Facts Matter: Hurricane warning shared on social media really is from 2016
Shortly before Hurricane Ian hit Florida, social media users were sharing video of Fox News anchor Shepard Smith standing in front of a weather map while delivering a hurricane warning.
"This moves 20 miles to the west, and you and everyone you know are dead - all of you - because you can't survive it," Smith said. "It's not possible unless you're very, very lucky. And your kids die, too."
Postings of the clip, which was viewed more than 7 million times, included concern for those facing Hurricane Ian.
"To my friends and fam in Florida/South Carolina. Y'all be safe and don't take any chance of trying to push thru this one," one user wrote.
But the video has nothing to do with Hurricane Ian, according to Reuters. It's actually footage of a 2016 broadcast with Smith warning about Hurricane Matthew. Smith left Fox News three years ago.
Hurricane Matthew, which briefly reached Category 5 intensity, was active in September and October 2016 and killed hundreds of people in Haiti and more than 30 in the U.S.
<h3 class="breakHead">Barron Trump still in school</h3>
Former President Donald Trump, along with three of his adult children, was named in a lawsuit brought last month by the New York attorney general, accusing him of fraudulent business dealings.
At about the same time, a social media post claimed Trump's youngest son Barron was no longer attending his private school due to an inability to pay the tuition.
"URGENT. Barron Trump has been KICKED OUT of school for fees, staggering amount they had to pay," read the Sept. 21 Facebook post.
But this claim is false, according to PolitiFact. Barron Trump, 16, remains enrolled at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. The school's advancement director Scott Siegfried told PolitiFact the post is fake.
"We are pleased to state that Barron Trump continues to attend Oxbridge Academy and is a member of the Class of 2024," Siegfried said.
The post includes a video with a voice-over saying the clip will show the "truth about his fees in school."
However, the video talks only about how Barron changed schools after his father's loss in the 2020 presidential election.
Tuition at Oxbridge Academy is $35,000 for the 2022-23 school year.
<h3 class="breakHead">Trump can't impeach Pelosi</h3>
A recent post claims former President Donald Trump is impeaching House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"Nancy Pelosi set to resign from Congress as Trump files impeachment lawsuits against her," reads a Sept. 12 Facebook post with video, viewed more than 13,000 times.
This claim is false in many ways, according to USA Today.
From the beginning, this statement said Pelosi is going to resign. There is no evidence of this. In fact, the speaker is running for reelection as a Democratic representative from California.
Also, an impeachment lawsuit doesn't exist. University of Missouri law professor Frank Bowman told USA Today the claim is "nonsense."
"There is no such thing as an 'impeachment lawsuit.' Courts have no role to play in initiating an impeachment or reviewing it once it's done," he said.
Next, members of Congress cannot be impeached. However, representatives and senators can be expelled by other members of each legislative house.
Lastly, Trump can't impeach Pelosi. According to the Constitution, only the House of Representatives has the power to impeach. The subject of the impeachment has historically been limited to officials of the executive and judicial branches.
The video included with the post is unrelated and mostly shows Trump talking about crime and critical race theory.
<h3 class="breakHead">North Korea choir didn't cover Rage Against Machine song</h3>
A video circulating online shows North Korea's military choir covering the Rage Against the Machine song "Killing in the Name."
The clip was first posted in a Facebook group called Punk & more. It has since been viewed more than 1 million times and racked up thousands of shares.
Some commenters took issue with what the post was showing.
"Great vibrant music sadly under a regime of oppression," one user wrote.
But the video isn't real, according to Reuters. It has been digitally manipulated.
The actual footage of North Korea's choir and band, playing different songs, was reworked by editing various pieces of the video and matching clips to the music.
The audio of "Killing in the Name" was taken from video of a 2019 event called Rockin'1000, in which 1,000 musicians came together in Frankfurt, Germany, to perform.
The protest song "Killing in the Name" was released by rock band Rage Against the Machine in 1992.
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.