This was imagined to be the yr of defining a “new regular” — and, in our opinion, possibly even having a re-do.
No such luck. First, we noticed a massive misinformation campaign to attempt to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. By no means earlier than had we battled such a well-funded effort to attempt to erode Individuals’ belief within the democratic course of, nor had we seen so many excessive concepts go mainstream from fringe political teams. Heading into the yr, we had a complicated operation to carefully monitor obscure corners of the web the place voter-fraud conspiracies originated.
But nothing may have ready us for Jan. 6, 2021. From cell phone footage supposedly exhibiting Capitol police serving to Trump supporters breach the federal constructing to the previous president’s comments and whereabouts in the course of the assault, our newsroom scrambled to type reality from fiction in real time — and in the months after the historic day.
That was all except for Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration, an effort by Democrats to impeach Trump (once more), an ongoing civil rights motion to name consideration to police brutality, and scaremongering rumors in regards to the results of COVID-19 vaccinations. Pseudoscientific arguments circulated extensively to discredit scientists’ work to develop what stays the main answer to the pandemic, and we have been inundated with readers’ questions on how the inoculations really impact humans’ immune systems.
Then, over the summer season, we met the COVID-19 variant delta. She appears to be sticking round with company (omicron).
Regardless of the subject on the middle of our reporting in 2021, nevertheless, we stuffed a dire want for instruments to assist develop individuals’s media literacy. Behind each Snopes score is fact-based, explanatory journalism that depends on completely vetted sources and context that different media shops could omit.
We thanks on your assist, and we stay up for extra debunking in 2022 — possibly, simply possibly, it’ll be a bit extra “regular” than the final.
‘COVID’, ‘Biden’ & ‘Ivermectin’ Amongst High Search Phrases
Snopes readers have a nostril for information — and an unquenchable thirst for attending to the underside of misinformation on the web. In 2021, readers searched almost 8 million distinctive phrases on the Snopes web site, the main amongst them being some iteration of “COVID-19” and a few type of associated “vaccines,” adopted by “Biden,” “Fauci,” and “Trump.”
In a yr rife with misinformation, the Snopes workforce went deep to resolve among the web’s most contested content material. Amongst such tales revealed in 2021 have been:
Most Learn Information Tales of 2021
Ranked by reputation.
- Background Check: Investigating George Floyd’s Criminal Record
The query of previous arrests typically surfaces amongst individuals who need to rationalize law enforcement officials’ actions when Black males are killed in custody. - What’s True and False About Kyle Rittenhouse’s Alleged Victims
Followers of {the teenager} launched a web-based marketing campaign to smear the reputations of his victims. - Did Bonne Maman Co. Shelter People During the Holocaust?
Because the story went, a girl reportedly instructed a grocery shopper that she all the time buys the Bonne Maman model of preserves as a result of she was a holocaust survivor, and that the founders of the corporate had protected her household throughout World Struggle II. - ‘National Rape Day’ Warnings Circulate on TikTok
Whether or not you name it a joke, prank, troll marketing campaign or a hoax, there isn’t a “Nationwide Rape Day” that gives authorized immunity for sexual assault. - Geert Vanden Bossche Stokes Fear of COVID-19 Vaccine To Promote His Own Flawed ‘Solution’
Anti-vaccine activists are selling a veterinarian’s declare that the one solution to stop a future COVID-19 vaccination-related calamity is thru a product he claims to have invented. - Amy Schumer Trucker Photo, Explained
In June 2021, comic Amy Schumer grew to become a trending matter on Twitter after “Celina 52 Truck Cease” posted {a photograph} of a brand new “contest winner” who strongly resembled the actress.
Picture through Fb / Celina 52 Truck Cease - Farmer’s Almanac Predicts ‘Season of Shivers’
First revealed in 1792 when former U.S. President George Washington was in workplace, the reference information is America’s oldest, repeatedly revealed periodical. - Watch ‘Space Mountain with the Lights On’ at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom
“It’s extra scary with the lights on,” learn the TikTok remark with essentially the most likes.
