Memes and videos misrepresent a New York City law by suggesting that everyone in the city will be “banned” from using the term “illegal alien,” or face a $250,000 fine. Actually, the city has only clarified that immigration status can’t be used to discriminate against people in certain situations under a decades old law.
An old meme has resurfaced, spreading misinformation about gun laws and school violence in Israel.
A photo circulating online falsely identifies a man who appears to have wet his pants as Beto O’Rourke. The photo actually shows Alexander Giannascoli, a 26-year-old musician, who said he had spilled beer on his pants.
A narrowed field of 10 Democratic candidates debated health care, immigration and gun control, but not all of their claims squared with the facts.
A social media meme inaccurately claims that Walmart will no longer sell rifles. Walmart stopped selling “military-style rifles such as the AR-15,” in 2015, and has announced it will no longer sell ammunition for “military-style weapons.” It still sells “long guns for hunting and sport shooting.”
A 1978 photo of a Somalian army recruit has been misidentified on social media as Rep. Ilhan Omar, who wasn’t born until 1982.
A fake tweet circulating online attributes a made-up statement about hurricane preparation to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
A website that describes its content as satire posted a story falsely claiming that Malia Obama was arrested at Harvard University. She wasn’t, but that story has been copied by other sites and shared as though it’s true.
An old clip from a cable news show has been misrepresented by a dubious website to make the false claim that the program’s anchor prayed “for every American to suffer just so Trump won’t get re-elected.”
A thoroughly debunked hoax claiming that Instagram users can stop the platform from using their pictures if they post a statement rescinding permission has been circulating again. This time, it ensnared a member of the Trump administration.