debunker

Poor People Do Not Just Blow Any Money They Get

Hamilton Nolan · 09/23/14 01:20PM

It's come to my attention that many of our readers believe that if you give anything more than a modest sum of money to a poor person, that person will just go out and waste the money on impulse purchases. Allow me to point out that this is false.

Crazy Conservatives Are Sure a Gitmo Detainee Killed James Foley

Adam Weinstein · 08/22/14 09:42AM

James Foley was courageous, and his murder by an apparently English-accented zealot of the Syria-based Islamic State was so horrific that no simple narrative can do it justice. Unless, that is, you're a conservative political opportunist of a special sort, eager to pin the crime on liberal policies.

Is Israel Really as Good at Shooting Down Rockets as it Claims?

Adam Weinstein · 07/21/14 12:50PM

Israel's "Iron Dome" anti-rocket system is one of the most reliable defense tools on earth. It stops almost every deadly missile tossed its way. It is a miracle of modern civilization. These are claims repeated by reputable Western news sources. But what if they're bogus?

Ron Paulies Are Batshit Conspiracy Theorists, Chapter 794

Adam Weinstein · 03/26/14 01:44PM

Ron Paul and his think tank don't want the U.S. to get embroiled in an overseas war with Russia over its recent annexation of Crimea. That's reasonable. Ron Paul and his think tank suggest that Russia didn't even invade Crimea, really. That's self-blindered hysterical conspiracy theorizin' bull semen.

JFK’s Grandson Is, Unfortunately, Not Gay

J.K. Trotter · 02/13/14 03:50PM

Gay-themed website Queerty reports that Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy and a junior at Yale, came out as gay in an essay for the Yale Herald before the paper’s editors mysteriously deleted his column and his Twitter account disappeared. Unfortunately for Camelot, the essay—and the Twitter account—are fake.

The Whole Bible Thing Is B.S. Because of Camel Bones, Says Science

Adam Weinstein · 02/06/14 05:04PM

The Old Testament. It's been kinda important to much of human civilization going back a fair stretch. It's also a sham! Your cherished psalms and stories of ritualistic filicide are no longer any match for Israelis with radiocarbon dating equipment, sheeple!

Five More Myths About Jesus

Hamilton Nolan · 09/27/13 12:44PM

In the Washington Post today, Reza Aslan debunks five myths about Jesus—he wasn't born in Bethlehem, he was not an only child, etc. But what is this mythbuster not telling you? Scholars say there are at least five more myths about Jesus.

Could the U.S. Have Assassinated Hugo Chavez Using Cancer?

Hamilton Nolan · 03/08/13 10:10AM

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who for many years took great glee in voicing anti-American sentiments, died this week at the age of 58, following a long battle with "an unspecified cancer in the pelvic region." Just before he died, Venezuelan vice president Nicholas Maduro ejected two U.S. diplomats from the country and vaguely charged them with infecting Chavez with cancer, saying he was "attacked with this illness."

Unionmade: Retailer of Expensive Fashions That Are Not Union Made

Hamilton Nolan · 11/16/12 11:50AM

Unionmade is an upscale men's clothing store, based in San Francisco and celebrated by GQ, that sells $258 "Vintage Styled Work Shirts" and $68 Cow Horn Combs and $565 "Vintage" Levi Jeans, and things of that nature. The company says that it "aims to improve the lives of our customers, community and suppliers by offering fairly priced products made from the best available materials." You might want to know, however, that Unionmade's products are not union made.

Nutella Is Not a Real Breakfast

Hamilton Nolan · 10/08/12 08:56AM

Residents of America: have you been approached by a friendly-looking man offering you free sweets from the back of a truck? Beware! This is not just any garden variety perv; it is a European perv, trying to corrupt our youth—by convincing them that "Nutella" is an acceptable breakfast item. It is not.

Bane Creator Chuck Dixon: Limbaugh's Batman Conspiracy Theory 'Ridiculous' — I'm a Staunch Conservative

Neetzan Zimmerman · 07/18/12 01:48PM

Making an unplanned phone call into the nationally syndicated radio program Schnitt Show yesterday, comic book writer Chuck Dixon, co-creator of the character Bane, refuted claims made by Rush Limbaugh that the homophonic similarities between the Batman villain and Mitt Romney's financial services company Bain suggest a liberal conspiracy to smear the presidential candidate.

'What's the Single Best Exercise?': A Retort

Hamilton Nolan · 04/15/11 10:41AM

Never, ever, take fitness advice from the New York Times. We've made this point before. They're always spouting off about getting "thin" with some sort of limp-wristed jogging workout. In neon shorts. In Central Park. When you're not skiing, in Aspen, and then reading the New York Times by a roaring fire, in a resort, sipping on probably some nice Earl Grey, not even thinking about Muscle Milk at all.