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☆ The author of the viral joke post about JD Vance having sex with a couch breaks his silence
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

@rickrudescalves hid the post within a week of publishing it, but the couch joke had already left an impression. AdvertisementOver the past week, for every seven people searching Google for "JD Vance," one person has searched "JD Vance couch," according to Google Trends. AdvertisementBusiness Insider tracked down the post's author, who we'll call Rick, in keeping with his former X screen name, @rickrudescalves. Rick is not the first person to post an absurd joke that ended up roiling political circles after flying over too many heads. As for his decision to include a fake citation in a tweet about a man having sex with a couch, Rick claims highbrow inspiration.

Persons: Donald Trump, JD Vance, @rickrudescalves, vance, Vance fantasizing, Obama, Kamala Harris, Stephen Colbert, Vance, Rick, he's, —, Trump, Rush Limbaugh, Werner Herzog, Jorge Luis Borges, John Fowles, I've, Lyndon Johnson, apocryphally, Hunter S, Thompson, Johnson, John Oliver Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Associated Press, Trump, Pundit, U.S . Postal Service, FBI Locations: Vance's, Columbus , Ohio, English

☆ Could Chipotle's burrito bowl robot crack down on customers' favorite portion-maximizing hacks?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That's compared to a human employee who can make about 20 to 30 bowls per hour, Hyphen told Insider. The internet is full of anecdotal stories about how ordering Chipotle online will yield lighter burrito bowls. AdvertisementAdvertisementSimmons told Insider employees are well aware of these so-called hacks. "Online orders would only be a fun thing if we were only doing online orders because you can just focus on that," she said. However, employees can often move back and forth from online orders to in-person customers, especially during rush hours.

Persons: we're, Daniel Fukuba, amandaarmagostt, Chipotle, Snopes, Amber Simmons, Simmons, Hyphen's Makeline Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chipotle, New Jersey

☆ Ted Cruz shares fake photo of a shark swimming on a flooded highway as Tropical Storm Hilary batters California: 'Holy crap'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Taylor Berman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ted Cruz saw a photo someone jokingly shared of a shark swimming on a flooded highway in LA. "Holy crap," the Texas senator tweeted about the fake photo. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. And Monday morning, he quote-tweeted an obviously fake photo of a shark swimming on a flooded highway that a Twitter user said was in Los Angeles, which is being hit by its first tropical storm in over 80 years. "Holy crap," Cruz wrote about the photo, which was jokingly shared by Dan Katz of the newly-independent sports media company Barstool Sports.

Persons: Ted Cruz, Cruz, Dan Katz, he'd, I'm, Hurricane Irene, —, Cruz didn't Organizations: Service, Barstool Sports, Hurricane, Puerto Rico, TCU Locations: LA, Texas, Wall, Silicon, Ted Cruz of Texas, Cancun, Los Angeles, Puerto

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated New York Post headline on ex-ABC journalist
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, on July 21, Meek pleaded guilty to transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material. The image circulating features a New York Post headline that reads, “Award winning ABC journalist who ‘debunked’ pizzagate, pleads guilty in horrific child porn case.” The post on X, previously known as Twitter, had garnered about 551 reposts at the time of writing (here). No such headline exists on the New York Post’ website, however ( here ), ( here ). The New York Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Post did not publish a headline about ex-ABC journalist James Gordon Meek debunking “Pizzagate.”This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

Persons: James Gordon Meek, Meek, “, ‘, ’ pizzagate, Pizzagate, “ Pizzagate, ”, Edgar Welch, Ping Pong, Welch, Read Organizations: New York Post, ABC, U.S . Department of Justice, Twitter, New York, The New York Post, New York Times, Buzzfeed, Washington Post, Reuters Locations: Washington, North Carolina

☆ Fact Check-Photo does not show ‘attack’ causing Hawaii wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Secrest told Reuters Fact Check that he took the picture on a frigid day and knew what he was seeing. I believe the last one was starting California wildfires....”The photo was taken from Baum Road in Canton Township, Secrest, who never visited Hawaii, told the Canton Repository in an Aug. 11 interview (here). Residents saw flames from Marathon refinery’s controlled flaring, the Canton Repository and Fox 8 reported (here), (here). Reuters Fact Check has previously addressed claims of a directed energy weapon used in wildfires or explosions, including the 2023 Canadian wildfires and a 2020 Nashville blast (here), (here). The photo has circulated online since January 2018, years before the Hawaii wildfires in August 2023.

