Is it authentic?

Is the context accurate?

Is there evidence that proves the claim?

Is it based on solid reasoning?

Has it been posted or confirmed by a credible source?

Altered and out-of-context images are common on social media. To check the authenticity of an image, try performing a reverse image search. A number of AI scanners are also available, such as Deepware.ai, that can help detect AI-generated content. 

Removing context from a photo is a quick and easy way to spread falsehoods online. A quick reverse image search can help place these images back into their proper context. 

There isn’t anything preventing people from spreading falsehoods online. When encountering a claim on social media, take a moment to consider if there is any evidence to support it. Is the claim accompanied by a link? Does that link provide supporting evidence? 

“Fact Check: Biggie Smalls Did NOT Predict COVID-19 In 1994” 

“No, farmers aren’t required to vaccinate livestock with mRNA vaccines” 

“Fact Check: New COVID Variants Did NOT Stop ‘All The Sudden’ After Fauci Retirement At End Of 2022” 

“Fact Check: Switzerland Did NOT Order ‘Immediate Halt’ To COVID-19 Vaccinations Claiming 'More Harm Than Good'” 

“Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show ‘GWEN’ Tower That Downloads Brainwaves” 

“Fact Check: Joke Video Of ‘Cloud Factory’ At Chicago Ingredion Plant NOT Real” 

“Fact check: Video shows 2017 water shortage protest, not HAARP being destroyed”

“Fox didn’t cover Popeyes over Louisville shooting” 

“No, Hillary Clinton didn’t endorse Ron DeSantis for president” 

“Video of roller destroying beer cans unrelated to Bud Light backlash” 

“Anheuser-Busch CEO didn’t resign after Bud Light ads” 

“Claim that Anheuser-Busch fired its entire marketing team stems from a satire website” 

“Photos show passport of Barack Obama Sr., not former president” 

“Do Photos Show Pope Francis Meeting with ‘Satanic Priests’?” 

News literacy lessons learned: This week’s misinformation review

GWEN (Ground Wave Emergency Network) tower

 capable of downloading brainwaves, a “

 (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) platform are not accurate.

 after Dr. Anthony Fauci’s retirement and 

Switzerland did not put an immediate halt

A video showing a steamroller crushing Bud Light cases is not new and is 

 against the company’s partnership with a transgender influencer, the 

 former President Barack Obama’s Kenya passport, and none of the following claims are true, either: former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton 

 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, Pope Francis 

 a chicken sandwich over the April 10 mass shooting at a Kentucky bank.

Conspiratorial claims are often tempting to accept at face value, but when critically considered they quickly fall apart. When encountering a sensational claim online, take a moment to prod the claim with questions to see if there are any logical loopholes or far-fetched assumptions. 

Here are just a few of this week’s falsehoods, featuring everything from conspiratorial weather claims to deepfakes to decades-old debunked zombie rumors that circulated anew. Let’s take a look at the facts. 

Cross-checking social media content against credible standards-based news sources is a good way to filter out falsehoods from your feed.

False and misleading claims are continuously inserted into social media feeds by hyperpartisans, trolls and other bad actors — and they rely on people who have been duped for their viral spread. Here are three things to keep in mind as you head into next week, so that regardless of which new falsehoods arise, you won’t be manipulated into sharing them.

Weather manipulation is a common theme of conspiracy theories. Be aware that photos are often taken out of context following breaking weather news events. Photos of weather towers or other scientific equipment are often falsely presented as evidence for implausible claims.

False COVID-19 rumors continue to spread. They often stem from a morsel of truth (Switzerland stopped recommending COVID-19 vaccinations due to high immunity rates) but are then distorted and exaggerated.

Whenever a major partisan talking point or narrative emerges on social media, especially one that is mostly driven by outrage, expect it to be followed by a wave of falsehoods as bad actors attempt to capitalize on the anger.

