September 11, 2001

Did a former and controversial CIA officer say coronavirus was definitively produced in a lab? No, an Iranian news website selectively quoted as fact what was only speculation from the former CIA agent helping run a site associated with Russian disinformation campaigns. The claim originated in an article published by Tehran-based Press TV on March 6, 2020, titled "Coronavirus was…

Was a female army sergeant who became a hero for her war-time actions the first woman to earn a Silver Star since WWII? Yes, but the story is misleading. Leigh Ann Hester was awarded the Silver Star, but the recirculated story is more than a decade old, and it doesn't note that, since she was honored, another woman was awarded…

Is a post making the rounds on Facebook showing Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice chumming with Osama bin Laden real? No, that's not true. The faked photos, arranged in a collage, are poorly altered images. But they are gaining traction on the Internet - even though most commenters have noted they are doctored images. The post (archived here)…

Did Pepsi make a new can featuring the Empire State Building and Pledge of Allegiance that left out the words "Under God"? No, that's not true: Pepsi has never produced such a design for its soft drinks, and this urban legend has been circulating on the Internet for several years. The story continues to be shared, this time on a…

Did a former CIA agent say the agency would supply elite pedophiles with child prostitutes in return for secret information, and that it was legal? No, that's not true: Former CIA case officer John Kiriakou was seen on video speaking on an anti-war panel in 2017 as he gave the hypothetical scenario to make a point about the lack of…

Did Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez say that images of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States "incite violence against women of color." No, that's not true: The New York congresswoman, known in the media as AOC, did tell reporters in April 2019 that an "incredibly upsetting" front page image in the New York Post attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar…

Did Republican Congressman Jim Jordan say that Barack Obama and Joe Biden "were cowering in fear" while Donald Trump was "on the ground with first responders searching for survivors and pulling people to safety" after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on America? No, that's not true: It was a quote made up and tweeted by comedy writer Dan Lyons.…

Is a story from someone named "Robert Matthews" about the events on September 11, 2001 real? No, that's not true: the fantastic story from a radio listener supposedly from Norfolk, Virginia contains several things that are verifiably untrue. Despite this it keeps getting liked and shared on Facebook, often by people who don't know any better but sometimes also by…

Are police investigating the death of a former Arkansas state senator who believed she was closing in on a child trafficking ring? No, that's not true: Linda Collins, who lost her state senate post to another Republican last year, was shot to death at her Pocahontas, Arkansas, home on June 4, 2019, but there is no evidence that she had…

Did Ripon College in Wisconsin ban a 9/11 "Never Forget" poster, caalling it culturally insensitive? No, that's not true: There was debate on the campus when a conservative student group placed the posters on campus and some administrators asked the group not to display them, but the posters were not banned. The story first surfaced in 2018, but a new…