2024 E

Did Paul McCartney, Steven Tyler, J.K. Rowling, and Mick Jagger say "I see the world being corrupted by Gayness"? No, that's not true: The quote about Paralympic sprinter Valentina Petrillo was made up and attached to those four celebrities in a series of click-bait of social media posts manufactured by a spam factory in Vietnam. AI tools and fake Facebook…

Does a viral video show Muslims protesting against a Christmas fair in Germany? No, that's not true: The video has circulated since October, 12, 2024, showing a demonstration in Hamburg, Germany, against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinians. The time stamp on the 2024 posts puts the march a full month before Germany's traditional Christmas markets begin, according to tour…

Did the mother of Christopher Todd Erick discover the body of her deceased son, plastinated and on display in a Real Bodies exhibit in Las Vegas? No, that's not true: The bodies on display in the exhibit originated in China. According to Imagine Exhibitions, owners of the Real Bodies exhibit, the specimen in question has been on continuous display in…

Did the Associated Press publish a fact check titled 'No, Ghislaine Maxwell did not own a horse named "Bubba"' and did it mention her having a golden retriever at the time? No, that's not true: A viral screenshot showing such a headline along with AP's logo and mentioning Jeffrey Epstein is fake. There is no such story on the Associated…

Did the Justice Department launch a grand jury investigation into California Governor Gavin Newsom, accused by critics of violating the Logan Act by going to a climate conference in Brazil? No, that's not true: The story's source was a fictional character, "US Attorney for North-Central California Joe Barron". The claim originated from a page warning its readers that nothing it…

Do all the collapsed bridge photos on social media really show the Nov. 11, 2025 collapse of the Hongqi bridge in southwest China? No, that's not true: The new Hongqi bridge did collapse, one day after it was closed to traffic due to the appearance of cracks. But many photos circulating on social media have been miscaptioned -- they show…

Does a real photo show the moment in 1952 that a double-decker bus jumped the widening gap of the Tower Bridge drawbridge sections as it was opened to let river traffic through? No, that's not true: While a quick-thinking driver of the London number 78 line was truly celebrated for hitting the gas and jumping the gap, the viral photo…

Did Walmart announce that it would shut down 23 "neighborhood markets" locations in New York City due to the "tax system Mamdani has planned"? No, that's not true: As of this writing, Walmart has no stores of any type in New York City. The earlier variations of the claim showed a satire label linking it to the self-professed liberal troll…

Did singer Addison Rae accidentally leave a ChatGPT prompt in a "Thank You" letter for the Grammys? No, that's not true: A fake screenshot of such a message originated on a satirical account on X. The "Drop Pop" account is known for posting jokes at the expense of various celebrities and is clearly labeled as satire. The supposed message appeared…

Does an often reposted viral video show a timelapse of "16 hours of spinal cord development" in a human embryo? No, that's not true: The video actually shows the development of the nervous system of a zebrafish as recorded by researchers from Wisconsin. The video is often reposted without that bit of information omitted, leading many people online to believe…