&Quot;The Dunning-Kruger Times&Quot;

Did the 9th District Court side with the US Solicitor General to vacate 84 of Joe Biden's "autopen pardons"? No, that's not true: There were no actual news stories about this. The story originated on a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The claim appeared in an…

Was a George Floyd statue located at the National Mall or the "Smithsonian Institute" in Washington, D.C., dismantled and "put in storage"? No, that's not true: The rumor that resurfaced on the internet in August 2025 came from the self-described "network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery". The image accompanying the claim showed a George Floyd statue in Newark, New Jersey.…

Did Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accept a $2.1 million bribe from George Soros, in the form of a vacation home in Italy? No, that's not true: That rumor originated on the Dunning-Kruger Times, a website that describes its own content as satirical. The article included fabricated quotes from "Joe Barron", a fake persona that features regularly as an…

Did Pete Townsend from The Who say Bruce Springsteen should "shut up and play" in May 2025? No, that's not true: The fabricated quotation originated on a Facebook page that describes its content as satirical. Earlier in the month, Springsteen criticized President Donald Trump on stage at a concert in Manchester, England. The fake quotation appeared in a May 21,…

Did a legitimate news report reveal the Kamala Harris presidential campaign was making an illegal $200,000 payment for travel expenses to music mogul Beyoncé for appearing at a campaign rally in 2024? No, that's not true: A satire site created that story to trick conservatives into sharing it as real. Campaign finance documents on file show no such payment to…

Did Al Gore receive a $90 million custom Gulfstream jet from the Sultan of Kuwait? No, that's not true: The story appeared on a site that is clearly labeled as satirical. It is run by a man known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The story appeared as an article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times on May…

Were there real media reports about Senator Chuck Schumer getting $16 million from NASA through a New Jersey based shell company? No, that's not true: The absurd story involving "zero-gravity-compatible scones, Belgian waffles, and mini-muffins" originated on a site that is clearly labeled as satirical. It is run by a man known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up…

Did now-retired soccer player Megan Rapinoe lose her job at ESPN after one day in April 2025? No, that's not true: The story originated from a network known for publishing made-up stories with satire labels. As of April 23, 2025, no credible sources had reported Rapinoe was fired. The claim originated from an article (archived here) on the Dunning-Kruger Times…

Did the U.S. Coast Guard find a brother of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, named Matthew, on board a boat carrying $1.2 million worth of fentanyl? No, that's not true: Although shared widely in April 2025, the story originated from a website that describes its output as satirical. Ocasio-Cortez's brother is named Gabriel, not Matthew. The claim appeared in a widely-shared video…

Did the family of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez overlook 14.5 years of cashing the social security check of their dead grandmother? No, that's not true: The "news" about the social security check originated on a website with a clear satire disclaimer. It is run by a man known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The claim appeared in…