Not Real News
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
ClaimAir traffic maps show that a government spy plane has been circling over the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix to monitor an audit of Maricopa County ballots taking place there.
The factsAir traffic maps do show a plane flying in the Phoenix area near the site of an unprecedented recount of ballots from November's election. But the Phoenix Police Department confirmed it was the department's plane conducting unrelated police business. “We have nothing, zero, zilch to do with that,” Maggie Cox, public information sergeant for the department, told the AP.
ClaimPfizer admits in its COVID-19 clinical trial protocol document that vaccinated people can “shed” the vaccine, emitting materials that can spread to unvaccinated people by inhalation or skin contact.
The factsPfizer's COVID-19 vaccine does not shed from person to person, nor has the company admitted any such thing. “The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a synthetic mRNA vaccine and does not contain any virus particles. Because there is no virus produced in the body, no shedding occurs within the human body,” Pfizer spokesperson Jerica Pitts told The Associated Press in an email.“The vaccine cannot be inhaled via shedding and can only enter the human body through an administered dose.”The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer's vaccine in December after extensive clinical trials. Women who were pregnant or breastfeeding were excluded from joining those early clinical studies, and participants were instructed to take measures to avoid pregnancy. False posts on social media are now misinterpreting a portion of Pfizer's November clinical trial protocol that used standard language intended to protect pregnant women and monitor any potential exposure.
ClaimAmazon and Dogecoin struck a deal for Amazon to accept Dogecoin on its site.
The factsAmazon confirmed it doesn't take any cryptocurrency as payment for its products, and no deal was struck with Dogecoin. However, third-party applications can purchase Amazon gift cards on the customer's behalf by exchanging crypto for government-issued currency.When two software developers started the cryptocurrency Dogecoin in 2013, it was created as a joke. For most of its seven-year history, each Dogecoin was worth less than a percentage of a cent.In May, however, the cryptocurrency peaked in value at 66 cents. Digital currencies have increased in value over the last 18 months as a greater number of companies have accepted them as a form of payment, the AP reported.As part of this rise in adoption, misinformation has spread online about which companies accept cryptocurrency. A post on Facebook falsely claimed, “AMAZON NOW ACCEPTS DOGECOIN!!!!” A YouTube video announced, “DOGECOIN SIGNS AMAZON DEAL! (BREAKING NEWS!).”In an email asking whether Amazon currently accepts Dogecoin or any cryptocurrency as payment, Amazon spokesperson Nell Rona said, “No.”
ClaimKentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit's jockey John Velazquez turned down a White House invite, saying that if he wanted to see a horse's behind he would have come in second place.
The factsAfter the dark brown colt Medina Spirit and jockey John Velazquez won the Kentucky Derby by a half-length, a fake quote attributed to Velazquez began circulating on social media. “BREAKING NEWS,” one Facebook user wrote in a post shared more than 6,000 times. “Derby winner Medina Spirit's jockey John Velazquez turned down a White House invite today saying 'If I wanted to see a horse's ass I would of came in second.'”Ron Anderson, Velazquez's agent, confirmed to The Associated Press that the post is inaccurate. The jockey has not been invited to the White House, Anderson confirmed.“This is ridiculous,” Anderson told the AP in a phone call. “In a million, zillion years, Johnny would not say that about anything or anyone.”An internet search revealed no legitimate sources for the quote, which has circulated for years surrounding the Kentucky Derby in reference to different jockeys and horses, even at times by the same Twitter users in different years. In 2018, Reddit users joked that the quote came from the winning horse, Justify.
