“Smithsonian admits to destruction of thousands of giant human skeletons in early 1900s.”

The Smithsonian National Museum of History has hundreds of skeletons on display in its aptly named Bone Hall. Some have been on view since 1881. 

But a recent Instagram post suggests the keepers of these skeletal artifacts have confessed to destroying others. 

“Smithsonian admits to destruction of thousands of giant human skeletons in early 1900s,” read what looks like a screenshot of a news headline. “A US Supreme Court ruling has forced the Smithsonian Institution to release classified papers dating from the early 1900s that proves the organization was involved in a major historical cover-up.” 

The post sharing this screenshot was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

This story originated on a website that publishes fiction and satire, and it’s been online since at least 2014. 

A Smithsonian Institution spokesperson also told Reuters in August that the claim is false. 

We rate claims that the Smithsonian admitted to destroying thousands of giant human skeletons Pants on Fire!