snopes.com Update: 23 July 2016

[snopes.com] snopes.com Update: 23 July 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: [What If They Gave a Day of Rage and Nobody Came?] Just like two years ago, rumors of nationwide 'Day of Rage' protests turned out to be much ado about nothing. --------------------------------------------------------------- [GOP Platform Proposes to Get Rid of National Parks] The Republican Party platform likely isn't calling for the abolition of all national parks and national forests. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Image of Donald Trump with No Wig or Makeup] Who knows what GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's head looks like in its unprepped state? --------------------------------------------------------------- [Say It Ain't So, Joe] Another example of why museum docents and tour guides aren't necessarily sources of accurate information. --------------------------------------------------------------- ['White Elevators' Cause Consternation at RNC Site] Republican National Convention staffers were reportedly scrambling to remove signs identifying a bank �white elevators" at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Betty White on 'Grow Some Balls'] A popular witticism in response to the saying 'Grow some balls' is falsely attributed to actress Betty White. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Fox News 'Intelligence Expert' Lied About Working for the CIA] Despite Fox News' identifying recurring guest Wayne Simmons as a "Former CIA Operative," he was nothing of the sort. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Obama Calls for Black Lives Matter Memorial] A fake news article states that President Obama signed an executive order calling for a memorial wall for black victims of police violence. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Fresno Terrorism Threat: Women in Burqas Buying Cell Phones] Grossly exaggerated version of an anti-terrorism presentation warns about women in burqas buying up cell phones. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Mike Pence: 'Allowing Rape Victims to Have Abortions Will Lead to Women Trying to Get Raped'] Mike Pence did not say that if abortion were allowed in cases of rape, then women would try to get raped in order to have abortions. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Officer Who Shot Alton Sterling Pictured at KKK Rally] A photo showing a police officer at a KKK rally is frequently shared with misinformation identifying him as the officer who shot and killed Alton Sterling. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Robert Redford and Meryl Streep: Not a Couple] The two 'Out of Africa' stars aren't married, engaged, or even dating, despite what a skin care product pitch might claim. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Black Lives Matter Protesters Chant for 'Dead Cops Now' in Baton Rouge] A perpetually recirculating video of BLM protesters chanting for "dead cops" dates to December 2014 and is unrelated to BLM protest events occurring in July 2016. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Catching Sexually Transmitted Diseases While Tanning] Despite a proliferation of scary articles, the likelihood of getting a sexually transmitted disease with your tan is very small. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Al Sharpton's 1992 Speech Urged Blacks to Kill Police] A video of a speech Al Sharpton delivered in 1992 at Kean College is real but is frequently shared out of context or with misleading information. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump/Pence Logo Taken from 'T Laying P Ranch'] Donald Trump and Mike Pence did not steal their campaign logo from a Nevada brothel. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Internet Abuzz Over Photo of Mike Pence's 'Vampire' Daughter] In a family photo tweeted by GOP vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence, his daughter's reflection appears to be missing from a nearby mirror. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Chelsea Clinton Made $900,000 Working for Her Parents] Chelsea Clinton landed a lucrative job at NBC after graduating college, but her salary wasn't $900,000, and she wasn't working for her parents. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Justin Trudeau to Pardon All Prisoners Convicted of a Marijuana Offence] Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not freed from prison and expunged the record of every convicted marijuana user in Canada. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pok�mon GO Terms of Service] The enormously popular augmented reality game asks players to potentially sign away legal rights in order to participate. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Disney Pixar 'Boo' Set for July 2020 Release] A fan-made poster quickly crossed from Instagram to Facebook and led fans to believe Pixar was releasing the 'Monsters, Inc.' sequel 'Boo' in 2020. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pokemon Go Uploads Your Data to Google Maps] Just as Pokemon Go's popularity spread like wildfire on social media, so too did a rumor the app collects data for Google Maps and the NSA. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Las Palmas Restaurant Accused of Spitting in Officers' Drinks] Just prior to an outbreak of violence against police in Baton Rouge, a Facebook page claimed employees at that city's Las Palmas restaurant spit in officers' drinks. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Melania Trump Copied from Michelle Obama's 2008 Convention Speech] Melania Trump's speech on opening night of the 2016 Republican National Convention bore striking similarities to Michelle Obama's convention speech in 2008. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Copies Obama's Congratulatory Tweet] Donald Trump's tweet congratulating his wife Melania on her speech at the Republican Convention wasn't stolen from Barack Obama. --------------------------------------------------------------- [How to 'Make Peace with the Blacks'] Melania Trump did not suggest her husband could "make peace with the blacks" by increasing their food stamp payments. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Flamingo Egg Yolks are Pink] A popular 'fun fact' holds that flamingo egg yolks are bright pink, but flamingo experts are perplexed by the claim. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Rep. Steve King: What Have Non-Whites Ever Done for Civilization?] The Iowa representative caused an uproar by making racially charged comments on MSNBC. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary Clinton Supporter Stands on American Flag] A clearly doctored image does not depict a woman standing on an American flag while waving a "Hillary for President 2016" banner. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump and Children Face $250 Million Tax Evasion Charges] Donald Trump and two of his children are witnesses, not defendants, in a tax evasion lawsuit. --------------------------------------------------------------- [FBI Warning to 'All Americans' About Poisoned Produce] A July 2016 article misleadingly suggested that the FBI warned Americans of produce sprayed with poison. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Illegal Alien Denied Cops Service, 'We Don�t Serve Pigs'] A fabricated article claimed an "illegal alien" employed at McDonald's was fired for telling cops the chain doesn't "serve pigs." --------------------------------------------------------------- [Michelle Obama Copied Her 2008 DNC Speech from Saul Alinsky] After Melania Trump was accused of plagiarizing Michelle Obama's 2008 DNC speech at the 2016 RNC, several sites claimed the FLOTUS plagiarized Saul Alinsky. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pokemon Global Offensive] The widely popular game Pokemon Go is not being used by Japan's military to plan future bombing attacks on the U.S. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Michelle Obama Stole Her Speech from Melania Trump] A quote from Eric Trump defending the originality of his stepmother's Republican National Convention speech is fake. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bringing a Gun to a Knife Fight] Scott Baio asserted during a July 2016 MSNBC appearance that President Obama once said if "bring a knife" to a fight, should "bring a gun." --------------------------------------------------------------- [Melania Trump's College Degree] Several media outlets have called into question Melania Trump's claim that she graduated with a degree in design and architecture. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Michelle Obama Plagiarized Her 2008 DNC Speech from Stephen R. Covey] Social media users answered claims that Melania Trump plagiarized her 2016 RNC speech from Michelle Obama by saying that Obama plagiarized Stephen R. Covey. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump Jr.: Our Greenskeeper Skipped His Sister's Wedding] Donald Trump's son said that the family's greenskeeper missed his own sister's wedding in order to work for the Trumps. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Barack Obama vs. Deval Patrick] Another entry in dueling partisan contentions about who plagiarized whom first and worst holds that Barack Obama lifted a few lines from Deval Patrick in 2008. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Obama Signs Executive Order to Pay Partial Reparations to African-Americans] A satirical article reported that President Obama had signed an executive order mandating that African-Americans in the U.S. be compensated for slavery. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Officer Hospitalized After Being Served Sandwich Containing Glass Shards] Police do not believe that the restaurant intentionally tried to harm him. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Obama to Ban Trucks After Nice Attack] A satirical blog post suggesting President Obama planned to ban trucks following the terror attack in Nice quickly crossed over from humor to rumor. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump: 'Abraham Lincoln Was a Dishonest Traitor'] An audio clip of Donald Trump calling Abraham Lincoln a dishonest traitor is a fabricated compilation of sound snippets from a campaign speech. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Lezley McSpadden, Mother of Mike Brown, to Speak at DNC] Lezley McSpadden will speak alongside other mothers at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), but she isn't headlining an event. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Warning: Kay Jewelers Free Ring Gift] Another rumor about human traffickers has been spread on Facebook, this one involving lures of free rings from Kay Jewelers placed on the windshields of cars. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Saul Alinsky Dedicated 'Rules for Radicals' to Lucifer] Erstwhile Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson claimed in his 2016 RNC speech that author Saul Alinsky dedicated his best-known book to Lucifer. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Papa John's Pizza Arrives with Racist Epithet on Receipt Label] A Colorado Papa John's customer reported that the restaurant dispatched a pizza box upon which an offensive racial epithet was printed. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Diversity Among Democratic and Republic Interns] An image comparing the diversity (or lack thereof) of Republican and Democratic interns is somewhat misleading. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Boring Mike Pence] Amidst Republican Convention chatter on social media, an item from 'The Onion' claiming Donald Trump tweeted about "boring Mike Pence" got mixed in with the real stuff. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Airtime Pirate] A photograph showing Melania Trump wearing the 'pirate shirt' featured in a memorable episode of the TV sitcom 'Seinfeld' at the RNC is not real. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Ghostwriter Meredith McIver Doesn't Exist?] When Donald Trump campaign ghostwriter Meredith McIver emerged to take the fall for Melania Trump's purported plagiarism, some onlookers questioned her existence. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pokemon Go Program Clears Shelter of Dogs Awaiting Adoption] The details of a shelter's Pokemon Go dogwalking program were exaggerated for a heartstring-tugging viral Facebook post. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Massachusetts Just Banned the Sale of All Semi-Automatic Rifles] Massachusetts didn't announce a new law banning the sale of semi-automatic rifles, but rather enforcement of an existing law on assault weapons. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Islamic Symbols Added to White House Fence] Online rumors raise the alarm about so-called 'Islamic symbols' spotted in the recently renovated White House fence. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Netflix CEO: 'Trump Would Destroy Much of What Is Great About America'] Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that Donald Trump 'would destroy much of what is great about America' and 'it�s important that Trump lose by a landslide.' --------------------------------------------------------------- [CIA Agents Arrested in Turkey for Erdogan Assassination Attempt] A story about CIA involvement in Turkey's July 2016 military coup attempt was light on documentation and heavy on speculation. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Protester Screams in NYPD Cop's Face] Award-winning photograph captures a protester right up against an NYPD officer, but whether she was actually screaming in his face is uncertain. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pokemon Go Caused a Fatal Crash in Knoxville?] A man was tragically killed in a wrong way crash near Knoxville, but police say there's no indication Pokemon Go was involved in the accident. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump's RNC Speech Plagiarized Hitler] The claim that Donald Trump plagiarized his RNC speech from Hitler's 1933 inaugural address originated with a satirical publication. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Colorado Town Warned About THC in Water Supply] Officials in Colorado issued a warning after testing appeared to detect THC in drinking water, but scientists say the alarm is unwarranted. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Stanley Kubrick's 'Don't F*** with Me' Letter] A threatening letter purportedly written by film director Stanley Kubrick to the head of MGM in 1970 is circulating virally. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Waverly Labs' 'Pilot' Earpiece Translates Spoken Language] Waverly Labs claims their 'Pilot' earpiece can translate conversations in real-time, but there's no proof that the technology exists. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Mysterious UFO Over Airport in Turkey] A video purporting to show a UFO over Turkey actually shows a rocket launch in Florida. --------------------------------------------------------------- [SCAM: Luxury RV Giveaway] A Facebook page that promises to give away luxury RV's to users who like and share it is a scam. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Obama and Clinton Have Iranian Advisers] Neither Barack Obama's nor Hillary Clinton's top adviser is Iranian: they're both American citizens by birth. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Wikileaks Dumps Democratic National Committee E-Mails] Wikileaks published 20,000 leaked DNC e-mail messages, many of which proved controversial for the purportedly neutral committee. --------------------------------------------------------------- [North Miami Police Shot, Wounded Caregiver Trying to Protect Patient] Charles Kinsey was on his back with his hands in the air when he was fired on by an officer. --------------------------------------------------------------- Admin Stuff: - 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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