Snopes Daily Debunker - Bogus Facebook Pages Exploit COVID-19 Fears

Bogus Facebook Pages Exploit COVID-19 Fears A new Snopes investigation has uncovered a network of foreign-run Facebook pages, many of which push "blue lives matter" content, that trick desperate Americans into following them with scams like coronavirus grocery giveaways. Snopes reporters Dan MacGuill and Jordan Liles spent months tracking the inauthentic behavior of dozens of Facebook pages targeting a largely conservative U.S. audience but run out of Kosovo. Though the motivations behind them aren’t clear, the tactics and patterns of behavior exhibited by many of these pages violate multiple Facebook policies and are reminiscent of previous foreign-coordinated inauthentic behavior Snopes has encountered. Read more

 

Fact Checks Did CBS News Use Footage from Italy for New York COVID-19 Report? The news outlet acknowledged the error, but that wasn't the end of the story. True   Does This Photograph Show Women Wearing ‘Flu Masks’? Masks were commonly worn during the 1918 "Spanish flu" pandemic, but this photograph doesn't show them. Miscaptioned   Did the New York Jets Sign Colin Kaepernick? Parody news sometimes looks just like real news. False   Was National Stockpile Website Edited After Jared Kushner’s Comments? On April 2, 2020, Jared Kushner said of the federal stockpile: "It's supposed to be our stockpile. It's not supposed to be states' stockpiles that they then use." True   Is Clinton-Owned Medical Supply Co. Price Gouging During COVID-19 Pandemic? A routine review of content labeled satire. Labeled satire   Did Time Magazine Warn About Global Warming, Pandemic Years Ago? Who could have seen this coming? Just about anyone who can read. True

 

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In the News How Did ‘Spanish Flu’ Get Its Name? The influenza outbreak of 1918 tops historians' list for deadly pandemics. Read more   White House Points to Hopeful Signs as Deaths Keep Rising At the end of a week officials had warned would be this generation's Pearl Harbor, White House officials pointed to hopeful signs that the spread of the coronavirus could be slowing. Read more   Cuteness Alert: Zoo Miami Shows Off Clouded Leopard Kittens The male and female cubs appear to be thriving, officials said. Read more   The Howling: Americans Let it Out from Depths of Pandemic Every night at 8 p.m., Americans are taking a moment to let out a primal howl. Read more   In a Test of Faith, Christians Mark Good Friday in Isolation Pope Francis leads a simple ceremony to an empty St. Peter's Square while thousands of pilgrims and celebrants stay home to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic. Read more

 

Staff Pick Easter Lore and Superstitions Eggs are very obvious symbols of resurrection and continuing life. Early humans thought the return of the sun from winter darkness was an annual miracle, and saw the egg as a natural wonder and proof of the renewal of life. Read more

 

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