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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Statue in Lincoln Memorial Was Not Defaced by Protesters

Statue in Lincoln Memorial Was Not Defaced by Protesters

A meme is spreading a doctored image of the Lincoln Memorial covered in graffiti to falsely claim that protesters defaced the Lincoln statue. The image was taken from a thumbnail for a video on the conservative website the Daily Wire and shared as if real.

Posts Distort Facts on Floyd Pathologist’s Role in Past Cases

Posts Distort Facts on Floyd Pathologist’s Role in Past Cases

Instagram posts erroneously claim the “SAME DOCTOR” performed the autopsies on “JFK, MLK, Epstein, AND George Floyd.” The doctor referenced, pathologist Michael Baden, has connections to those four cases — but he only performed an autopsy on Floyd, as a secondary examination for Floyd’s family.

Video of Trump’s ‘Choke’ Quote Refers to Political Rivals

Video of Trump’s ‘Choke’ Quote Refers to Political Rivals

Video clips of President Donald Trump pretending to choke while saying “I can’t breathe” have been circulating with the misleading suggestion that he was mocking George Floyd. The videos pre-date Floyd’s death and show the president mocking his political rivals — not Floyd.

Nuremberg Code Addresses Experimentation, Not Vaccines

Nuremberg Code Addresses Experimentation, Not Vaccines

A bogus claim that “[v]accines are in direct violation of The Nuremberg Code” has been circulating on social media. Actually, the Nuremberg Code addresses the treatment of human subjects in medical experiments and says nothing about the use of tested and approved vaccines on patients.

Bricks Were Placed for Construction, Not to Incite Protesters

Bricks Were Placed for Construction, Not to Incite Protesters

Some viral social media posts misleadingly suggest that piles of bricks are being staged ahead of the protests over the death of George Floyd to incite violence. We reviewed five social media posts making such claims and found no evidence of staging. In many cases, the bricks had been delivered for construction projects, or had been at the sites for some time.

LEGO Temporarily Halts Marketing, Not Sales, of Police Toy Sets

LEGO Temporarily Halts Marketing, Not Sales, of Police Toy Sets

LEGO isn’t discontinuing the sale of its law enforcement-themed toys, despite an erroneous social media claim. The confusion arose after the company temporarily suspended some marketing efforts — not sales — amid the U.S. protests following the death of George Floyd.

Meme Misrepresents Fauci’s Position on Vaccine Trials

Meme Misrepresents Fauci’s Position on Vaccine Trials

A viral meme falsely suggests Dr. Anthony Fauci supports administering a COVID-19 vaccine before clinical trials are completed. Fauci supports the manufacture of vaccines while trials are underway — but only administering the vaccine once the trials are over and it is deemed effective and safe.

Viral Posts Share Old, Edited White House Photo in Dark

Viral Posts Share Old, Edited White House Photo in Dark

Across social media, posts falsely claim to show a picture of the White House in the dark — purportedly “for the first time” in history — as protesters marched outside on May 31. But the image is actually from 2014 and was edited to appear darker.

Post on Floyd Protests Uses Old Vandalism Photos

Post on Floyd Protests Uses Old Vandalism Photos

A Facebook post about protests taking place in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death is criticizing protesters for “destroying the cemeteries” of veterans. But three of the four images cited are old and have nothing to do with the protests. 

Two Former Officers Involved in Floyd’s Death Are Not In-Laws

Two Former Officers Involved in Floyd’s Death Are Not In-Laws

Contrary to social media posts, Kellie Chauvin, the estranged wife of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, is not the sister of Tou Thao, another former officer involved in the events that led to Floyd’s death, according to Kellie Chauvin’s lawyer.