A viral post circulating on Facebook falsely claims that Walmart, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, has instituted a “staggered shopping schedule” that allows only certain age groups on specific days. The store has started a weekly “senior shopping event,” but no other restrictions based on age.
FactCheck.org staff writer Saranac Hale Spencer appeared on The Colin McEnroe Show on WNPR, a Connecticut public radio station, to talk about the conspiracy theories and misinformation that spread online after the deadly shooting on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
Q: Is John Kerry facing felony charges under the Logan Act?
A: No. The former secretary of state has not been charged.
Q: Did Dolly Parton say, “Trump in one year is already better than 16 years of Bush, Obama put together?”
A: No. A public relations consultant said that on a Breitbart radio show.
Q: Did the U.S. Supreme Court bar public schools from teaching about Islam?
A: No. That rumor originates from a website that describes itself as satirical.
Q: Did Demi Moore say, “I do not want Trump supporters for fans”?
A: No. Questionable websites have published the quote with no evidence to support it.
Q: Did George Soros pay three Democratic U.S. senators to vote for a government shutdown?
A: No. The “senators” named in a fictional story are not real.
Q: Did President Donald Trump order the removal of Barack Obama’s name from a Florida highway?
A: No. That rumor comes from a false headline attached to a 2015 opinion piece critical of the name change.
Q: Did Sen. Chuck Schumer take $500,000 in donations from immigrant advocacy groups before the government shutdown?
A: No. That rumor originated on a satirical website.
Q: Did Denzel Washington call Barack Obama the “criminal-in-chief”?
A: No. The actor has been a steady supporter of Obama and of other Democrats.