Facts Matter: Simpson didn’t admit to murders before he died

Former NFL star O.J. Simpson died earlier this month following a battle with cancer. Besides his football career and some acting, Simpson mostly was known for being acquitted of murder after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were killed in 1994.

Recent social media posts claim Simpson confessed to the crime before he died.

“This was the last thing OJ Simpson tweeted before he passed. What did he mean by this?” read the topper on a post that appears to have come from Simpson’s X account, and contains only the words, “I did it.”

However, there was no deathbed confession from Simpson, according to PolitiFact. This fake post was created to look as if Simpson sent it, but there is no record of this post on his official X account.

The most recent post on the account was created by his family, announcing his death.

"On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” reads the tribute, posted the day after Simpson died.

The last post that it appears Simpson offered was on Feb. 11, Super Bowl Sunday. He said, “my health is good,” and he predicted the San Francisco 49ers would win the game. They lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Although Simpson was acquitted of the murders in criminal court, he was found liable for the deaths in a civil trial and ordered to pay $33.5 million to relatives of the victims.

Judge hasn’t ruled on Trump’s request

The criminal trial of former President Donald Trump, charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to suppress unfavorable stories, got started last Monday.

New York Judge Juan Merchan told Trump he must be in court during the trial. And following the first day, Trump claimed he was prohibited from attending a significant event.

“It looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son,” Trump said as he left court. Later that day, he posted on Truth Social, “The Judge, Juan Merchan, is preventing me from proudly attending my son’s Graduation. Seems very unfair, doesn’t it?”

But Trump’s complaint was not based on what happened, according to the Associated Press. Merchan hasn’t ruled on the former president’s request.

When Trump requested court be adjourned on May 17 so he could attend son Barron’s graduation ceremony, Merchan, on Monday, said he was not prepared at that time to rule on the May 17 session. He said the decision would be based on how the trial was proceeding.

When Merchan heard Trump’s request, and a similar request from one of the defense lawyers to adjourn court on June 3, the judge said if the trial was proceeding as planned at that time, he is willing to give them the day off to attend the graduations.

“It really depends on how we’re doing on time and where we are in the trial,” Merchan said.

Old clip reposted

Iran, on April 13, launched a barrage of drones and missiles in an attack on Israel.

That same day, a social media user posted video of multiple explosions in the sky.

“IRANIAN DRONES are OVERWHELMING ISRAEL’S IRON DOME. Missiles incoming,” the post read. A different post with the same video read, “Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system reportedly in action right now against Iran’s drone attack.”

But that clip wasn’t happening “right now,” according to Reuters. That’s old footage.

That video was posted first by the Telegraph newspaper on Oct. 12, 2023, with the caption, “Israel’s Iron Dome intercepts Hamas rockets in Ashkelon.”

Israel did use its Iron drone system in that clip showing the 2023 attack, Reuters said.

Teddy bear story is fake

A recent Facebook post shows two teddy bears wearing hoods, horns and what appear to be satanic symbols.

“Build a Bear is Now Offering ‘Baphomet Birthday Parties.’ Baphomet is Another Name for Lucifer,” the headline on the post read. Other posts from last month show stuffed bears, displaying satanic symbols, in front of Build-A-Bear stores.

But none of these claims are true, according to USA Today. Fake stories about the bears were created on the satirical website America’s Last Line of Defense.

There is nothing on the Build-A-Bear website about Baphomet birthday parties.

“Build-A-Bear currently does not, has not, nor has any plans to offer the products or services in question,” company spokesperson Katie Gonzales told USA Today.

USA Today also reached out to America’s Last Line of Defense.

“Lots of people don’t bother to check if what they’re reading is true or not. Lots of people do. We’re pleased to cater to both,” the group told USA TODAY.

• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.