THURSDAY EDITION
Snopes Debunker
Did Canada light Niagara Falls blue to celebrate Democrats' midterm wins?
A photo spreading this rumor is miscaptioned. While posts claimed the image showed a "powerful message of solidarity" with Democrats, the photographer told reporter Laerke Christensen that she originally captured the photo in September. Niagara Falls was lit in teal on Tuesday for an Alzheimer's Awareness Month event.
Abdul El-Sayed didn't say it's OK if girls see male genitals in their locker rooms
This claim is false. Rumors swirled that El-Sayed had "embroiled himself in a national scandal" because of the alleged quote. People fabricated the remark based on the Michigan Senator-elect's response to a question about parental rights during a recent "60 Minutes" interview.
Did Virginia legalize abortion up to birth?
This claim is false. Our readers asked us to look into the supposed vote. Virginia voters did overwhelmingly approve a measure enshrining abortion rights in the state's constitution, but it lets the state pass some laws restricting abortion access in the third trimester of pregnancy.
Musk deleted 'Vote red today!' post after Democrats' midterm gains
This rumor is true. Social media users spread a video showing the post was deleted from the tech billionaire's account. When we tried to access the post ourselves, we received a generic error message. DuckDuckGo search results still display a link to the deleted post.
Trump said he'd become Israeli prime minister 'if people ever get tired of me in the US'
This quote is correctly attributed. Videos spread online showing the president saying the quote during a phone interview with Fox News on Election Day. Trump was speaking about cutting U.S. financial aid to Israel.
In other news ...
A claim that every Republican candidate Nicki Minaj endorsed during the midterms lost to Democrats isn't quite accurate.
Lindsey Graham once said Republicans would "deserve" to be "destroyed" if they nominated Trump. The quote circulated again after his sister, Darline Graham, lost her Senate race in South Carolina.
Staff pick
Did ICE pay $495M for Minnesota prison offered to state for $75M?
This claim is true. Critics have said the supposed sale is a wasteful use of tax dollars. Reporter Rae Deng examined public records proving ICE purchased the facility for $495.6 million after a private prison operator offered it to the Minnesota Department of Corrections for $75 million.