Persons: Travis Secrest, Secrest, ”, ” Secrest, Read Organizations: National Weather Service, Reuters, Twitter, Facebook, Marathon Petroleum, Baum, Fox Locations: Ohio, Hawaii, Maui, Canton, Jan, California, Canton Township, Secrest, Michigan, Nashville

☆ Fact Check-Screenshot of Snopes article involving antisemitic claims has been fabricated
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A screenshot of a Snopes article discussing the expulsion of Jewish people from 109 different countries is fabricated. According to the Anti-Defamation League, an international non-governmental organization, the idea that Jews have been expelled from 109 countries is one made repeatedly by white supremacists. Reuters found no evidence of an article by Snopes fact-checking the “109 expulsions” claim (tinyurl.com/2ymasv83). Some social media users appear to think the image shows a real article and criticized Snopes (here). The image does not show a real Snopes article.

Persons: Snopes, Doreen Marchionni, David Emery, Read Organizations: Standards, Defamation League, ADL, Reuters Locations: Snopes

☆ Microsoft CFO Amy Hood warned employees not to 'build a gold toilet'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

From left, Tim Stuart, chief financial officer of Xbox at Microsoft; Phil Spencer, Microsoft's CEO of gaming; and Microsoft finance chief Amy Hood arrive to court in San Francisco on June 29, 2023. Microsoft's finance chief advised employees not to "build a gold toilet" during a 2018 meeting, according to emails that came up during federal court hearings last month over the software maker's planned Activision Blizzard acquisition. The quip might invoke a 2016 social-media claim (proven false by Snopes) that former President Donald Trump owned a solid gold toilet. "I've made that mistake on too many products, and I'm sure everyone else has too, when we've built features before we answered the core questions," Gluckstein wrote. Read the emails from Spencer and Gluckstein regarding Hood's "gold toilet" comments below.

Persons: Tim Stuart, Phil Spencer, Amy Hood, Donald Trump, MC Hammer, Catherine Gluckstein, Gluckstein, Xbox's, I've, we've, Spencer, xCloud, it's Organizations: Xbox, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Bluetooth, TAM, Cloud, Google, Federal Trade Commission Locations: San Francisco

☆ Elon Musk speaks out over reports linking Starlink with the missing submersible by taking a dig at a fact-checking site
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has broken his silence on reports that the firm behind Titan's submersible used Starlink. In response to an updated fact-checking article, Musk tweeted: "You can't even run a good psy op." Weeks before the dive, the company tweeted that SpaceX's Starlink was being used for dive operations. "Despite being in the middle of the North Atlantic, we have the internet connection we need to make our #Titanic dive operations a success - thank you @Starlink!" In response to the article, Musk tweeted: "You can't even run a good psy op."

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Weeks, Starlink, OceanGate, OceanGate . Organizations: Twitter, US Coast Guard, OceanGate

☆ Fact Check-Claims KitchenAid is removing its products from Target stem from satire
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

American home appliance brand KitchenAid is not removing its products from U.S. retail chain Target’s stores as of mid-June 2023. The claim originated from a satirical website called The Dunning-Kruger Times. Reuters found no credible reports that KitchenAid, a homeware appliances brand, had removed its items from Target. KitchenAid products are still available on Target’s website as of this article’s publication (here). Claims KitchenAid is removing its products from Target emerged from a satirical website.

