FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on the social media network. We provide several resources for readers: a guide on how to flag suspicious stories on Facebook and a list of websites that have carried false or satirical articles, as well as a video and story on how to spot false stories.
Q: Did Sen. Chuck Schumer resign? Was Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired? Are the Clintons divorcing? Is Monica Lewinsky dead?
A: No. Each claim was made by the same website that writes “fiction as fact.”
Q: Did White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer say that the president has the “legal right and power to decide how words in the English language are spelled”?
A: No. That bogus quote comes from a “satirical” article about President Donald Trump’s infamous “covfefe” tweet.
Q: Was the Clinton Foundation ordered to cease operations and Chelsea Clinton charged with fraud?
A: No. Those baseless claims were made up by a self-described “satirical” website.
Q: Has Sen. John McCain “renounced any affiliation with the Republican Party”?
A: No. That claim was made in a fake news story published by a “satirical publication.”
Q: Did President Barack Obama commission a life-size bronze statue of himself to leave in the White House?
A: No. That fake news story was “intended for entertainment purposes only.”
Q: Did a potential nominee for “chief scientist” at the U.S. Department of Agriculture call scientists “dumb, regular people” who “think dinosaurs actually existed and the Earth is somehow getting warmer”?
A: No. That’s a bogus quote in a fake story by a “News/Satire” website.
Q: Did President Trump reinstate National Peace Officers Memorial Day?
A: No. That claim was made in a fake news story that also falsely said the annual memorial for fallen officers was canceled by former President Obama.
Q: Does NASA pay $18,000 for people to stay in bed and smoke weed for 70 straight days?
A: No. NASA conducts bed-rest studies, but it does not allow participants to smoke marijuana or even drink alcohol.
Q: Did Hollywood celebrities threaten to strike until President Donald Trump resigns?
A: No. That story was made up by a “HYBRID site of news and satire.”
Q: Did President Trump sign an executive order making it legal to hunt bald eagles?
A: No. That bogus story was published by a fake news website.