Was That Fake? - man shot by dog

Was That Fake?

You may have observed people posting pictures of what they say are the fake news stories posted by Russian trolls during the 2016 election. Are the posts of the fake news legitimate? Indeed it is. The federal government released 3,400 documents showing advertisements purchased by Russians with associated demographic targeting data. The Russians used interests like "Martin Luther King" and "Native American music" in their Facebook ad buys. You can view those documents on The White House website.

Was That Fake?

Did a man get shot by his dog? That is the man's claim. They were playing when the fired the weapon. It is an actual news story credited to The Associated Press, a rather reputable source. The man was apparently playing with the dog and says he tossed the pet off his lap. The dog jumped back up and must have disabled the safety on the gun he had in his waistband and stepped on the trigger.

Was That Fake?

Did Congress eliminate all discounts for seniors and veterans? The rumor came from a Facebook post claiming an Oregon Senator pushed a bill through calling such discounts "exclusionary." The first clue as to whether the bill is valid is the source of the post, originally posted by a page called America's Last Line of Defense. The page's description clearly states "nothing on this page is real." Also, the Senator does not exist. Yet, the post has been shared almost 2,000 times.