When the ball drops in New York City’s Times Square to signify the arrival of the new year, many people will turn to their loved ones for a smooch as the noisemakers go off, confetti drops and “Auld Lang Syne” echoes through the streets. Kissing is such a common tradition on New Year’s Eve that … Read more
Claim: Staff at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport asked Sasha Obama to leave. Rating: A rumor circulating online in December 2024 claimed staff with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, asked Sasha Obama, one of U.S. President Barack Obama’s daughters, to leave the premises. A Snopes reader asked of the rumor, “Sasha … Read more
Claim: In December 2024, the state of Texas passed a bill banning Shariah law. Rating: Context Although Texas introduced no such law in December 2024, the state did pass House Bill 45 in 2017. That legislation regards “the application of foreign laws in certain family law cases” and has been criticized for being anti-Shariah. However, … Read more
Claim: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy purchased a casino resort in Cyprus in May 2024. Rating: In early June 2024, accounts on X began sharing the claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — at the height of his country’s fight against Russian military occupation — purchased a resort in Cyprus named the Vuni Palace Casino Resort … Read more
Claim: In 1998, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton paid Paula Jones $850,000 in hush money. Rating: On May 30, 2024, the criminal trial against former U.S. President Donald Trump over his hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels ended when the jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. For some social media … Read more
On Dec. 21, 2024, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, claimed on MSNBC that President-elect Donald Trump wanted Congress to spend $90 million on his inauguration. Crockett said the money was included in a proposed spending bill that also eliminated funding for children’s cancer research. Here’s what Crockett told host Ali Velshi, per a … Read more
Claim: At age 95, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter fell and injured his head/eye, receiving 14 stitches, and the following day, he helped build houses for Habitat for Humanity. Rating: Context The injury occurred on Oct. 6, 2019, newspaper archives showed. Following former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s death in late December 2024, a rumor about … Read more
Claim: An image shared on social media was an authentic early 20th-century photo of a crowd posing with a megalodon, a type of giant prehistoric shark. Rating: Context The image originated as an AI-generated artwork. In late 2024, social media users shared a black-and-white image that was purportedly an authentic photo of a crowd posing … Read more
Claim: Geppetto, the woodcarver in “The Adventures of Pinocchio” who created a walking, talking puppet out of wood, was actually a slave owner who built Pinocchio out of slaves’ body parts. Rating: On May 14, 2024, a rumor went viral on X, claiming that the original Geppetto (misspelled in the posts) — the woodcarver in “The … Read more
Claim: Real members of the Mafia were involved in the making of 1972 film “The Godfather.” Rating: In early 2024, a post on X went viral with a claim that real members of organized crime were involved in the making of the 1972 movie “The Godfather.” “The mob actively followed the actors and actresses around and … Read more