Facebook Twitter Tumblr Close Skip to main content
A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Blackout or Ham Radio Drill?

Blackout or Ham Radio Drill?

Q: Is the Department of Defense planning a drill that will cause a nationwide blackout? Is antifa involved?

A: No and no. The Army is conducting a drill with ham radio operators, and it has nothing to do with antifa.

Grounding the Latest Clinton Rumor

Grounding the Latest Clinton Rumor

Q: Did Hillary Clinton leave “the country as Mueller Indictment is announced”?

A: No. She was in the U.S. all weekend.

Peddling Mueller Misinformation

Peddling Mueller Misinformation

Q: Has Robert Mueller resigned as the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election?

A: No. He is still in charge of that investigation and has no plans to leave.

No ISIS Arrests in Congress

No ISIS Arrests in Congress

Q: Were two Democratic congressmen arrested for having ties to the Islamic State?

A: No. The two congressmen named in a fake news story don’t exist.

San Juan Mayor Wasn’t Impeached

San Juan Mayor Wasn’t Impeached

Q: Has Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, been impeached?

A: No. That claim was made by a self-described “satirical publication.”

Seahawks Players Didn’t Burn Flag

Seahawks Players Didn’t Burn Flag

Q: Did players for the Seattle Seahawks burn the American flag?

A: No. A widely circulated picture was altered to make it look that way.

Fake Letterman Story on Vegas Shooting

Fake Letterman Story on Vegas Shooting

Q: Did comedian David Letterman respond to the mass shooting in Las Vegas by tweeting, “End white privilege today”?

A: No. A website that claims to be a safe haven from “fake news” posted that bogus information based on a tweet from a parody Twitter account.

Katie Couric Didn’t Cancel Clinton Interview

Katie Couric Didn’t Cancel Clinton Interview

Q: Did Katie Couric cancel an interview with Hillary Clinton because Clinton called former President Barack Obama a racial slur?

A: Clinton did no such thing. Those claims were made-up by a satirical website. 

Black Lives Matter Blocked Hurricane Relief?

Black Lives Matter Blocked Hurricane Relief?

Q: Did Black Lives Matter protesters block emergency crews from reaching Hurricane Harvey victims?

A: No. That false claim was made in a satirical story featuring a 2016 photo of a protest in Atlanta, Georgia.

Trump Didn’t Fire 14 Muslim Judges

Trump Didn’t Fire 14 Muslim Judges

Q: Did President Donald Trump fire 14 Muslim federal judges?

A: No. The satirical website that originally published the story describes itself as “your beacon of something you can kinda rely on sometimes but not really.”