snopes.com Update: 21 May 2016

[snopes.com] [snopes.com] Update: 21 May 2016 Hello again from snopes, where we shed light on the wild tales you've heard! This e-mail gives information about new articles recently added to the [snopes.com] web site and provides pointers to older pieces about rumors and hoaxes still wandering into everyone's inboxes. If after this update you are left wondering about something newly arrived in your inbox, our [search engine] stands ready to assist you. Bookmark that URL — it's a keeper! And now to the legends, the mayhem, and the misinformation!  --------------------------------------------------------------- New Articles: [Obama Forces All Schools to Make Bathrooms Transgender?] The Departments of Justice and Education jointly issued guidance to American schools on 13 May 2016 with respect to transgender students and Title IX.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Dryer Sheets Full of Toxic Chemicals?] Several blog posts made inaccurate claims about both the content of and the risks posed by fabric softener dryer sheets.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [27,000 People Came to a Bernie Sanders Rally in California] A circulating photograph depicted a Bernie Sanders rally in Los Angeles in August 2015, not a May 2016 event in Sacramento.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [First Penis Transplant Performed in U.S.] A 64-year-old patient who lost his penis to cancer has received the first transplant of that organ in the United States.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Kendrick Lamar Secretly Purchases, Destroys Zimmerman's Gun Live on Stage] A story reporting that the musician destroyed the gun used by George Zimmerman to kill Trayvon Martin came from a fake news web site.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Transgender Woman Shot to Death in Department Store Restroom] A fake news site's phony claim about a transgender woman shot and killed in a bathroom duped many social media users.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Man Choked Girl in Bathroom Claiming Transgender Access Rights] A man was arrested for allegedly choking a young girl in a bathroom, but the incident was unrelated to transgender restroom policies.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Breyers Ice Cream Doesn't Melt?] A misleading video purportedly shows that Breyers brand ice cream doesn't melt.  --------------------------------------------------------------- ['Hammerhead Salamander'] An image purportedly showing a real "hammerhead salamander" actually shows a model of an extinct diplocaulus.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Al Franken Said His Judgment is More Important than Constituents'?] Senator Al Franken affirmed that his superdelegate vote would break from Minnesota's caucus results, but he didn't specifically suggest his judgment was "more important" than what his constituents wanted.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [North Korean Generals Wearing Medals Photograph] A photograph shows a group of North Korean generals wearing medals on their shirtsleeves and pants.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ann Coulter Arrested for Using Women's Bathroom] An article reporting that the pundit had been arrested for using the women's bathroom came from a fake news site.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Woman Gives Birth to Twins in Casket After Husband Buries Her Alive] A fake news report that a woman gave birth after she was buried alive was widely reproduced across social media.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump 'Portuguese People' Quote] A fake quote from Donald Trump about Portuguese people was started by a Facebook "prank" web site.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Image of 'Lightest and Darkest Skin Colors'] A photograph of two models is frequently shared with the misleading claim that it shows the "lightest and darkest skin colors."  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Congressional Candidate Posts Screengrab with Porn Tabs] Congressional candidate Mike Webb accidentally overshared with a screenshot of his browser.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Police Warn Using 'Facebook Reactions' Is Dangerous] Belgian police issued commentary about "Facebook Reactions," but the remarks fell short of a warning (and didn't involve danger).  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Target to Discontinue Sale of Holy Bible] A report that Target had stopped selling the Bible due to recent protests against its transgender bathroom policies came from a satire site.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bison Calf Euthanized at Yellowstone] A sad announcement from Yellowstone National Park proved hard to believe for some readers.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Woman Chooses Death Over Trump or Clinton] The obituary of Mary Anne Noland, which said she chose death over the prospect of voting for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, went viral in May 2016.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Sex Roulette] A number of tabloids are reporting rumors that a risky new "sex roulette" trend — involving orgies where at least one attendee is HIV-positive — are "on the rise."  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Fake CHI Products at T.J. Maxx and Marshall's] A number of images circulating on social media accompanied rumors that retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshall's carried inauthentic salon products.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump Was Never Called Racist Before Running for President] A rumor claiming that Donald Trump was never called a racist before he started running for president was widely circulated on Facebook.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Tony Romo Arrested in North Carolina for Using Men's Bathroom] An article reporting that the Cowboys' quarterback was arrested for using a men's bathroom in North Carolina was a spoof.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Facebook Panic Follows Kroger Kidnap Claim] A woman's claim that she and her daughter were targeted by kidnappers at Kroger was swiftly debunked, but not before it led to local alarm.  --------------------------------------------------------------- ['America Was Never Great'] A controversial photograph shows an employee at Home Depot wearing a cap bearing the slogan "America Was Never Great."  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Video Shows 'Fireball' in the Sky As EgyptAir Flight Disappears from Radar] A purported video of a fireball streaking across the sky at the same time an EgyptAir flight went missing actually shows Russian rocket debris from 2015.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Patrick Stewart on 'Galaxy Quest'] Comments made by 'Star Trek' star Patrick Stewart about the movie 'Galaxy Quest' are authentic but not recent.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Target to Discontinue Sales of American Flag] An article reporting that Target stopped selling American flags came from a web site that only publishes hoax news and satire.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trey Gowdy Admitted Nothing Could Have Saved Benghazi Victims?] Rep. Trey Gowdy ceded a central point of dispute in the Benghazi controversy, but it was misleading to characterize it as an "accidental" admission.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Photograph Shows 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'] A photograph purportedly showing "the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" riding out of clouds originated with an advertising campaign.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Oklahoma Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Abortion] The bill's sponsor says he hopes to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Did Sanders Supporters Throw Chairs at Nevada Democratic Convention?] A Las Vegas reporter's second-hand claim Bernie Sanders supporters threw chairs at a Nevada convention was widely reproduced by other news outlets.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Albert Einstein Rejection Letter] An image purportedly showing a rejection letter Albert Einstein received from the University of Bern in 1907 is a modern fabrication.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary's Recovered E-Mails Reveal Republican Gun Grab Plan] An article about recovered e-mails revealing plans for an "Obama gun grab" was a thinly-disguised joke about Republican voter turnout on Election Day.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Target Sues 'Hero' for Saving Stabbing Victim] Target did sue Michael Turner, a man who saved a girl from being stabbed in one of their stores, but the lawsuit was about more than that.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Sunny Oaks Elementary Forces Kids to Cross Dress for LGBT Week] A social media rumor about forced cross-dressing at Sunny Oaks Elementary School appears to have been created from whole cloth.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Obama Declares Islam as America's Religion] An unreliable web site claimed that President Obama declared Islam is the U.S.'s "official religion."  --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Supporter Claims Outback Steakhouse Refused to Serve Him] Several Donald Trump supporters called for a boycott of Outback Steakhouse after one fan was reportedly refused service.  --------------------------------------------------------------- Admin Stuff: - View the [latest edition] of the [snopes.com] newsletter online. - Please note that the e-mail address [update@snopes.com] is an administrative address used only for mailing weekly updates to subscribers. 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