This is not an authentic video of Clinton. This is a deepfake video that was created by altering a clip of Clinton from a December 2021 appearance on NBC’s Today show. 

This tutorial video teaches you the basics of doing a reverse image search.

Reverse Image Search Tutorial

Tutorial: Reverse image search

The evidence shows that this clip was digitally manipulated. 

This tutorial video teaches you the basics of “lateral reading” (doing effective internet searches to evaluate a source or piece of information).

Lateral Reading

Tutorial: Lateral reading

“Did Hillary Clinton Endorse Ron DeSantis for President?”

“Trump fans try to ding Ron DeSantis with fake Hillary Clinton endorsement” 

Hillary Clinton did not endorse Ron DeSantis for president

This video is an algorithmically generated deepfake video based on genuine footage of a 

The video’s creator is listed as “Ramble Rants” and the words “

” — a reference to Marvel Comics superhero Captain America — appear at the end of the clip, both of which are clues that this is satire and not real.

Clinton actually endorsing DeSantis would have generated national news coverage, given their opposing political backgrounds. But the only outlet reporting on this news was a social media account known for partisan takes and digital fakes. 

Develop a nuanced understanding of news media bias by learning about five types of bias and five ways it can manifest itself, as well as methods for minimizing it.

Understanding Bias

A digitally altered video supposedly created as a joke appears to show former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton endorsing Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for president. But the video is a deepfake manipulation. Let’s look at the facts. 

No, this video was not shared by a credible source. It is formatted to appear as having been broadcast by MSNBC, but it never was. 

We can all make better choices about the information we consume, share and act on. But can you tell the difference between social media posts that are false or misleading and those that are credible?

Test your news literacy skills with this quiz and help stop the flood of misinformation.

News Lit Quiz: Should you share it?

This infographic provides five steps for vetting news sources and includes a list of “trust busters” to watch out for in your information diet.


 Is it legit? Five steps for vetting a news source

This video plays into the guilt by association fallacy — when a person or group is demonized due to a seeming connection with an already demonized person or group. In this case, the video creates a fictional scenario in which DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential candidate and challenger to former President Donald Trump, is endorsed by Clinton, a former Democratic candidate and a regular target of Trump and other conservatives.

As AI technology advances and becomes increasingly capable of creating realistic content, social media users need to exercise skepticism when scrolling through their feeds. These AI tools can make even the most obviously satirical content (would Clinton really say “Hail Hydra” during an interview?) appear quite convincing on first glance. Remember, when encountering sensational claims online, it’s always a good idea to seek out a second source that can add context to the content.

No, the underlying image in this post comes from an old broadcast. It was removed from its original context, altered and then shared as if it were an April 2023 segment on Fox News. 

Fact-checkers for the Associated Press found that the news ticker at the bottom of this screenshot refers to events from 2019. 

Fox News didn’t ignore Kentucky mass shooting to report on chicken sandwich

 on a new Popeyes chicken sandwich instead of the April 10 mass shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky.

 on April 10 and reported on the aftermath.

Fox News and other media outlets have published and broadcast 

 on the “chicken sandwich wars” going back to 2019.

Popeyes did not recently announce a new sandwich.

An alleged screengrab of a Fox News broadcast was widely shared on social media as “evidence” that the network chose not to cover the April 10 mass shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, and reported instead on a new chicken sandwich from Popeyes. But this claim is false. Let’s look at the facts. 

This post received widespread attention after it was shared by a partisan social media account. Searches of Fox News’ website and social media feeds turned up no recent results for this screenshot, but it appears to be from 2019. 

Breaking news events provide a window of opportunity for engagement grifters to spread controversial and politicized content, and the mass shooting in Kentucky was no exception. The falsehood that Fox ignored it to report on a new chicken sandwich was almost certainly helped along by affirming the biases of those who hold negative opinions about Fox. The post also serves as a reminder for how easy it is for opportunists, trolls and other bad actors to misrepresent or alter an authentic screenshot of broadcast news.