Snopes Media Bias

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Did Rep. Boebert Get Her GED Months Before Winning Election?

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In January 2021, many social media users started posting messages claiming that U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) had received a GED diploma (the equivalent of a high school diploma, earned by passing General Educational Development tests) months before she was elected to congress.
Snopes     Jan 13, 2023

Were Diamond and Silk Fired from Fox News for COVID-19 Falsities?

People were searching for answers about this subject following the death of Lynette Hardaway, whose nickname was "Diamond." As of Jan. 10, her cause of death had not yet been released, according to The Associated Press (AP). The other half of the duo, Rochelle "Silk" Richardson, is her sister.
Snopes     Jan 13, 2023

Are House Republicans Planning To Vote on Abolishing the IRS?

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The opportunity to vote on such a bill was part of a deal made between U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and 20 Republicans who had initially refused to give him their vote for speaker of the House in January 2022. But even if said bill were passed in the House, it would not be expected to pass the Senate, which is dominated by Democrats, or be signed by U.S. President Joe Biden, also a Democrat.
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023

Was 2023 the First Time Since 9/11 that the FAA Grounded All US Flights?

It's possible that some of our readers were curious if this FAA order truly was the first time that all U.S. flights had been grounded since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a day when terrorists hijacked four airplanes and killed nearly 3,000 Americans. Two of the airplanes crashed into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, which both collapsed soon after. A third plane struck the Pentagon. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and was "the only one of the four hijacked aircraft that failed to reach the terrorists' intended target that day,"
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023

Did a Cyberattack Cause the FAA System Outage in January 2023?

An outage in key computer systems that pilots need to fly safely resulted in hours of cascading grounded and delayed flights across the U.S. the morning of Jan. 11, 2023. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency that oversees civil aviation in the country, initially ordered all flights to be grounded in the early-morning hours but lifted that order just before 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023

Is the IRS a Privately Owned Company That Contracts with Department of Treasury?

It's never too early to start worry about tax season — at least if you take note of social media posts circulating in early January 2023. Some of those posts claimed incorrectly that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a "privately-owned company" that contracts with the U.S. Department of Treasury. Here's an example of one such post on the social platform Twitter, with the user's name cropped out for the sake of privacy:
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023

Is YouTuber MrBeast Renting Out Disney World for a Video?

As for the rumor about MrBeast renting out Disney World's Magic Kingdom, the truth was that Mouse Trap News publishes satire. In other words, guests visiting Disney World in the future need not worry about the park closing for a day. This rumor was nothing more than a work of fiction that had been created for a harmless bit of fun.
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023

Tom Brady and Dr. Phil Never Endorsed CBD Gummies, Despite Scams Appearing in Facebook Ads

Since at least early December 2022, Facebook has been approving numerous, sexually explicit scam ads that showed nude women with a male bodily fluid on their faces and breasts. These ads came from brand-new pages that had 0 followers. The links in the ads led to websites that falsely claimed Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and talk-show host Dr. Phil had endorsed CBD or keto gummies.
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023

Is Joe Biden Using Taxpayer Money To Build a Wall Around His Beach House?

On Jan. 9, 2023, the Daily Mail reported on construction at U. S. President Joe Biden's Rehoboth, Delaware, beach home. The project, the Daily Mail reported, is the addition of a large security wall, and is funded by the Department of Homeland Security:
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023

Is a Deceased Pope Tapped with a Silver Hammer to Verify He's Dead?

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The Vatican customs surrounding the passing of a Pope and the election of his successor seem mysterious to outsiders, both because of their arcane nature and because members of the general population gain exposure to them only at those rare instance in their own lifetimes when the Pontiff dies. Consequently, just about any act said to be part of those rituals seems somewhat believable. One particularly odd belief asserts that after the Bishop of Rome passes on, he is struck in the head with a silver hammer to confirm that he is well and truly gone and not merely sleeping soundly:
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023

Did Hakeem Jeffries Describe a US Select Committee as a 'Committee On Insurrection Protection'?

On Jan. 10, 2023, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve "the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government." The committee, to be chaired by Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, purported to be investigating "what he says is a bias in federal law enforcement against conservatives." As reported by The New York Times:
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023

Is a Self-Harm Game Really Being Shown to Kids on Roblox?

In our research for this story, we read through Roblox's own community standards, which showed that the company had already implemented very strict guidelines and parental controls to keep children safe on the platform. We provide details about all of these policies later in this story.
Snopes     Jan 12, 2023