Most Seen Reality Checks of 2021
Ranked from highest variety of views.
- Did Biden Poop His Pants in Rome?
One other president, one other pants pooping rumor. This time round, U.S. President Joe Biden was mentioned to have pooped his pants throughout a gathering with Pope Francis. - No, Trump Did Not Wear His Pants Backwards at Rally
You requested, so we watched the 90-minute speech. - Does Putting a Ziplock Bag Over a Car Mirror Have a Legitimate Purpose?
On-line commercials promised what gave the impression to be a useful trick for drivers involving plastic Ziplock luggage.
- ‘Was Dr. Phil’s Divorce Settlement ‘Finally Revealed’ as $1M?
An internet commercial that featured an image of the well-known therapist and his spouse claimed to result in particulars on a divorce settlement. - Is a Testicular Blow Exponentially More Painful Than Childbirth?
There aren’t any actual winners on this contest. - Did Nike Partner with Lil Nas X on ‘Satan Shoes’ Containing Human Blood?
The satan is all the time within the particulars. Though the sneakers are Nikes, a Nike spokesperson instructed us the corporate has nothing to do with the creation or sale of the “Devil sneakers.” - Did Rush Limbaugh’s ‘AIDS Update’ Mock the Deaths of Gay People?
The radio host would later say he regretted the section because it made enjoyable of people that have been dying excruciating deaths. - Should an Empty Toilet Paper Roll or Red Cup Be Placed Under the Toilet Seat at Night?
On-line commercials promised what gave the impression to be a useful lavatory trick. - Did Man at Capitol Riot Die After Accidentally Tasing Himself?
5 individuals died along with the Capitol riot, however some experiences surrounding their deaths weren’t totally correct. - Did a ‘Convicted Terrorist’ Sit on the Board of a BLM Funding Body?
The previous crimes of Susan Rosenberg reemerged in the summertime of 2020, amid a brand new wave of protests over racial injustice and police brutality.
2021 in Reality Checks: Snopes’ Workers Picks & Standouts
All of those pages have been revealed in 2021.
Better of: ‘I Did My Personal Analysis’
Normally code for ‘I cherry-picked vaccine stats to substantiate what I already consider.’
Supposed Presidential Fake Pas
Biden supposedly fell asleep on the job, fumbled quotes, or handed fuel on the common.
Most Clearly Photoshopped
One manipulated image is value a thousand phrases.
- Is Joshua Ladu the Tallest Man in the World at 9 feet 8?
In November 2021, a picture was circulated on social media that supposedly confirmed an individual who had simply been named by the “Guinness Guide of World Information” because the tallest man on this planet.
Picture through Twitter - Is Bill Gates Transitioning from Man to Woman?
In Could 2021, a video claimed to point out Invoice Gates with breast implants, or transitioning from a person to a girl. - Is K-Y Krispy Kreme Lube a Genuine Product?
We searched by way of Ok-Y’s assortment of lubricants on the corporate’s web sites and among the many doughnuts and different merchandise out there on Krispy Kreme’s web site. - Does Photo Show Biden with Jeffrey Epstein?
A picture supposedly exhibiting U.S. President Joe Biden with (now deceased) convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein was circulated on-line in December 2021 because the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, certainly one of Epstein’s associates, received underway in New York. - Viral Gas Pump Photo with Biden Sticker Was Digitally Altered
A nonpolitical second was made each political and deceptive with the usage of digital enhancing software program. - No, Biden Did Not Grope Psaki During Job Interview
A demeaning doctored photograph was shared in an obvious try and smear the White Home press secretary and President Joe Biden. - Does a Pic Show Pete Buttigieg Wearing a Breastfeeding Device?
Buttigieg has been feeding his twin infants with a bottle throughout paternity depart.