Persons: Dunning, KitchenAid, “ Dunning, Kruger, Read Organizations: Kruger Times, Target, “, Target Corporation, KitchenAid Appliances, Facebook, Reuters, Target ., Defense

☆ Fact Check-Claim that ABC is cancelling ‘The View’ stems from satirical website
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

American television network ABC has not cancelled its talk show “The View” or removed it from the 2024 roster, a network spokesperson said in response to a claim that originated from a satirical website. However, the headline originates from an article (archive.is/PWQ03) on a satirical website, the Dunning-Kruger Times, which has been the source of claims previously debunked by Reuters (here), (here). A spokesperson for ABC told Reuters in an email that the claim about “The View” being cancelled is not true. ABC has not cancelled “The View” as of June 8, 2023. The claim originated on a satirical website.

Persons: Joe Barton, Roseanne Barr, Dunning, “ Dunning, Kruger, Read Organizations: ABC, Facebook, Kruger Times, Reuters, Defense

☆ Fact Check-The Progress Pride Flag adds representation for transgender and people of color to the rainbow
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Progress Pride Flag does not include representation for people attracted to minors, contrary to harmful misinformation posts on social media. Other posts also falsely link the transgender flag to a flag for “Minor Attracted Persons,” or MAPs (here), (here). They have been added to the traditional rainbow Pride flag alongside black and brown into what is now known as the Progress Pride Flag. The white, pink and light blue were first used in the Transgender Pride Flag designed by Monica Helms in 1999 (here). The Progress Pride Flag does not represent “Minor Attracted Persons.” Light blue, pink and white represent the transgender flag.

Persons: “ Minor, Daniel Quasar, Monica Helms, Read Organizations: “, Philadelphia Pride, AFP, Reuters

☆ Fact Check-Claims the NCAA stripped Lia Thomas of National Championship stem from satire
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has not stripped transgender athlete Lia Thomas of the National Championship following “unfavorable” test results, the organization said in an email. The posts link to an article titled, “NCAA Strips Lia Thomas Of National Championship After ‘Unfavorable’ Test Results.”Reuters found no credible reporting on the claim. A search for Lia Thomas yields two results, one of which mentions the swimmer directly (here). No release regarding stripping of the National Championship can be found. Claim that NCAA has stripped transgender athlete Lia Thomas of National Championship stems from a satirical website.

☆ Elon Musk says Tucker Carlson will be subject to Twitter's fact-checking force, Community Notes. This might be a problem for a TV host whose record on Snopes isn't exactly the cleanest.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Hannah Getahun | Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Elon Musk responded by saying anything misleading would be flagged by community notes. Tucker Carlson is moving his show from a traditional broadcasting outlet to Twitter where he will be subject to the social media platform's fact-checking force, Community Notes. The TV host's history of making untrue statements is well documented on third-party fact-checking sites such as Politifact and Snopes. Not every piece of misleading or false information on the platform is publicly marked by a Community Note. When enough people from different points of view rate a note as "helpful," the Community Note will appear, according to Twitter.

☆ Fact Check-Claim transgender athlete Lia Thomas wants to ‘transition back’ stems from satire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

There is no evidence that transgender swimmer Lia Thomas said she wants to “transition back” – posts on social media quote an article published by satirical website Patriot Party Press. “‘I’ve accomplished my goals’ - Lia Thomas wishes to transition back to male after feeling 'guilt'. Reuters did not find any credible reporting that suggests Thomas ever made such a public statement. The comments attributed to Thomas originated from a satirical website called Patriot Party Press (here). Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas did not say she wishes to transition back to male; claim originated on a satirical website.

