Slavery

Is there language, only visible with a magnifying glass, beneath your social security card signature that amounts to a contract with the government? And does the number on the back of the card suggest that you are available to be bought and sold? No, that's not true: This is an old conspiracy theory with no basis in fact. The story…

Did Bernie Sanders say undocumented immigrants are "entitled" to government benefits during a campaign rally in Texas? No, that's not true: The candidate for the Democratic nomination for president said that his administration will be about "understanding that all of our people, and when I say all I also mean the undocumented in this country -- that all of our…

Did a mother save her 13-year-old daughter from being kidnapped by sex traffickers after she was drugged in a Woodland Hills Mall bathroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma? No, that's not true: the Tulsa Police Department confirmed there was no such incident reported, and there is no evidence to support the claim. This post has been recycled on social media before and…

Did Lewis Latimer, an African-American man from Massachusetts who was bought from slavery, invent the light bulb and telephone? No, that's not true: Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, and Thomas Edison invented the first light bulb. But, Latimer did play an important role in helping both inventions become more refined and patented in the late 1800s. Democratic presidential nominee…

Did the NAACP officially endorse Donald Trump for the 2020 presidential election? No, that's not true: The NAACP never issued such a statement. It was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters into sharing made up stories that are clearly marked as satire when you click them. Foreign-run fake news websites frequently copy articles from…

Does a photo depicting several men in chains show black slaves being sold at an auction in 1904 and is this the origin of the term "Black Friday"? No, that's not true: the image shows chained-up natives in Australia and has nothing to do with U.S. slavery or Black Friday. The origin of the term "Black Friday" also has nothing…

Did the U.S. Supreme Court rule that illegal aliens have no due process rights in America? No, that's not true: It is a twisted conclusion based on ancient court decisions -- made in 1856, 1892, 1896, 1950, and 1972 -- that mostly involved the rights of foreigners who sought entry into the United States through legal means and were not…

Did Nike spokesman Colin Kaepernick call the United States the "Worst Country in the World"? No, that's not true: a headline making that claim only offers up one tweet from Kaepernick as evidence and that tweet doesn't even contain Kaepernick's own words (or even the phrase "worst country in the world"). Since the story was originally published it has been…

Does new DNA prove that African Americans are indigenous aborigines of America? No, that's not true: The claim that 98 percent of Black Americans are actually "Native Indians" is made in a series of articles and videos that lack documentation and misrepresent scholarly research to rewrite history. The self-described historian making the claim also purports that American slaves were not…

Is Kamala Harris not an American Black considering that her parents are Indian and Jamaican and was she lying when she said she was part of the second class to be integrated at her elementary school? No, neither is true: While racial definitions in the United States are controversial, the federal government's definition of "Black or African American" includes persons…