Spring '25 - ENGL 1301 - Mackovic - by Kara Dixon: Fact Check Challenge: Truth or Trickery?

This article is trickery! It's from The Onion, a well-known satire website that publishes humorous, fake news stories meant for entertainment rather than factual reporting. A quick Google search will immediately display Wikipedia's description of this satirical online newspaper.

This article is truth! BBC is a low bias, trust worthy source of world news. Check out the media bias review on a media bias checker. This article discusses a real historical event known as the "dancing plague" of 1518, where people in Strasbourg danced uncontrollably for days, and some reportedly died from exhaustion or other causes.

This image is trickery! The photo of a shark swimming on a flooded highway after Hurricane Harvey is fake. It has been digitally altered and repeatedly debunked. Try a reverse image search to find articles about this fake image.

This article is misleading. A quick Wikipedia search of The American College of Pediatricians will tell you that they are a socially conservative advocacy group. Not to be confused with the widely trusted American Academy of Pediatrics, The American College of Pediatricians has faced criticism for opposing LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, and vaccine mandates, and has been labeled a hate group by some organizations.

Truth. The social media post refers to a real event in Canada called a "pigeon rolling contest," where pigeons are tossed down a bowling lane as part of the game. While the event has sparked controversy and criticism from animal rights groups, who see it as cruel, it is unfortunately a real practice that has taken place. A quick Google search will pull up multiple stories covering this event.

This video is trickery! It's likely a deepfake, created using AI technology to make it appear real. The claims made in the video have been debunked multiple times by NASA, which has repeatedly provided evidence refuting this false theory. Search for this theory on Snopes.com to quickly find out it is fake!