snopes.com Update: 19 October 2016

[snopes] snopes.com Update:19 October 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: [Joseph Stalin: 'It's Not the People Who Vote That Count'] One version of a quote about those who count votes determining the outcomes of elections was attributed to Joseph Stalin in a book by his former secretary. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hyland's Teething Tablets to be Discontinued in United States] The Food and Drug Administration has linked at least ten deaths and 400 adverse side effects to teething tablets and gels. --------------------------------------------------------------- [President Obama Issues Order to Help Prepare Nation for Solar Flares] A large enough solar flare could knock out electrical grids we have come to rely on for day-to-day life. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Role Model Wars: Donald Trump vs. Beyoncé] Political image attempts to portray Michelle Obama as a hypocrite for holding up singer Beyoncé as a role model. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Could Bernie Sanders Win the Presidency as a Write-In Candidate?] Some Bernie Sanders supporters want to put the Vermont senator in a position to play spoiler in the presidential election. --------------------------------------------------------------- [WikiLeaks Releases Candid Photos of Hillary Clinton Grabbing a Man's Crotch] A photograph purportedly capturing Hillary Clinton grabbing a man's crotch actually shows actress Florence Henderson. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Tim Kaine: 'The Catholic Church Will Change Its Same-Sex Marriage Stance or It Will Be Banned from the U.S.'] A report that Democratic VP candidate Tim Kaine threatened to ban the Catholic Church from the U.S. if they didn't change their stance on gay marriage was fake news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [WikiLeaks Exposes Fake Trump Groping Plot] Contrary to partisan reports, leaked DNC e-mails do not reveal a Clinton campaign plot to contrive fake "groping" accusations against Donald Trump. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Sarah Palin: 'Real Men Talk Dirty'] A statement from Sarah Palin about the lewd comments made by Donald Trump in 2005 is just a spoof. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Reverse Cavities and Heal Tooth Decay with Vitamin D] Alternative health sites tout the idea that a diet rich in vitamin D can help regrow material lost to cavities, but this claim rests on the misinterpretation of a 1932 paper. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pence: 'Michelle Obama Is the Most Vulgar First Lady We've Ever Had'] A fake news story overstated Republican VP candidate Mike Pence's disagreement with the First Lady's criticism of Donald Trump. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Maryland Doctor Who Treated Hillary Clinton for Blood Clot on Brain Mysteriously Dies] Fabricated conspiracy theory holds that Hillary Clinton underwent secret brain surgery, followed by the sudden mysterious death of her anesthesiologist. --------------------------------------------------------------- [DEFCON Warning Level Escalated to 3] Conspiracy-oriented web sites claimed that the U.S. defense readiness alert level was quietly raised to "DEFCON 3" in mid-June 2016. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump Auto Decal Riles Social Media] An image combining two disparate political decals has caught the attention of social media users. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Video Showing Bill Clinton Rape of 13-Year-Old Girl Plunges Presidential Race Into Chaos] A "secretly made Israeli intelligence video recording" supposedly showing "former President Bill Clinton raping a 13-year-old girl" is just more fake news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Man Dressed as Clown Arrested After Police Find 11 Bodies Stuffed in Freezers at His Home] Gruesome reports of a killer clown in Memphis murdering people and stuffing their bodies into a freezer are fake news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Daughter Fertilizes Own Eggs with Sperm of Deceased Father] Reports of a Danish woman allowed to fertilize her own eggs with the frozen sperm of her deceased father are fake news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Isn't Dead, Just Offline] A series of mysterious tweets from WikiLeaks led to rumors founder Julian Assange had died, but WikiLeaks maintained that his Internet connection was cut off. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Scientists Successfully Recreate Tyrannosaurus Rex Embryo from Chicken DNA] Reports that scientists have created "the first fully living dinosaur embryo in millions of years" using DNA from chicken skin are fake news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Last Words] A photograph showing a teenaged girl killed in an accident was actually taken from a scene staged to demonstrate the perils of drunk driving to students. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Recalled Tampons Result in Bloody Exodus of Ants from Body] A chilling account of a gruesome illness caused by recalled tampons is merely a work of horror fiction. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Why Does Washington, D.C., Have No 'J' Street?] Old historical legends holds that architect Pierre L'Enfant omitted 'J' Street from his plans for Washington, D.C., because he disliked John Jay. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Republican Campaign Headquarters in North Carolina Firebombed] The GOP campaign office in the town of Hillsborough, NC, was hit with arson and vandalism. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Can You Vote Online with a Hashtag?] Social media users claimed Trump supporters attempted to suppress the vote in Pennsylvania by falsely telling Clinton supporters they could vote online via a hashtag. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump Donated Food, Supplies to Victims of Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina] The Trump/Pence campaign delivered $29,000 in food and supplies to Hurricane Matthew victims in three North Carolina towns. --------------------------------------------------------------- [New Mexico Republicans Send Ominous Flyer to State Voters] A flyer warns recipients that if Democrats win in November, "your neighbors will know." --------------------------------------------------------------- [Postal Worker Caught Destroying Absentee Trump Ballots in Major Swing State] A Twitter user claimed to be a postal worker who regularly destroys mailed-in Trump votes in Ohio, but the issue appeared to be a joke taken taken too seriously. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Comedian Blames Trump for Mass Exodus From Famed Troupe] At least one comedian blames the GOP nominee for giving racist hecklers 'carte blanche.' --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump, Jr: 'Women Who Can't Handle Workplace Harassment Shouldn't Work'] The real estate mogul's son said on a radio show in 2013 that women who can't handle workplace harassment should teach kindergarten. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Nigerian Girls’ Science Fair Project Turns One Liter of Urine Into Six Hours of Electricity] A urine-powered generator built by a team of Nigerian high school girls is pretty slick, but the technology is not as game-changing as online images have suggested. --------------------------------------------------------------- [John McCain Vows to Block Clinton's Supreme Court Nominee If She Wins] McCain made the comments on behalf of fellow Republican Sen. Pat Toomey but later walked them back. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Billy Bush Officially Leaves 'Today' Show] His move came after years-old audio emerged of Bush joking with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump about women. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Saverland v. Newton] A 180-year-old English legal case is often cited as the forerunner of "no means no" and a woman's right to defend herself by force against sexual assault. --------------------------------------------------------------- [RuPaul Claims Trump Touched Him Inappropriately in the 1990s] Reports that the famous drag queen said he was groped by Donald Trump at a party in 1995 are fake news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Soap in Bed Combats Leg Cramps?] Old home remedy holds that placing a bar of soap between your bedsheets will help prevent leg cramps. --------------------------------------------------------------- [First Grandma Marian Robinson to Receive Lifetime $160K Government Pension] Reports that Marian Robinson, First Lady Michelle Obama's mother, will receive a $160,000 annual government pension are fake news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bernie Sanders Suggests Election Is Rigged, Unendorses Hillary Clinton] A post on Bernie Sanders' Facebook page did not suggest he believes the presidential election is "rigged" or indicate he was "unendorsing" Hillary Clinton. --------------------------------------------------------------- [1912 Newspaper Article Anticipates Anthropogenic Global Warming] A newspaper clipping from 1912 that anticipates the global warming potential of burning coal is authentic and consistent with the history of climate science. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Billy Ocean Death Hoax] Reports that singer Billy Ocean passed away in October 2016 during a visit to South Africa are fake news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Dalai Lama Says Trump Is 'Worse Than Hitler'] His Holiness has offered only superficial commentary about Donald Trump and has not denounced the GOP candidate as "worse than Hitler" or a "threat to humanity." --------------------------------------------------------------- [President Obama to Donald Trump: 'Stop Whining'] The president said Trump's aspersions on the election process are "unprecedented." --------------------------------------------------------------- [Arabic Billboard Mocks Trump Muslim Immigration Stance] Anti-Trump super PAC The Nuisance Committee erected an Arabic-language billboard attributing the GOP candidate's position to xenophobia. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Project Veritas' Election 2016 'Rigging' Videos] James O'Keefe's Project Veritas released four 2016 election-related videos supposedly depicting rampant election fraud and misconduct on the part of Democrats. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Russian TV Host Reports on Plot to Kill Trump] Infowars says Putin's "chief propagandist" exposed a plan to kill the GOP nominee, but the report actually cited an op-ed questioning whether Trump was in danger. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Says He'll Refuse Salary If Elected President] Donald Trump said in 2015 that he would refuse the $400,000 annual president's salary if elected. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Does It Cost Taxpayers $200,000 per Hour for President Obama to Use Air Force One to Campaign for Hillary Clinton?] Taxpayers pick up part of the tab when a President makes campaign trips on Air Force One, but with rare exceptions that's the only mode of air travel the President can use. --------------------------------------------------------------- [President Obama 'Demands' Monument to Himself] A conservative site falsely claimed President Obama demanded a monument to himself because "there's plenty of monuments dedicated to racist white people." --------------------------------------------------------------- Admin Stuff: - Please note that the e-mail address [update@snopes.com] is an administrative address used only for mailing weekly updates to subscribers. All mail sent to this address is automatically deleted. - If you wish to change your subscription information or unsubscribe, please use the links provided at the bottom of every newsletter mailing. - If you wish to find information on a particular topic, please use the [search engine]. - Our [What's New] page and our [25 Hottest Urban Legends] page are also handy places to check whenever you receive something questionable in your inbox. - Other inquiries and comments may be submitted through the "Contact Us" form at [snopes.com]. - [Visit Web Version] - [Unsubscribe] © 1994-2016 by snopes.com. This material may not be reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.