snopes.com Update: 26 October 2016

[snopes] snopes.com Update:26 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: [Did Hillary Clinton Leak a Classified 'Four-Minute' Nuclear Response Window?] During a presidential debate Hillary Clinton mentioned a four-minute response window for launching missiles during a nuclear attack, but that information wasn't secret. --------------------------------------------------------------- [President Obama Allows Hot Food to be Purchased with Food Stamps] President Obama has not passed a law removing a restriction that bars food stamp recipients from purchasing hot food items with SNAP benefits. --------------------------------------------------------------- [George H.W. Bush Note to Bill Clinton] Outgoing President George H.W. Bush left a supportive note that welcomed incoming President Bill Clinton to the White House in 1993. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Chris Wallace Receives Cease-and-Desist Letter from Trump Organization] A report that moderator Chris Wallace received a legal warning from Trump not to mention groping incidents in the midst of the third presidential debate was satire. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Billy Graham Issues Stunning Statement on Donald Trump] A viral rumor misattributed commentary about choosing between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump from Franklin Graham to his father, Billy Graham. --------------------------------------------------------------- [George Soros Controls Smartmatic Voting Machines in 16 States] A rumor falsely claimed that 16 states will be using voting equipment owned or controlled by George Soros, who will rig the presidential election for Hillary Clinton. --------------------------------------------------------------- [100 'Lucky Pennies' Scattered Across the U.S. Are Worth $1,000 Each] A bank is leaving 100 "lucky pennies" in cities across the United States, each one worth $1,000 to its finder. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary Clinton 'Whisper' Audio Glitch] An indecipherable noise recorded during the third 2016 presidential debate led to claims that someone was feeding the Democratic presidential nominee her lines. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump Buys Children] A comedy sketch featuring Donald Trump "buying" two children was shared as a real news story. --------------------------------------------------------------- [More U.S. Embassy Attacks Under Bush and Reagan than Obama?] We investigate the claim that more U.S. embassy attacks, with more fatalities, occurred under George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan than during the Obama administration. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Obama Deported More People Than Any Other President?] A record number of people were "removed" from the U.S. during President Obama's tenure as President. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Kenneth Copeland: 'Whoever Doesn’t Vote for Trump Will Be Guilty for the Civil War We Planned'] A fake news site overstated televangelist Kenneth Copeland's anti-Hillary Clinton rant -- but not by much. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pope Forbids Catholics from Voting for Hillary Clinton] Neither Pope Francis nor any other pope decreed that Catholics cannot vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. --------------------------------------------------------------- [ISIS Leader Calls for American Muslim Voters to Support Hillary Clinton] A fake news item reported that ISIS' second-in-command had urged Muslim-Americans to vote for Hillary Clinton. --------------------------------------------------------------- [WikiLeaks E-Mail Says Obama Directed His Supporters to Enage in 'All-American Voter Fraud'] One WikiLeaks e-mail referenced unproven rumors that the Obama campaign had "flooded" the 2008 Iowa Democratic caucuses with out-of-state voters. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Peppa Pig Causes Autism] Talk of a Harvard study linking the popular British children’s show “Peppa Pig” to autism has gone viral, but neither the study nor the scientist who allegedly published it exists. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Do Women’s Brains Shrink During Pregnancy?] Online images tout the sparsely researched claim that a woman’s brain shrinks during pregnancy, but the science behind it is more complicated. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Putin Tells Russian Security Council That GMOs and Vaccines Are a Threat to Evolution] We found no evidence the Russian president issued a statement accusing Western countries of using GMOs and vaccines that slow evolution. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Did Texas Students Leave Class Over an Evolutionary Fact?] Texas State University has disputed claims that students walked out of a lecture after hearing that humanity descended from Africa. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Some Mail-In Ballots Require Extra Postage] If you're submitting a ballot by mail, you might need additional postage (and the directions printed on the envelope might be incorrect). --------------------------------------------------------------- [NASA Confirms 15 Days of Darkness in November] Reports that NASA confirmed the Earth will experience 15 straight days of darkness in November are fake news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Oregon Ballot Omits Donald Trump] An image of an Oregon ballot listing Democratic presidential candidates twice but no Republican candidates is a hoax. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Seal with Unusual Stripe-Pattern Markings Spotted in Washington] A photograph of a ribbon seal spotted in Washington state was snapped by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association in August 2016. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Reporter Displays Trump/Pence Sticker at Al Smith Dinner] An image of reporter Maria Bartiromo holding a phone decorated with a "Trump/Pence" sticker at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is fake. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Cook County Voting Machines Rigged to Change Votes?] Claims from 2014 holding that Cook County voting machines were rigged to change Republican votes to Democratic votes were based on a single miscalibrated machine. --------------------------------------------------------------- ['Daith Piercing': A New Alternative for Migraine Relief?] Unproven anecdotes claim an inner-ear piercing (known as a "daith piercing") can reduce or alleviate migraine headaches. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Machine Voting Pens Switching Votes from Clinton to Trump?] A first-person account of a voting pen glitch allocating Clinton votes to Trump went viral but stems from a single unconfirmed anecdote. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary Clinton Threw a Tantrum with Matt Lauer?] An unfounded rumor held that Hillary Clinton threw a tantrum, and a water glass, after NBC's "Commander-in-Chief" Forum in September 2016. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump's Marine Airlift] A story that Donald Trump personally sent out an airplane to transport hundreds of stranded U.S. Marines home is based on inaccurate information. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary Clinton: 'I Will Get the NRA Shut Down for Good'] Hillary Clinton's supposed statement to the Des Moines Register about her planning to shut down the NRA and ban handguns is a total fabrication. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Department of Defense Suspends Enlistment Bonus Repayment Efforts] The Pentagon's directive affects nearly 10,000 National Guard members in California who had been ordered to pay back thousands of dollars in enlistment benefits. --------------------------------------------------------------- ['Back to the Future II' Correctly Predicted Cubs World Series Win in 2015?] The 1989 film 'Back to the Future II' did not correctly predict Chicago would be the winner of a 2015 Cubs-Marlins World Series match-up. --------------------------------------------------------------- [WalMart 'Suicide Scar Wound' Costume Provokes Outrage] The retailing giant's Halloween offering of a 'Suicide Scar Wound' costume accessory didn't sit well with some people. --------------------------------------------------------------- ['Dance of the Hillary' Virus] Rumors of a computer virus disguised as a video called the 'Dance of the Hillary' are a hoax. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ronald Reagan Beat Jimmy Carter in a Landslide Despite Trailing 6% in Polls?] The claim that Reagan won the 1980 election despite trailing Carter in late public opinion polls is cited as a reason to get out and vote for Donald Trump. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Statue of Liberty Made from Aleppo Rubble] A photograph purportedly showing a recreation of the Statue of Liberty made from the rubble of war-torn Aleppo is a digital creation. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Just Removed His Name from His Hotels Due to Plummeting Business?] Trump Hotels announced in September 2016 that their new hotels would be named "Scion," but the name "Trump" is not being removed from established hotels. --------------------------------------------------------------- [WikiLeaks Director Gavin MacFadyen Dies] WikiLeaks' director Gavin MacFadyen has died, but he was not "found dead" nor did he pass away under "mysterious" circumstances. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Brad Pitt Endorses Donald Trump, Slams Money-Hungry Liberals] Actor Brad Pitt has not "blamed liberals" for taking his money, nor has he endorsed Donald Trump for President. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump's Family Surname Was Once 'Drumpf'] Donald Trump's ancestors changed the family surname from "Drumpf" to "Trump," but the timing of that change isn't clear. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Cheryl Mills Called Benghazi Dead 'Idiot Soldiers' in Leaked E-Mail] There is no leaked e-mail in which longtime Clinton aide Cheryl Mills called the Benghazi dead "idiot soldiers" and expressed that she was glad they were tortured. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Jimmy John's Gourmet Hunts] Jimmy John Liautaud, the owner of Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, is a big game hunter. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Progressive Activist Tom Hayden Dies] The outspoken '60s radical also enjoyed a long career as a mainstream politician and author, and he was married for a time to actress/activist Jane Fonda. --------------------------------------------------------------- [WikiLeaks: Clintons Purchase $200 Million Maldives Estate] Reports that the Clintons bought an expensive estate in the Maldives came from a web site that only publishes hoax and satire news. --------------------------------------------------------------- [30,000 Scientists Reject Anthropogenic Climate Change?] More than 30,000 people may have signed a petition challenging the veracity of anthropogenic global warming, but you don’t have to be a climate scientist to sign it. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary Clinton’s 'Sudden Move' of $1.8 Billion to Qatar Central Bank Stuns Financial World] Reports that the Clinton Foundation suddenly moved $1.8 billion to Qatar originated with a fake news and conspiracy web site. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bill O'Reilly Telephone Poll of 25,000 Voters Shows Trump with a Huge Lead?] A tweet about an online survey on the Fox News host's website misrepresented the nature of that poll. --------------------------------------------------------------- ['Cooking with Semen' Class to Open in London ... Maybe] A London events booking company will offer a "BYOS" (Bring Your Own Semen) culinary class if, and only if, enough interested parties apply. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Spanish Dancer Jellyfish] A photograph purportedly showing a "Spanish Dancer Jellyfish" is actually a piece of digital artwork. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Energy CEO Disparages 'Dirty Natives'?] A online image claims Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren made a comically villainous statement about "dirty natives" and Dakota Pipeline protesters. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Supreme Court Confirms 20-Year Prison Sentence for Ex-VP Dick Cheney] The Huffington Post published a satirical item claiming Dick Cheney was sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes, confusing some readers. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Putin Gives Obama Ultimatum] A disreputable web site reported — falsely — that Vladimir Putin gave President Barack Obama 24 hours to stop smearing Russia, or he would start World War III. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bermuda Triangle: Ship Reappears 90 Years After Going Missing] It's fake news: The SS Cotopaxi has not been discovered by the Cuban Coast Guard decades after it vanished in the Bermuda Triangle. --------------------------------------------------------------- [6,000 Muslims with Forged Papers Caught at Southern Border] A claim that 6,000 Muslim migrants were captured at the U.S.-Mexico border with forged papers is unsubstantiated. --------------------------------------------------------------- [How to Tell a Pepper's Gender] Bell peppers do not have genders that can be identified by counting their lobes. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Scientists Finally Solve the Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle?] A perfect storm of ratings-driven science TV, and lazy journalism resulted in a viral story that explains literally nothing about the “Bermuda Triangle”. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Why Are NFL Players on the Sidelines for the National Anthem?] Rumor holds that NFL players did not stand for the national anthem until the Defense Dept. started paying the league to stage patriotic displays in 2009. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Breed Specific Legislation and Dog Bites] A look into breed bans and their efficacy in preventing dog attacks. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Texas Vote Switching] Although rumors of "vote switching" in Texas are rampant, we found only one case in which a report was investigated, and it was found to be unsubstantiated. --------------------------------------------------------------- [British Woman Discovers 12-Year-Old Afghan Foster Child Is 21-Year-Old Jihadi?] A British tabloid reported that a mother discovered her 12-year-old Afghan foster child was really an adult terrorist but offered no proof for the story. --------------------------------------------------------------- [1993 Yearbook Predicts Chicago Cubs Championship] A photograph shows a high school student's yearbook quote from 1993 predicting a Chicago Cubs World Series championship in 2016. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Minecraft 'Sex Mods'] Parental pearl-clutching about Minecraft "sex mods" is largely based on misinformation about the popular game. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Forehead Tattoo] A photograph of a man with the word "Trump" tattooed on his forehead is an old April Fool's joke. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Michael Kors 'Dog Fur' Petition] A since-deleted petition falsely accused the Michael Kors brand of making items out of fur from dogs that were "skinned alive." --------------------------------------------------------------- [Volkswagen Reaches Record Settlement Over Emissions 'Cheat Devices'] The $14.7 billion deal makes nearly 500,000 VW owners eligible for an auto buyback program. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Scientists Say Strange Signals Are 'Probably' Coming from Extraterrestrial Intelligence?] Astronomers analyzed a database of spectra from 2.5 million stars and were unable to explain the nature of 234 of them, but the certainty of extraterrestrials as an explanation has been exaggerated. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Wisconsin Clerk Blocks Campus Voting Because Students Lean Democratic?] An e-mail obtained by The Nation purports to show a Green Bay city clerk trying to stop students from voting because they're Democrats -- but she may have actually been concerned about ethics. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Kremlin in Turmoil After Clinton Foundation CEO Requests 'Urgent and Immediate' Asylum] A rumor that former Clinton Foundation CEO Eric Braverman has sought asylum in Russia originated with a fake news conspiracy site. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Cubs Fan Steve Bartman Wins $3.7 Million from 9-Year-Old Bet on Cubs] A fake news article claimed that Steve Bartman won $3.7 million when the Cubs made it to the World Series for the first time since 1945. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pat Buchanan Said Things Were Better in the `50s, When Everyone 'Knew Their Place'] A "satirical" news site quoted a fake interview between Buchanan and a real conservative site. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Former Secretary of State Colin Powell Says He's Voting for Hillary Clinton] The retired four-star general has weighed in on the nation’s presidential race and expressed support for the Democratic nominee. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Michael Moore Endorsed Donald Trump?] Audio purportedly capturing director Michael Moore endorsing Donald Trump was taken out of context from Moore's latest film. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary Clinton Describes Her Major Accomplishments as Secretary of State] A statement reproducing Hillary Clinton's response when asked to identify her major accomplishments as Secretary of State is fabricated, --------------------------------------------------------------- [Plastic Rice from China] Reports hold that plastic rice made in China has flooded Western markets, but you'd probably notice if your dinner tasted like the bag in which you carried it home. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary Laughs As 'Under God' Removed from Pledge?] A video shows Hillary Clinton laughing as Susan Shin Angulo flubbed the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Video Shows Democrats Committing Voter Fraud in 2016 Primary] A video passed off as "voter fraud" committed by Democrats during the 2016 primary was filmed in Russia and misrepresented. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hillary Clinton Gave 20 Percent of United States' Uranium to Russia in Exchange for Clinton Foundation Donations?] Allegations of a deal giving Russia ownership of 20% of U.S. uranium deposits in exchange for donations to the Clinton Foundation are unsubstantiated. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Great White Sharks Spotted in Mississippi River] A photograph purporting to show two great white sharks swimming in the Mississippi River showed bull sharks, not great whites, and was taken in Costa Rica. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Arby's Adds Venison to Menu] The Arby's roast beef sandwich restaurant chain is temporarily adding venison to their menu at select locations. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Department of Justice Says Efforts to Stop Voter Fraud Are Illegal?] The DOJ issued a statement saying voter intimidation is against federal law, not accusations of voter fraud. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump's Walk of Fame Star Severely Vandalized] Donald Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star sustained significant damage due to an act of vandalism. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Texas Glitch Temporarily Switches Voters to Paper Ballots] Amid rumors of vote swapping in Texas, officials in Chambers County temporarily gave out paper ballots after an unrelated malfunction. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Mike Pence Supported 'Gay Conversion' Therapy?] While running for Congress, Indiana governor Mike Pence called for state funding for "institutions" working to enable people to "change their sexual behavior." --------------------------------------------------------------- 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.