☆ Fact Check-Claims Michael Jordan turned down a Disney ad campaign stem from a satirical website
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A story with the headline “Michael Jordan Turns Down $120 Million Ad Campaign With Disney: ‘I like My Reputation’” emerged from a satirical website, but has misled several users online into thinking it is authentic. Reuters did not find any credible news reports that former basketball star Michael Jordan has turned down a deal with Disney, however. Reuters has previously addressed similar claims based on satirical articles from America’s Last Line of Defense and its subsidiaries (here), (here). Further indicating the inauthenticity of the story, the article lists “Joe Barron” as Jordan’s spokesperson and “lifelong friend,” but a search for “’Joe Barron’ AND ‘Michael Jordan’” does not yield any reports that support this. Article claiming Michael Jordan turned down a $120 Million ad campaign with Disney stems from a satirical website.

☆ Fact Check-Series of holiday Google Doodle screenshots is not authentic
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A tweet claims to show screenshots of the Google page customized with Doodles during Hanukkah, Ramadan and Transgender Day of Visibility, but not for Easter (here). However, Reuters found no evidence that the images juxtaposed on Google logos are authentic Google Doodles. GOOGLE DOODLESDoodles are not made for religious holidays per current guidelines, and the company has never created a Google Doodle for Transgender Day of Visibility, the Google spokesperson said. The Google Doodles archive includes all previous doodles used to mark special days around the world, including independence days, birthdays of notable figures and sports events (www.google.com/doodles#archive). Fact checking organizations including Snopes and Check Your Fact cite a now-deleted Facebook group campaigning for a Google Doodle related to Ramadan as the source of the Ramadan Google logo shared in recent posts (here), (here).

☆ Fact Check-Altered image shows Donald and Melania Trump standing with Stormy Daniels
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An image appearing to show former U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump standing alongside adult film star Stormy Daniels is digitally altered. The image is altered and juxtaposes a photograph of the Trumps taken in 2005 with an image of Daniels standing by herself captured in 2006. The original image of the Trumps shows Donald and Melania Trump standing alongside Ivanka Trump and was taken at The Fashion Group International's Night of Stars in New York on Oct. 27, 2005. A similar image showing Melania and Donald Trump standing with Ivanka to their left and Vanessa Haydon, Donald Trump Jr taken at a slightly different angle is viewable (here). The image is altered to juxtapose two separate images and make it appear as if Donald and Melania Trump were standing with Stormy Daniels.

☆ Fact Check-Claims about a homeless couple living in a Walmart attic stem from debunked websites
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters found no evidence for claims on social media that a homeless couple was found living in the attic of a Walmart in Tennessee. They stem from a 2015 article by two websites that have been debunked in the past. Now8News does not describe itself as a satirical website either, although the articles on its home page appear to be satirical in nature (bit.ly/3SIOBVs). Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Reuters was unable to find contact information on the Now8News and Lansing Daily websites. These claims stem from two websites that have been debunked in the past.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence for alleged George Soros ‘life mission’ quote in Newsweek interview
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Memes shared on Twitter (here) and Facebook (here) (here) read: “’I’ve made my life’s mission to destroy the United States. I hate this country and I hate all of the people in it,’ George Soros, Newsweek 1979.”Laura Silber, a spokesperson for Soros-funded Open Society Foundations told Reuters that Soros had not “ever expressed such sentiments.”“We can absolutely confirm that George Soros gave no such interview to Newsweek in 1979,” Silber said via email. Soros was indeed interviewed by the outlet in 2009, but no such quotation about his “life’s work” is included in the report by The Australian. There is no public record of George Soros saying this to Newsweek in 1979. The quotation has been debunked before and a spokesperson for Soros told Reuters he never made such a statement.

