Facts Matter: Elon Musk didn't vow to put GameStop logo on rocket
The stock market saw some unusual activity late last month when the price of video game retailer GameStop skyrocketed.
The stock's 1,700% surge was attributed to online traders, joined together through the Reddit discussion board WallStreetBets, buying multiple shares of the stock.
On Jan. 26, after GameStop opened at $17 and closed at $145.97, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted about it on Twitter with a link to WallStreetBets.
But he didn't promise to send the GameStop logo to outer space, according to TruthOrFiction.com.
A screenshot of a Twitter post falsely attributed to Musk, purportedly sent at 11 a.m. Jan. 27, said, "If $GME reach $1000 I will put the GameStop Logo on my next Rocket and launch it into space."
The post is fake and there is no evidence it came from Musk's account, TruthOrFiction.com said. The counter at the bottom of the false Twitter post, "2.2K Retweets, 296 Quote tweets, 109.9 Likes," is also made up. Those numbers were the same on all versions of the fake tweet posted online.
The stock peaked at $483 on Jan. 28.
It was a compliment
On Inauguration Day, as Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden passed military guards flanking the doorway leading into the Capitol, the president remarked, "Good-looking Marines."
The scene was misrepresented on social media, according to The Washington Post.
A Twitter user posted video of the event with the false claim, "Someone in Biden's earpiece told him to salute the marines, and Biden just repeated the words 'salute the marines,' because he is so used to just repeating what comes from his earpiece. The marines were not saluted."
The post and the user's account have since been removed from Twitter.
After viewing the C-SPAN video, the Post determined Biden said, "Good-looking Marines," not "Salute the Marines."
As commander in chief, presidents have no obligation to give out or return a salute. Biden did not salute as he entered the Capitol and the Marines didn't salute as the president walked past them.
Trump didn't offer hotel
Members of the National Guard, in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President Joe Biden, took rest breaks in an empty parking garage near the U.S. Capitol.
Photos of the troops camped out in the garage had some social media users saying the National Guard should have better accommodations, according to The Associated Press. And some users claimed former President Donald Trump was going to take care of the troops.
"Trump has apparently given permission for National Guard troops to stay at his hotel. This is a real leader," read a Facebook post.
Trump made no such invitation.
"We have not received any offers at the National Guard Bureau," media relations officer Maj. Matt Murphy told the AP.
D.C. National Guard Capt. Chelsi Johnson told the AP all the National Guard members already had hotel rooms to stay in after their shifts.
"For this mission we are not lodging any National Guard troops at the Trump Hotel," Johnson said.
Guard members had been moved out of the Capitol for breaks but were allowed back inside following reports of conditions in the parking garages that included little shelter from the cold and not enough bathrooms, the AP said.
Masks still encouraged
False information has been making the rounds on social media claiming the World Health Organization said face masks are no longer necessary to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
"WHO now saying you do not need to wear a mask," reads a Jan. 25 post. "There is no scientific medical reason for any healthy person to wear a mask outside of a hospital."
The WHO's recommendation is the opposite of that, according to PolitiFact.com. The health organization now recommends multiple or layered masks as "a key measure to suppress transmission and save lives."
A news conference referenced in the false post included no mention of masks not being necessary during the pandemic, PolitiFact said. Instead, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, infectious-disease epidemiologist and COVID-19 technical lead for the WHO, who spoke at the news conference, said, "masks are one aspect of control, one aspect of reducing the spread of this virus."
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.