Does West Virginia Have a ‘Sharia Zone’?

See what Snopes.com is debunking today. [Web Version]( 16 March 2019 Daily Debunker Does West Virginia Have a ‘Sharia Zone’? Today we examine a viral video that claims a new housing project is going up in Charleston, West Virginia, that will house 321 Syrian refugees at taxpayer expense, while displacing Americans currently living there. The narrator of the video says the neighborhood is being transformed into a “sharia zone” where no Christians will be allowed to enter. Upon investigation, however, it turns out that the existing housing project is simply being renovated to revitalize the area and reduce crime. There probably aren’t 321 Syrian refugees in all of West Virginia, and not one of them lives in that community. [Read more]( Fact Check All the World's a Stage Is U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez an actress playing a congresswoman? The claims made by "Mr. Reagan" in the "Brains Behind AOC" viral video illustrate a lack of knowledge about political action committees. [False]( A Taxing Meme Does this meme demonstrate racial bias in tax-evasion prosecutions? What do these four examples have in common? Nothing of significance, as far as we can tell. [Mostly false]( Triggered? Did Harry Truman denounce the use of “socialism” as a “scare word”? "Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people." [Correct attribution]( Consciousness Not Required Is performing pelvic exams on unconscious women without informed consent legal? Despite widespread condemnation of the practice, performing pelvic exams on unconscious women for medical training, without explicit consent, is legal in 45 states. [True]( Illegal Oaths Did the U.S. Supreme Court rule that oaths not taken on the Bible are “illegal”? A frequent purveyor of junk news caused some uncertainty about the nation's highest court in January 2019. [False]( Support Snopes.com Dear Reader There’s nothing mysterious about fact checking — it just takes a nose for the truth, a knack for research, and a lot of hard work. Our staff is on the case, but they can’t do it without your support. Please take a moment and contribute to Snopes.com today. [Contribute Now]( In the News Court: Middle Finger Protected by the Constitution A federal appeals court says a Michigan woman’s constitutional rights were violated when she was handed a speeding ticket after giving the finger to a suburban Detroit officer in 2017. [Read more]( New Zealand’s History of Gun Ownership Could Be Upended Less than 24 hours after the massacre, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was already vowing to change the country’s gun laws. [Read more]( Mosque Shooter a White Supremacist Angry at Immigrants The gunman behind at least one of the mosque shootings in New Zealand that left 49 people dead tried to make a few things clear in the manifesto he left behind. [Read more]( Science Exhibit Explains the Dog-Human Friendship "Dogs! A Science Tail" will travel to museums across the country after it closes in Los Angeles early next year. [Read more]( Escaped Lion Spends Night in Jail Cell in South Africa A lion that escaped a wildlife park and was captured weeks later spent the night in a South African jail cell, until authorities could send him back to the place he’s meant to call home. [Read more]( Staff Pick Does This Photograph Show the Cooking Instructions on a Bacon Package? If seeing is believing, the instructions on the back label of this bacon package advise consumers to "complain to elected officials" if they "don't know how to cook bacon." [Read more]( Snopes Media Group Inc. 864 Grand Ave #256 San Diego, CA 92109 © 1994-2019 by Snopes Media Group Inc. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes Media Group. [Manage Preferences]( [Unsubscribe](