View in Your Browser MEMBERS ONLY Snopes Digest May 12, 2020 • Issue #10 1 Meet the Boogeymen of COVID-19 The question of whether anyone is to blame for the widespread pandemic has led to a blossoming of conspiracy theories. 2 Behind the Snopes Story Editor David Emery, a 20-year veteran of fact-checking on the internet, looks into the technological boogeymen of the past. 3 In Case You Missed It The most popular and most important stories on Snopes.com lately. 4 Since We Last Met We have a number of updates from Team Snopes. 5 Snopes-worthy Reads Good stories we’ve shared amongst ourselves recently. Issue #10 edited by Brandon Echter and Bond Huberman. 1. Meet the boogeymen of COVID- 19, brandonechter. After months of living through a terrifying, confusing pandemic, it’s no surprise that people are looking for a scapegoat. Theories on who’s to blame for the COVID-19 coronavirus disease have been sprouting and spreading like weeds online, often reflecting and exacerbating conspiracy theories already out there. Some we’ve seen feature familiar faces like billionaires George Soros or Bill Gates, who purportedly used their influence to build a bioweapon (not true). Others point the finger at a supposedly nefarious plot by evil vaccinators, as most recently seen in the widely debunked film “Plandemic.” One of the more interesting theories is that COVID-19 is caused by the rollout of 5G cellular towers around the world. Fear of the new mobile technology has spiked in recent years, and rumors about it being banned in Japan, killing birds in the Netherlands, and requiring hazmat suits to install it have long been debunked by Snopes. But fear of new technology is nothing new. So in this issue, we’re taking a look at some of the electronic boogeymen of the past — because sometimes reflecting on what came before can soothe anxieties about what lies ahead. Truthfully yours, Team Snopes We Want to Hear from You What have you experienced during this coronavirus pandemic? How are you holding up? We want to hear how our readers are living through this crisis. Tell Us Your Story 2. Behind The Snopes 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 week Story Editor David Emery, a 20-year veteran of fact-checking on the internet, looks into the technological boogeymen of the past. Long before conspiracy theorists started blaming 5G cellular towers for COVID-19, they were issuing dire warnings about other health threats that the next-generation cellphone technology supposedly poses. Despite a lack of evidence that higher-frequency cellular networks are more dangerous than existing ones, the fact that the technology is new and relatively untested leaves just enough room for doubt — and urban legends. A quick rummage through the Snopes archive reveals that even before 5G, some people expressed worries that ordinary cellphone radiation is powerful enough to cause health problems like infertility or cancer — worries that have only been exacerbated by false stories about cooking food using nothing but a cellphone. In truth, fears surrounding new technologies — and horror stories about the electronic boogeymen — are nothing new; they’re probably as old as human invention. When tanning beds came into vogue during the 1980s, for example, so did an urban legend about a young, vain bride-to-be who stayed under the ultraviolet lights too long, unwittingly broiling herself to death. Readers old enough to remember when microwave ovens first became popular in the early 1960s will likely also remember the tandem urban legends of “The Microwaved Baby” and "The Microwaved Pet." Both involved babies, cats, or dogs being absentmindedly placed into microwave ovens, where they met horrible deaths. Technology, which is meant to help us, can actually kill us, get it? Sometimes, as in the case of microwave ovens, technological- boogeyman stories are based on real, scientifically proven health or safety hazards. Other times, as in the case of rumors linking 5G cellular radiation to the spread of the coronavirus disease, the hazard is only in people’s heads. Next time, you’ll hear from another member of the Snopes team about a unique aspect of working here that you might find interesting. Do you want us to cover something specific? Write to us here! Snopes-ing 101 Fact-check like a pro! Every newsletter, we’ll let you peek behind the curtain and see some of the ways we check shady information so you can check dubious claims yourself. Recently readers inquired about a website that appeared to represent the “White House Gift Shop” but had no current connection to the White House. That story is a reminder of a basic, but neglected, tool for parsing fact from fiction: Check the website URL. If a “government” website does not end in .gov (see below), or a news website uses odd characters or spelling in the URL, proceed with skepticism. 