Did several Drug Enforcement Administration agents accept the assistance of two men they pulled over who were in a purportedly stolen vehicle to then go into the woods and bust an active drug-cooking operation? No, that's not true: This video depicts a fictional scenario, one of a series made by video creator PhilTheThrill. The video was published on Facebook by…
Did a police officer, believing there was a domestic incident, knock for 10 minutes on the door of a house where no one lives until the homeowner arrives and tells her the house was empty? No, that's not true: This video is a scripted skit. There are several indications that this security camera-style footage does not show a real police…
Is the ESPN tweet about "a noose found in Bubba Wallace's stall at Talladega Superspeedway" correct? Yes, but it is missing context that makes it clear the noose's message was not likely intended for Wallace. The tweet is a 2:54 video trailer for an ESPN TV special documentary titled, "E60: Fistful of Steel: The Rise of Bubba Wallace," that includes…
Wanted for Defamation On November 5, 2021, a website named Conservative Beaver published a false story about the CEO of Pfizer being arrested for fraud. It wasn't the first false story published by the website and it wouldn't be the last: Only a few days later the site falsely claimed Myriam Bourla (the wife of Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla) died…
Did a scene between a passenger, flight attendant and airline captain erupt on a plane about the passenger not wanting to sit next to someone who had not been vaccinated? No, that's not true: The scene was staged and filmed, and listed on Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Both the passenger and the captain are actors who have profiles on IMDb…
Does a widely shared video show a real instance of a woman in a wheelchair pretending to have lost her leg to collect money and then being confronted about her fakery? No, that's not true: The video shows several signs of being staged. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) from August 27, 2021. It featured a video…
Does a video show a "Karen"-like woman stealing mail? No, that's not true: The video is a skit made by the person behind a well-known TikTok account. The claim appeared as an Instagram video (archived here) on July 1, 2021. It opened: this lady keeps stealing my mail Social media users saw this: (Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Fri Jul…
Did a police officer help a homeless man who was trying to take a shower in a car wash? No, that's not true: This three-minute video drama was originally posted by Blake K, a video producer who makes short skits for social media. This video was originally posted with the disclaimer: "The events that take place in this particular short-film…
Did a man fill his tarp-lined truck bed with gasoline and then drive away, allowing the open liquid cargo to slosh over the sides? No, that's not true: This video is a skit that was originally posted on the Facebook page of magician Julius Dein with a disclaimer that the page features scripted dramas and parodies. The video has been…
Did a soldier come home from deployment with plans to surprise her partner, only to discover that he was seeing another woman? No, that's not true: This contrived "caught on tape" drama is a skit using actors for entertainment and monetization -- it does not represent something which really happened. The video appeared in a post (archived here) published by…
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