Newspunch

Did Muslim boys of Somali heritage attack a toddler at a British play center, leaving 15 bite marks on her face and did the London media "black out" coverage of the incident? The answer is a little complicated: A 17-month-old girl was repeatedly bitten by another toddler at a play center in Leeds on November 2, 2018, and the mother…

Was a 42-year old man man named Joel Miller in Omaha, Nebraska arrested after killing thirty pedophiles (or "just" registered sex offenders)? No, that's not true: the story originated from a site that has a disclaimer which says it only publishes fiction and the photo used to illustrate the story actually was taken in Glendale, California years earlier. The story…

Did the FBI admit that President Barack Obama lied to the nation about Hillary Clinton's email? No, that's not true: The article making the claim misrepresents a Judicial Watch report that an FBI official disclosed in a deposition that one of the sources for recovered Clinton emails was the server for the Executive Office of the President. The official did…

Did over 30,000 scientists declare global climate change a hoax? No, that's not true: The "scientists" referenced in a story making the claim were people who signed an online petition that said there was "no convincing scientific evidence" of global warming caused by human release of gases. The petition did not call it a "hoax." The signers' qualifications as "scientists"…

Did Democrats say that American taxpayers must pay reparations to illegal aliens? No, that's not true: The claim is a distortion of a statement made by a member of congress in reference to children separated from parents after arriving at the border to apply for asylum in the United States. Rep. Pramila Jayapal said the federal goverment must "make reparations"…

Did Pope Francis compare Christians to a fungus during an address in Morocco? No, that's not true: The speech quoted in misleading stories included the pope quoting a biblical passage in which Jesus responds to a question about the nature of the Kingdom of God by saying "It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three…

Did firefighters in Northern California suffer neurological damage after contact with 5G cell towers? No, despite claims in several trending reports there is no "new university study" or other scientific evidence to support the claim that installation of the latest evolution of mobile communication towers -- known as 5G -- has caused such harm. An indepth look at the sourcing…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin ban all Microsoft products from Russia? No, that's not true: a 2016 article was reposted to Facebook by website that has a reputation for making up unsubstantiated claims in its headlines that are not backed by the content of the articles it links to. The story originated from an article (archived here) on NewsPunch where…

Did an unnamed woman admit she was paid to frame Bill Cosby with rape? No, that's not true: a South African website copied an old conspiracy article from NewsPunch/YourNewsWire but the theory it comes up with does not make sense from a timing perspective. It also relies on unnamed sources that can't be verified. The story recently went viral again…

Did Pope Francis say a world government must rule the U.S. for their own good? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a website that attracts clicks and visitors by taking existing news reports out of context and adding an incendiary headline to it, often containing made up facts that are not found in the sources the…