Child Trafficking

Did the most recent, July 2025 version of the 2023 U.K. Online Safety Act prohibit "all criticism" of unauthorized immigration on social media? No, that's not true: According to the full text of the law, what is considered an offense is assisting illegal immigration and human trafficking. Social media posts offering people smuggling services would be against the law, not…

Did President Donald Trump post a 435-word tirade about the public's interest in the canceled investigation into the clients of the dead child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: There have been no genuine Trump posts about Epstein on Truth Social since January 2024. The mock-up using Trump's Truth Social profile image was posted by a self-described humor…

Do posts about suspects "Kelvin Buckland" and "Malena Renae Mason" being on the run offer a genuine warning for the members of various local communities? No, that's not true: Such posts were later flipped to promote rental deals. If people click the links promoted in the new versions of the posts, a series of web pages aim to trick social…

Is owning a child sex slave legal in California, as a social media influencer wrote? No, that's not true: It is at least a misdemeanor in California to solicit prostitution from teens. In April of 2025, Democratic lawmakers blocked passage of a proposed amendment that would have made soliciting prostitution with trafficked minors a felony, but that did not remove…

Are homicide detectives searching for Joselyn Valdo Santos for the killing of three-month-old Charlotte Jones on April 1, 2025? No, that's not true: Social media posts making the claim are part of a bait-and-switch scam designed to lure you into sharing personal information that can then be sold or used to scam you further. These posts use unrelated mugshots and…

Does a video of a rental van being stopped on an Atlanta highway show the rescue of children from human traffickers? No, that's not true: The people in the back of the van were members of two families who were moving household goods, not human trafficking victims, according to Gwinnett County, Georgia, police quoted in several news reports. The driver…

Does a Facebook post alert users to an authentic "Homicide Bureau" fugitive case identifying 'Justin Scott' and 'Carla Howell' as suspects in the death of a 10-month-old named 'Emily Darnell'? No, that's not true: Facebook posts calling on readers to be on the lookout for violent fugitives are part of a common social media scam that tricks people into liking…

Are two homicide suspects named Seth Chancey and Madison Smith on the run for the killing of 10-month-old Derrick Taylor as of March 24, 2025? No, that's not true: The posts are fake, part of a bait-and-switch scam aimed at luring social media users to ad posts designed to harvest personal and financial information. These posts use mugshots taken from…

Are two homicide suspects named Shaila Bradshaw and Tyler Chapman on the run for the killing of 8-month-old Marquel Smith as of March 24, 2025? No, that's not true: The posts are fake, part of a bait-and-switch scam aimed at luring social media users to ads designed to harvest personal and financial information. These posts use mugshots taken from posts…

Is a "Homicide Bureau" searching for "Santos Chylice" over "the death of 8-month-old baby Gonzalez Cassandra" in Holly Hill? No, that's not true: Facebook posts calling on readers to be on the lookout for her used the mugshot of someone listed on the internet as being arrested on drug charges. The posts are part of a common social media scam…