Snopes Debunker - Max Polyakov's grift empire, the conservative dating app "The Right Stuff," and a doctored photo of Michelle Obama

​ THURSDAY EDITION Snopes Debunker Oct. 6, 2022 Trouble Reading? View in Your Browser Today: Max Polyakov's grift empire, the conservative dating app "The Right Stuff," and a doctored photo of Michelle Obama ​ How Max Polyakov Hides His Financial Interest in an International Web of Online Deception Max Polyakov is a British-Ukrainian IT entrepreneur who co-founded, and until recently majority-owned, the Texas-based rocket company and U.S. government contractor Firefly Aerospace. Like so many in technology whose fortunes are tied to early internet marketing and e-commerce, Polyakov has for nearly a decade cast himself as a Ukrainian version of Elon Musk — a “visionary” whose vast wealth benefits the whole of humanity, in part because it goes toward launching his rockets into space. What this series reveals is a global network of shell companies tied to Polyakov or his associates that work in concert to enroll people into recurring credit card subscriptions to deceptive or effectively fake services. See what reporter Alex Kasprak revealed in part II of this special Snopes investigation. Read Now Fact Checks and Original Reporting Are There No Women Signing Up for Conservative Dating App? Love transcends all ... except politics, apparently. Read Story. Were Halloween ‘Blood Rave’ Attendees Sprayed with Real Blood? It supposedly happened at a night club in Amsterdam. Read Story. Doctored Christmas Photo of Michelle Obama Circulates Online A message to those users who shared this misleading picture with friends on Facebook: Reverse image search is your friend.  Read Story. Latest Fact Checks News Keep It or Toss It? ‘Best Before’ Labels Cause Confusion As awareness grows around the world about the problem of food waste, one culprit in particular is drawing scrutiny: “best before” labels. Read More French Writer Annie Ernaux Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature The Swedish Academy said Ernaux, 82, was recognized for "the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.” Read More San Diego Zoo Welcomes 41 Endangered Turtle Hatchlings It only took two decades, but a rare and endangered turtle species has finally bred at the San Diego Zoo. Read More

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