Oswald: Frozen ship is not the USS Al Gore

Social media users have been sharing images of snow and ice as much of the country deals with a recent series of wintry blasts. Among those is a photo of a frozen boat, docked and covered in ice, with the label, "USS Al Gore Global Warming Research Vessel."

"Now, this is funny, I don't care who you are," wrote a Facebook user who shared the photo.

But it isn't true, according to PolitiFact.com. The U.S. Navy does not have a commissioned ship named after former Vice President Gore.

Gore, who served two terms under President Bill Clinton, has been outspoken about the dangers of climate change and starred in "An Inconvenient Truth," a 2006 Academy Award-winning documentary about global warming.

The photo of the frozen ship used in the false claim has appeared on the internet for more than 15 years, PolitiFact said, and some posts identify it as a boat in caught in an ice storm in Switzerland.

False reports of Fox News coverage

U.S. Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries he sustained while trying to protect the Capitol from rioters during a violent Jan. 6 insurrection, was honored earlier this month. Sicknick's cremated remains were taken to the Capitol rotunda to lie in honor.

Some cable news networks aired live continuous coverage of the tribute, which included President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden paying their respects to the fallen 42-year-old police officer.

Following the service, some Twitter users claimed conservative network Fox News had ignored the ceremony. The posts were shared thousands of times.

The Twitter posts are false, according to Newsweek magazine. Although Fox News did not offer continuous coverage of the service, which began at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 2 and ran through the night, the network did cut to live footage of the vigil at the Capitol.

Commentator Sean Hannity, who was finishing his show as the ceremony began, went to a live shot.

"Slain Officer Brian Sicknick is lying in honor in the Capitol Rotunda," Hannity said. "Officer Sicknick lost his life last month defending the Capitol building ... Our thoughts, our prayers go to him, his family, his friends tonight."

Laura Ingraham, whose show follows Hannity on Fox News, also briefly went to video at the Capitol.

"You're looking at live pictures here of President Joe Biden paying his respects to fallen Capitol Officer Brian Sicknick, who is lying in honor in the Capitol rotunda," Ingraham said. "Remember Sicknick was fatally injured during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot."

Biden not sleeping on the job

President Joe Biden had a full schedule on Inauguration Day but he didn't fall asleep at his desk in the White House with a stack of executive orders in front of him, as some online posts falsely claimed.

The photo circulating on the internet, showing Biden at the Resolute Desk, has been altered to create the false impression he was asleep, according to The Associated Press.

The image is a composite of two photos, with Biden's head and body from different sources. The president's body and the background are from Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, when Biden signed a stack of executive orders in the Oval Office. Superimposed over the photo is another taken when Biden's eyes were closed during a 2011 speech by President Barack Obama.

Other photos taken during the Jan. 20 Oval Office event show Biden awake while seated at the desk, wearing a mask and signing the executive orders, the AP said.

PayDay not changing name

A meme circulating on social media claims the PayDay candy bar will be going through a name change because it's offensive to anyone who has lost a job.

The name remains the same, according to Snopes.com. The internet meme is just a commentary about cancel culture.

Earlier this month, the image of a PayDay, with the words, "PayDay candy bar is changing it's (sic) name because it's offensive to those who don't work," was posted by AmericanBestPics.com, a website with humorous, and sometimes fake, content.

Various versions of this meme have been appearing on social media since last summer, Snopes said.

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