March 29, 2026・Issue #121
1. Behind the Snopes: Examining false claims that Iran bombed its own girls’ school
Let's talk about what's going on with Snopes: the newsroom, the products, the people, and everything and anything that makes Snopes, Snopes. This month, Reporter Nur Ibrahim broke down her investigation into a false rumor that Iran bombed a girls’ school in the country.
In late February, Snopes published an investigation debunking persistent rumors that Iran had bombed its own girls’ school. The claims spread after the United States and Israel launched a large-scale offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, targeting military installations and killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The same day, missiles destroyed a girls’ primary school in Minab, a city in southern Iran.
The claims relied on two pieces of so-called evidence. The first was a screenshot of a post written in Persian on a Telegram account called “Radio Gilan.” The post was alleged to be an official statement from the Iranian military admitting to mistakenly bombing the girls’ school.
We first searched for the original post on the “Radio Gilan” Telegram channel. Using online translation tools, we determined the source was an anti-regime channel that was sympathetic to Reza Pahlavi — son of the former shah, or king, of Iran who was deposed in 1979 by Islamic revolutionaries. We also combed through official Iranian government social media accounts and news outlets, finding no evidence of such a statement being released.
The second piece of so-called evidence for the claim was a photograph of smoke from a missile in the sky seemingly returning to the ground. Using reverse image search tools as well as analyzing the buildings and the mountain range in the background, we determined the photo wasn’t taken in the vicinity of the school but in another, completely different region in Iran.
We concluded Iran wasn’t responsible for bombing the school. To learn more, read our full investigation.
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2. Fact-checking highlight: Iran war
From Reporter Emery Winter:
Since the U.S. and Israel began a war with Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, people have been trying to figure out what’s happening with little information to go on.
For example, we debunked a false rumor about a list that supposedly named 11 cities Iran planned to target in attacks and confirmed the authenticity of a resignation letter from U.S. counterterrorism head Joe Kent.
Here are six rumors we’ve clarified related to the Iran war:
3. Overheard at Snopes
We look into a lot of weird stuff at Snopes. We imagine it's very interesting to be a fly on the wall, so we wanted to give you a look at some of the things we have to say when fact-checking.
Overheard: “I’m sorry, is that broccoli pregnant?”
— Assignments Editor Caroline Wazer
4. Snopes-ing 101: Rage bait restaurant receipt
From Senior Reporter Jordan Liles:
In the last several years, artificial intelligence-created content on Facebook — or AI slop — has featured different types of fake images and fabricated stories. One variety, apparently proving successful for creators, aims to stir up anger and frustration in users. That strategy, best known as rage bait, popped up in recent weeks with a popular Facebook post showing an AI-generated restaurant receipt image.
The receipt displayed costs for two dinners at $28 a pop, a service charge of $10.08, a tax total of $5.03 and a customer-drawn line in the space labeled "optional tip." The total showed as $71.11.
The fake receipt lacked a restaurant name, server name, beverages and table number. Even so, users who seemingly believed the receipt originated from a real restaurant submitted tens of thousands of comments debating how the purported establishment required a $10.08 service charge and also labeled the tip line as "optional tip."
When a user shares a fake restaurant receipt, that user touches on the familiarity of visiting a restaurant and filling out a receipt after finishing a meal. That familiarity leads users to share their own thoughts and engage in emotionally charged debates over restaurant practices. All the while, the user who created the post (should they have chosen to monetize the page's content) receives payment based on its popularity.
Have you seen a fake receipt, or a different variety of AI-generated content, in a social media post that’s drawing commentators? Contact us with a link and we can have a look.
Mental Health Break
Snopes investigates some grim and depressing claims, so we know how important it is to your mental health to see something silly, funny, or just plain heartwarming. Here are some links that made us smile.
Waffles the giraffe’s birthday - X user @SanAntonioZoo
2026 European tree of the year - Environmental Partnership Association
Adoptable dogs failing out of service dog training - X user @jeffisrael25
5. Snopes-worthy Media
What Snopes is paying attention to across the web.
Inside The Tools & Techniques That Exposed Facebook Transit Scams And TikTok's Polarization Industry
— Show & Tell podcast, Indicator
— E.J. Dickson, Intelligencer
— Abe Beame, Defector
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