☆ Fact Check-Purported Matt Walsh tweet about consent is fabricated
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A tweet attributed to conservative commentator Matt Walsh about consent and sexual assault that is circulating on social media is fabricated. The fake post appears to have originated on Reddit and Walsh himself has described it as photoshopped. Entries in that same subreddit discussing how the fabricated screenshot was being mistaken for an authentic post are viewable (here) (here)On Dec. 2, Walsh responded to a now deleted tweet featuring the fake screenshot. Matt Walsh did not tweet this message about consent and sexual assault. Correction Dec. 6, 2022: Corrects paragraph seven to say the tweet was sent on Dec. 2, not Dec. 1This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

☆ Fact Check-Altered image of John McCain and Lindsey Graham standing with Osama bin Laden resurfaces online
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An altered image of late Arizona senator John McCain and South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham standing with the late Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden has resurfaced online. The image appears to show McCain and Graham pictured with bin Laden standing between them. Other recent examples of the altered image being shared online can be found (here), (here) and (here). McCain and Graham visited troops in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 4, 2013, during celebrations of the U.S. The original photograph shows McCain and Graham pictured with former Afghan President Karzai in July 2013.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence of intentional widespread effort to miscalibrate voting machines in Texas, experts tell Reuters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Following the viral tweet, other anecdotal accounts and claims circulated online that voting machines were switching votes to favor Abbott (here), (here), (here). The Republican Party of Texas has no part in the calibration of voting machines, James Wesolek, Communications Director at the Republican Party of Texas told Reuters. If that process was done incorrectly, a voting machine’s touch screen might be consistently wrong. Touch screen machines can also suffer from an issue termed ‘parallax’ (here). There is no evidence of a widespread attempt to miscalibrate voting machines to switch votes in support of Beto O’Rourke to Greg Abbott in the governorship race, experts told Reuters.

☆ Fact Check-Hoax about serial killer posing as taxi driver in New York City resurfaces
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A fabricated report that is several years old about a New York City taxi driver who is a serial killer has recirculated on social media. An example can be seen (here) with the text: “*** Warning *** This is a man with Taxi number (2465RB) in NY Who drives around taking People to kill. A Google search on the story or on the license plate number produces no credible results to support the claims about a New York City serial killer taxi driver (bit.ly/3Sl6ZBE), (bit.ly/3ShD25K). The story has been debunked by fact checkers Snopes (here) in 2018 and PolitiFact (here) in 2022. There is no evidence of a serial killer posing as a taxi driver in New York City.

☆ Fact Check-The Simpsons did not predict the date of Queen Elizabeth’s death
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Altered and fabricated footage purportedly showing scenes from the animated television show The Simpsons has been shared on social media to claim that the series “predicted” the date of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the nation's figurehead for seven decades, died on Sept. 8, 2022 aged 96 (here) (here). It highly resembles an edited image, debunked by Snopes in 2017 (here), that was fabricated to show former U.S. president Donald Trump. Matt Selman, executive producer of The Simpsons, tweeted on Sept. 22 an article by Variety that debunked the claim that the show had predicted the death of Queen Elizabeth (here). The Simpsons did not predict the date of Queen Elizabeth’s death.

☆ ФБР допускает криминальные мотивы в действиях участников штурма Капитолия
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-09 | by ( Mld Media Srl | ) noi.md time to read: +1 min

Федеральное бюро расследований (ФБР) изучает, планировали ли участники штурма здания Конгресса США убить конгрессменов и их помощников или захватить их в заложники, сообщает The Washington Post со ссылкой на источники, пишет kommersant.ru. Агенты ФБР допускают, что среди людей, участвовавших в акции, были действющие или отставные военнослужащие, а также действующие или бывшие сотрудники правоохранительных органов. По данным фактчекинговой организации Snopes, как минимум двое людей, попавших на камеры во время штурма Конгресса, держали в руках связки одноразовых наручников. 6 января сторонники господина Трампа ворвались в Капитолий, где Конгресс утверждал победу Джо Байдена на президентских выборах. Конгрессменам пришлось эвакуироваться, 7 января они утвердили победу господина Байдена.

Persons: Трамп, Джо Байден, Байден Organizations: Washington Post, Федеральное бюро расследований (ФБР), Конгресс, ФБР Locations: kommersant.ru, США, Капитолий

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