snopes.com Update: 31 August 2016

[snopes] snopes.com Update:31 August 2016 [facabook button] [twitter-button] 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: [Stephen Bannon: 'Nobody Can Blame You for Beating Your Wife If It's Out of Love'] A fake news web site put words in Trump campaign CEO Stephen Bannon's mouth to the effect that he defended spousal abuse as an act of "love." --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pence Recaptured After Fleeing Trump Campaign Bus] A satirical article reported that Mike Pence was "recaptured" after he tried to escape Trump's campaign bus. --------------------------------------------------------------- [High School Teen Shot After Police Mistake Saxophone for Machine Gun] Reports of Alabama law enforcement shooting a saxophone-wielding teenager came from a fake news web site. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Police Officers Say They Were Denied Service at Taco Bell] Louisville policemen said they left a local Taco Bell after employees refused to serve them and joked about contaminating their food. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Metallica Singer Celebrates a PhD in Astrophysics] A report that singer James Hetfield had earned a doctorate came from a fake news web site. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Rope-a-Dope Deer] A farmer who attempted to rope a deer described the hilariously painful experience. --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Rebirth of the Eagle] Eagles do not extend their lifespans by removing their beaks, talons, and feathers in order to grow new ones. --------------------------------------------------------------- [NFL's Colin Kaepernick Says He Won't Stand for National Anthem] San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick made headlines when he refused to stand for the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." --------------------------------------------------------------- [North Dakota Gives the Green Light to Shoot Indigenous Tribes on Sight] North Dakota's governor declared a state of emergency over protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline, but he didn't authorize the shooting of protesters "on sight." --------------------------------------------------------------- [Obama Plans Clinton Indictment as Third-Term Ploy] The latest in many "third term" conspiracy theories holds that President Obama plans to stay in office by springing a surprise indictment on Hillary Clinton. --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Marbled Fuark] A purported photograph of animal known as a 'Marbled Fuark' is just a picture of a handmade poseable figure. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Man Copulates with McChicken Sandwich in Shock Viral Video] 'McChicken' topped social media trend lists due to a video of a man defiling the sandwich and widespread reaction to his act. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Two-Thirds of American Voters Want Gary Johnson at Debates] One recent poll shows most surveyed voters want the Libertarian candidate on the presidential debate stage. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Oregon Elementary School Bans Pledge of Allegiance] A fake news story claims the nonexistent principal of a nonexistent Oregon school is banning recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Colin Kaepernick Converts to Islam?] Rumors that controversial NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick had converted to Islam were circulated along with doctored photographs of him. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Clinton Foundation Scores Higher as a Charity than the Red Cross?] The Red Cross was ranked as an "A-" to the Clinton Foundation's "A" by CharityWatch, but the larger Charity Navigator doesn't rate the latter organization. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary Clinton Failed D.C. Bar Exam] Hillary Rodham did not succeed in her 1973 attempt to pass the District of Columbia bar exam. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Mike Pence Calls for a Ban on Condoms Because 'They Lead to Abortions'] A fake news article claiming Mike Pence called for a condom ban led to images decoupling the falsehood from its source. --------------------------------------------------------------- [S.C. High School Bans American Flag from Football Games] While a South Carolina high school prevented a student from bringing a U.S. flag to a football game, the school did not issue a ban on the Stars and Stripes. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Neil deGrasse Tyson Addresses Gender Inequality in Science on Twitter?] A rant on Twitter attributed to the astrophysicist actually came from a parody account. --------------------------------------------------------------- [U.S. Announces Plans to Ban Pokemon Go Permanently] The United States government has neither announced nor suggested they plan to permanently "ban" the popular Pokemon Go app. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Steve Bannon's Vulgar Quote About Birth Control?] An article asserting that birth control made women unattractive was published on Breitbart, but it wasn't written by Trump campaign chief Steve Bannon. --------------------------------------------------------------- ['The Star-Spangled Banner' and Slavery] Is the legacy of black slavery enshrined in a lesser-known stanza of the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner"? Some historians say yes. --------------------------------------------------------------- [JFK Jr. Was a U.S. Senate Frontrunner Before Suspicious Plane Crash?] John F. Kennedy Jr. was not a candidate in New York's U.S. Senate race before dying in a July 1999 plane crash, clearing the way for Hillary Clinton to win the seat. --------------------------------------------------------------- [11 States Ban the Use of Electronic Cigarettes in Vehicles] A fake news site stirred up concern among vapers with a false claim that eleven states had banned the use of e-cigarettes inside automobiles. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Aliens Are (Probably) Not Broadcasting a Signal from Space] A supposed signal originating from a star about 95 light years from Earth is causing excitement -- but it's highly unlikely ET is behind it. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Jackie Robinson: 'I Cannot Stand and Sing the Anthem. I Cannot Salute the Flag'] Black baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson wrote that he couldn't sing the anthem or salute the flag because "I know that I am a black man in a white world." --------------------------------------------------------------- ['Smiling' Sun with 'Smiling' Birds] A photograph purportedly showing three birds flying in a 'smile' formation near a 'smiling' sun is a composite of at least two different photographs. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Children Claim Clowns Tried to Lure Them into Woods] Clown sightings reported by residents of a South Carolina apartment complex have alarmed local parents. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Red Cross Bans Prayer at Shelters, Even in Churches?] After catastrophic floods in Louisiana, social media rumors held that the Red Cross banned prayer in all shelters (even those located in churches). --------------------------------------------------------------- [Food Lion $90 Coupon] The Food Lion grocery chain is not offering $90 coupons to Facebook users who click and share links. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Shocking Video Shows Shark Attacking Surfer] A video purportedly showing a man being attacked by a shark actually comes from a movie called 'The Shallows.' --------------------------------------------------------------- [Joel Osteen Apologizes for Using Lord’s Name in Sermon] A satirical article claiming Joel Osteen apologized for using Jesus' name in a sermon was mistaken for straight news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [CNN Took 'Crooked' Out of Trump Tweet About Clinton] The word "crooked" was removed in a graphic shown during a "Newsroom" segment about the presidential candidates' health. --------------------------------------------------------------- [FDA: Frosted Flakes are Healthier than Avocados] The FDA did not say processed foods like Frosted Flakes were "healthier" than avocados. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Praying Mantis Attacks Hummingbird] An image of a hummingbird killed by a praying mantis is real, although it is a relatively rare event. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Indonesian Man Claims to Be World's Oldest at 145] Mbah Gotho of Indonesia has an ID card that says he was born in 1870. If verified, that would make him 145 years old and the world's oldest person — ever. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Minneapolis Muslims 'Force' Government to Provide Halal Items at Food Shelves] Taxpayers are picking up the tab for food shelves in Minneapolis to provide halal food to Muslims on welfare. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Did a Catholic Hospital Refuse to Treat a Patient with a Dislodged IUD?] A woman's account of being denied reproductive care because a Catholic hospital opposed IUDs has been muddled in multiple retellings. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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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