Regular readers of this site are doubtlessly familiar with notorious fake news website YourNewsWire.com. Over the years we have debunked countless stories from it, and we are not the only fact checking website that regularily took aim at hoaxes spread by the site. But now it looks like the site has had its reach fatally reduced by Facebook around the…
Did Alex Jones go on a rant about "never defeating the human spirit" in reaction to Facebook and Youtube banning him? No, that's not actually true: the rant video that has been circulating on social media is at least two years old so it can't have been made in response to yesterday's bans. An example of the video can be…
Were Infowars and Alex Jones permanently banned from Facebook? That remains to be seen. Infowars writer Paul Joseph Watson claimed on Twitter the ban that took down their pages on monday August 6, 2018 was "permanent" but a post on Facebook's newsroom page (and the screenshot that Watson added to his tweet) contradict the claim. Watson tweeted on August 6,…
Did Texas construct a border wall to keep out refugees from California? No, that's not true: the story was invented by a satirical website, it is not real. The story originated from an article published by The Babylon Bee on August 3, 2018 titled "Texas Constructs Border Wall To Keep Out Unwanted Refugees From California" (archived here) which opened: AUSTIN,…
Did Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg say she is mentally fit enough to serve through to the end of the Eisenhower administration? No, that's not true: the fake quote was made up by a satirical website but some people believed it to be real. The story originated from an article published by The Babylon Bee on July 31, 2018…
Offensive social media posts can cost you your job. Just ask Roseanne Barr. But a story that has reached viral velocity on Facebook and other platforms -- as measured by our Trendolizer system -- saying President Donald Trump has been "fired" for "crass, offensive tweets" is not true. It is a work of satire. While there are reports that special…
From the "about damn time" department" comes this trending report that is not fake. Facebook moved against the personal page of InfoWars creator Alex Jones. We know it is true because Facebook says so. "We received reports related to four different videos on the Pages that Infowars and Alex Jones maintain on Facebook," the Facebook spokesperson said. "We reviewed the…
If only this one were true! A trending story on social media claims that Facebook has gotten serious about fighting fake content, but not punishing those great producers of satire at the same time. Lead Stories, however, can report that the social platform has not enlisted the help of Drax the Destroyer to help sort out fake news from the…
Did the UN reveal a plan to flood America with 600 million immigrants? No, that's not true. Writer Paul Joseph Watson took a U.N. study published in 2000 calculating several possible scenarios for the evolution of the population of various countries with low fertility rates and then declared this was a "UN plan" that got "revealed" somehow in 2018. It…
Is President Donald Trump's official website now selling MAGA helmets to his supporters so they can protect themselves from being assaulted when going out in public? No, that's not true: the product is an invention of a satirical website with a Christian/conservative theme. It is not real. The helmets appeared in an article published by The Babylon Bee on July…
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