NO: Planned Parenthood has not closed any of its clinics since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion on June 24. YES: The Twitter user who originally published this false claim told fact-checkers at USA Today that he deleted the tweet after he was unable to verify its accuracy.
NewsLit takeaway: Bold claims that resonate strongly with one side of a polarizing issue exploit our natural tendency to embrace information that confirms our existing opinions and ideas. In this case, an evidence-free claim posted on Twitter — the same day as the controversial ruling — has been widely repeated across social media. This rumor underscores the potential consequences of making and amplifying unverified claims online. Even though the Twitter user who initially posted the claim later deleted it when he couldn’t confirm its accuracy, screenshots of the original tweet continue to circulate as “evidence” for the falsehood.
Sign up to receive NLP Connections (news about our work) or switch your subscription to the educator version of Get Smart About News called The Sift® here.
Check out NLP's Checkology virtual classroom, where you can learn to better navigate today’s information landscape by developing news literacy skills.