- Did This MiG Land on a Dam?
A video supposedly exhibiting a fighter jet touchdown on a dam racked up greater than 100,000 views in July 2021. - Dr. Rachel Levine Bathing Suit Photo is Fake
Dr. Rachel Levine, the U.S. assistant secretary for well being and one of many solely overtly transgender individuals to be serving within the federal authorities, is steadily the sufferer of transphobic and fat-phobic content material on social media. - Did Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Get New ‘Handmaid’ Uniforms?
In September 2021, the day after the nation’s strictest abortion regulation went into impact in Texas, {a photograph} began circulated on social media that supposedly confirmed the brand new “Handmaid’s Story” uniforms of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Most Plausible Faux Vid
Digitally altered footage that nearly fooled us at first watch.
Craziest Critter
The animal kingdom plus cellphone know-how equaled quite a few reality checks.
Lavatory Readers
A few of these claims didn’t cross the sniff check.
Deepest Rabbit Gap
Investigations into these rumors led us down some uncommon paths.
Can’t Consider We Had To Examine This
All as a result of Twitter was wilding out.
- Should a Bottle Always Be Put on Tires When Parked?
We tracked down the origins of the rumor that was displayed in on-line a
dvertisements. - Did Greta Thunberg Disguise Herself as Pro-Trump Rioter?
If that’s the case, an uncredited meme would unlikely be the primary to report the invention.
- Were Gorillas at Bronx Zoo Filmed Engaging in a Sex Act?
A NSFW video appeared to point out two gorillas “taking place” on one another. - Yes, You Can Order Pre-Stained ‘Wet Pants Denim’
Whether or not one ought to is one other query totally. - Did California Man Find Shrimp Tails in His Cereal Box?
The identical particular person additionally shared pictures that appeared to point out varied different contaminants in the identical field of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. - Are Goat and Sheep Feces Drinks Being Sold in China?
The idiom “pooh-pooh” is used to dismiss arguments, opinions, or rumors that aren’t worthy of consideration. - No, Maricopa County Ballots Weren’t Destroyed in a Chicken Farm Fire
Conspiracy theories abounded throughout a partisan recount of Arizona’s 2020 presidential election outcomes. - Does Drinking Apple Juice ‘Make Your PP Bigger’?
YouTube, dank memes, and years-old clickbait collided in June 2020 to foster the scientifically illiterate conclusion that consuming apple juice makes your penis larger. - Did FloraSpring Help a 65-Year-Old Man ‘Poop Out 42 Pounds’?
On-line commercials for the FloraSpring weight reduction complement led customers to footage and video of Dr. Steven Masley, and mentions of a “pooping behavior.” - No, Biden Did Not Say Unvaccinated Americans ‘Will Be Put in Camps’
Conspiracy theorists seized upon a supposedly satirical article, and deployed it as inflammatory disinformation towards the president. - No, Joe Biden Did Not Lower the Age of Consent to 8
Faux screenshots of nonexistent CNN and NBC tales have been the newest installment of a set of conspiracy theories utterly indifferent from actuality. - Does Video Show Athletes Fainting Due to COVID-19 Vaccine?
A collection of fear-mongering movies have been circulated on social media with unsubstantiated and false claims. - Did Doctors Recommend Genital COVID-19 Vaccination Injections for Men?
Social media customers shared a pair of weird claims in regards to the supposedly distinctive results of COVID-19 vaccines on males.
- Did Delta Force Raid Biden’s Compound in Ukraine?
This rumor is little greater than a conspiratorial recreation of Mad Libs. - No, Don’t Use Ivermectin-Soaked Tampons as COVID-19 Prevention
Placing tampons soaked in a liquid answer that features ivermectin into vaginas have been mentioned to be an efficient and secure step to battle COVID-19.
Most Unexpectedly True
Checks notes — yep, that really occurred.
Honorable Point out
Some claims have been so weird that they’re uncategorizable.
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