Child Trafficking

Did authentic social media posts offer genuine concern over a missing teen named Kaniesa Perez? No, that's not true: The posts exploit a real missing teen story and falsely say that Kaniesa Perez went missing on the same day from Dover, Pennsylvania, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, among other locations more than a thousand miles apart. In reality, the teen went…

Did authentic social media posts offer genuine concern over a woman with dementia found in various locations? No, that's not true: Though the woman could not be identified, several posts claimed she was found in various cities across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. using the exact same format on June 30 and July 1, 2024. The posts are part…

Was the same "3 year old baby girl," whose name is listed as "Bobbi Renae," found in various locations? No, that's not true: Although social media posts making the claim use an image of a child who was found after being missing, the posts form part of a strategy that seeks to generate likes and shares before swapping the contents…

Is there an identical "treasured item" being found in multiple locations at the same time? No, that's not true: The social media posts that describe this alleged loss are bait-and-switch posts. These posts use made-up stories to garner engagement. Once they get enough, the posters switch the content to advertise real estate. The claim appeared in a post (the post…

Was former D.C. police officer Michael Fanone, who responded to the January 6, 2021, insurrection, a young Iranian hired during the Clinton era? No, that's not true: Fanone is not an Iranian national, He was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. He graduated from Ballou High School in Washington. Fanone initially began working for the U.S. Capitol…

Does a post being shared by various community groups about a dog hurt in a hit-and-run accident describe a real incident? No, that's not true: The post was copied and posted in different social media groups in different states and is a part of a bait-and-switch scheme. These types of posts receive engagement from users based on their attention-getting, alarming…

Did human rights activist Monica Petersen die in Haiti while investigating Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton for sex trafficking? No, that's not true: The American activist died in Haiti in November 2016, but there is no credible evidence linking her death to any investigation into the Clintons or sex trafficking. A former colleague at the University of Denver's Human Trafficking…

Does a viral video show a hidden underground route used for "trafficking"? No, that's not true: The video shows an old, now-defunct salt mine in Romania. It's open to the public and functions as a museum. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on TikTok on March 16, 2023. The text overlay read: go do y'all's research on these…

Was the mechanism of the background check conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to screen potential gun owners changed in a way that now allows undocumented residents to buy and possess guns in the United States? No, that's not true: On December 27, 2023, the bureau, abbreviated as the ATF, categorically denied such a change. The…

Does a viral video show a child trafficker caught while driving a sedan with 25 children in Uzbekistan? No, that's not true: According to local law enforcement and local news reports, the reason for the traffic stop was unsafe driving, not a suspicion of kidnapping, child enslavement or involvement in some black market medical deals. An academician with knowledge of…