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ScienceHealthCovid-19Viral 5G Conspiracy Diagram Actually Shows How to Build Your Own Guitar Pedal
Does this diagram show the secret plans of Bill Gates and his minions to inject 5G chips into the bloodstreams of unsuspecting people who get the covid-19 vaccine? Not quite. But it can sure scoop the hell out of those mids. The schematic, which has gone viral on Facebook and Twitter, purports to show how … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFakesThat Viral Video of an ‘Apple Car’ Parking Is Totally Fake
Have you seen that sleek Apple Car video that’s currently going viral on TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube? The car has bizarre spherical wheels and can self-park, if you can believe your lying eyes. The video has racked up over 5 million views on Twitter alone, but it’s totally fake, in case you had any doubt. … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFakesThat Viral Video of CNN Hiding Its Pornhub Tab Is Completely Fake
Have you seen that viral video of CNN host John King sheepishly hiding a Pornhub tab while announcing election results? The video has been seen by over 6.5 million people as of Friday morning. But it’s completely fake. Many people on Twitter noticed it was fake long before the original video was spotted by a … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFakesViral Video of Man Burning Trump Ballots Is Totally Fake
Have you seen that viral video of a man supposedly burning about 80 ballots marked for Donald Trump? The footage has been circulating on Twitter and Facebook over the past 48 hours and the president’s son, Eric Trump, even retweeted the video. But it’s completely fake. The viral video, which was first debunked by CNN, … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFakesThat Viral Video of a Trump Boat Sinking Is Old (No, Not That One, the Other One)
President Donald Trump, America’s most prominent white supremacist, has celebrated the so-called “Trump boat parades” that have popped up across the country, a frightening symbol of 21st century fascism and the people who are normalizing it. But just like everything else tinged with politics in 2020, there’s a lot of fake information floating around on … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFakesComedian Sued For Creating Fake ‘Antifa’ Events on Facebook
The mayor of Lafayette, Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against a 28-year-old comedian who created three fake events on Facebook that claimed “antifa” was coming to the town. Police responded to one of the fake events in late August with at least 30 squad cars and heavily armed officers, shutting down a shopping mall and … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsStreaming ServicesWhat the Fuck, Roku?
You won’t find HBO Max on Roku, but you can watch Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe. As if the conspiracy theory hokum pervading social media wasn’t bad enough, Roku has been hosting content that’s promoting misinformation about vaccines, autism, and the current covid-19 pandemic. Three channels that can be downloaded to Roku devices through the … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsFakesThat Viral Photo of Ernest With Jeffrey Epstein Is Actually Fake
Have you seen that photo of beloved actor Jim Varney, famous for the Ernest movie franchise, standing next to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein? The photo has been doing the rounds on Twitter today, but we’re here to tell you Ernest isn’t canceled. The image is photoshopped. The real photo shows Varney with the late comedian … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsPoliticsNo, a Reporter Did Not Call the White House Press Secretary a ‘Lying Bitch’
An Al Jazeera reporter did not call White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany a “lying bitch” on Tuesday, despite claims to the otherwise by sizable contingent of pro-Donald Trump Twitter accounts. At a White House press conference late on Tuesday morning, Al Jazeera English reporter Kimberly Halkett asked McEnany whether the president was as focused … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsFakesThis Grotesque Viral Photo of President Trump Is Actually Fake
A particularly disturbing photo of President Donald Trump has been making the rounds on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit recently. But is the image authentic? No, the photo is totally fake. But it’s close enough to the very real (and quite grotesque) look of the president that people could be forgiven for thinking it’s an … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFakesNo, Americans Aren’t Getting Multiple Ballots in the Mail to Commit Voter Fraud
Charlie Kirk, the leader of a right-wing advocacy organization called Turning Point USA and a frequent guest on Fox News, sent out a tweet yesterday with a shocking claim. Kirk posted a photo showing someone in New Mexico who had been sent “multiple ballots multiple times,” and suggested it was evidence of voter fraud. The … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFakesPat Robertson Didn’t Actually Blame America’s Coronavirus Crisis on Oral Sex
There’s a new quote from Pat Robertson circulating on social media that supposedly shows the far-right pastor blaming the coronavirus pandemic on oral sex. Robertson is quoted as saying, “Some of these young uns are doing all kinds of unnatural things with their sex organs.” Admittedly, it sounds like something Robertson would say in real … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsNewsAmazon’s Trash Chute of a Marketplace Is Now a Hotbed for Products Claiming to ‘Kill’ Coronavirus
It’s no secret that Amazon’s marketplace is overrun with garbage—literal or otherwise—and that the company struggles and often fails to manage its own massive marketplace that lumps legitimately trustworthy brands and products in with third-party sellers. Amazon’s latest challenge appears to be regulating a burgeoning market for products feeding off of flu and coronavirus fears—including … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsFakes‘Artist’ Apologizes For Telling Plane Passengers He’s Infected With Coronavirus For Viral Video
A Canadian man who announced he was infected with the new coronavirus during a WestJet flight from Toronto to Jamaica on Monday says he was trying to make a viral video, according to a new report from Canada’s Global News. The plane turned around after the man, identified as 28-year-old James Potok, stood up and … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsNewsAlphabet’s Jigsaw Develops Tool to Help Journalists Identify Manipulated Imagery
The proliferation of doctored or misleading images that manage to spread like wildfire has required that newsrooms, fact-checkers, and journalists be especially wary of disinformation and targeted campaigns in various media. Jigsaw, an Alphabet-owned company, has announced a new tool aimed at helping journalists better identify when images and other media have been manipulated. Jigsaw … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsFakesThat Video of Farts Captured by Thermal Cameras Looking For Coronavirus is Totally Fake
Have you seen that viral video of people farting in public, captured by China’s thermal imaging cameras that are on the hunt for coronavirus? It’s completely fake. China’s state media outlet the Global Times tweeted out the video, suggesting it showed people at train stations and airports in China, where health authorities are monitoring people … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsNewsWhite House Details Exactly How It Plans to Rein In Sales of Fake Crap Online
The Trump administration is adopting a tougher stance to combat the multi-billion dollar market of selling counterfeit goods on online platforms like Amazon, per a Department of Homeland Security report released Friday. Among 11 “immediate actions” outlined, the report calls for a federal committee to help identify the key players in counterfeit networks online as … Continued
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Tech NewsFacebookFacebook Bans Deepfake Videos That Would Mislead the Average Person, Fails to Define ‘Average Person’
Facebook announced overnight that it will ban any deepfake videos that wouldn’t be recognized by the average person as parody or satire. There was just one problem: the tech giant didn’t clearly define any of those terms. The Book of Faces didn’t bother to say what “parody,” “satire,” or “average person,” means, which will probably bite … Continued
By Matt Novak
