Latest Stories By Seth Smalley

Amid the devastation of Hurricane Ian, which brought record winds and record storm surges, one light moment stood out for fact-checkers: Was there really a shark swimming in the streets?  Although the jury’s still out on this most recent example (credible sources offer conflicting views), several past hoaxes involving hurricanes, and sharks where they’re not […]

Memes, like jokes, are often depicted as mostly harmless and incapable of exerting political influence. But recent elections have demonstrated organizers can easily leverage them to build political movements, spread group narratives and influence voters. On Sept. 28, PolitiFact Senior Correspondent Jon Greenberg interviewed the authors of “Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online […]