Is that photo real? Did Donald Trump really say that? Fear not confused Netizen, as we have the answers for the most questions regarding what is fake online this week.
What Was Fake This Week
That’s not a photo of Bernie Sanders participating in an LGBT March back in 1975. The meme below suggests that we’re seeing “Bernie Sanders and Jane O’Meara Sanders attending a transsexual and transgender march in 1975.” The photo, however, is a still from the 1975 cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the actors in the photo are Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon. Although it seems that this meme may have been created as a joke, Sanders has been a long-time supporter of LGBT rights, and it wouldn’t have been unusual for him to have attended such a march. 
Chipotle isn’t selling $1 burritos. The fake news site Empire Herald tried to cash in on the recent Chipotle E. coli outbreak by posting a bogus report claiming that the restaurant is offering $1 burritos to “regain public trust.” Chipotle’s social media reps have been busy fielding questions about the fake promotion, confirming “It’s a hoax.”
@Listen_2_Bisson It’s a hoax. -Kate
— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) February 7, 2016
A woman didn’t give birth to 17 babies. In yet another work of fakery, we read of busy mom Catherine Bridges of Indianapolis who allegedly gave birth to 17 babies over a 29 hour period. Not only is the story fictional, but it’s not even new. This 2-year old story recently resurfaced on social media, but it was originally posted in early 2014 by World News Daily Report, a low-brow fake news site that publishes works of fiction under the guise of satire. This seems to be a variation of the “11 babies” hoax which also continues to circulate. Read more from our friends at Hoax Slayer.
Obama didn’t sign an executive order to remove “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. A bogus and politically-charged “news” item saw heavy sharing this week which claimed President Obama caved into pressure by “Atheist and Muslim activists” to remove the words “Under God” from the Pledge. It was circulated under a phony Fox News banner, probably to fool readers into knee-jerk sharing of the bogus story. Obama issued no such order, nor did Fox News publish a report of this nature. To further add to confusion, a screen shot was edited and shown as evidence to support the fake report. It’s headline read, “Obama orders ‘Under God’ Removed From Pledge of Allegiance.”
That’s not a photo of kids washing a meerkat. A vintage 1950’s photo made the rounds which appeared to show a group of kids washing a defeated meerkat in an old wash tub. The original (found here) didn’t include a meerkat, but a crying baby.
Trump didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize, but he was nominated. As news broke that Donald Trump was nominated for the Nobel Prize, some social media readers skewed the headline to assert that The Donald had won the illustrious award. The winner won’t be announced in until October, but most experts agree that Trump, along with such fellow nominees as Edward Snowden, has little chance of winning. Hundreds are nominated every year, and those who submit names can include University professors or “members of national assemblies and governments of states.”
That’s not a giant New York rat. The photo of a man holding a gargantuan rat made its rounds in recent weeks. The caption read, “New York rats. And yes it’s real.” As David Emery points out, the photo is real, but almost certainly doesn’t show a New York rat – and the image isn’t recent. The kind of rat shown in this photo is most commonly found in Africa, not New York. The photo has circulated for years with a variety of captions, and attributed to multiple locations.
Obama to didn’t limit gun ownership to three guns. In another “Obama Executive Order” rumor, we read that the President has limited gun ownership to a maximum of three guns per person. This fake story is the work of abcnews.com.co, which is known to spew outlandish and controversial fake stories with the intent to gain viral sharing and increased traffic. The story is completely fake.
What fake stories did you see online this week?
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