Recently, the media watchdog site Media Matters for America published a list of all the right-wing hoaxes, lies, and conspiracy theories being spread right now.
It’s a lot.
Ok, buckle up! And yes, these are all real!
- Immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating pets: Trump and JD Vance have repeatedly claimed that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Springfield. The city manager and local law enforcement officials have repeatedly debunked the claim.
- Kamala Harris was wearing an earpiece during the debate: In fact, they were her Tiffany earrings that she had worn on multiple occasions.
- Kamala Harris is not really a Black woman and a “DEI hire”: As the former California AG, Senator, and current Vice President said, the racist lies are from Trump’s “same old tired playbook.”
- Harris is ineligible to run for President: Donald Trump and right-wing media have suggested that Harris might be ineligible because her parents weren’t U.S. citizens. She was born in California.
- Harris is using AI-manipulation to inflate the size of her rally crowds: Trump, emasculated by the size of his own crowds, claimed Harris is using AI to make it seem like her crowds are bigger than his. The photo Trump cited as evidence was taken by a Harris campaign staffer and is unaltered.
- Harris is using a Nazi slogan as a part of her campaign: Harris' campaign theme of “joy” was falsely linked to a Nazi-era slogan “Strength through Joy.” Harris and her campaign have never used the slogan.
- Harris had the questions to the ABC debate leaked to her: A supposed “whistleblower” claimed Harris received the debate questions in advance. ABC confirmed no questions were shared beforehand, and anyone who watched the debate can confirm that Harris boat raced Trump for 90 minutes straight.
- Biden "sold state secrets": A joke made by President Biden was edited to make it seem like he admitted to selling state secrets, omitting the follow-up line that made it clear he was kidding.
- Joe Biden dropped out because a Democratic assassination attempt on Trump failed: Trump ally and travel companion Laura Loomer spread this dangerous conspiracy on social media without evidence or consequence.
- Biden is missing, and he may have died: Laura Loomer said that “preparations” were being made for Biden’s memorial, even though he’s been regularly attending public events and campaigning for Harris. Biden is very alive and doing daily public events.
- Michelle Obama is running for president, and she is transgender: Despite repeated public statements rejecting political ambitions, theories persist that she’s preparing a 2024 run. Additionally, many right-wing figures have asserted that she, and other prominent Democrats, are secretly transgender.
- Tim Walz supports legislation to make perpetrators of sexual assault a protected class: What Walz actually supported was changes to language in Minnesota legislation that perpetuates the right-wing lie that members of the LGBTQ+ community are groomers and sexual predators.
- A Chicago Planned Parenthood mobile unit was sponsored by the DNC: A mobile health unit operating near the DNC convention location was falsely claimed to be sponsored by the Democratic Party. It wasn't.
- Kamala Harris wants to ban red meat: Harris has talked about reducing red meat for climate reasons but has never mentioned a ban of any kind.
- The recent mass shooting in Georgia was timed to happen during the election season: Another Laura Loomer lie that ignores the fact that, since 2021, there has been an average of 150 gunfire incidents on school campuses per year. That’s one incident roughly every two days.
- Election fraud in 2020 & 2024: Trump’s bogus claims of widespread fraud persist despite audits and recounts confirming that the 2020 election was the fairest on record.
- Taylor Swift endorsed Donald Trump: Donald Trump shared AI-generated content that purported to show Swift endorsing Trump. When Swift endorsed Harris, Trump tweeted: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT.”
- Democrats are encouraging non-citizens to vote in the 2024 election: Echoing the White Nationalist “Great Replacement Theory,” Trump and right-wing media are pushing the idea that Democrats are encouraging undocumented people to vote through the DMV.
Frank, these aren’t even all of the examples on the Media Matters list. And while it’s easy to laugh at the absurdity of these claims, we’ve seen the corrosive impact all of these lies, and conspiracy theories have on our democracy and our communities.
It’s conspiracies like these that led to the violence on January 6th, 2021.
Frank, this is why COURIER exists. Right-wing hoaxes like these thrive on social media networks and in email inboxes – so COURIER focuses on meeting people in those spaces to correct the record. We publish fact checks and the local news that matters so people don’t fall for the right’s misinformation campaigns.
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Thank you,
COURIER
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