3. In Case You Missed It The latest news and fact checks on Snopes.com. As its title, “Plandemic,” suggests, a new film about the COVID-19 pandemic teased on social media promotes a conspiratorial narrative of events. Its star, former National Cancer Institute scientist Judy Mikovits, claims that vaccines have killed millions of people, that the new coronavirus did not emerge naturally, and that it was spread intentionally for profit. As Snopes previously reported, Mikovits’ own credibility is in question. With COVID-19 still a top concern, social media rumors about the purported dangers of wearing a protective face mask too long prompted questions from Snopes readers. We looked at what medical experts have actually said about the various types of masks available and whether their prolonged use presents a true health concern. You can read our full report here. Readers have been asking about a striking vintage photograph allegedly showing a female volunteer in the Irish Republican Army firing on British soldiers in 1972 Belfast. The photo and its origins hold a timeless appeal and no small amount of mystery, as new Snopes writer Nur Ibrahim discovered. Will the U.S. Postal Service run out of money and be forced to close because of COVID-19? Defenders of the institution have raised the alarm about a steep drop in the Postal Service’s revenues due to a pandemic-related decline in the volume of mail deliveries. A Snopes investigation found that while the USPS does face severe financial challenges, they aren’t all coronavirus-related. For at least a few of us, the threat of COVID-19 was briefly overshadowed by news that specimens of a venomous insect colloquially called the “murder hornet” were spotted in the United States. Although entomologists say its deadly reputation is grossly overstated (at least where humans are concerned), viral photos show a creature you ought not to mess with. Featured Collection Snopes investigates the claims in the bunk film “Plandemic.” Read the Fact Checks 4. Since We Last Met What’s been going on with the Snopes team. Thanks to your generous support, the Snopes team continues to expand to meet your fact-checking needs! Please welcome Nur Ibrahim, our new reporter, Camille Knox, our new assignments editor, and Carly Gillis, who will be leading communication initiatives for our operations team. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s heartening to see people seek out Snopes fact checks. While Snopes always has robust traffic, in March it was one of the top websites in the world, with some measurement companies ranking it in the top 50. On that note, it’s been quite a time for Snopes in the media. Vice President of Editorial Doreen Marchionni was interviewed by both “PBS NewsHour” and NPR’s “Here and Now” to discuss COVID-19 myths. Did you see? Pop culture has been celebrating fact-checkers, too! On April 28, “Jeopardy!” dedicated a category of clues to Snopes fact checks. Meanwhile, Showtime’s “Desus and Mero” gave us a shout-out on their show Mental Health Break Team 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. Teacher Crafts Plastic Barrier at Her Home So She Can Hug Her Students - New York Post Baby Ducklings! - Sarah Thompson 5. Snopes-worthy Reads What Team Snopes is reading across the web. The Problem With Thinking You Know More Than the Experts PBS NewsHour Going Viral: How to Boost the Spread of Coronavirus Science on Social Media Samantha Yammine, Nature The Coronavirus Conspiracy Boom Joseph E. Uscinski and Adam M. Enders, The Atlantic How to Detect the Age-Old Traditions of Folklore in Today’s COVID-19 Misinformation James Deutsch, Smithsonian Magazine Have any recommended reads? Submit them here. The Pets of Snopes It’s true: The Snopes “team” was once just two people and a cat. Twenty- five years later, we have more humans and more cats (and even some dogs) than at our once-humble beginnings. We want you to meet our furry, fact-finding friends because, well, who doesn’t love a cute animal picture? Meet Sophie Bean, the grande dame of Story Editor David Emery's household. Sophie is part Siamese, which accounts for both her beauty and her indomitable personality. She's special in one other way, too: Sophie has an extra toe (plus an extra claw) on each front paw — the better to remind everyone who's boss. Thanks for reading this edition of the Snopes Digest.