Facts Matter: Salt trucks not blocking Chicago streets from ICE
President Donald Trump has sent hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Chicago, and he has talked about sending the National Guard to the city.
But some social media posts appear to show Chicago’s plan to counter any “invasion.”
“Multiple Salt Trucks Form A Blockade To Keep Ice Out Of The City,” read the text on a video posted Sept. 7 on TikTok. The clip showed a lineup of at least 17 parked city vehicles.
The song, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” by Gil Scott-Heron, plays throughout the 30-second clip. A headline at the top states, “I freaking LOVE Chicago!,” followed by three flame emojis. A part of the post’s caption reads, “IDOT plows and salt trucks were out on I-294, the Edens, and I-94 — crawling shoulder to shoulder, jamming every lane into Chicago.”
The lineup of trucks is real, according to PolitiFact, but it has nothing to do with ICE raids or a response to the president.
The salt trucks were used for two recent events, a planned protest on Sept. 6 and Taste of Chicago from Sept. 5-7, a Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation spokesperson told PolitiFact.
The spokesperson said the use of the trucks is routine for large events. The vehicles are often used to block intersections to control traffic.
Also, the claim that the trucks jamming up the expressways, while “crawling shoulder to shoulder,” never happened, according to the Sun-Times.
Fake apology along with a real one
A video from the Aug. 28 U.S. Open quickly went viral.
The clip shows player Kamil Majchrzak attempt to give his hat to a young fan, when a man, later identified as Piotr Szczerek, CEO of the Polish company Drogbruk, appears to snatch it away from the boy.
Plenty of online outrage followed the incident.
In an Aug. 31 social media post, Szczerek allegedly apologized, in a statement that partially read, “Yes, I took it. Yes, I did it quickly. But as I’ve always said, life is first come, first served … If you were faster, you would have it.”
But, that apology is fake, according to RumorGuard from the New Literacy Project.
Szczerek however did offer an actual apology in a Sept. 1 Facebook post.
“I take full responsibility for my extremely poor judgment and hurtful actions,” the post read, in part. “It was never my intent to steal away a prized memento from the young fan … I have sent the hat back to the boy and extended my sincere apologies to his family.”
Numbers are way off
Recent social media posts claim there are nearly 70 million to 100 million people living illegally in the United States. The U.S. population is about 342 million.
“55 million on visas, tens of millions of illegals — close to 100 million are foreign aliens,” read an X post. “Almost 1/3 of the entire country are foreigners.”
But that number is inaccurate, according to The Associated Press. The amount is off by tens of millions.
The Trump administration, last month, said it was reviewing the valid visas of 55 million people. And social media users inflated that figure online while claiming the number of people living in the U.S. illegally.
“The 55 million figure is the total number of visa-holders worldwide, not people who are currently in the United States,” Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told the AP. “The 25 million figure for undocumented immigrants is also completely false.”
According to the latest census data, there were nearly 22 million noncitizens living legally and illegally in the U.S. A recent Pew Research Center report said about 14 million of them are living in the U.S. illegally.
Melania not declared ‘queen’
A recent post on X appears to offer a first look at a magazine cover labeled “Special Collector’s Edition.”
The post includes an image of a Vanity Fair cover with a photo of the first lady wearing a crown, and the headline, “THE AMERICAN QUEEN: Melania Trump’s Silent Revolution.” Subheads include, “Inside the private world of America’s most enigmatic first lady” and “Fashion, power & the art of saying nothing.”
The post’s caption claims the cover “has staff in REVOLT! Source inside VF tells me 3 senior editors threatened to resign during today's emergency meeting. One reportedly screamed ‘I won't work for a MAGA propaganda machine!’”
But that cover is fake, according to PolitiFact. The image appears to be generated by using artificial intelligence.
The actual September issue of Vanity Fair features actress Jennifer Aniston.
Melania Trump has never appeared on the cover of the U.S. version of Vanity Fair.
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.