release of seven Iranians who had been imprisoned in the United States. (A fifth American prisoner was released separately.) At around the same time, the U.S. airlifted the equivalent of USD$400 million in various currencies …
Claim: A photograph shows the Clintons posing with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. true Example: [Collected via Facebook, August 2016] Origin:This photograph of the Clinton family posing with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat hit social media in August 2016, where it was circulated with a legend reading “A sweet picture before you go to sleep. For all …
Claim: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton once said, “I think Sharia Law will be a powerful new direction of freedom and democracy for the women of Libya.” False Example: [Collected via Facebook, July 2016] YEP, SHE REALLY SAID THIS. HERE’S THE WHOLE QUOTE: “I think Sharia Law will be a powerful new direction of freedom …
Luke Aikins leapt into the sky from an airplane at 25,000 with no parachute or wingsuit and became the first skydiver to land safely on the ground in a net. Aikins directed his body in free fall using only the air currents around him to land safely on a high-tech 10,000-square-foot net: The stunt, performed …
For only the second time in several decades and atypically early in an election year, the major regional newspaper Houston Chronicle issued an endorsement of Hillary Clinton on 29 July 2016. In 2008, the Houston Chronicle broke with tradition and endorsed then Senator Barack Obama, selecting a Democrat for the first time since 1964. Published …
Claim: [Name of celebrity] has been summoned for jury duty in [name of town] because he or she supposedly owns property there. False Origin:Everybody gets called for jury duty at one time or another, even famous people, but a spate of online news stories in 2016 claiming that various celebrities were summoned for jury duty in …
Claim: Uniformed police officers were not allowed on the floor at the Democratic National Convention. FALSE Example: [Collected via e-mail, July 2016] Rumors on Facebook going around that officers are not allowed on the convention floor at the DNC. Origin:On 28 July 2016, a rumor appeared that uniformed police officers were not allowed on the …
An unusually bright object was visible traveling across the sky at around 9:47 p.m. Pacific time on 27 July 2016: We just saw a huge #meteorite split over LA!!!!!! Wowww. Check out my (poor quality) video below ???? pic.twitter.com/gZmJl4igls — atty blatt (@AtticusBlatt) July 28, 2016 There was speculation that the object, which was reported from Colorado to California, was an …
Claim: A machine used to skin dogs is manufactured and sold by Samsung. FALSE Origin:A call to boycott the South Korean multinational conglomerate Samsung (best known in the U.S. for their electronics products) has been widely shared over the company’s alleged involvement in the manufacture and sale of a device purportedly used to skin dogs …
Claim: Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine has ties to well-known Islamist groups. Unproven Origin:On 22 July 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton announced her choice for running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, a former governor and one-time chairman of the Democratic National Committee. On 23 July, Breitbart published an article headlined “Clinton VP Pick …
On 7 July 2016, a few weeks ahead of the Republican National Convention that would officially make him the GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump met with members of Congress — with mixed results — in an attempt to solidify their support for him in the upcoming campaign: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump leaned on …